We all wish for a notebook that never runs out of paper. Finding the relevant notes amidst a sea of pages calls for technology to help. Around the world, there are some interesting products that are answering the paper woes. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Rocketbook Everlast
Rocketbook Innovations, co-founded by Joe Lemay and Jake Epstein, has come up with a smart paper-and-pen notebook that’s endlessly reusable.
Writing on the Everlast smart notebook is no different from the traditional ones. The fun part, however, is that the Rocketbook mobile application can scan and send the written notes to your selected cloud location. Also, the inks can be wiped off with a moist cloth, making the book as good as new.
For the paper reusability feature to work, you need a pen from Pilot’s FriXion gel ballpoint series. Everlast’s pages are made of a certain synthetic polyester mixture. The ink of FriXion pens is made of special dye and chemical compounds that complement the polyester paper.
At the bottom of the pages seven different symbols are scribbled. On the Rocketbook mobile application each of these symbols can be pre-routed to a particular cloud service of your choice. (Supported services include Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Slack and even e-mail.) Once the writing is done, mark the desired symbol on the paper. The symbol helps the app to determine the destination folder where the scanned image needs to be saved, and the file is stored likewise in sequential order (determined by a QR Code present on the corner of each page).
Scanning the pages is simple. Placing the mobile camera on the page takes full scan of the notes automatically within a fraction of a second. Each page has a narrow dark border surrounding it, which allows the Rocketbook app to find your page quickly in any environment or background. The Rocketbook app crops out the unnecessary surrounding elements.
Users have reported that after using the pages a number of times, a faded impression of the ink remains on the papers. However, the paper quality remains intact. The inks can be washed off even after 2-3 months.
Rocketbook Everlast is priced at $34 and can be purchased online from Rocketbook’s official website or Amazon.com.
Moleskine Evernote
Moleskine has been a popular contender in the smart notes industry, mainly for its Evernote mobile application. Recently, it has come up with a smart notebook of its own called the Evernote. Moleskine notebooks come in many size options. The smaller ones are easy to carry. While their paper is not reusable, its dotted texture helps to scan the written content accurately.
The Evernote application focuses on the paper based on the dots and scans the writings. Users can then manually store the scanned image in the Evernote cloud. Alternatively, Moleskine provides stickers, which, on attaching to the pages, direct the image file to the desired folder in the cloud scanned by the application. The notebook paper quality is also quite good. The product can be purchased online for around ` 1000. The Everlast cloud subscription costs extra.
Rocketbook Wave
Rocketbook Wave can be erased using quite an unexpected agent—the microwave! Surprising as it may sound, this series of notebooks has garnered much praise with some positive reviews. These notebooks too require use of Pilot FriXion series pens.
The Rocketbook application scans and stores notes in the same way as in the other Rocketbook version. After saving the notes you can microwave the notebook to erase its pages. You need to put Wave inside your microwave oven for about 30 seconds. The front logo on the cover will turn white. Now, take Wave out, flip it around and put it in for another 30 seconds. Finally, take Wave out and allow it to cool for three minutes. You will find that all of its pages are cleared.
The limitation of this notebook, however, is that it can be reused only four to five times. It is priced at $27.
