Review: XP-Pen Note Plus Smart Notepad for Digital Writing

The XP-Pen Note Plus or Note+ is a device that can convert your handwritten notes or drawing into digital files quickly. The functionality is kinda similar to the Wacom Bamboo Slate that I've reviewed before, but the XP-Pen Note Plus is significantly cheaper at US $89 vs $140+ for the Wacom device.

This is a folio design with a cover.

The cover has this nice cloth-like texture although it's not cloth. It feels quite durable.

Inside the folio is an A5-sized notepad.

You can actually use your own notepad once you use up the one provided. Just make sure you get one that's the right size to slot into the slot on the back cover.

The other things included in the box are

• Quick start guide
• Warranty policy
• Card with download links to the app
• MiniStar ballpoint refill
• Ballpoint refill remover
• Charging cable for the folio

Build quality of the pen is solid. I like the matte texture surface and it's really nice to hold.

The pen actually uses the MiniStar ballpoint refill which you can buy online or at stationery shops.

The first thing to do is to download the XP-Pen Note+ app from the Google Playstore or Apple App store

Before you can use Note+, you have to pair it using Bluetooth with your Android or iOS device. There are step-by-step instructions on the pairing process. Basically, you need to pair Note+ using the app provided.

These are some details regarding the Note+ device. The battery life is said to last for 16 hours if you write non-stop. Standby time is 50 hours. To fully charge Note+, it takes 2.5 hours. The pen does not require charging because it's no battery powered.

There's supposed to be cloud backup but I'm not sure where the files actually go to. XP-Pen's server?

After you've paired the device with your phone, you can start writing.

After you fill up a page, you've got to save it by pressing the button at the bottom. That component beside the button is the charging port.

Note+ is able to capture my handwriting quite accurately. It's probably about 95% accurate. The only discrepancies or differences I notice are there are sometimes gaps between strokes when there should not be any. There's also handwriting recognition software which does a rather good job at converting handwritten notes into editable text that you can copy and paste elsewhere.

In the photo above, the word lazy was misread as key but if you look at my handwriting, you can see that it was really difficult to read the original anyway.

You can also draw on Note+ and convert your drawings into digital files.

Notice there are some gaps again, at the hairline.

After you have the files on the Note+ app, you can transfer them to your computer. It's not a direct transfer because you have to transfer it somewhere, in my case I use Google Driver, and download it onto your computer. You can export in three file formats, namely JPEG, PNG and (animated) GIF.

The JPEG file resolution just 1242 x 1651. Note there are the DATE and PAGE labels at the top.

The PNG resolution is much higher at 3726 x 4953. That's good for a 31 x 41 cm print at 300 DPI. PNG separates the lines from the background so you can import your line art or text somewhere else.

Lines in the PNG files look sharper. There seems to be less compression. Note the strokes can have varying thickness but I won't call the ballpoint pen pressure sensitive. The style looks like it has been applied by software. But at least the lines have sharp edges.

The GIF file also has the DATE and PAGE at the top so you'll need to crop those off. This GIF file above is 0.5MB.

Conclusion

This is a device for people who want an easy and convenient way to digitise their handwritten notes or drawings. It's able to capture what you've written quite accurately, maybe 95% accuracy, so that's good. The key features would be the ability to convert handwritten notes into editable text, and you can turn your drawings into animated GIF easily.

Availability
The XP-Pen Note+ is available from XP-Pen's website and Amazon (check out more reviews there):
XP-Pen store | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp