Sold as a 6-pack of pads these look pretty cool and would be very handy for most Livescribe Smartpen Users.

Quickly capture short notes, lists, and reminders while adding audio to them. You can attach sticky notes to any printout, magazine, or book page to add personalized interactive notes.

Some applications I can see include:

• Teachers can interact with students and use sticky notes to leave follow up tips. A teacher might use a student’s sticky note to leave comments about further work, homework, or a penmail for a parent.
• A student can use sticky notes to capture thoughts or ideas as they read textbook or online content. These notes can then act as interactive reminders and stay with the textbook or in other notebooks.
• A business user could use sticky notes to capture follow up thoughts or ideas from an earlier page of content

Now here’s the bad news. This great new product isn’t available in Australia or New Zealand YET!.

Clearly we’d like to stock this product so we’re asking for your help. We’ve published a post on our Facebook wall (see here) and we’d like your feedback as to whether you’re interested in this product. You can post a comment here on the blog, send us a tweet (use the hashtag #sticky4oz) or post on our Facebook wall.

Tell us what you think – we’d love to be able to get this product into our local Livescribe community

We currently have the following available for immediate dispatch:

• Livescribe Deluxe Carry Case – the demand for this product has been incredible and feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive.
• Livescribe Smartpen Portfolio -this product has been very popular with business users – it figs snugly into most laptop bags and business satchels.
• Echo 3-D Recording Premium Headset – an excellent accessory that fits into the Deluxe Carry Case and gives users the complete set of accessories.

If you’d like to order these products then you can do so from our site now.

Note also that our February specials on the 2GB Pulse and 4GB Echo Smartpens have been extended into March. Details are as follows:

1. 2GB Pulse Smartpen – $149
   • Bundled solution – 2GB Pulse with MyScript – $188.95
2. 4GB Echo Smartpen – $199
   • Bundled solution – 4GB Echo with MyScript – $238.95
   • Executive Starter Pack – 4GB Echo with Portfolio and MyScript – $278.89

We’re in the process of reviewing two of the growing range of apps from the Livescribe App Store. Stay tuned for more details.

As such, I’m pleased to announce that I’m going to give this pen away to a school in Queensland so that it can be put to good use and help students who have learning difficulties.

This is the Pulse Smartpen:

We're giving away a 4GB Pulse Smartpen

Here’s the criteria you need to meet in order to qualify:

• You must work at a primary school or high school in Queensland, Australia
• Your school can be public or private
• The pen is for the school to use and determine what happens with it.
• You need to have a program that supports students who have learning difficulties or you have programs to support students from a non-English speaking background

In relation to the pen, please note:

1. It will be supplied with a single A5 spiral notebook
2. It will be updated, charged up, and ready for registration and use.
3. It includes a premium leather case and USB charging cradle.
4. No warranty is offered on the pen.

Ideally, we’d like some feedback from the school that gets the pen so that we can share this with our community. The feedback doesn’t need to be overly formal – just around how it was used, student feedback, user experiences etc.

Would You Like a Free Pulse Smartpen For Your School

Drop me an email to md@smartpen.com.au or add a comment to this post and give me some details as to your school and how you’d use the pen. I wish I had more pens to give away but alas I only have one.

The pen will be offered to a school that meets the criteria above on a first in basis. If you are the first to respond/qualify – I’ll need you to confirm the school will use the pen as per my notes above.

There is no cost to your school other than time to learn how to use the pen and encouraging students to try it.

The release of the free Pencast player enables you to access a digital copy of your synchronized notes and audio as pencasts from anywhere. Now notes and audio from critical meetings or lectures are portable and playable when you need them.

This is a major step forward for Livescribe’s mobile computing platform – we first got wind of this earlier this year when Jim Marggraff visited Australia. Since that visit we’ve had many hundreds of customers asking us about when, what, and how.

Instant Access to Synchronised Notes and Audio Any time, Anywhere with Livescribe

“Pencast Player lets consumers access their written and spoken information on the go with their favourite Apple products.”

Byron Connell, Livescribe chief marketing officer

Pricing and Availability

Pencast Player is available immediately, free-of-charge via the iTunes App store. The application works with all iPad devices with iOS 3.2 or higher and all iPhone and iTouch devices with iOS 4.0 or higher and requires iTunes 9.2 or higher.

We’ll be road testing this new application this week in Sydney – stay tuned for our reviews.

This is shaping up as yet another major development for Livescribe in 2010 – the breakthrough year

I’ve been a TEC member for many years – as a business owner, it’s been an important resource. This year I’ve been given the chance to share my experiences about building the Smartpen business with other business owners, executives, leaders etc at All TEC Day 2010. The focus of my presentation is how we’ve built Smartpen as a business in a highly competitive retail environment here in Australia.

The reason I share this, is as part of the process of preparing my presentation TEC organised for one of Australia’s leading authors and creative thinkers Gary Bertwistle to provide insight and coaching.

As you could imagine, insights from someone like Gary are pretty valuable, so I’ve used my pen to capture my notes and the key points of our discussions.I take a lot of notes anyway – my Echo Smartpen and Journal are never far from my reach.

The value for me though wasn’t realised until earlier today. As I was waiting for my flight to Melbourne I was reviewing my notes for tomorrow. Rather than simply reading the notes I had taken a few weeks earlier, I was able to plug my iPhone headset into the pen and listen to our conversation – this gave me the chance to make additional notes about what I want to share with the audience as I listed to what Gary and I had discussed over a coffee

The Lesson From This

The fact that I had written notes to refer back to was good – this is something TEC instils in all members – take notes so you can recall later. The value for me though was being able to listen to our discussion whilst I explored my thinking around how to engage with the audience. This is another level of recall and shows the value of the Smartpen in a different environment.

The short answer is no. You keep using your current version of Livescribe Desktop as the software will recognise the new pen and creating a specific space for content from this new pen.

Here are the key points:

1. Keep your current version of Livescribe Desktop
2. Give your new Echo Smartpen a new or different name (see screen capture below)
3. Use the Echo Smartpen normally, docking it via the USB cable to charge/update it and manage content.
4. Take the opportunity of the new pen to make sure your Desktop software is up to date and the pen software is current.
   1. Current Livescribe Desktop version – 2.2.2.41615
   2. Current pen Firmware version – 2.4.3

Can I still Access my Pulse Content?

Yes. Livescribe Desktop allows you to dock and manage multiple Smartpen’s. To view or access content from your Pulse Smartpen simply change the pen you’re viewing. You do this via the drop down list in the top right hand corner of Livescribe Desktop

Here’s a screen capture of my Livescribe Desktop – the red box shows you where to go to change what pen you are viewing.

When you click here it will drop down a list of the pens that you manage via Livescribe Desktop. This screen capture zooms into this box more and shows the pens that I manage via my Livescribe Desktop. Mr Smartpen was my most recent Pulse Smartpen whilst Mr Echo Smartpen is my current Echo Smartpen.

I hope this post answers any questions you may have about managing content should you decide to change from a Pulse to an Echo Smartpen.

Business use of the Livescribe product range here in Australia has been very strong – a reflection of just how switched on we are as business people in that we quickly realised the efficiency benefits the mobile computing platform could deliver.

A couple of things Jennifer didn’t touch on.

1. MyScript

This is a critical time saver

One thing we’ve learnt from working with business owners and executives over the past couple of years is how important the optional MyScript for Livescribe is. In simple terms, MyScript allows a Livescribe user to take one or more pages of hand written notes and then convert this hand writing into editable text – a very useful time saving option.

Pencasts – Collaboration on a Different Level

The other key feature we’ve been discussing with business users lately is the new Pencast feature. This allows a business executive who might be remote from his or her office to take meeting notes and then send these notes – hand writing and audio back to the office so that other key people can access, listen, and use the information. This creates really interesting opportunities for knowledge sharing, collaboration etc.

Yep. The Livescribe Echo Smartpen is a cool piece of technology – but the coolness extends well beyond the features that a journo might find amusing…

In this post I’m going to discuss some of the core differences between the existing Pulse Smartpens and the new Echo range.

Smartpen Product Line Changes

By now you may have noticed changes to the product line up. With the withdrawal of the 4GB Pulse pen, the products available here in Australia and New Zealand include:

• 2GB Pulse
• 4GB Echo
• 8GB Echo

As always, the Pulse and Echo Smartpens are offered with the option of MyScript for Livescribe.

Differences in the Product Packages

The introduction of the Echo Smartpens coincides with a number of new accessories being introduced to the Australian market.

This has resulted in a number of changes to what is included in the basic pen package. The following chart compares the two Smartpens for you and shows what has changed.

Comparing the Livescribe Echo and Pulse Smartpens

What this chart tells you is that the Echo Smartpen doesn’t include a set of headphones or a carry case. It’s worth noting that the Echo Smartpen now has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack so normal headphone like the ones I use with my iPhone now fit into the pen. This makes it easier for me if I want to quickly review content as I’m more likely to have my phone headset handy.

The lack of a carry case is made up by the fact Livescribe has introduced the Deluxe Carry Case along with a universal leather case (like the premium leather case for the Pulse Smartpen).

Changes to the Look of the Smartpen

The Echo Smartpen introduces a very different looking pen – on the surface. Under the hood there is very little difference other than the Echo being 4GB and 8GB models versus the 2GB Pulse Smartpen.

Obviously when you look at them you notice Livescribe has moved away from the anodised alloy case of the Pulse smartpen. The Echo Smartpen has a rubber-like grip area with the upper body being black plastic/Polyprop type material.

Here’s a simple image I took of the two pens with my iPhone

Personally, I found the Pulse Smartpen a very comfortable pen to use for long periods. I’ve been using an Echo now for 5 weeks and I’m finding it as comfortable, if not more so than the Pulse. The changes to the barrel are certainly appreciated as the Echo is less likely to escape from me.

So Which is the Right Smartpen?

There is no one answer to this question – it’s really down to how you’ll use the pen and your budget.

If you’re on a tight budget or you’re not that interested in some of the new premium accessories then I’d say go with the 2GB Pulse – here in Australia we offer it to customers as the basic 2GB Pulse pack, along with the option of bundling MyScript for Livescribe along with our own version of the Pro Pack.

If you’re in more of a business type environment or you think you’ll need to keep a lot of content on the pen for extended periods then I’d recommend the Echo Smartpen range. We offer the 4GB and 8GB as a standard package as well as both pens bundled with MyScript (handwriting conversion software).

I hope this post has helped answer some of the questions you may have about the differences between the Pulse and Echo Smartpens. As always, you’re welcome to contact me directly or ask questions in the comments section below.

This year, we’ve created a special product bundle for anyone looking for a unique gift for their father. Rather than simply offering the basic pen packages we’ve gone back over our sales data and identified what product combinations have been the most popular.

So for 2010, our Smartpen Australia Fathers Day bundle includes the following:

• Livescribe Echo 4GB Smartpen
• MyScript for Livescribe
• Smartpen Portfolio.

This is a great product bundle for any father. Not only do they get the fantastic new Echo Smartpen, they get MyScript and the new Portfolio (a very popular addition to the product range).

So if you’ve got a dad who loves his gadgets, is a busy executive, or just needs a bit of help to organise his notes then the Livescribe Echo Smartpen is the perfect gift for him this Fathers Day.

This bundle gives Dad everything he needs to get working with his new Echo Smartpen.

Order before Thursday the 2nd September and you’ll save $25 on the RRP.

I have to say, this is a beautiful product. I didn’t get a chance to have a close look at this product initially as every one we had come in was assigned to an existing order. But now that our stocks are to the par I’ve had a chance to pull one out and let me say it’s not going back into inventory.

Given I have to travel every week this is exactly what I need. It fits really well into my laptop bag and works super well if I want to take notes mid flight or when I’m on a train or in a cab.

If you’re a business user and you have either a Pulse Smartpen or the new Echo Smartpen – then this is a great accessory.