Product Details
 | I-Pen Digital Pen Writer Ipen Optical USB Mouse Input Device |
| List Price: | $99.99 |
| Price: | $39.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by ShopTronics
5 new or used available from $29.99
Average customer review:
Product Description
I-pen Mouse is a pen-shaped mouse for PCs that allows natural writing just like using a real pen. Utilizing the latest optical navigation technology, I-pen is lightweight, durable, and accurate. With I-pen Mouse, the user can perform natural handwriting to do more creative work or special tasks that were previously impossible with a mouse. I-pen Mouse is designed to work in "mouse mode" for fast point-and-click action and also in "pen mode" for writing and drawing actions. Two modes can be changed manually with the switch of a button. Because it requires a very small surface to write on, it is ideal for laptop users and perfect for places where limited workspace is available. Applications: Write a note on your presentation just like a paper with Finger WhiteTM. The traditional way of showing a presentation used a laser pointer to mark the point of importance which leaves no marks for later references. Now you can write a note, mark, draw, and keep it until you erase it. Browse your favorite website and write a note when there is something of interest as if you were marking the newspaper. Your notes will be saved even after you've visited other pages until you erase it. Draw and write on your desktop like a drawing board. Leave an important message on your desktop for reminder. You can even save your inputs and e-mail them later. Write a letter using the I-pen Mouse like a pen and the OCR converts your handwriting into typewriting text. Too lazy or slow to type letters? Then grab the I-pen Mouse and simply write like a pen. You can also input your signature.Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1575 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: Blue
- Brand: I-Pen
- Model: IPEN
- Dimensions: .59" h x .83" w x 5.59" l, 3.00 pounds
Features
- Optical navigation & mouse-hover technology
- Pen-on-paper feeling, natural handwriting by sensing contact pressure
- Standard mouse driver and USB connection, just plug & play
- No special pad required, free to use on almost any surface
- Compact and light, perfect for laptop users
Customer Reviews
Great product! Somebody should have thought of this sooner.
I bought the I-Pen hoping it
would help with my aching wrist from grabbing a mouse all day; I was
looking at graphics tablets, but I use dual monitors at work, so that
was not an option. I tripped across this little doo-hickey, and thought
I'd give it a shot.
First of all, the mouse works great; it can be
used on almost any surface (except clear glass or white paper). The
pen's a little "full-bodied", which makes it difficult to grab, at
times, but other than that, it's a nice tool to have. I can hardly wait
until they release the wireless version(s), but the cord dangling off it
is not too bad.
Second, their customer support is GREAT!!!!! When
my I-Pen arrived, I noticed that the right mouse button was sticking,
and I could only get it to work about half of the time. I went to their
web page and got a response back within a few hours indicating that my
unit was defective, and another one was on the way. The second unit
works great, and thus my faith in capitalism was restored :)
As
for the carpal tunnel, I'll keep you posted....
UPDATE: Just
wanted to let you know about the carpal tunnel issue; this thing has
really helped me. I now have writer's cramp, but that's another story
(j/k). Seriously, I love this product. I'm still waiting for the
wireless version, but I have found that this simple tool has really
helped me be more productive for longer periods of time.
Good idea, faulty implementation.
[...]
There are very
few standalone "digital pen" mice available; people who wish to use the
ergonomic pen design often have to cough up additional funds for a
digitizer tablet [...] that is bulky. This particular model has been
around for several years, apparently, but they have not updated it.
I
bought this specifically for ergonomic reasons and because I did not
want a bulky tablet component (though I do own a Wacom for special
uses). It's a bit chunky; while it was uncomfortable for me to use, it's
probably fine for others. It feels light, and while this is could be a
good thing if you tend to get finger-fatigued, the cord hanging off the
end unfortunately seems to weigh all that much more.
The most
important problem for me, however, was that this digital pen-mouse
doesn't seem to be calibrated correctly. A 2003 review article elsewhere
also pointed out this problem: Assuming the mouse button is supposed to
be positioned at the top of the pen where your index finder rests, you
cannot write or draw in a straight line across the screen. The cursor
will slant upwards from left to right, effectively rendering any drawing
potential useless; the other article also commented that the
handwriting recognition suffers from this weirdness. You can try to hold
the pen at a different rotation, but it's not perfectly round, so it
will end up being more uncomfortable.
For average mousing, I
suppose people can get used to the quirk, but for uses that require a
bit more accuracy, look elsewhere. It's a good idea, and I really hope
someone will finally deliver a good pen-mouse that doesn't use ink or
special paper or pad.
Varied
Uses-Digital Art, A Mouse, and PC Games
I've used this 3 ways.
As
a digital artist: I absolutely HATED it the first time. I do my drawing
via scans and mouse, combining old school pencil media with Photoshop.
It grew on me.
Drawing with this was best described by a friend.
It's a lot like trying to use the pens you sign your name digitally on
the pads for credit cards for the store. You know, the ones where you
try to write something legible and it comes out looking like a drunk
monkey did it.
Within 20 minutes, however, I was able to do basic
and familiar shapes freehand in Photoshop. They looked no better nor
worse than a mouse. With practice, I've begun to like the infernal
thing. Although our "relationship" in the first hour started with me
wanting to rip it out of the PC and boil it in hot lava from
frustration, I've come to find if very useful in several ways.
My
advice is to understand it may take patience and practice to get used
to it if you're using it for art. If you're an artist, you probably
aren't a stranger to either.
It worked fine in Win XP, Paint Shop
Pro and Photoshop without any special software except what came with
it. It was fast and easy to install. Put in the CD, install, plug in the
pen and it worked.
My signature looks slightly less like a drunk
monkey did it and is almost legible now...
Replacing your mouse
for common tasks: For simple PC use it's great. When it's plugged in I
use it as my mouse as well as a digital drawing device.
If you're
picking this up to replace a mouse because you need something which
won't hurt your hand, have disability, etc. I'd highly recommend it. I
have no real trouble using it for basic point/click. It does seem to
need a fairly smooth surface, but comes with a small pad.
For
Video Games: I've been a long time fan of 3rd person PC games where you
use a mouse to point to an area on the screen, click, and the character
walks. I liked the I-Pen better than my mouse and it was much easier and
faster to maneuver my people with it. It also worked well on Java
applet based games like Yahoo and Pogo because it was a little faster.
For
marking pages in IE I don't know. I seldom use Internet Explorer, and
didn't buy it for that, so I've never actually tried it.
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