Livescribe Pen + Evernote = Amazing Productivity

I am a huge fan of Evernote and recently got an iPad as it is an almost perfect form factor for the note keeping software. I routinely take the iPad into meetings and usually use Evernote for note taking. Depending on the meeting, I might also use MagicalPad, which can store it's notes in Evernote.

The only problem with my setup is I occasionally need to physically write my notes. Is some meetings or settings, using an electronic device is frowned upon as it looks like you are goofing off or worse, checking email.

Enter the Livescribe smartpen. The pen has the ability to recode what you write pans safe to PDF when you dock it. It even has an advantage over Evernote for some scenarios. I use it to take notes at church and the pen not only records what I write, but records tha audio! You can later tap on a word on your paper and the recorded audio will start playing at that spot. It is fantastic for lectures where you need to go back and listen to a particular segment.

Of course this all integrates Evernote, or email, Facebook, and a few other locations where you want to store your pencasts as they are called.

If this is of any interest to you, now may be the time to buy a model of the Livescribe Echo Smartpen. As long as you buy it by April 30 and register by mid-May, you get a free year of Evernote Premium. That $45 gets you 1GB of uploads per month versus 50MB for the free version. I recommend you check out Amazon as they often have the pens for a few dollars under retail.

In the six months I've had my Echo Smartpen, a 4GB model by the way, I've found it to be an indispensable part of my productivity arsenal.