Logitech io2 Digital Writing System (965118-0403)

Rating:
Summary: io2 Impressions
Review: Basically, nice concept - poor realization.
Got the pen a week ago. Installed the latest software on Win XP SP2.
First surprise - Collins Digital io Notepad displays wrongly in View Mode. The background page is shrunk in the upper left corner leaving the written text over blue background. After a couple of days of struggle - Logitech admitted the problem and kindly prompted me to "Please continue to use the Cambridge Notebook for now". He-he, this is the paper which comes in the package plus I already bought a few extra notepads as these were the cheapest. I thought that they would have tested it better.
The pen is large, read uncomfortable after short use; expensive for what it is; transfering files is slow; text recognition is average; it still looks as compu gadget at meetings.
I personally would have been happier with a slim fast scanner for scanning my meeting notes. Cheaper and most comfortable.

Rating:
Summary: Get it!
Review: I have had this pen for just a couple of days, so this is very much a first impressions review.
I like it and the handwriting to text works reasonably well. My handwriting is not something I'm proud of, but the software is doing a good job. I suspect my hand writing will improve as I use the pen more. There are some improvements that could stand to be made, for which see below, but overall this looks like it is going to be very useful. I wanted a pda, but didn't want to have to carry one. I carry enough digital detritus as it is. This pen was my alternative solution to most of the problems I wanted a pda to solve.
As for improvements, the first is the size of the pen. I can use it reasonably easy, and logitech claims it is smaller than it's precursor, but it is not real comfortable, and my wife, with smaller hands, can not use it at all.
The second improvement it needs is to the software. I find it big and intrusive, I would much rather see it more seemlessly incorporated into the os, so that it was easier to concentrate on the management of documents without having to deal with a separate software program.
A related improvement is to the document management system - having to mark a page as done is annoying - it would be great if there was also a faacility to 'reopen' a page.
These are minor inconveniences in comparison to the functionality the pen offers; it really is something special - Get it!

Rating:
Summary: Handwriting recognition is poor
Review: I purchased this item because I wanted to be able to have electronic copies of meeting notes created automatically. This system does make excellent electronic copies of notes (as images), but I found the hand writing recognition to be too imperfect. In order for the software to be able to convert your handwriting to text, you must write in very legible handwriting, which is simply not my personal style when taking notes during meetings.

Rating:
Summary: Great Idea, Works Well, Needs Special Digital Paper
Review: I received this digital pen as a gift, and am impressed with its capabilities (what a great idea!). This pen allows me to transfer meeting notes & other writing into electronic form for ease of filing, locating, and transporting (via computer & PDA).

The pen size is supposedly smaller than first version, but is still a bit on the thick side -- however, I found it to be manageable.

Even though I don't have very good handwriting, the software that came with it (MyScript)did a good job recognizing both my printing and cursive writing as well as drawings/sketches. Some guidelines for accurate translation of writing: write in your normal style when setting up your profile, write horizontally, cross out mistakes and continue (software corrects), do not retrace letters. The software can convert your writing to edit-able computer text, Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Outlook (Email, Calendar, To-Do List).

Unfortunately although the pen writes on any paper, special digital paper must be used in order to convert to electronic documents, but digital paper is available from several sources at relatively reasonable cost and in various forms & sizes (notebooks, notepads, etc.)

Overall, I'm very happy with the pen (though I'd love a version that could write on regular paper ...guess this would require totally new technology though).


Rating:
Summary: Dont let the one star phase you, it's great!
Review: This pen works great. The guy who gave it a poor rating must be writing in Chinese because right out of the box I fired it up and WITHOUT training the software at all it nailed my handwriting, and my wife's, and my assistant's. If fact I've had it a month or two and still haven't seen the need to train the software to better recognize my handwriting.
It's been a perfect solution for taking minutes in meetings. If you check the "email" box in the notebook, the software inserts the handwritten document directly in an email as an attachment or imbedded. You will have a copy of the meeting minutes to your staff before they get back to their offices. And that's no exageration. Buying notebooks is no big deal and not much more $. My only con is that the pen is a bit fat but again it's not unreasonable at all for the benefit. It's a gotta have.