 |
|
Written by Don Lee
|
|
Monday, 18 December 2006 |
 Working in the office can have you doing double work. Instead of just
writing your information down on paper or having to reinput all that
information into your computer. To help in the transfer of your handwritten data to its digital form,
Adesso introduced the CyberPad digital notepad. This device is to
assist users from turning their notes or other written information into
a digitized version.
Now this isn’t some form of scanner or optical character recognition software. The CyberPad was developed so that you can still write down the information you need but it will automatically translate that information into a digital format thus saving you time and energy. Sounds like a pretty good idea, right? Well, let’s take a closer look at the Adesso CyberPad digital notepad.
Let’s Get Digital
The Adesso CyberPad comes in its own sleek, black portfolio to hold the digital ink pad along with its other included accessories (digital ink pen, note paper pad, USB cable, charger). Each device has its own area inside the portfolio to keep your accessories in a neat manner. The package comes with all of the necessary items for you to use the CyberPad right away…including the notepad, batteries and even a battery charger.
The Adesso CyberPad also comes with a number of programs to help with the usage. You receive EverNote 1.0, riteMail 2.5, Ulead PhotoImpact XL SE, Free Notes, Power Presenter SE and Office Ink. Before I continue on, let’s take a closer look at these programs.
EverNote 1.0 was designed to take the inputted information and maintain it for easy access to it later on. You can view this as a file management program since it provides quick access to notes, contacts, passwords, files and more. RiteMail 2.5 is the program that reads the digital ink documents. You may be familiar with OCR software that you find with scanners, riteMail 2.5 works by translating handwritten notes into digital text. This is a very intelligent program because it can recognize four languages (English, French, German and Russian) as well as provide you with the ability to send and view messages in digital ink format using popular e-mail applications such as Outlook Express, Netscape Mail, AOL mail and others. Ulead PhotoImpact XL SE is an image editing program that will allow to manipulate your stored images.
Using the Adesso CyberPad will take a little time since you have to install the CyberPad’s drivers, Free Note Office Ink, Power Presenter RE, EverNote, riteMail and Ulead PhotoImpact software. You will be prompted to reboot after installation. Once this is complete, you’re ready to go.
Once the CyberPad is powered on and you launch into riteMail, you can begin to write notes with the digital pen. You will notice that your notes will begin to display in the riteMail new documents window. I tried everything from drawing symbols to writing cursive and the digital pen was able to translate the text beautifully into the riteMail window. The mistake I was making is that I was trying to watch the riteMail window as I wrote in the CyberPad. Don’t do this as it will only confuse you. Use the CyberPad as you would normally write notes. The less you think about the translation and concentrate on what you are writing, you will notice that your note taking will improve immensely.
When I wrote all of my data using the digital pen, I then translated it through riteMail and it looked just like the written version. I was very, very surprised but kind of upset because I could’ve used this device when I was in college. The digital pen only picks up data as it is actually written on the notepad. I did find out that the digital pen seems to have problems working on notepads thicker than one inch though. It will continue to write but you may notice it only picking up notes sporadically. Other than that, it worked just as it was advertised.
The Final Word
The Adesso CyberPad does a good job just transferring your written notes into a digital form. I was impressed in how it translates and the speed at which it handles the inputted data. Doing your writing on the CyberPad does save you from rewriting the information or having to use a scanner and OCR software to digitize your notes.
I also enjoyed the compatibility it has with other physical notepads. You don’t need to purchase any other specialized accessories to work with the CyberPad. Although I thought the device was priced a little high, I still found it to be very useful overall. The software bundle did not come with any written manuals and the CyberPad’s quick start guide was also a little skimpy. It would’ve been nice to have a more complete and illustrated manual to help with the learning process. I also enjoyed riteMail’s ability to send your digitized notes via email. You could either use riteMail’s send mail service or you can use your own mail server. The mailing will appear in the body of the email exactly as it appeared in riteMail. Very impressive.
There is a lot of information that you will need to understand before you can utilize the CyberPad the way it was meant to be used. Once you get riteMail working with the CyberPad, you will see some pretty good results in the conversion from handwritten notes to actual text. Remember that you need to use the digital pen that comes with the CyberPad to do your writing so handle it with care and don’t lose it. You can’t use a standard pen to use the CyberPad.
The digital pen works incredibly well and can recognize and draw with extreme precision. You can use it just like any other wireless pointing device to interact with the interface of riteMail as well as maneuver around the writing area. Adesso includes two extra digital ink replacement cartridges that fit into a small compartment on the CyberPad.
If you’re looking for a new way to take notes in a more efficient manner, then take a look at the Adesso CyberPad 8x11 digital notepad. The package comes complete with everything from writing pad to the batteries. All you need now is someone to take the notes for you.
System Requirements
Windows XP/2000
Pentium III
128MB RAM
32MB Disk Space
USB port
You can click HERE to purchase the Adesso CyberPad.
About Adesso
Adesso is a worldwide manufacturer & distributor of Input devices & I/O Accessories. Such as Keyboards, Mice, Touchpad's, Touchpad Keyboards, USB I/O devices since 1992. Headquartered in Walnut, California, USA. Adesso is on its way to become the leading computer Input specialist supplier for travel, presentations, kiosks, P.O.S., Industrial PC and workstation users. You can visit them online at http://www.adesso.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
