The Smartpen Blog

September 4, 2009

Livescribe 2GB + MyScript Offer Finishes – Should we bring it back?

Filed under: livescribe — Mark Parker @ 8:21 pm
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Over the past few months we’ve been running a really great offer whereby the Livescribe Pulse 2GB Smartpen has been bundled with MyScript for Livescribe. Our regional distributor organised this for us and it’s been very successful (thanks John!).

But all good things must come to an end – or do they?

We’re currently investigating whether we extend the special offer or even create a special offer or special bundle.

We need your feedback.

If you purchased a Pulse Smartpen how important was it for MyScript to be included?

Should we extend the offer?

What are your thoughts?

August 20, 2009

Livescribe @ Assistive Technology Forum – Day 1 Recap

Yesterday was day 1 of a 2-day, multi city event with Livescribe. In conjunction with Livescribe we’re exhibiting the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen at the biennial Assistive Technology Forum.

Given we’re doing quite a bit of work with this segment I figured this was going to be a pretty cool day talking to a lot of great people who are doing wonderful things with students who don’t have the opportunity to learn like some of us – and I was right.

The event was very well run and even though I’m not directly involved in Education I thought the speaker line up was first class – the opening address by Professor Ron McCallum was first class and one of the most entertaining speeches I’ve heard in many years of attending conferences.

I was surprised (and a little disappointed) that there wasn’t a greater use of tools like Twitter and Facebook at the event, particularly given the technology focus. I would have thought speakers on technology like Gerry Kennedy, or the reps from Microsoft and Apple would have been encouraging use of these tools.

We had a really busy day with literally hundreds of attendees wanting information about Livescribe. The attendees kept us on our toes by throwing many different types of ‘Can it help if…’ scenarios at us. A common theme was how Livescribe can help students participate and remain relatively independent in the classroom.

I was pleased to meet a number of our existing customers – and we owe them big thanks as they often hung around our stand talking to prospective customers – there is no power greater than an existing customer talking enthusiastically about your product.

Newcastle is the next stop tomorrow. We’ll be Twittering again, sharing photos, and talking to as many people as we can. If you’re coming to the Newcastle event, please stop by.

March 14, 2009

Livescribe – Where are we going?

Filed under: livescribe — Mark Parker @ 10:30 pm
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I had the opportunity to catch up with Eric Pettit from Livescribe this week as he made a whirlwind trip down under to try and get a grasp on what’s happening here. In conjunction with John Ong from the regional master distributor we had a great chat and I have to admit I came away really excited about what Livescribe is planning for this year in terms of core development, new development, and new ideas.

A couple of points stood out for me.

Firstly, Livescribe are listening.

They know there are a few things they’ve not done the best job on, and they’re committed to doing things better in the future. As I’ve commented many times here and in my direct communications with you, Livescribe’s a company that’s still relatively new and growing so it’s important we give them constructive feedback but also exercise some patience as they learn and grasp what they need to do better.

Secondly, they have a vision

They have a vision for where the Livescribe product is going that fits in with much if not all of the feedback that you’ve given us over the past 7 months. This applies across the many facets of the user community as well as those of you who want to develop applications. Some of the dates for new features mightn’t be what we’re expecting but we’re heading in the right direction.

I promised Eric I wouldn’t spill the beans so stay tuned as we work closely with Livescribe over the next 8+ months. It’s going to be an exciting year – there’s some great things being worked on.

December 4, 2008

Who’s Using the Livescribe Pen?

Filed under: livescribe — Mark Parker @ 11:33 pm
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If you’re thinking about getting a Livescribe pen, chances are someone who works in your industry is already using one.

When we kicked off Smartpen, we were confidant it would find widespread acceptance. The sheer breadth of sales has actually surprised us. So I’d like to share with you some of the industries and occupations of our customers.

Industries include energy, Federal Government, marketing, business services, law enforcement, banking, engineering, road pavements, State Government, health care, financial planning, high schools, TAFE, universities, acute care, executive leadership, manufacturing, media, and software development.

Our customers range from lawyers and barristers, Board Members, business consultants, merchant bankers (go figure…), medical researchers, university lecturers, engineers, TAFE students, university students, entertainment directors on cruise liners, sales reps, authors of children’s books, accountants, business owners, entrepreneurs, and virtual assistants. And the list goes on.

Education – this was an obvious one but has exceeded our expectations. We’ve had direct dialog with many schools around Australia with a lot of schools wanting to firstly understand the technology, and secondly wanting to pilot the pens within their communities. In the university sector we’ve seen tremendous demand from lecturers and researchers from around the country.

If you’re considering a Livescribe Smartpen, we’ve got stock available and can definitely get one to you before Christmas.

Livescribe Smartpen given review in The West Australian

Google Alerts bought the following article to my attention this morning.

Livescribe Smartpen, latest in pen evolution

September 22, 2008

Smartpen is GO with Livescribe

We finally got our hands on the first shipment of Livescribe Pulse Smartpens last week so we’ve been extremely busy filling orders, playing with our new gadget, and getting the word out.

If you haven’t seen the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen yet, have a look at the Smartpen website where we’ve created some content and excitement around this amazing new piece of technology.

Everyone we’ve been showing the pen to has been really excited and has turned into advocates for us – a special mention to Meyrick Adams from Gen3Media who’s determined to sell a million units for us…

We’re hoping Gizmodo will do a review for us soon. I’ve also asked Adam Wallace from Too Easy to drop in here and give us a review as he’s a happy new user.

If you’d like more information on the product, let me know and we’ll get in touch.

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