I’ve been busy with a new toy. It’s a digital notebook with reusable pages. Not high tech, but I like it. It’s from Rocketbook. I got the basic model in the Executive size (6″ x 8.8″) but they also offer the notebooks in letter size as well as a mini-notebook. They also offer multiple colors. It comes with a special pen, a Pilot Frixion, which allows you to easily erase what you write using a little water and a microfiber cloth.
You write on the pages, with ONLY a Pilot Frixion pen, scan it with the Rocketbook app on your phone or tablet, and it gets sent to the locations you have chosen. You can set up, on the app, up to seven different locations ranging from email addresses to the various cloud services (Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote, etc.). You can see the symbols on the left where you can write in what you have set as destinations in the app.
The use of hashtags, as shown in the photo below, allows you to title the document.
## Hunt & Tech ## is the title of the document.
If you print, you can use the handwriting recognition to translate your page into text. Once scanned with the Rocketbook app, it will be sent to the designated destination(s) as a .PDF unless you are sending to email and have designated it to send at .TXT. You can also choose if you want to embed the translation in the email or attach as a .TXT file. If you embed, it will also attach a .PDF.
Here is what I tested it with using the page above. I had selected to have the translation embedded. If I am using it for writing, I will probably do the .TXT attachment so I can easily edit/copy & paste into Scrivener.
The downside is it takes longer to print, so I tend to scrawl what I write and use it more for ticklers, to do lists, and general notes that I will type up later since I can type fairly quickly. But I love the ability to quickly jot notes before I forget.
I’m on my second cover for it. Initially, I splurged on a real leather one but it was too bulky and I couldn’t fold it backwards. I wanted the smaller profile for lap writing. I am pretty happy with my current one (at less than half the price) but tried a third cover (even less expensive). It looked like it would be similar to what I used in my professional career for the yellow pads we all used. But it not only was it slightly too large, it was way to floppy and didn’t provide a stable surface for writing.
I’ve also tried several different Pilot Frixion pens and added a couple of accessories:
- Pilot FriXion Ball 0.7mm Erasable Gel Pens, Fine Point – this is what came with the Rocketbook and what I like the best after trying two other styles.
- Pilot Frixion Fineliner Erasable Marker Pens, Fine – good for wider lines
- Pilot FriXion Clicker Retractable Gel Ink Pens, Erasable, Fine Point 0.7mm – strange clicking mechanism. I suspect I will end up using these more on paper.
- Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips, Pack of 3 – I started with one medium brush and like it so this is the latest addition.
- i-Clip Magnetic Page Markers – I am in love with these! Now I can easily open the book and find marked sections. THIS PAGE shows the various selections, I got the owls and will be getting the pandas. Just watch the price, most are only $3.95 but not all!
It’s not perfect a perfect system, but it works for me!
Thank you.
I like seeing the phone pocket. Looks like you use the USB for charging. Does it have Bluetooth?
No phone pocket…if you’re talking about the last photo, that is a side view and the blue is the pen in the pen holder. I was showing how it looks with the mini-magnets used as page markers. Oops!
Nice idea, just not for me. I like the old-fashioned reading tracker. Granted, I have a hard time remembering to do anything these days! I need one that I can verbally tell what I read – title, author, date published, number of pages, when I started reading, when I finished book, rating, and review! I wonder if there is one of those out there? If not, why? lol
Hmmm, not sure I’d use the Rocketbook for that but for me, it’s perfect for those quick notes you don’t need to keep forever. I won’t use the scanning app much, I just love the erasability rather than using a ton of paper.