DigiMemo L2: Easy Digital Notetaking
Writing notes, sketching drawings, mocking up logos: still easier to do with a pen and paper than with a computer. Of course, it’s all to easy to lose that napkin or note, though, and scanning a document often limits the usefulness, not to mention can be an annoying process.
The DigiMemo L2 or L20 attempts to solve these problems- and is aimed squarely at adults, but without some of the interesting interactive functions of the previously-reviewed Livescribe Pulse, and without the need for special paper. Instead, you’ll need a special pad… and the special pen.
Luckily though, the pad is light weight (about a pound and a half) and the pen feels almost normal, with weight and balance closer to a normal large fountain pen perhaps. It’s not perfect, but not bad, and the batteries in the pen are said to last 14 months of normal use (we didn’t see any problems). The ink cartridge is refillable, and two refills are included. Also, should you lose or damage the pen, new ones are only around $40. The pad takes 4 AAA batteries, and should last about 80 hours (ours still hasn’t run out of juice in a month of testing).
DigiMemo doesn’t exactly have the best site- but get past the 90’s design and slightly odd English and you can see that they’ve put some work into making some interesting devices and software. Handwriting technology often works better than OCR, allowing you to write and transfer documents instead of scanning them and correcting mistakes, and they offer that software for $50 additional (a free trial is included). Form software, for those who have clients filling in lots of paper forms and would rather simply transfer them electronically, is also available. And the L20 supports Windows Vista, XP, and 2000, though no Linux version is available, and Mac support is less-than-stellar.
OK, so the device itself is basically a notepad, and offers 32MB of built-in storage or more through SD cards. You use the pen, and everything you write or draw is captured. Hook up the pad to your computer through USB (cable included), and quickly transfer all of the notes. OneNote, Adobe PDF, and a few proprietary formats are offered, and transfers are fast. The software isn’t totally easy-to-use though, and some may be faced with incompatibilities.
Further, there isn’t a good spot to store the pen, which is annoying. And you can’t really erase things simply. The LCD screen is less-than-stellar. One neat thing is that you can connect the device directly to your computer, and use it as a drawing pad, but the results can be erratic and are definitely less satisfying than other dedicated tablets (we have two reviews coming soon). Overall, the DigiMemo L20 offers a good solution for those who don’t mind hauling a special notepad around, and who want to get their notes digitally, quickly. At $130, it’s a neat device.
