Neo’s Smartpen N2 Brings Handwriting to Your Smartphone Screen

by Todd R. Weiss

The Neo Smartpen N2 works by tracking unique markings on special paper, which allows it to capture and perfectly recreate handwriting and drawings created by the user. The written information can be captured and saved onto your smartphone or tablet or emailed.

The N2 features a 1GHz ARM 9 dual-core processor, 90MB of storage capacity and connectivity to many recent Android and iOS smartphones using Bluetooth 4.0. The pen, built with aluminum and plastic components, is 6.16 inches long and 0.46 inches thick, and weighs 0.84 ounces.

Capturing the handwriting and drawings created by users is a miniature high-speed camera in the pen tip that captures data at 120 frames per second and 1,100 dots per inch. The smartpen has enough on-board memory to store up to 1,000 pages of data.

The pen is powered by a lithium-polymer 3.7V 300mA battery that gets a full charge in two hours, providing two days of sporadic use or about five hours of constant use. The pen features an on-off button (left), a power-on indicator light (center) and a protective cap (right).

In this image, drawings created on the special paper pad with the pen are captured on the smartphone display through a Neo Notes app, which is downloaded for iOS or Android devices. Replacement pads of paper are available for a nominal price through Amazon.

Using the Neo Notes app, the Neo N2 can automatically archive its collected notes and drawings by date, location and page. The Neo Notes app works with smartphones and tablets running Android 4.4.2 or higher and iOS 7.1 (iPhone 5) or higher.

By using third-party apps such as Evernote, Dropbox and Illustrator, users can organize, share and upload their collected text and email it to friends and colleagues as needed.

The N2 also allows users to record audio content while users are employing the pen to input notes and related drawings. The audio tracks can be played back later to accompany the text and drawings and add context. The audio recordings that are captured cannot be transcribed by the app.