Livescribe 3 Smartpen

The Livescribe 3 works with an iPhone or iPad, letting you digitize copies of your notes for archiving or converting into text, and you don't have to sync it with a PC anymore.

The Livescribe 3 measures 6.38 by 0.59 inches (HW) and weighs 1.2 ounces. Like earlier Livescribe pens, it feels bulky, although it's lightweight enough to write with for hours at a time.

The standard tip is just a regular ballpoint, which isn't as fluid as a rollerball. If you're a pen snob of any kind, you likely won't be thrilled with the Livescribe 3; it's slow and feels a bit scratchy to write with.

The package contains the pen, a micro USB charging cable, a 50-sheet starter notebook, an integrated stylus nub at the top that covers the charging port (pictured), a Tungsten-Carbide ink cartridge (Black Medium), and a printed Basics guide.

Livescribe sells plenty of paper types on its site; to cite a few examples, you can buy extra 4-packs of flip notebooks for $12.95, a 4-pack of spiral notebooks for $24.95, and a rather nice set of two-lined journals for $24.95. You can also print your own dot paper as well, if you want to save money.

Inside the pen is an ARM 9 processor, an infrared camera, Bluetooth 4.0, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts for 14 hours per charge. But there's no built-in microphone or internal storage on this model; the iOS device acts as the Livescribe 3's conduit for recording audio.