We needed to re-sync a few times during use as the connection was occasionally lost after not using the Livescribe Symphony for a short time, but this wasn't too fiddly. A backup sync method has you holding your finger to the pen tip which is a bit uncomfortable but you should be fine with the conventional method of tapping on the 'device pairing' icon on your notebook or pad of paper.
#CNET LIVESCRIBE DESKTOP BLUETOOTH#
Its syncing process isn't like with usual Bluetooth devices as you have to do it via the dedicated app, but it's intuitive enough and tells you exactly what to do. We simply plugged it into a power source then switched over to the iOS app to sync up. Setup is fairly straightforward with the Livescribe Symphony. Ultimately, while you know this is a smartpen, you won't be punished with the sensation of carrying an oversized smart device when in the boardroom or taking notes in class. It's not the prettiest looking thing but you'll barely notice it in action, especially when you place the pen lid on that side. The other end of the pen is devoted to the USB connector. It glides across the paper well, not scratching at all, and feeling comfortable to use. Pull the pen lid off and you'll notice its fine nib looks like a more high-end pen than a simple ballpoint pen. It's a somewhat chunky looking fountain pen but it still looks rather appealing and it's easy enough to grip onto, even with small hands and fingers. The Livescribe Symphony looks like a regular pen. Just bear in mind the added expense when budgeting accordingly. It's far more convenient to buy a notebook or journal and use that to write in than deal with the hassle of printing your own. The paper isn't vital as it's possible to print out the required microdot paper via the Livescribe website but it does help a lot. Ink refills cost £9.99/$9.99 for a pack of 8 and notebooks cost from £8.99/$8.99. The Livescribe Symphony is priced at £119.99/$109.99 but you'll need to factor in additional running costs. It might not be perfect and we have slight reservations upon the need to buy ink refills and (ideally) dedicated paper, but as this device seems best for note taking rather than essay writing, this shouldn't be an issue too often. Overall though, we were quite impressed with the Livescribe Symphony. It generally wasn't a big issue but once in a while, a hard reboot/putting the lid on the pen for a few seconds was necessary to get everything running smoothly again. Sometimes, after a while of not using it, we'd return to the Livescribe Symphony and find that we needed to repair the pen with our phone. The only real issue we came across was occasional pairing issues. It works remarkably well at picking up your words speedily. It's a useful bonus but, ultimately, you're probably considering this pen for its writing capabilities rather than anything else. You can record audio clips too although this is dependent on your phone's microphone as the Livescribe Symphony doesn't have one built-in, unlike earlier Livescribe models that automatically synced text with recorded audio. It's also possible to share the content with multiple popular services like Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneNote. Once the information is on screen, you can choose to use the app's OCR function to switch it over to text or you can leave it as handwriting. The only downside is that seeing your handwriting appear on screen may soon remind you that it's not as pretty looking as it may have once been, but we're ok to skip vanity. The app and pen recognises when you're using different notebooks which is a great touch if you like to keep work and pleasure separate. The only difference is that if the Livescribe Symphony app is next to you, you can see it appear on screen. It's just as simple and obvious as writing like normal. Once the app and smartpen are paired up, you can begin writing.
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