The future tech pen is almost here and despite the abundance of technology that I surround myself with (laptop, phone, second monitor, tablet, camera, ridiculously heavy and terrible iPad charger) the two tools that never outlive their welcome in my daily repertoire is a pen and notepad.
I’ve tried using a whole range of different organization apps, to do lists on my phone and elsewhere, but nothing seems to be able to replace – or give as much satisfaction – as writing things down on paper and ticking them off.
It’s this same sentiment that sits behind the Rocketbook Wave: a future tech pen and paper notebook that can be instantly uploaded into a cloud of your choice.
On each page are seven programmable symbols that can be attached to an existing or new folder in either your Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote or even your email address.
When you put a cross through one of them and take a photo of the page with your smartphone, it crops and enhances each page and neatly stores them in the destination you selected.
The QR code on each page ensures what you scan is stored as it was written in your notebook. So they won’t get jumbled up in the cloud.
When you take notes with a Pilot Frixion pen – which you can buy pretty much anywhere online – you can do something ridiculous once you have filled your notepad.
The ink inside those future tech pens are “thermochromic” which means it becomes clear under the heat. So to erase the notebook completely, you simply stick it in the microwave for a few minutes then voila, the ink is gone. There’s even a special logo on the front that will change colour once the process is complete.
That does mean there’s a possibility that if you leave your notepad in a very hot car for a day you could come back and find the ink has disappeared.
However, what you do have is an ever lasting notebook – as long as you don’t tear or destroy it during a fit of creative rage – that will keep your notes in digital format. For $27, it sure as hell beats paying nearly $1,000 for an iPad Pro and Pencil.
While I’m sure many people are perfectly happy with their digital solutions, me, my notepad and future tech pen still have a few years left to run yet.
