5 Best Smart Pens to Enjoy Today | Reviews + Guide

From phones to fridges, everything has fallen into this spectrum and we’re undoubtedly still reeling from how our ordinary pens, now have intuitive technology to do way more than just write!

Smart Pens have revolutionized the way a normal pen works for sure. These can now transcribe your texts and sketches, write or draw directly on the screen, put your great works online for the world to see, and even audio record your lectures for all the details.

However, given the kind of competition in the market for everything, it can be a whole new challenge to find the right one for yourself, and that too, at a fair deal.

And that’s why we’re bringing you an extensive guide on some of the highly acclaimed smart pens in the market today!

Best Smart Pens

Here's the list of the 5 best smart pens to enjoy today, ensuring that you make an informed decision in selecting the perfect smart pen to enhance your writing and creative experience.

1. Rocket Erasable Smartpen - Best for Environment-Conscious Users

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The Erasable Smartpen from Rocket Innovations comes with a reusable 32 pages dotted grid notebook, which you can wipe clean time and again! This smartpen and pad set not only digitizes your text, but it also makes sure to be pretty environment-friendly about it!

Experience

The Rocket Erasable Smartpen brings to you the brand’s free Rocketbook application for iOS and Android that allows you to avail cloud services like Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote, iCloud, and Slack for organizing and sharing your files. It scans your text in a flash and helps you manage it accordingly on your device.

The pen uses high-tech AI technology that lets you use Rocketbook’s smart search feature (which we loved!), smart titles, and email transcription. This simplifies your task to a great extent by providing you with the advantages of easier naming via email transcription and a one-step search feature for your notes.

The reusable notebook can be used with Pilot FriXion pens, markers, and highlighters. However, you do need to allow a minimum of 15 seconds for the Pilot FriXion ink to settle down on the page and dry so that it can bond with the coded pages.

The pen is pretty easy to use and could be worked like a normal pen or a highlighter. You can also clean the pages easily with the microfiber cloth that comes included with the notebook and the pen.

2. Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen - Best for Students & Lectures

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Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen

• Record everything you write and hear so you'll never miss a...
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The next one up on our list is another model from Livescribe. This one is the Livescribe 2GB Smartpen. It comes with a highly efficient integrated audio recording feature that records everything it hears and right, ensuring you don’t miss out on any essential detail.

Experience

The winning feature of this smartpen is obviously the audio recorder it features on its tiny yet functional self. In fact, you don’t have to pair it up with your smartphone to get it to record. It works independently that way, which makes it an ideal companion for lectures and conferences.

You can even replay your lectures by merely tapping on your notes.

We admire the fact that it comes with Echo desktop software for Mac and Windows devices. This helps you to save your files (notes or audio recordings) on your computer without any hassle.

Transcription-wise, the pen does a decent job. It doesn’t record any errant or wrong strokes while digitizing your texts. Even when it comes to drawing and sketching, the pen does perform well.

To work it, you simply have to select a page from the Smart Starter Notebook included in the set and touch the tip of the pen to the play icon at the top of the page. You can switch it on or off by pressing the power button.

It gives a battery life of almost 12 hours.

However, you do have to place the pen a bit closer to the source of the sound to allow it to record clearly. And the pen is a bit top-heavy which can make your fingers fall closer to the tip, making it a bit tricky to grasp.

3. Scanmarker Air Scanner Smart Pen

Scanmarker Air Pen Scanner - OCR Digital Highlighter and...

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The Scanmarker is, in a way, not your conventional pen that writes. Instead, it slides along the line of printed text to scan it. And as soon as it scans anything, you can see it appear instantly on the screen!

Experience

The Scanmarker Air Scanner is a professional-grade text scanner that scans full lines of text to get it on the screen of your device instantly. It can transfer any editable text directly to any computer application such as Microsoft Word or other mobile apps. This gives you all the freedom to work on a full screen and easily share it with other social media portals.

The pen actually scores high on accuracy. It delivers well as a fast multilingual ocr text scanner, which is easy to use anywhere and by students or professionals of all ages.

The scanner also allows you to edit and read aloud in real-time for super easy text digitization, as well as translate your text on your smart devices (computers, smartphones, or tablets). It can be paired up with Android and iOS devices. The pen is also compatible with Mac and Windows desktops, which gives you the benefit of safely storing, editing, or organizing through your personal computer systems.

The scanner connects with other devices via Bluetooth. It includes a BLE dongle that offers a wireless connection on Windows.

But, in spite of all of the features that it offers, it is a scanner at most. It will not offer you the conventional pen-like features of writing or drawing or transcribing the same.

4. Moleskine PTSETA Smart Pen

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Moleskine Pen+ Smart Writing Set Pen & Dotted Smart Notebook...

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Next up, we have the PTSETA smartpen version from Moleskine, which has a lot of similarities with the Pen+ from Moleskine. It comes with the same coded paper mechanism on which the pen works, instantly digitizing your text.

Experience

The set includes the smartpen and the coded papers. To work it, you have to run it on the dotted layout of these papers. It will transcribe your texts and doodles from the page to the screen in real-time.

The code technology lets the smartpen capture your pen strokes for smooth and easy transcription.

The app that Moleskine provides for the smartpen allows fast transference of your freehand text from the page to your notebook. It enables you to digitize, edit, and organize through the app.

You can also save or send your files in different formats such as PDF, image, or vector, that you can convert into by pushing a single button on the panel.

The smartpen also comes with a few sensitivity options, which help transcribe illegible handwriting.

However, when we tried it out, we did find a couple of issues with the pen. It doesn’t work as fine for sketches. There were also a few other glitches during transcription, which lead the pen to miss out on a fair bit of the text we were scanning with it.

Also, one of the disadvantages of this pen is that it works with only Moleskine-coded sheets that you have to purchase separately once you run out.

5. Equil Smartpen 2

Livescribe Echo 2 Smartpen, Black Digital Pen, Bluetooth,...

• Record everything you hear, say, and write, while linking...
• Replay audio directly from paper by tapping on your notes

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The Equil Smartpen packs a punch when it comes to effective and ergonomic design. It also fares well enough in transcribing texts, going as far as putting them on the cloud or any online portal for the user to share them in real time!

Experience

The Equil Smartpen comes in its own beautiful and compact case. It is designed for all the comforts of using a smartpen. The case, in fact, has an integrated micro-USB charging port that can charge both the pen and the transceiver on the go! So, even if you forget the charging cable, you can charge the device with the micro-USB port.

The pen comes with separate apps for Android, iOS, Mac, and PC. The software and apps work well in keeping your files safe and accessible for you to organize accordingly.

One of the things that impressed us the most about this smartpen is that it includes a feature that can “cast” your note-taking and transcription online while in the process. This could be an essential feature in a meeting or conference as it can help fellow team members to follow along with the proceedings easily in real-time.

But, the one thing that really irked us about this pen is that it could be really slow. It actually took us more than 2 minutes to pair it up with our devices. And, unfortunately, it does glitch a bit during transcription, for that matter, falling short in overall accuracy.

Yet, on the brighter side, it does bring along a 2-year warranty period with it that is easily the highest provided for any pen on this list.

Best Smart Pens Comparison Table

Buying Guide For The Best Smart Pen

We have included a buyers’ guide for you that would help you understand and know the factors that you should look for while buying a smartpen.

Sensitivity

The degree of sensitivity that a smartpen possess translates to its overall efficiency. The greater the sensitivity, the higher will be the pen’s ability to transcribe any pen stroke with greater accuracy. Smart Pens with lower sensitivity may become significantly slower after a point of time, glitch, or stop in the process while transcribing, falling short in overall accuracy. These may also miss out on parts of the text and show frequent errors.

Hence, when you are shelling out the kind of money that you have to spend on a decent smartphone, make sure your pen is significantly sensitive to the material and text it will transcribe. Some smartpens even come with more than one sensitivity setting, which makes it even faster for the pens to adjust to the text and transcribe them.

Versatility

When we talk about the versatility of a smartpen, we include more than one factor. While buying a smartpen, the first thing that you should think about is what purpose would you want to put your smartpen to. That may include transcribing text or drawings, or even editing or adding finer details to them in real-time.

Then there is also the factor of a smartpen working only with coded papers or having its own transceiver with it that dismisses the need for buying coded sheets.

Not all pens will be versatile in every way. So, you need to have a specific requirement in mind and a particular budget for getting something that will be versatile enough to fulfill your requirements.

Audio Recording

Smartpens are often needed at conferences, meetings, and classrooms by students and board members alike for taking rapid notes and transcribing them to save details on their desktops. The additional feature of an audio recorder makes it exceedingly beneficial to have everything on record without missing out on any detail whatsoever. Some pens can pair up audio recordings to written texts for added convenience, greatly simplifying the overall task.

The clips could then be rewound and played as per convenience, which makes it a sought-after feature for every important lecture and discussion.

Also, not every classroom or meeting will allow the use of smartphones to record discussions. In those cases, an audio feature on your smartphone could really come in handy.

Desktop software

Desktop software in a smartpen allows you to quickly transfer all your files onto your personal device and keep it safe on them or push it to the cloud for safekeeping or sharing. This is one of the greatest benefits that a smartpen could provide.

Most smartpens will offer compatible and pairable software for desktops. They may also come with separate software and apps for Android, Mac, iOS, and PC devices, ensuring fast connectivity and easy transference to other devices enabling you to edit, share, and organize conveniently.

Battery

The battery life of a smartpen is a crucial aspect to consider while buying one. Standard smartpens will gladly offer you more than 13 to 15 hours of battery life after being full-charged or even more than that in some cases. Remember that you may have to use your smartpen extensively in a single day to transcribe a lot of pages and will require all of that battery life and stand-by, for that matter. Anything less than 10 hours may run out quickly.

Also, make sure that the pen you’re opting for has a proper charging port; a dual-port if it’s a transceiver-styled one so that you don’t have to take turns with a single port charging both devices.

Conclusion

As technology continues to advance, smartpens are merging the digital and the physical in the realm of note-taking. These pens allow for enhanced note-taking abilities such as translating handwriting into digital text, recording audio, and syncing notes with apps. Ensuring you choose the perfect smartpen for your needs can be critical and from the above 5 best smart pens, it's time to unfold our top three choices based on different factors:

If you are an environment-conscious user in search of a smart pen that is easy to use, syncs with multiple devices, and has unique features like smart search and email transcription, the Rocket Erasable Smartpen is an ideal option. Its reusable notebook minimizes waste, making it a preferred choice for those keen on sustainability.

For students and those regularly attending lectures, the Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen is a good option. Not only can it record everything, but it also allows you to replay your lectures just by tapping on your notes. Despite its heavy top, its efficiency in recording and transcription makes it a notable choice.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a pen that scans whole lines of text instantly and displays them on the screen, the Scanmarker Air Scanner Smart Pen is the right choice. It excels in real-time editing, reading aloud, and translation. Despite not offering conventional writing or drawing features, its lightweight and comfortable design makes it a worthwhile tool to invest in.

After assessing these pens, it is clear that technology is continually advancing, creating innovative ways to translate our thoughts and ideas into digital form. These smart pens not only bridge the gap between handwritten and digital notes but also make our lives easier, offering extraordinary features that simplify the complexities of day-to-day tasks.

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