The Smart Writing Set is Moleskine's latest crack at combining digital and analogue note taking tech to concoct the ideal experience for creatives looking for an alternative to scribbling on an iPad Pro or Galaxy Note tablet.
As nice as the experience of writing in a notebook is, modern tablet and mobile note taking software offers a world of benefits over the method that's served us since the ancient Egyptians took to drawing little pictures on papyrus. Made up of three separate parts, the Smart Writing Set is Moleskine's latest attempt at finding the best of both worlds.
To start with, users record their notes in the new Paper Tablet, a paper notebook shaped like a tablet and filled with clever paper that has an NcodeÔ grid hidden inside to enable the Neo Pen+ to work.
That clever pen is what ties the paper notebook to the digital world. Using a small camera and the grid in the paper, the Pen+ captures your pen strokes and beams them over to the Moleskine App. Once in the app, written text is converted to editable copy so you're not forced to retype your handwritten notes.
The app is able to save files to Evernote and Google Drive, while checking the mail box on the top left corner of the notebook page lets you quickly send your work via email. The app also allows you to save in Adobe Creative Cloud-friendly formats.
If working offline and syncing later is more your style, the pen is able to save 1,000 pages internally.
All of this sounds good, but it also might sound a bit familiar because the Smart Writing Set isn't Moleskine's first attempt at cracking the digital note-taking market. As well as pairing with Livescribe last year, the company has created co-branded products with Evernote and Adobe in past. This latest attempt looks, on paper at least, like it's improved compatibility should offer a more cohesive way of transferring your making your doodlings digital and sharing them - regardless of whether you use Drive, Evernote or Adobe Creative Cloud.
The Smart Writing Set retails for US$199, and additional Paper Tablet notebooks will set you back $29. The Moleskine App is currently available in iOS, while Android users can use the Neo Notes app to manage their work.
Source: Moleskine
