Product: Acecad DigiMemo A501 Price: US$99 Pros: Easy to use, stand-alone, uses paper and ink Cons: Proprietary file type. Adds little to existing offerings
I was more excited about Acecad's DigiMemo A501 before I actually saw it than after, although it is a great little device. In short, the DigiMemo allows you to write with normal ink on to normal paper, and then save it to a digital file and upload it to a PC.
At the heart of the DigiMemo is a clipboard, which looks quite ordinary. But beneath the paper is a kind of magnetic scanner. A special pen transmits electrical signals to the scanning bed below, capturing in digital format all that is being written in ink on the paper above.
While the pen itself is specific to the DigiMemo, the ink comes in a standard cartridge. You can use any colour ink on the paper, but it makes no difference to the colour of the 'writing' being saved to the DigiMemo.
The designers have tried to simulate the basic pen and paper environment, dividing work into files of one page each, then reproducing that on the screen. After uploading the files by USB to a PC, you can manipulate them like you would any graphic file.
The built-in 8MB of flash memory can save 999 files, or 40 fully laden A5 sheets, while a Compact Flash slot expands the capacity further. A small, monochrome LCD display and four function buttons let you select which page to write on or erase.