IRIS NOTES EXECUTIVE TWO A Practical Digital Pen That Works on Regular Paper

The notion of being able to turn handwriting into editable text has been perplexing.  The biggest obstacle to being able to making handwritten notes word processor friendly has been the technology.  The caveats have been limiting, and the primary one has been paper.

                There have been on the market a number of devices that offer the capability of making handwriting transferrable to the digital divide.  They have usually involved using some form of dotted paper.  The problems become truly problematic when you factor cost and convenience.   When most people write notes, they are not concerned with locating special papers that are not that easy to find, or with decent price points.

                If that problem was not a deterrent, some of the pens were huge and rather cumbersome to use and carry.  Then, if this was not enough already, accuracy was a  problem as well.  

                Where IRIS notes enters the arena of note taking pens is that the Executive Two works on any paper. The need for specialty papers has vanished.

                Another area that IRIS has address is the pen itself.  Roughly about the size of a high end fountain pen, the IRIS note pen is neither awkward to handle, or unusually shaped.  In terms of convenience, IRIS has addressed the huge hurdle of requiring special paper and large unwieldy pens.

                But the big obstacle to making notes easy to work with is accuracy.  To help improve in this department, the pen comes with training software that allows the program to attempt to “understand” the way an individual writes. 

                Requiring roughly an hour time, one is required to write a few sentences and symbols that are saved as profiles that are intended to improve the ability of the software to recognize your handwriting so that it can be turned into text that word processors can process.

                As long as your writing is neat and legible, you may see a rather high degree of accuracy.  However, if your handwriting resembles scrawled text, you may be in for a less that ideal experience.

                The problem of accuracy and ease of use has plagued digital pens since the concept was made consumer friendly.  Even if one is careful, there are moments where you will have to go back to the wordprorcessor to do a little clean up on the occasional missed word.

                The big thing is that if you can accept some limitations, write well and have some patience, the program is the best of its kind on the market. Removing the need for special paper and having a pen that actually feels  higher end are two major problems that IRIS has produced a reasonable solution.

                As far as the software enclosed, it does install well, but may require a more astute user to use.  I would not say it is bad, but it could stand to be a bit more user friendly, particularly when it comes to downloading and loading from the base station to the p.c.

                Regarding actual use and set up, the pen size and convenience are decent.  In actual use, the pen does not demand any odd or strange procedures.  Simply write and the information is recorded.  Again, the big point to keep in mind is that the neater your notes, the more likely your results will be better.  While it is not perfect, IRIS has produced a device that is much more practicle than what anyone else has produced thus far.

                For those using iphones, windows desktops, laptops, and ipads, the IRIS pen is cross platform friendly.

                Should note taking be your focus, and you need to digitize and record those notes, IRIS has offered what is easily the best of the breed.  One simply has to be reasonable regarding expectations.

               Compatible with Windows® 8, Windows® 7, Windows® Vista®, Windows® XP     Yes         Yes         Yes

Compatible with Mac OS®X Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion or Mountain Lion (earlier versions not supported!).    

Product name IRISNotes™ Executive 2

Box size (H x L x D) 20 x 15 x 3,5 cm  (7.87 x 5.90 x 1.37 in

Box weight 320g (0.70 lbs

Pen weight 16g  (0.035 lbs

Receiver weight 26g  (0.057 lbs

Box languages Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian

Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

®Box content Digital pen and USB receiver • USB cable • Apple

30-pin connector • Ink refill • Software and drivers for Windows® and Mac® on CD-ROM • P&T

• catalogue •     Discount voucher for next purchase

Quick user guide