Ok, so I was watching my nighttime programs, namely any decent scifi or horror I can find, or anime, and I saw a commercial for a new gadget. Well, maybe not SO new, as it had a commercial, but new enough. It's called a Fly Fusion Pentop Computer. So, I went to the site and watched the demo. Way cool!
This thing works with it's special paper to digitize handwriting. But it does more.....it's a calculator, an mp3 player, a translator, and more, with the help of additional proprietary programming. The device by itself is way cool, but two of the programs available for it are truly noteworthy. One is a program that will help you with algebra, and if I understand it right, it will even help you study for tests! The other is a translation program that works in a unique way, you write the word in english, and it speaks the word back to you in either spanish or french, depending on which software you loaded.
I am seriously thinking about getting this thing as a holiday gift! All the reviews I have read are positive...so far the only two limitations it seems to have within it's focus of functions is that the digitized handwriting in jpeg form can be a little "joggy", meaning that a straight line drawn on the paper is a little jagged on the edges on the computer. The other is that it only recognizes printing and not cursive....but most folks I know do most of their writing in printed form anyway.
None of the software is terribly expensive either...the average is about $13, and the notebooks with the special paper are around $8. The device itself sells for $80 plus shipping, and for that price the device seems to have good battery life as well, running for a full school day on one charge. The memory will hold many pages of captured writing until you get home and sync it with a USB cable to a PC--sorry mac folk, not compatible. This thing is a must for anyone who takes lots of notes, or who writes by hand, but wants to store their work on a computer. While it is marketed to the middle and high school crowd, it doesn't look like a kid's toy, it looks more like a high-end gadget you'd find in Sharper Image. Leapfrog makes it, and seem to have done a good job.
Huh, maybe I should be writing their sales pitches!
I'm still deciding, but it looks like a strong contender for holiday gift this year!
Black Rose
|