I’m always torn when it comes to how I want to write. Electronically? Old-fashioned, with my favorite pen and a notebook? A combination of both? My indecision comes from accessibility. If I write in a notebook, I might not always have it with me, but the same goes for my computer.
Luckily, there’s a middle ground. Technological innovation has reached the writing world, creating intersections between on-paper writing and its electronic counterpart, notebooks that push the boundaries of ordinary paper and pens you won’t want to forget at home.
Rocketbook
The Rocketbook, to the uninitiated, doesn’t seem like it should be real. A notebook that transfers your notes to the cloud and can be reused when you microwave it? That’s exactly what it does. While it can transcribe your notes into the body of an email, the notes sent to Evernote, Google Docs, OneNote and a host of other sources are scans of your notebook pages.
Rocketbook raised nearly two million dollars from Kickstarter and IndieGoGo and offers a few main models of notebooks. The Wave, when used with a Pilot Frixion pen, can be placed in the microwave to erase the writing in it. You can microwave a Wave notebook up to five times, so for $27, it’s a steal. The Everlast also works with the Pilot Frixion pen, but the erasing is done by wiping the pages down with water instead of microwaving. Because of this, the Everlast can be reused as many times as you want.
But watch out: the Rocketbooks will only work with the Frixion pen. Use anything else and you won’t be able to erase your writing when you’re done.
Moleskine Smart Writing System
Moleskin is a pretty well-known brand when it comes to journals. With the Smart Writing System, they’ve upped their game. You’re required to have their smart pen and a compatible notebook, but once you do, every mark you write down is uploaded to the Moleskine Notes app in real-time. In addition to the pen and notebook, Moleskin also offers a compatible planner so you can sync your calendar to your phone as well.
Moleskin’s technology is on the expensive side. The starter kit, which includes the smart pen and a notebook, is $200. Replacement notebooks start at $30, and special edition notebooks are also available that are optimized for Adobe Creative Cloud usage.
Bluetooth Pens
There are several different Bluetooth pens on the market that aim to do what Moleskine’s system does. The majority are available on Amazon, but reviews are average at best. The Livescribe has a comparable price to Moleskine at $150 and comes with the ability to record audio in addition to storing your writing.
A Livescribe app and special notebook are both required for the pen to work to its full potential, and users have found middling success with it. The NeoLab models and Smarson Smart Pen are other options available online, but based on their reviews, you’re better off paying a little bit more for Moleskine or trying out a Rocketbook to see how you like innovative writing tools.
This post is one part of a blog written for Dr. Philip Patterson’s Feature Writing class. This is a series-style blog focusing on innovations in the writing industry, so each post will discuss technology which has helped authors succeed and shape the future of the writing industry, as well as new writing markets, such as e-books and online literary journals.
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