Background information
My residual love for analogue
by Reto Hunziker
Smart notepad review: it really is that clever
20/8/2024
Translation: Katherine Martin
Pictures: Darina Schweizer
The Moleskine Smart Writing Set promises to digitise and transcribe handwritten notes in real time. I tried it out using my messiest handwriting.
I belong to a generation that can’t make up its mind. Would you rather have a regular job or set off in a camper van? Stay independent or bring children into the world? Write notes by hand or record them digitally? I know my answer to the last question.
Lately, I’ve been testing the Moleskine Smart Writing Set. It allows me to write by hand in an (almost) regular notebook and have the notes directly transferred to a digital device. This way, I don’t need to choose between digital and analogue writing after all. Thank goodness, right?
First impressions
When I first look at the elegant black packaging of the Moleskine Smart Writing Set, I’ve no trouble deciding how I feel about it. It contains just three items: a 13.5 × 21 centimetre Smart Notebook in the typical Moleskine design, a smart pen and its charging cable. Everything is neatly stowed away in the box, exuding an impression of high quality.
First, I figure out how to use the pen. Just above the tip, there’s an integrated camera that records everything you write. Before I can get started, though, I need to charge the pen. I find the docking point at the top, then snap the charger into the magnetic part with a click. The pen is ready for use after about two hours of charging. I hold the little button on the side for three seconds. This lights up in different colours:
- Green: the pen is fully charged and connected to a device.
- Light blue: the pen is fully charged and saving notes, but isn’t connected.
- Dark blue (flashing): update loading.
- Orange/yellow (flashing): low battery.
Wingardium Leviosa! After touching pen to paper the first time, my notebook moves into the virtual library as if by magic. If I had more Moleskine books or notebooks, I’d see them all here. I can also jump back and forth between the books if I don’t want to commit myself. I do this by briefly tapping on any page in a book with the pen. Clever.
Time to get down to business. The first page of my notebook reveals a yawning void. What should I write? A joke? A poem? Or shall I draw something? I decide to go with my first idea.
The sentence immediately appears on my smartphone next to the notebook. Magical. But that’s not all it can do.
Transcription: language matters
Whether during my student days or working as a journalist, I’ve often been faced with the same perplexing issue: what in heaven’s name did I write down just then? At our last editorial meeting, we tried to decipher whether the word I’d scribbled into my dog-eared notepad was «bedeckt» (covered) or «beleckt» (licked). Could be a pretty crucial difference, don’t you think?
The Moleskine Smart Writing Set is designed to be the solution in cases like this. According to the product description, it can transcribe any kind of writing, even messy scribbles. I’ll be putting that promise to the test with my very worst chicken-scratch penmanship.
I click on an arrow on the top marked with a capital A. This translates my spidery handwriting into legible, digital script within a few seconds. When the transcription is finished, I’m surprised. There are quite a few errors.
Unleashing my inner Picasso
Of course, the Moleskine Smart Writing Set not only transfers what you’ve written, but also what you’ve drawn. I’m eager to try this too. I scribble a portrait of my boss of an unknown middle-aged man in my notebook.
Okay, now I have a bearded version of Barbie’s boyfriend Ken in front of me. Now some bushy brows are still missing. I draw them up in a jiffy by adjusting the line width in the same way as the colour beforehand. By the way, you can also delete elements that have already been drawn. You simply click them with the selection rectangle (as I did with the colour before), then click the bin icon. I’d rather sort out my boss’s fat neck before he sees it and gets offended.
An annoying crash, practical sharing
Oops, what was that? Suddenly, the app crashes out of nowhere. I’ve already seen this mentioned in the app reviews. Was my boss portrait too overwhelming? Hardly. I start again. On occasion, the pen can’t be found immediately via Bluetooth. It’s the same story with location-sharing on my Android smartphone, which is a bit of a faff. It’s a test of my patience.
A final fun – but not essential – feature is that I can turn my Moleskine Smart Writing Set notes into videos to play and send. To do this, I press the YouTube symbol at the bottom. If I move the lower slider back and forth after recording, I can follow my writing or drawing process from start to finish. Though very entertaining, I doubt I’ll need the feature much.
My only two criticisms
With the Moleskine Smart Writing Set, I don’t have to choose between analogue and digital. What a relief for a millennial like me! Transferring my handwriting to the virtual world works like a charm. It’s also fun to edit drawings on my phone and add sound or video recordings. It’d probably be even more enjoyable on a large tablet screen. And it even transcribes the most spidery handwriting.
In a nutshell
Undeniably smart
The Moleskine Smart Writing Set combines two worlds. Notes can easily be transferred from analogue to the digital notebook and edited later. Not only can you add audio and video recordings, but you can also do transcriptions – provided you’ve selected the right language. The notebook and Smart Pen look impressive with their high-quality, elegant design.
The accompanying app could still be improved in some areas – for example, by boosting user-friendliness and reducing crashes. It’d also be worth having reusable pages, especially when you consider the set’s hefty price tag. All in all, this hybrid notebook is undeniably smart.
Pro
- Fancy design
- Made to a high-quality standard
- Fast 1:1 transmission
- Good transcription
- Practical editing options
- Sound and video recordings can be integrated
- Sub-functions in various formats
Contra
- Error-prone app could be a little more user-friendly
- No reusable pages
Darina Schweizer
Senior Editor
Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.chI like anything that has four legs or roots. The books I enjoy let me peer into the abyss of the human psyche. Unlike those wretched mountains that are forever blocking the view – especially of the sea. Lighthouses are a great place for getting some fresh air too, you know?
