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(Disclaimer: I volunteered to be part of an Early Access program for the Livescribe 3 smartpen Moleskine Edition. I received the Livescribe product for free in return for my review. My opinions and comments, however, are entirely my own and were not previously vetted by anyone at Livescribe.)

I should start by saying that this is my first experience with Livescribe pens or with Moleskine notebooks, although I have heard quite a bit about both products before. I have been intrigued by the Livescribe pen for several years, but wasn't convinced that I wanted to carry a special, bulky pen and pad of dotted paper with me.

The Livescribe 3 Moleskine Edition changes the parameters. First, the pen seems very… pen like. It's fat — a little over half an inch in diameter, but nevertheless sleek in design. I could wish it tapered just a bit more at the front half; my hands are on the small side. I would also prefer a gel ink to a standard ball point; my hand starts to cramp faster using a ballpoint pen. Other than that, I don't really have any complaints about the design.

There's a textured collar around the middle of the pen. Give it a twist and the ballpoint pen tip emerges while the pen powers on. The only obvious "smart" aspect is the LED in the clip — blue for connected, blinking green for ready to pair, yellow for low battery, red for recording. In all, it's a nice design.

The paper really surprised me. At first glance, it's a typical Moleskine notebook, albeit with a few printed icons at the top and bottom of each page. I know someone with an older edition of the Livescribe and I was expecting to see dots. The dots are there, but they're so small and unobtrusive that I had to hold the pages 2 inches from my nose to see them. They certainly don't get in the way while writing.

The selling point of the Livescrbe 3 smartpen is Bluetooth connectivity. It pairs easily with either iOS or Android devices; I have one of each and the pen paired smartly with both. According to the Guide, you can pair up to four mobile devices with one Livescribe 3 smartpen at a time. That should be good enough for most people.

The only issue I had with pairing my second device was that I had been slightly misled by the near-invisibility of the dots in the Moleskine notebook. I expected to be able to tap the Device Pairing icon in the Guide! Once I realized I needed to tap the icon in the notebook, my pen paired happily with my iPad.

Watching my writing magically appear in the app, one page at a time, was a fun experience. The entire page appears at once, with my handwriting perfectly carpeted in miniature. There are no obvious jagged spots or skips; the strokes are clear, and the result is far better than I would expect if I were writing directly on my mobile device with a stylus. (Although, speaking of a stylus, Livescrbe includes a stylus nub that fits on the end of the Livescribe 3 smartpen!)

Which brings me to my last point — what's in the box! The Livescribe 3 smartpen Moleskine Edition contains several special treats. First, you'll notice a Moleskine "tool belt", which is designed to fit snugly over the front cover of the notebook (not around the entire notebook as I first thought). The tool belt can carry the smartpen, your mobile device, business cards, or whatever seems right for you.  

Next, you'll notice a small sticker, labeled "Tap Here to Archive", wrapped around the front edge of the notebook. I think this should have been labeled "Tap Here to Start". The archive button registers a new notebook with the smartpen. Be sure to perform this registration before starting your next notebook.

Finally, use care while unboxing the product. I almost missed a small, "hidden compartment" at the bottom of the box. This compartment contains the stylus tip (mentioned previously), a micro USB charging cable, and 8 replacement pen tips!

 Over all, I've been quite pleased with the Livescribe 3 Moleskine edition. It looks and feels like a solid pen and pretty notebook, but adds the delightful feature of sending my notes directly to my mobile phone or tablet. Livescribe has also included a coupon good for a free year of Evernote Premium service (although, personally, I would prefer Dropbox support).

Be sure to download the free LiveScribe+ app for iOS or Android. Android devices also require the free LivescribeLink app to maintain the Bluetooth connection.

Photos

The Pen	The "Tool belt"
Don't Miss the Hidden Compartment!