Customer Reviews

IOGear Mobile Digital Scribe GPEN200N (Black)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

IOGear's Mobile Digital Scribe is a fun gadget that almost any electronics junky would enjoy. It works well for getting handwritten notes and drawings into one's computer. It is, however, a product that needs to be refined to fulfill its potential.

I have used my IOGear Mobile Digital Scribe (GPEN200N) in mobile mode and with the reciever unit tethered to computers via the included USB cable. I have tested it with both Windows XP and Vista. In all cases I found that the hardware (which consists of the pen and a receiver unit) worked fine. I can use the pen to input an image of my handwriting or drawings quite easily using the included IOGear software. Images of the writing or drawings can be saved as JPG files. However, the handwriting recognition software was virtually worthless. It couldn't make heads-nor-tails of my handwriting. In fairness to the software, my writing is not especially pretty, but it is quite legible to human readers. One can upgrade the "lite" version of the software for 59.95 euros (about $94 in US dollars[...]) and that is supposed to give you the ability to train the software to recognize your handwriting. I wish that the device came with software that actually worked out of the box.

In addition to using the pen as a device for inputting writing or drawings, one can use it in "mouse mode." I found the pen to be a less than satisfactory mouse; it was difficult to use in this capacity. It seemed awkward and I had difficulty getting the pointer where I wanted on the screen. But then again, perhaps it might grow on me with practice. I disliked using a mouse at first, but the mouse became a very natural pointing device after some practice. Perhaps it would be the same with the pen?

One of the other reviewers commented that the pen is worthless once it runs out of ink because "there's no office supply store that sells this little tiny ink refill cartridge of this dimension." That isn't exactly true, but I did have some trouble finding the refill cartridges locally. Two stores that I went to -- a store with a large office supply department and a pen shop -- said that they could not help me and referred me to other places. A third store, OfficeMax, said that they did not carry the refill in the store, but could get it for me. A fourth store, Staples, had a refill in stock which worked. After looking at the refill cartridge, the lady at Staples suggested that I try a refill made for a Staedtler Multi-Action Pen. The Staedtler refill worked fine. One can also purchase refills through Amazon.com.

I agree with the reviewer who complained about the small spring-loaded clips which are meant to secure the "receiver" to one's paper. Securing the "reciever clip" to the paper is important because even a slight movement of the paper in relation to the receiver can mess things up. As the other reviewer said, the clips built into the receiver are too small to handle more than a couple of pages at a time. These clips really need to be altered to accomodate thicker stacks of paper. I did, however, find a way to work around this problem. I purchase pads of paper that have a strip of cardboard across the top. Instead of trying to clip the receiver to the pad (it won't work; the clips are too small) I simply taped the device to the cardboard strip. It is a makeshift solution, but it works.

Another refinement that I would like to see is a way to adjust for different paper sizes. Also, the images show up on the computer screen with a yellow background (similar to the color of post-it notes). I would much prefer that the images show up on a plain white background. Others might prefer other colors. Why not make the background color adjustable?

I can see where this pen could be very useful. As a healthcare professional, I often make written notes which are later scanned into a computer. It would be wonderful if my pen could "remember" what I wrote and then download the information into the computer at the end of the day. The IOGear Mobile Digital Scribe could become a very useful business tool someday, but refinements are needed.

See my test in the image above.
This test was done on a PC under W-XP Pro.

B4 you get going: CHARGE your RECEIVER (attach USB to unit and your computer; included). SOFTWARE INSTALLATION and personal configuration. INSTALL BATTERIES in the pen. INSTALL the PEN CARTIDGE. PEN CAP helps you push the cartridge in; didn't need it but you will to remove the cartridge. All was EZ and fast.

CONFIGUATION COMMENTS: I first set the pen up for a lefty using the BLOCK OF PAPER (you would position RECEIVER at right of your paper). That didn't work; my notes were on an angle. Changed to position receiver to the SINGLE PAPER option (position receiver in center of page. Much better!

Proceeded with my test. With little to no learning curve, this pen did exactly what IOGear says it will do. It showed my handwritten test on the screen (software must be open). Saving took me a few minutes to understand. Still learning about the options.

I then asked the software to convert my written test to TEXT. My handwriting is not bad, but it isn't great either. First shot out of the barn and it was right on! The result is above in the image.

Next, I asked it to save my written test as a STICKY NOTE and I dragged the note on to me desktop. Bling! Amazing again. But when I toggled over to Outlook, the note disappeared ... have to learn more about this.

Then, I asked it to save as a PAPER HOLDER (?) and dragged it to my Outlook screen. Cha-ching! There it went and it stayed on top in Outlook this time. I toggled over to my Explorer window and Bling! It was still right on top. My heart is beating with excitement for this new toy!!!

> You must have the software open to see your notes on screen. Ditto for keeping the STICKY NOTES or PAPER HOLDERS on top of a program. Not so for on-the-road. It will store your notes in the receiver's memory. I have to learn more ... remember, it's only an hour old!

RECEIVER has a MULTI-FUNCTION BUTTON to toggle between using the pen as a MOUSE and NOTE TAKER. Default is a mouse. To use the NOTE TAKER feature just push the button on the RECEIVER. You will see an icon on the RECEIVER SCREEN that tells you what mode you are in. First test as a MOUSE told me I'm too fast on the mouse to make this a good mouse toy. IOGear says, if using as a mouse, you are best SWITCHING THE PEN CARTRIDGE TO A STYLUS CARTRIDGE. COMMENT: Switching the pen cartridge will likely be a pain and not worthwhile unless you plan more mouse activity than note taking.
> update: It comes with a stylus. Fell out of the package when I opened it. Found later; it's black, small and thin. Take care when you open the pen cartridge bag.

PEN has a BUTTON on it; located by your forefinger. Button functions as a SINGLE MOUSE CLICK; maybe more ... have to read more instructions.
ABOUT THIS ITEM:
- PEN SIZE is as a typical pen (not fat or clumsy).
- RECEIVER is small and light; I hope I don't lose it on the road.
- NOTE-TAKING does not require USB attach to your computer; it has a memory for your download later.
- PACKAGE comes with everything you need; INCLUDES USB, the PEN, PEN BATTERIES, PEN CARTRIDGE, STYLUS CARTRIDGE, OPERATION SOFTWARE and TEXT CONVERSION SOFTWARE.

Not sure what the reviewer means who talks about needing a cardboard support for the RECEIVER. I attached the RECEIVER to a few pages in my 1/2" thick spiral bound notebook. Attached comfortably to the top 3 pages with no problems.

If you take notes and don't want to spend time looking for them 2 days later, or want to keep a permanent record, this is a must have!
I'll be back if anything changes. For now, its a full 5 stars.

I was not able to find any of these products at Retail to touch and feel. I considered the iPen ZDP10: appeared too clumsy (fat): http://www.ipen4you.com/index.htm ...and the LIVESCRIBE (didn't need recording feature): http://www.livescribe.com/

I just received the product. I opened it up, placed the batteries in the pen, installed the software and hooked it up via USB to my computer. One of the first things the docs tell you to do is to align the receiver on the left if you are right handed and on the right if you are left handed. I did so. It then says to set the device orientation in the configuration manager. I see the option, it's grayed out. I've tried everything I can to set the option. It stays grayed out. Finally after searching around I see the following under notes for the "Setting your base unit orientation preferences" in the PDF help file: "This feature is NOT supported with Windows Vista". Fine, I move the receiver to the middle of the page--my only option apparently. However, since I am left handed my hand blocks the receiver when I'm about halfway across the page and it stops picking up pen motion...so, that is a pretty big flaw in the design. It is basically not useable for me.

In addition, all the pictures I see of this device being used shows it attached to the top of a yellow legal pad. I imagine this is how the vast majority of users plan to use it. However, you can't attach it to the top of a yellow legal pad. The little clips on the receiver will open enough for around 10 pieces of paper. So, you are left having to use the legal pad upside down or using loose leaf paper. That design is sheer idiocy on iogear's part.

One minor flaw in the documentation is that nowhere in the printed quick-start docs does it say you need to charge the receiver up. I assumed it came with batteries, but apparently not since I can't get it to work when not connected to the USB. I'm sure somewhere in the PDF it indicates that you need to charge the device up before using, I just can't understand why they wouldn't indicate that in the printed docs alongside the instructions on how to replace the pen batteries...

Overall, I'm a little frustrated with the device. If you use Windows Vista and are left handed the device will be mostly useless. Add that to the fact that there is no easy way to attach it to the top of a legal pad and you are left with a great idea that is poorly executed.

I bought this for office where i have a pc and since the package says it only works with windows.

I was pleasantly surprised when i plugged the usb receiver into my macbook pro and it just worked out of the box and without installing any drivers! Ink preferences loaded automatically, handwriting is recognized on the mac and I was able to draw using graphics software.

I also tested it on parallels and it worked after installing the drivers, the ocr software works provided you write in straight lines.

Ok, at first I was all skeptic about this product due to all the previous reviews. Today I received my IOGEAR pen, and I most confess that it exceeded all my expectations. It recorded all my notes and math equations accuretly and when I converted them to text(notes), using Notes 2.1 lite, the job was incredible. Definitely a great product and perfect for collegue students! Now my mom and sister want it!

I bought this item exclusively to convert handwritten notes into readable usable computer word processing text. No matter how carefully I tried to write the conversion process simply didn't work for straight text. I tried slowing down, writing in printing, cursive, all capitals -- nothing seemed to help. It's probably a great tool for other things (drawings, graphs, charts, etc.), but the text conversion leaves a lot to be desired. I returned the item.

Nutshell: 5/10. Good for specific purposes; just don't expect to use it for artwork and e-mail.

The pen is solid: I use it for tracing portions of diagrams, and it's like having a realtime scanner. As a mouse, there's a bit of lag time (ymmv) which makes it about as useful as the eraserhead mouse on my laptop. The 'click this spot' mode switch (between scanner and mouse modes) is not really responsive.

The MyScript software that comes with it is so-so. Good for turning etch-a-sketch line diagrams into clean boxes and arrows. WRT writing: like all handwriting-recognition software, it relies on you learning a way of writing that it can recognize. Okay for diagram captions; I get too many errors to bother 'writing' paragraphs of text. The diagram editor isn't Visio (or even Dia), but good enough if you're starting from an existing visual --- e.g. 'writing' on a notepad what someone else has drawn on a white board.

One upfront hurdle with MyScript was, the free part of the software requires an activation license (!?) and none was included with the package! I phoned iogear tech support and got one.

Easy to use, easy to setup...Only downside is if you run Windows Vista you cannot re-orient the transmitter on the page.. Has to be centered only. Otherwise no problems..

This is a great idea that just didn't pan out. Technically, the device works fine -- your handwriting and drawings are very accurately recorded. The problem lies in the mechanics of placing the device when writing. Small, spring-loaded clips allow you to attach it to one or two sheets but do not allow you to attach it to a pad of paper. Unless you plan on writing on a single sheet, forget it. Designers need to adapt for use in the real world and add a clip that will allow it to be attached to a pad of paper.

Pros:

The pen does what you expect and records your drawings. It is pretty nice in that way. If you want to upload pictures or have good OCR software then you could have something nice.

Cons:
This is as close as I feel that I have ever come to being deceived by a product description at AMAZON. The included software is a "LITE" version - very lite. It will only recognize 30 words for OCR. If you want anything more you must upgrade at a discounted rate of 40 pounds (about 80 dollars). For anyone planning to use this pen for handwriting this renders the device as packaged pretty useless. No where is it mentioned in the description that this software is this limited.

Also, the drivers for windows hang up if the pen is not connected following a normal install. In order to prevent this I had to unload the drivers from startup in msconfig because turning off load with windows in preferences did not prevent the error.