The Livescribe Sky pen is a note-taker’s new must-have tool

Livescribe’s basic sales pitch is simple, and it’s never really changed. The company sells pens that record audio as you write notes, and syncs the two together so you can go back and tap on a note or drawing and hear what was being said at the moment you were writing. It’s a great idea, but Livescribe’s problem has been its implementation: the company’s always had clunky apps that require you to constantly plug in your pen, makes you buy specialized (and expensive) notebooks, and hasn’t provided good tools for managing your notes. But that’s all changed.