Dane-Elec Digital Stylus - DA-DP1-01GC5-R - You will never write the same way!
Digital Pen

I bought it for my girfriend, she is going to PhD in Computer Science, it was a perfect present.
 
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The pen works as advertised. The software for conversion of documents to PDF works well on both Linux (requires JRE) and Windows machines. Although the ink refills are generic, they were not easy to locate for purchase in the US. Overall, great product and easy to use.
 
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I bought one in May and it worked for about two weeks and then it stopped working. I sent at least half a dozen emails to the support but I received no response at all. After waited for a month, I finally called the credit card company and disputed the purchase. I don't understand how a company can survive without providing any support to the customers. Buy this product at your own risk because you won't get any support.
 
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I just got a digital pen and I absolutely love it! Contrary to the previous review, there is an on-off switch (its the button on the left side of the USB part with the power logo). The device has saved me SO much time as I work in the secretarial field and (used to!) do a lot of writing and typing up of meeting minutes. Awesome product, great price! I love every part of it.
 
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This looked like a very useful product - I take notes in meetings and at conferences but wanted to have them organized on my computer rather than on loose sheets of paper. When I first received it, I was quite pleased. The resolution was good enough for my small writing. The pen comfortable to use. Unfortunately, my son dropped the receiver and it fell about 10" onto a desk and the clip broke off. All that holds the stiff spring onto the main body are two small (~1 mm) plastic pegs. One had sheared off. This made the unit unusable so I returned it (BTW buy.com was very responsive to the return request, and even gave a discount on the price). The new unit arrived and seemed not to function quite as well as the first. The lines a little more wobbly and a narrower field of operation - off to the sides of standard letter page the image of my writing was quite distorted. Still usable, but a little marginal. However, the real reason for my rating of 1 is that when I came to use it the next day it would not record the pen strokes at all. The receiver was fully charged, power light on, but the pen active light did not come on when I wrote. I verified that nothing was being recorded. I took the batteries out and cleaned them. Still nothing. I replaced the batteries with brand new ones and it worked again - I did about 3 pages of notes and sketches. The next day, I came to use it and ... nothing. Again, the receiver unit was powered but no response to the pen. My presumption is that the batteries drained again. Time to give up on this product I am afraid. Too bad. Minor problems: 1. The size of the receiver and how far it clips down onto the pad, plus the ~1" poor quality zone near it means that there is a lot of wasted white space on the recorded page. 2. The red indicator lights are too dim - at least for red/green color blind folk like myself (a surprisingly large number of people). 3. On some laptops (e.g. my Dell) the receiver cannot be plugged directly into the USB port because the shoulder of the unit is too wide. The little cable they provide solves this but that is one more item to carry around and is a good candidate for being misplaced.
 
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IF I COULD ONLY WRITE MY WORDS AND THEN LOAD THEM INTO MY COMPUTER AND READ THEM, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. I'VE TRIED AND TRIED AND SOMETIMES A COUPLE OF WORDS ARE ACTUALLLY LEGIBLE. BUT MOSTLY I GET NOTHIN BUT STRAY MARKS. IT DOESN'T DO WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO. THE IDEA IS GREAT, BUT THIS DIGITAL PEN SIMPLY DOESN'T WORK ADEQUATELY FOR ANY PURPOSE. AND THE WEBSITE LACKS DETAIL AND SUPPORT.
 
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THis last review makes no sense. I hope this is not the case, it states that the pen automatically turns on and off with the "reciever" that has an on and off switch. I assume that the pen is turned on when it is in use and should not be on when not in use? Maybe the pen the person reviewed this had a faulty battery? I just can't imagine that they would have this problem in every pen?
 
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Okay, I know that we're not supposed to reply to other reviews but since Glenn James' negative review is predicated on two issues, I thought I'd address them. 1) No on/off switch is needed because the pen draws no power when you're not using it to write. It goes into off mode after 30 secs of inactivity. Please note that the pen is not a substitute for a normal pen. If you write with it, it'll draw power even if you don't have the receiver. Another way to look at it is to compare it with your TV remote. Does it have an on/off switch? No, and it uses no power unless you hit a button. 2) V393 button batteries are easily available in drug stores, Radio Shack and wherever they sell watch batteries. They're the same button cells used in many laser pointers. That said, it's a good device. It does what it claims although you shouldn't write too fast. The question buyers should ask is whether simply scanning the written pages serve the same purpose. Multifuction printers with autofeeder can be found for abot $90, the cost of this device.
 
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I really am enjoying my pen. It works well and was easy to set up. I use it every day and have had it just a few weeks, so far no problem with the pen battery. I am very satisfied with the product so far. I use it for notes in session and it has recognized my handwriting without any problem even without using the "trainer" that comes with it. I only gave it the one 4 because of the other reviewer's issue with batteries. I guess I will find out!
 
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There is no external ON/OFF switch on the pen because the ink cartride performs this action. The pen is only "ON" when you apply pressure to write. In addition, the batteries are industry standard V393 models that are readily available on the internet as well as stores like Radio Shack and Batteries Plus. This is a wonderful product and I haven't found any legitimate faults yet.
 
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This is a fantastic product in concept. It worked great the first time. Then I discovered two things: there is no on/off switch for the pen. Batteries are not readily available. Thus a Great product becomes an expensive lesson learned. Who in their right minds would sabotage such a great product by not giving it an ON/Off Switch?
 
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I had two main reasons when I bought the ZPen: 1. I wanted to be able to use it anywhere without the need of special paper or being connected to the computer 2. I am using Debian GNU/Linux, so I was very interested in a product which at least have a viewer for Linux and have some outlook to Linux community. The product arrived very fast - 4 days - even with free shipment option. It took me around 10 minutes from the moment I unpacked it to make it work. Add the batteries, clamp the receiver to a paper, write, connect through USB - and view the writing with PenInkViewer in Debian GNU/Linux Etch 4.0. Amazing, IT WORKED! However the MyScriptNotes works only in Window$, so I need to install it in Linux using wine or crossoffice (I did not do it yet). The instructions are on the usb stick (receiver)as pdf files (obviously I did not read them yet :) ) Amazingly, the viewer (you can export as pdf and jpg or gif) works in Windows, Mac and Linux as claimed. Three people I showed ZPen will buy it. Actually one person ordered it in 10 minutes after I showed ZPen working. It made me think that perhaps I should be a salesperson instead of trying to save humankind :) The trick was the quality and easiness of use delivered by Zpen. So far I used it only two days, but it works like a charm, MyScript Notes (which converts handwriting in typed text and graphics - works wonderfully (I tried it in Windows Vista). You can even train it to recognize your writing or edit the handwriting. Also you can highlight the handwritten text, change thickness of letters etc). It is stunning. I searched a lot comparing reviews for different digital pens. OK, so are there negatives? To early to say. However I wished: A) I wished they have the MyScript Notes for LINUX (and why not, Mac). As I said, I tried the PenInkViewer and works on all platforms but it has limited features, you can see the handwriting, export it as PDF or (JPEG, BMP, GIF from the Page Menu)and print. B) The batteries on the ZPEN are two small v393, which are not rechargeable and cost around $2.0 (I do not know yet how long they last). I would prefer to have a bit bulkier pen and have an AAA battery which is rechargeable. Dane-Elec would be great if would have given us two options for ZPen - with v393 or AAA). C) A beautiful feature would be a "LIVE" option - to see on the computer screen as you write (obviously in this case the receiver should be connected to the computer). This will be great for lectures. I hope someone from Dane-Elec EPOS will think of it seriously. D) I wish they open the specifications for Open Source community so more software can be written (for Linux, PALM and other platforms) E) It would have been fantastic if we could embed images on the Ink (hand written notes) after capture. This will allow human notes to be augmented by images. F) PRICE: OK, you pay some royalties for being new kid, so $92.0 for first buyers of such wonderful and useful gadget is OK. But extended greed can hurt in long run. I think this gadget should, in near future, not be more than $25.00 and hope Dane-Elec managers look seriously at this matter. That is it for now, I might come back with more details as ZPen is used. The conclusion and bottom line is: buy it with confidence, it works. Good luck.
 
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