Seiko InkLink Handwriting System

SmartPad II is not easy to use with a laptop; however, it works like a charm with my Pocket PC. Plus there is no setup hassle and the battery life is wonderful...I've not has to buy a replacement battery yet. It's an odd "AAAA" (that's right, 4 "A") battery. The organizer case forced me to lighten up as it does not contain the usual ring binders; however, there a lot of surface on the left inside face to Velcro till your hearts content. Finally, this device does not optically sense the location of the pen; so, there are no issues with flipping sheets. I've modified a standard steno pad (by trimming the backboard with a scissor) to fit the sleep) and find I can flip back and forth and edit as long as I do the same on the PDA.

I realize that you could fax or scan hand scribbled notes and have a graphical capture anywhere. I find that I can draw and beam diagrams to those that have PDAs and email them to those that do not without another digitizing session. So, chose the SmartPad as your InkLink will sit and collect dust...mine does.


Magical hardware, so-so software   October 27, 2003
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

The InkLink system consists of a clip that fits on the top of an ordinary writing pad, and a special pen. The clip connects either to the USB port of a desktop computer, or to a little gadget (supplied) that allows an IR connection to a palm or pocket PC.

The device is very good at what it does---digitising drawings and handwriting at extremely high resolution. I tried writing as small as I could on the pad, and it's still very good on-screen. The resolution's basically greater by the width of the ball-point pen.

The hardware is amazing, and works like this: the clip sends an infrared pulse to the pen, which then emits an ultrasonic pulse back. Two detectors on each end of the clip pick up the ultrasonic pulse, and knowing the speed of sound, calculate the exact position of the pen. It works perfectly, even right at the far edge of a letter-sized pad.

My main qualm is with the software. It's clunky and has no default vector export format. It took me a long time to work out how to export the drawings in a vector format (the supplied software allows export as .bmp, .jpg, and .png, all bitmat formats). To export in a vector format you have to print the page to a pdf file (using pdfwriter as a virtual printer), then import the pdf into a drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator. It would be really nice to be able to use this device directly in a drawing program, as an adjunct to the mouse.

Overall, I would recommend the Inklink. It's very good at what it does, and once the vector export is worked out, it works well as a vector input device. It's also amazing to write on an ordinary pad, and see the same marks come up on the screen. If only Seiko would put a bit of effort to the software, this could become a must-have device.


Wonderful device -- but where is Linux support?   September 13, 2003
 2 out of 8 found this review helpful

It is a wonderful device -- but why doesn't it support Linux? This makes it useless for many people, notably all those with the Sharp Zaurus handhelds. It's a shame, as the InkLink would be an ideal companion to the Zaurus C-760.


Nonplussed.   February 14, 2003
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

This product does everything advertised. I just wish it came with functional recognition software. It's not enough to be able to e-mail jpgs of my notes to someone else; I need my notes reliably converted into text.

As another reviewer so eloquently put it, this is nothing that can't be accomplished with a crayon and a scanner. The "Ooh and Ahh" factor of watching one's handwriting pop up on the screen isn't worth $.

If you want a way to get pictures of your handwriting from point A to point B, stick with your fax machine for now.