Dane-Elec DA-DP1-01GC5-R Z-PEN Wireless USB Digital Pen
by DANE ELECTRONICS
|
Our Price: $49.99 Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Dane-Elec DA-DP1-01GC5-R Z-PEN Wireless USB Digital Pen
Customer Review: Wonderful Pen
Summary: 5 Stars
This pen worked great. I bought this and used it on a Mac without a hitch and it did exactly what it promised. Clean and clear writing and it looks exactly like my notes do for my classesCustomer Review: Updated Review: 5 stars
Summary: 4 Stars
Updated Review: (I tried to update from 4 to 5 stars but it won't let me)
I left a review a few months ago saying, among other things, that I had trouble changing the ink cartridge. Since then some people have emailed me asking if I figured it out, so I think its time to give an update. I did manage to change the ink cartridge-- it was stuck at first, but if you pull on the tip of the ink cartridge with tweezers it should come out. After I got it out the first time it was easier to do with fingernails, but you have to get a good grip on it.
I have been using the Zpen for the past several weeks to take notes in class, and it works very well. I see some people saying its finicky but I haven't noticed that very much. As long as I stay in the main area of the paper (not above the clip thing, for instance) it works great. I had a few times when I went too far out to the edge of the paper or to the side of the clip part, and it didn't sense my handwriting very accurately but I have learned to stay within the lined part of a piece of A4 paper (normal notebook paper for americans) and it works very well. I bought a bunch of ink cartridge and battery refills so that if one runs out during class I can replace it right away. I do have to remember to charge it every night because I am using it for 3-4 hours of notetaking each day. I'm not sure exactly how long it lasts, I'd say maybe somewhere between 4-6 hours of solid notetaking it runs out of batteries.
The pen is very useful to me, because I am a mathematics grad student, and it is essentially impossible to type equations quickly enough to take notes on a computer in a math class. Because of that, everyone still uses paper and pen (or tablet PCs, but those are very expensive). I use my Zpen to take notes in all of my math classes and have a digital copy later, and I really like it. It works surprisingly well-- when I bought it I was suspicious that the ultrasound and infared technology would actually work, but it does very well. Also, its nice that I do have a physical copy of my notes as well, so if anything goes wrong I can scan them later. I've heard of some people having their tablet PC crash during class and losing all their notes.
Another good thing about this pen vs other digital pens is that it is compatible with a Mac (the handwriting recognition software is not, but the part that gives you the images of what you wrote is). As of summer 2008 when I bought this one, the Zpen was the only digital pen I could find that would work with a Mac.
I don't have much to say about the handwriting recognition software, because I haven't been using it. I tested it once on a PC and it works fine on normal writing but it can't make anything of my math notes, and I wouldn't expect it to. The equations turn into gibberish. It would be awesome if someone invented software that could read my math notes and turn them into nicely typed up equations, but I'm not holding my breath.
I also really like that the peninkviewer software is on the clip thing so you can use it on any mac without preinstalling anything.
--Original Review:
This product works perfectly as advertised. I bought it for taking notes in my graduate math courses which are about to start, so so far I have only tested it a few times, but it seems to work great. I like how the software is on the device itself so you don't have to worry about which computer to use.
I do have one question though. I have not been able to figure out how to change the ink cartridge. The directions are useless-- they literally have a drawing of the end of the pen with fingers next to it. I'm afraid to force it becuase I don't want to break the pen or ruin the pressure sensitivity. If anyone has successfully changed the ink cartridge I would really appreciate it if you could send me some details at kindersurprises@Gmail.com. Thanks!
Customer Review: It works for me!
Summary: 4 Stars
In researching this pen I came across a couple of unfavorable reviews, which almost convinced me not to buy it. I am glad I went through with the purchase. It works as advertised, and I find the text recognition of the included MyScript software to be good. That said, expect to take some time to figure out how it works, and adapt your writing style to meet its limitations. For instance you can't cross out or erase mistakes. Instead you just ignore them and go on writing what you meant to say -- and then you clean it up on the import.
The pen itself feels a little delicate -- I don't plan to drop it on the floor too many times -- but the receiver unit has a good substantial clip unit. Overall this produce is a winner!
Customer Review: Great pen, but...
Summary: 4 Stars
First one I received didn't work at all... wouldn't charge, turn on, etc. In searching the internet, I found several similar comments about these pens so believe this to be a common problem. I returned the pen and received a second unit. This second unit also wouldn't charge, but when I replaced the internal receiver battery, the unit worked quite well - still won't charge though. The software is very easy to use and the results pretty remarkable! So, I recommend this pen to anyone that's technically handy and doesn't mind a little trouble shooting.Customer Review: Dane Pen
Summary: 4 Stars
I have had this pen for about a month and I have recommended this pen to many of my collegues. There is one downfall to this pen, besides my handwriting, is that if you idle for 10-15 minutes in a meeting, the pen starts over as a new note within the upload of the information.