There are a number of neat little touches about the product. First off, the ballpoint part of the pen uses standard Lamy, Cross or Zebra ink refills, so no hassles about replacements. The device even comes with two spare refills in a neat compartment which is very cool. The package also contains a small paper clip so you can use individual sheets of plain paper instead of a notepad. The device will work with up to 120 sheets on the clip, or a pad 12mm (around 1/2 an inch) thick. Finally there’s a neat little pen clip socket on the bottom of the pad, so that you don’t lose this all important component. It’s a small thing, but shows that the company has put some thought into the design.

Handling the Output.
Of course the whole point of a digital pad lies in its ability to handle and convert handwriting to a machine friendly format. In this regard the Digimemo also doesn’t disappoint. There are basically two ways to use the pad. The first is to simply store the pages of text and graphics as images. These images can then be collated into what the manual calls eBooks, which are basically collections of images all in one file. As an easy way to store, locate and edit your notes over time, this method is hard to beat. A little bit of effective file naming and you’re set for a lifetime of scribbled archives, stored on CD, DVD, hard drive or whatever.

The second option is to pay the extra for the MysScript Notes program and go for the whole enchilada by converting the image contents to a Word or email editable format. This option clearly is the one most people will want to go for, since editing, manipulating and distributing your notes is part of an everyday workload. The good news is that it works, and surprisingly well all things considered. The ‘all things’ mainly being the pitiful state of most people’s handwriting. As you can see from the attached scan of someone’s writing – oh no not mine, oh no siree – you can see that the conversion process, which takes all of 3 seconds to set up, can achieve quite good accuracy.

Five errors on a page of 57 words seems fairly reasonable to me, although as with all conventional OCR programs, it all comes down to the amount of time you’re willing to spend correctly the fiddly little bits. The import into Word is also fairly pain free, although you need to remember to make the text size smaller otherwise the results in Word are horrible. And to be honest I found a manual cut and paste into Word a lot more effective than using the program’s one button push. Email likewise.

Conclusion.
The Digimemo sets out to provide a relatively cost effective, easy and flexible means of capturing and storing handwritten material, and it succeeds on every count. The product is well designed, and incorporates the kind of attention to detail which can make or break a product line. It also feels robust and solidly manufactured, which is essential for any device that is likely to be carried around from place to place.

Main Features.
* Technology: Electronic Magnetic
* Dimension: Size 309mm (l) x 209mm (w) (12.17″ x 8.23″)
* Weight: Approx. 512g without batteries (560g with batteries)
* Writing: Area 150 mm x 211 mm (5.9″ x 8.3″)
* Writing Thickness: 12 mm (0.47″); approx. 120 sheets of paper 
* Max. Paper Size: A5 size; 211mm (l) x 150mm (w)
* Storage: Medium Built-in 8 MB memory
* Optional Storage Medium: Type I Compact Flash (CF) memory card (FAT file system)
* Power Source: 4 batteries (1.5volt, size AAA) or USB power when attached.
* Battery Life: about 100 hours Power
* Buttons: 5 function buttons – Power, Page Backward, Page Forward, Erase Page and Next Blank Page

Price.
UK: Around £95.00 incl tax.
US: Around $119.00.

MyScript Notes: £35.00 ($78.00)

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