Livescribe Convergence
May 5th, 2009 by rdonoghue
The Livescribe Pulse is pretty much one of the most brilliant devices of recent history. The ability to have your writing captured to a computer without the pain of weird clipboard attachments is a really exciting technology for people who like writing longhand (like, say, me).
Unfortunately, the first generation pen is a monster. Not to say it doesn’t work, but the thing is huge. It’s like writing with a big, fat marker, and all the technology in the world can’t make it appealing for me to write with. I’ve been quietly hoping for their success so that they can eventually produce a second generation pen that’s a little more manageable.
Thankfully, all signs point to things going well. Target carries them, which is great. Plus, one of the first paper products they released were moleskine knockoffs, which shows a great understanding of their target audience.
I was at Target the other day and discovered that they’ve clinched it. They seemed to have entered into a partnership with paperblanks, the makers of the distinctive notebooks with the magnetic closures. They don’t even have them up on the website yet, but they were stacked neatly under the pens. It’s a small thing to be excited about, but it’s the sort of convergence I’m really happy to see.