Apen is a neat and simple take on getting paper notes into your computer, phone or tablet. It comes in four somewhat confusing models, named A1 to A4, but it's the last two that we're interested in, as they work with the iPhone and iPad (A4) and Blackberry/Android devices (A3).
The kit consists of an electronic pen that contains real ink, and a receiver. You place the receiver up at the top of the paper and write or draw. The receiver records your scribblings and either beams them direct to your computer, phone or tablet, or you can hook the receiver up later via USB to copy everything across. The unit can remember the content of up to around 100 pages, so you can write most of a (short) book before needing to dump the data.
When hooked directly up to a computer, the pen can act as a mouse (there's a button on the side for clicking), and using companion software you can scribble and draw on photos, too. But the point here is that you can write and draw on paper and later everything is available in software.
The main difference between the A3 and A4 (apart from their device compatibly) is that the A3 includes Bluetooth for sending your notes direct to your Android or Blackberry in real time. I have settled on writing directly onto my iPad using a stylus, and snapping photos of anything I write on paper and sending it to Evernote for handwriting recognition. For people who still use a lot of paper, though, the Apen looks to be worth a try. $130 (and cheaper for the computer-only versions).
Apen product page [Apen USA. Thanks, Susan!]
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