The digital pen has been with us for a while now. But just like an aged wine or cheese, they improve over time.

From the most primitive smartpens like the I-Pen, to the latest Livescribe Echo smartpen, they all offer their own benefits, in their own charming ways. It could be argued that as the digital pen has evolved, the role it serves has completely changed. The I-Pen, for example, gives you a virtual whiteboard using your PC. You can write anything, anywhere, and when you come back, it’s still there. That’s a far cry from the Livescribe Echo feature, which first and foremost strives to take convenience to a whole new level.

At first glance, it would seem that electronic pens have gone backwards. They’re back to basics, back to when they started to rear their heads. Then came the I-Pen, it doesn’t require pen or paper and is designed to be used only in a digital environment – smartpens have gone back to the traditional pen and paper setup, as you’ll see with the Livescribe Echo. It would be ignorant to pretend that this is not due in part to great advances in pen technology. The tiny camera that most digital pens have and records what you write certainly didn’t develop overnight. Cramming all that technology into that little pen must have taken a long time to work.

The smart pens you’ll find on the market right now come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are a variety of ways these pens can capture your text. The most advanced pens, also invariably the most expensive, require nothing more than special paper. Other pen technology requires wireless sensors to track your pen on the page, but these types can be a bit of a pain on the eyes and a distraction. Another novel pen is the SolidTek DigiMemo. It looks like nothing more than a traditional clipboard, but it will digitize every word you type.

You can see that there is a sea of ​​competing digital pens, and the only practical advice you could use when looking for one is to do your research, compare prices and see what suits your needs best. The Livescribe Echo may be the perfect device for singing and dancing, but it may not be practical for students. SolidTek DigiMemo’s clipboard layout may be more suitable for students. The pros of one pen may be the cons for someone else.

The digital pen brings with it so many advantages for so many people. Easily the biggest advantages are:

• The fact that you can back up your handwritten notes.
• The way you can convert handwritten notes to text.
• The handy search tool that will go through your notes in seconds to find the keywords you’re looking for.
• The many virtual notebooks that digital pen software offers will ensure that your notes stay effortlessly organized.

The digital pen can offer comfort and convenience to anyone who writes even minimally. The only thing now is to find the right one for you.