The Pocket PC probably has the best natural handwriting recognition of any handheld on the market. But you have to admit that a pencil is still a lot easier to use. If you find yourself torn between the two, you might want to check out Seiko Instrument's SmartPad for the Pocket PC.

The SmartPad transfers your handwritten notes to your Pocket PC as you write them down on a pad of paper. Your Pocket PC attaches to the left side of the SmartPad leather case using two Velcro strips. On the right side of the leather case is a digitizing tablet that captures your handwritten notes and sketches as they're made on the paper covering it. A hidden cable connects the digitizing tablet to an infrared transceiver located above the Pocket PC on the left side of the leather case. This infrared transceiver communicates with your Pocket PC's infrared port.

INSTALLING AND USING THE INKNOTE MANAGER SOFTWARE

The SmartPad comes with InkNote Manager, a software program that installs on your Pocket PC and lets it work with the information sent by the digitizing tablet. InkNote Manager also installs on your desktop PC and lets you view and edit SmartPad notes synchronized to your desktop PC from your Pocket PC.

InkNote Manager has two views: Explorer and Note Editor. Explorer lists all the notes that you have created using SmartPad (see Screen 1). You can also use Explorer to display detailed or thumbnail views of the notes you have created. On the Pocket PC, Note Editor lets you view and edit the current SmartPad note, or any note you've previously created (see Screen 2). You can assign a category and keywords to a note while editing it, making it easier to find later on using the Explorer view. On the desktop PC, Note Editor only lets you view and edit existing notes that have been synchronized from the Pocket PC. You cannot create new SmartPad notes from the desktop PC.

Screen 1: InkNote Manager's Explorer view lists all the notes that you have created using SmartPad, and lets you display detailed or thumbnail views of them.

Screen 2: InkNote Manager's Note Editor lets you view and modify the ink notes you've created. It pops up on the Pocket PC when you are creating a new note.

To use the SmartPad, you must first start the InkNote Manager software on your Pocket PC. After that, Note Editor pops up automatically whenever you start writing a note. You have to use the special pen that comes with SmartPad, so don't lose it. The digitizing tablet below the paper senses the position of the SmartPad pen and communicates its exact location to the Pocket PC. The InkNote Manager software converts this information into useable handwritten notes.

The handwritten notes are stored on your Pocket PC as an ".ink" file. These files are transferred automatically to your desktop PC whenever you synchronize your Pocket PC with the desktop PC. However, you must have the Files box checked in ActiveSync's Sync Options screen for this to occur.

VIEWING, GROUPING, AND HIGHLIGHTING NOTES

As mentioned, Note Editor lets you view and modify the ink notes you've created. Here are some of the features of Note Editor: