This Smartpad Seamlessly Uploads Your Handwritten Notes and Drawings to Your Device

If you're like me and prefer to write things down on paper, you've probably experienced the hassle of having to type out your notes to have a digital copy. Or you've facepalmed when you realized your forgot your notebook at home when you needed it for a meeting. Enter Bamboo Slate, an innovative smartpad by Wacom that eliminates any of those issues by seamlessly digitizing your notes and sketches. With a push of a button, anything you write or draw on the smartpad's surface will convert into a digital format and appear on your device.

How It Works

Bamboo Slate comes with a special pen that writes and feels like a normal ballpoint ink pen. Because it's pressure-sensitive, the smartpad can detect hard or light strokes. Worried about losing it? The smartpad can track the pen's location. Though you do have to refill the ink cartridge every now and then (product comes with one refill), you can use any paper on the Slate, even a napkin.

After you connect the Slate to your phone via Bluetooth, download the free Inkspace app (available on iOS and Android). The Inkspace app is where all your work will be uploaded. Once this is done, all you need to do is push the smartpad's single button to convert your writing into JPG, PNG, PDF, or SVG file formats.

See it in action in the video below!

What It Comes With

• Bamboo Slate with notepad
• Pen with one refill
• Micro USB cable for charging

Perks

• You can organize, edit, and share your work on iOS or Android devices.
• You can add strokes and color with editable digital ink.
• You can sync to Dropbox, Evernote, and OneNote in addition to Inkspace.

Final Thoughts

I can definitely see myself putting the Bamboo Slate to various uses, like converting my calligraphy into digital images and keeping all my work notes organized. I was pretty surprised at how the smartpad picked up my writing so accurately. It was easy to figure out, and the one-button function made uploading my work so simple. I can also see this device being useful for college students, artists, and anyone who prefers paper to digital — you get the best of both worlds!

And in terms of competitive pricing, the Bamboo Slate is cheaper (and larger) than the Moleskine Smart Writing Set. The small Slate is $130 (size of an iPad) and the large is $150 (about A4 letter size) compared to Moleskine's $199 notebook. I also like that I can use any kind of paper for the Bamboo Slate, whereas the notebook requires both a special pen and paper.

Overall, I'm excited to see what this smartpad is capable of!