Fly Fusion Pentop Computer - useful for writers?

[A.C.]

http://www.flyworld.com/

I saw a commercial for this pen on TV, and after reading reviews, I finally decided to get it.

The main feature I bought it for is that it converts handwriting into text! I hate sitting infront of the computer for hours writing, so this seems like a good (and healthier?) solution.

The downside is that it only works with special Fly Notebooks (which are $8.00 for 160 pages). It also has a bunch of other features that are geared toward younger people, but I don't care about those. :)

When it arrives, I'll tell you guys how it works. In the meantime, as a novelist, do you see yourself using something like this?

(Note: This might not be in the right forum, so mods feel free to move it.)

[DeadlyAccurate]

I would love to try one of those out, and I'd definitely get one if it worked well. Even though I type quickly, I prefer to handwrite my books, and I'd love a quicker way to get them into the computer.

[Siddow]

I wonder what it would do with all the three-dimensional boxes and little hearts I tend to draw in the margins while writing by hand?

[scribbler1382]

For me, a lot of these gadgets seem incredibly cool and useful in magazines and ads, but tend to not live up to their potential. A few years ago I bought one of those hand scanners shaped like a giant pen. You could write with it, and the text was stored in the pen. The text could then be "beamed" to a PDA or computer. You could also scan individual lines of text from books and such.

It sat on my shelf for a year and a half before I sold it on ebay.

I'm sure there's a real market out there for these things, I'm just not it.

Best of luck.

[A.C.]

You can doodle/draw pictures. But when converting to text, you have to highlight the drawings 'cause they can't be converted to text!

This review has some pictures:

http://ohgizmo.com/2007/10/03/ohgizmo-review-leapfrog-fly-fusion-pentop-computer/

Though he didn't doodle anything in the margins.

[A.C.]

For me, a lot of these gadgets seem incredibly cool and useful in magazines and ads, but tend to not live up to their potential. A few years ago I bought one of those hand scanners shaped like a giant pen. You could write with it, and the text was stored in the pen. The text could then be "beamed" to a PDA or computer. You could also scan individual lines of text from books and such.

It sat on my shelf for a year and a half before I sold it on ebay.

I'm sure there's a real market out there for these things, I'm just not it.

Best of luck.

Did you actually use it?

I wouldn't buy something I didn't intend to use! lol

[Shadow_Ferret]

That FLy thingie sounds cool. Too bad you have to relearn how to write for it to work. I don't have that kind of patience, and when I'm writing and I'm hard into it, my writing becomes VERY illegible. I doubt that this thing would be very useful. And as someone who doesn't carry a notebook but writes on whatever is available, this certainly wouldn't be of much use because I'd have to lug the pen and the notepad around with me.

[A.C.]

That's what I thought, too. But the review I mentioned above says this:

Based on comments made on a related post it has come to my attention that the FLY Fusion pen and software is actually able to record and recognize written text. While the other functions, including the FLY Compass menus and interactive applications seem to require you to print from my testing, notes captured in cursive writing can be converted to editable text with the FLY World software. While I found the accuracy to be slightly less than with printed text, it still recognized most of my particularly poor scribblings.

I'll try it with my normal handwriting (which isn't cursive at all) and see how it works.

Of course, if your handwriting is really inconsistent, this might not be for you!

[NicoleMD]

If they came up with one that didn't require special paper, I might give it a try. I write a lot by hand, though typing in from handwritten to computer gives me a chance to edit as I transfer.

Nicole

[WriterGirl2007]

This sounds great AC! I will be very interested to see if you like it when you get the Fly pen. I'd subscribe to this thread but I don't know how to do that, lol.

I can definitely see where this would be great for me! I write my book ideas and business ideas down in a notebook, and it would be sooo helpful if it could be automatically changed into a text document. Cool idea.

[maestrowork]

Actually, they work pretty well. Not 100% especially in handwriting recognition, but not too bad either. It's a good alternative to Tablet PC.

[Nymtoc]

I never write by hand--I'm strictly a keyboard man--but I'll be interested to hear more about it.

:D

[arodriguez]

I couldn't live without my notebook pc. I have a docking station witha seperate keyboard for when i need to sit down and write serious. otherwise i take the pc wherever i go and write wherever i am. starbucks, barnes and noble, work..whatever.

i remember long ago using pen and paper to write, my hand would cramp up after a few pages. how can you stand it?

[WVWriterGirl]

My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, and I told her I wanted a FLY Fusion pen set. I'll be getting one come December 25.

Last year my husband bought me not one but two USB tablets that came with handwriting recognition software, and I couldn't use them. You had to press down too hard to be of any use for a writer. While it did recognize my handwriting after A LOT of practice, the pressure required (even though I sat it to the lightest-touch possible setting) was just too much for my poor hand. I haven't touched them in about 10 months. I think my husband plays with them occasionally to scribble pictures and such, but nothing serious.

I have high hopes for FLY Fusion, though. And if it doesn't work out for me as a writer, perhaps it will be of some use to my 5-year-old somewhere down the line.

[scribbler1382]

Last year my husband bought me not one but two USB tablets that came with handwriting recognition software, and I couldn't use them. You had to press down too hard to be of any use for a writer.

Sounds like what you really wanted was a tablet computer (http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Usage&v1=Travel%2Fmobility&series_name=tx1000z_series).

Best of luck with whatever you get.

[A.C.]

Hey guys! I got the pen yesterday and I've been playing with it a little bit. To show you an idea of how well it converts handwriting into text, here is something I wrote today:

----------------------------------------------------------

Plight how I'm sitting at the Kitchen table, writing in my
fly notebook, The notebook itself looks pretty normal except for the fact that it has thousands of little dots... I guess that's why I can't use regular paper,
Anyway, I got it yesterday, The pen itself is a little bulky, but my hands are big, so it does not really bother me.!

It can do all Kinds of things-translate from English To Spanish, and vice Versa; play music (it has some built in songs), The pen Works by tapping stuff-there is a menu on the front and back Lovers of the notebook. You can also just print the letter "M" and encircle it and tap it-pretty easy!

Anyhow, I plan to start writing my novel soon, I think I'm going to use one notebook per novel (a short Sins 1-draf A be expanded later), I'll see how that plan works out.
By the way, right now I'm writing in my regn rat handwriting. Did I just misspell regular??
And that is pretty much it, Hopefully This is readable once I convert it to text.

----------------------------------------------------------

Obviously, it's not perfect. I think I need to practice a little with it in order to make my handwriting more "readable."

In conclusion, it's pretty cool!!

(Oooh...and it knows which page you are writing on in the notebook. I don't know how, but it's pretty cool!)

[Pamster]

Awesome A.C. I think that was really cool, hopefully it will be useful to you in writing that novel. :D Thanks for posting about it. :D

[scribbler1382]

Cool, A.C.!

Have fun.

[A.C.]

I think it's awesome that they made something like this available for under a hundred dollars. (It cost me $80.)

It can hold mp3s and other such things, but I think that would probably fill up its memory too quickly, so I just plan to use it for writing.

Also, I myself don't really have a problem with some of the mistakes it makes...'cause that gives me a reason to go over and edit what I've written. :)

I'll report back when I fill a whole notebook worth of stuff, and let you guys know how it went. (It might take a while, though. LOL!)