Look what I got! (Echo vs. Pulse)

So, I wrote a little bit about my Livescribe Pulse pen the other day.  I have been using it like crazy, and have really been enjoying it.  Started poking around on www.livescribe.com, and they happened to just do a major relaunch of their site.  I happened to come across a contest they were doing to win a limited edition translucent Echo.  I entered, and kept checking back every now and then to see some of the other things they were rolling out.  Then I get the email everyone loves- "You've won!"

Needless to say, I was going crazy waiting for the Echo to arrive.  I get home the other day, and my little girl brings me a "present".  (Amazingly unopened!)  So I open it up, and look to see what is inside.  A little different from the contents of my Pulse, but overall, I like it.

They got rid of several things, and tweaked the design, training lit, and added a cap(x2).  Plus, I won the super limited edition clear version.  Which makes me want to show it off even more. :)

I liked the metal Pulse of course, but the biggest difference is they tweaked the profile of the pen, so that it no longer goes rolling any time you set it down.  Trust me, the first time you have a $100+ highly advanced, delicately calibrated pen go rolling off your desk onto the cold, cruel, hard floor, you'll wince and pucker.  And not in the good spiked lemonade sense.

It's also a little bit longer, and seems a better balance in your hands.  Much like a good chef's knife, you don't notice it until you feel an unbalanced one.  The display seems cleaner and brighter, and they also stripped out some of the more extraneous "gimmicky" stuff like the videos.

Notice the lack of a connector port on the new Echo.  Major relief for me, since I was always worried about gumming up the port with my big sweaty hands.  You can tell the difference in the wider, flattened profile as well, which is what keeps the pen from rolling away.

No major differences at the front, other than they did away with the stylus insert.  Not sure if I like this or not.  With the new upgraded software, one of the apps you can use allows you to use the Echo as a pen interface.  Which sounds great, but I wonder if I would rather use the stylus, or a dried out ball pen to avoid leaving my interface page looking like my 2 year old got ahold of it.

Back view, and you can really see the other main physical changes.  They changed the microphone/headphone port on the Echo to a more standard 3.5 mm size.  Which means I need to get a new set of the amazing Echo 3D binaural recording headset/microphone to fit, but that I can also use a standard set of headphones to listen in.  The other change I was pleased with ties in with the removal of the docking station. I liked the magnet connect of the old Pulse docking station, but it was rather bulky to carry around, and somewhat cumbersome.  The new interface uses a micro USB connection, which also allows you to use the pen while connected.  This opens up all sorts of possibilites for the Echo, such as a computer interface, or using it to touch up photos and such.

The standard Echo also has a rubber grip, to prevent slipping, but the limited edition clear Echo doesn't.  Let's face it, it's much cooler to show off my super smartpen's insides than having a good grip at all times.  Besides...

Virtual Cookies to anyone who knows where that particular shirt came from. :)

Carvewright conference

So I went to the recent Carvewright conference and met some amazing folks. The stuff these guys are doing is mindboggling. The Carvewright is an intriguing little mini CNC machine that allows you to design something easily on the graphic based software, and then crank it out. Some stuff is pretty basic, while others are simply out of this world.

I showed the designer of the rocketship my Livescribe pen, and he saw the same potential as me. Being able to take his designs from the sketchbook to the finished project even quicker would be huge for him. Not to mention the fact that he is a self admitted nerd like me, and loves the potential of the technology. Being able to record the audio at the conference while he took notes would have been huge for him, because so much of it is very technical data.

Now I just need to figure out how to budget the money for a Carvewright machine so I can take what is in my head and put it into the real world too. :)