This is the first Smart Pen that I have ever owned and I was super excited to try this out with my wife's iPad (3rd generation) as The Equil JOT smart pen currently works only on Apple IOS platform. An Android App is not yet out but is expected by mid of 2014.
The first thing I did was to pair the Equil JOT with the iPad via Bluetooth and it prompted me to install app from Apple App store. There are two apps that are currently available that you *MUST* install on iPad to use the Equil JOT smart pen. The IOS apps go by the name `Equilnote' and `Equilsketch'. Both these apps are free on Apple App Store from a company known as "PNF Co., Ltd". Once you have these apps installed you are now ready to use Equil JOT Smart pen.
The main selling point from the manufacturer is that the product will be compatible with any type of paper and that is exactly what I did, I just used a stack of A4 size white sheets on a flat surface placed the Bluetooth transceiver on top of the stack. Fired up the IOS Equilnote app on my wife's iPAD, Pressed the button on the pen and started to write as you would normally do on regular paper and I saw my scribbling instantly getting digitized on the IOS application.
While I know that I am not an artist nor I am a designer but I could clearly see the potential of this innovative product. Using this product it can be super easy for anyone who wishes to digitize their thoughts on the fly, transfer creative drawings to digital format instantly and share it with anyone using email or save it to the cloud for later retrieval.
Both the apps designed for IOS are very good. They have plethora of options like brush size, brush color, Layer based editing options like adding pictures in your sketch, undo, redo, lock and unlock pages etc; the Apps are really good making a fine compliment to the product and motivates you to be creative.
After using this product for few days I realized that this product obliviously is not for everyone. While it faithfully digitizes everything that you write or draw on regular paper the only problem I do see is fact that the `Equilnote' and or `Equilsketch' APP must be running in the foreground on your IOS device and your iPhone or iPad must be powered ON (Not in standby) next to you and within the Bluetooth range for this Smart Pen to function. This can be a major problem for some people who would like to use this Smart pen without using and active IOS device.
This Equil JOT Smart Pen device does not have any built-in storage of any sorts and your notes or sketches cannot be transferred at an later point. This is the only negative aspect of this product. There is another company by name Livescribe and their Livescribe 3 Smartpen can achieve this feat and much more but again you have to use their special paper.
As far as consumables are concerned, the lithium batteries used in the Bluetooth transceiver & pen can be recharged using regular USB port and works well for the entire day. The black ball point tip can also be replaced. The product comes with one extra refill but you can also use Zebra 4-C Refill 0.7mm as a substitute till manufacturer starts selling their own brands.
Here are set of YouTube Videos that shows additional information and features of EQUIL JOT
Overall the product works as advertised and I am rating this with 4 stars! - One star was deducted as you need to have your IOS device and Equil APP running for this Smart Pen to work.
Thanks for reading my review. You can get one of these gadgets from Amazon by using the link
The first thing I did was to pair the Equil JOT with the iPad via Bluetooth and it prompted me to install app from Apple App store. There are two apps that are currently available that you *MUST* install on iPad to use the Equil JOT smart pen. The IOS apps go by the name `Equilnote' and `Equilsketch'. Both these apps are free on Apple App Store from a company known as "PNF Co., Ltd". Once you have these apps installed you are now ready to use Equil JOT Smart pen.
The main selling point from the manufacturer is that the product will be compatible with any type of paper and that is exactly what I did, I just used a stack of A4 size white sheets on a flat surface placed the Bluetooth transceiver on top of the stack. Fired up the IOS Equilnote app on my wife's iPAD, Pressed the button on the pen and started to write as you would normally do on regular paper and I saw my scribbling instantly getting digitized on the IOS application.
While I know that I am not an artist nor I am a designer but I could clearly see the potential of this innovative product. Using this product it can be super easy for anyone who wishes to digitize their thoughts on the fly, transfer creative drawings to digital format instantly and share it with anyone using email or save it to the cloud for later retrieval.
Both the apps designed for IOS are very good. They have plethora of options like brush size, brush color, Layer based editing options like adding pictures in your sketch, undo, redo, lock and unlock pages etc; the Apps are really good making a fine compliment to the product and motivates you to be creative.
After using this product for few days I realized that this product obliviously is not for everyone. While it faithfully digitizes everything that you write or draw on regular paper the only problem I do see is fact that the `Equilnote' and or `Equilsketch' APP must be running in the foreground on your IOS device and your iPhone or iPad must be powered ON (Not in standby) next to you and within the Bluetooth range for this Smart Pen to function. This can be a major problem for some people who would like to use this Smart pen without using and active IOS device.
This Equil JOT Smart Pen device does not have any built-in storage of any sorts and your notes or sketches cannot be transferred at an later point. This is the only negative aspect of this product. There is another company by name Livescribe and their Livescribe 3 Smartpen can achieve this feat and much more but again you have to use their special paper.
As far as consumables are concerned, the lithium batteries used in the Bluetooth transceiver & pen can be recharged using regular USB port and works well for the entire day. The black ball point tip can also be replaced. The product comes with one extra refill but you can also use Zebra 4-C Refill 0.7mm as a substitute till manufacturer starts selling their own brands.
Here are set of YouTube Videos that shows additional information and features of EQUIL JOT
Overall the product works as advertised and I am rating this with 4 stars! - One star was deducted as you need to have your IOS device and Equil APP running for this Smart Pen to work.
Thanks for reading my review. You can get one of these gadgets from Amazon by using the link