Paper Computing

Tucked into the same conference where Microsoft Surface (decidedly NOT mobile) was announced was Livescribe. Founder Jim Marggraff refers to the product as "paper-based computing", and it has some nice features; check out their sneak peek.

Livescribe uses the same pen technology as (among others) the Nokia Digital Pen, though with a voice recorder and built-in computer (for a lower price).

Both devices require special "digital" paper printed with faint lines, which allows the pen to orient itself and save the strokes as digital as well as physical ink. At the simplest level, a pad of digital paper allows saving notes. Nokia goes one step further, and a special pad of paper tells the pen to send the drawing as an MMS (Bluetooth Nokia phone required).

Livescribe appears to use a different pad/type of paper for different applications. A travel notebook has a "translate this" icon on the bottom of the page. A blogging notebook lets the user record voice while making notes, enter an address, and double-tap the "post to" icon.

Particularly interesting to me is the classroom scenario ... which works just as well for meetings of many types. Open up your notepad, double-tap "record", and take notes normally. Each keystroke and word has a timestamp for when they were written or drawn; this timing mechanism allows the lecture recording to be searched. You get to hear what was said when you jotted a specific note. Great stuff, though I'll have to wait and see how good a recording it will get sitting in the 8th row while scraping across paper.

Think of Livescribe as a voice + pen input, speech output computer. There are lots of different potential applications, and of course it talks to your computer (probably a Java application, given that they are hiring Java programmers).

Of course, I have a Modbook on order, and I'm anxious to get it. This is a tablet Mac with a Wacom digitizer. As soon as I get it, I'll be trying out the inkBook notetaking software. That means that I am two minor enhancements away from getting the same functionality with my computer.

All of these solutions (Nokia Digital Pen, Livescribe, Modbook + inkWell) are inherently mobile, though all can be used while stationary. All use input sources beyond the standard keyboard+mouse of computers. This is one of the ways in which mobile has more capability than the desktop.

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Tom – I don’t know of any blogger who would refuse permission to link to their site, particularly since there are no rules against it and no way to prevent it. I’m certainly not one of them, though I’m confused that something from my site would be considered a “top blog post” on a site without a mobile focus.

Barbara, I hope you’ll write at some length about your experience with the ModBook and the inkBook application once you’ve had a chance to use them for a bit. Like you, I watched the Livescribe announcement with interest, and I believe this alternative take on mobile computing could be on the cusp of greatness for certain applications (students and journalists, especially, but see also www.satorilabs.com, for example). What it won’t do is give you the ability to manipulate text and images on the page: erasing, moving, resizing, etc. Tablet PC was supposed to be the answer for this, but as a digital ink platform it has been a disappointment. I’d love to learn that OSX + Wacom deliver a more faithful and natural writing and drawing experience.

David, I completely agree. These paper computing concepts inherently can not replace a computer or mobile phone. They can, however, accomplish things that the computer or mobile might have difficulty doing.

In fact, these are “information appliances”, per the original definition. Devices that do a small number of information tasks very well.