Montblanc's premium premium pen - the most expensive smart pen today
Perhaps the creation of a separate project under the smart handle in the company of Montblanc was a matter of time: who if not them? To date, there are not so many brands that are associated with handles, and the premium class is generally two or three names.
Pens in “Mont Blanc” is a story from 1906, connected with innovations, discoveries and recognition all over the world, so one can say that, in the category of these gadgets, the company was basically expected. And today we will show what waited.
By itself, the market for smart pens is not so voluminous, to be honest. It is expected that by 2024 the turnover in the category will reach $ 4.260 million, not showing the most progressive increase (about 18%).
There are not so many implemented projects either: today there are probably no more than a dozen famous “long-playing players”. And, to my surprise, if we consider the Western "Top-5", "Top-10", dedicated to this topic, then Montblanc is not often present there. And if it is present, it gets very contradictory assessments .
The technologies on the basis of which smart pens are working have also exhausted themselves: today, smartpens are known that recognize text using an infrared scanner - for example, our pen from Neolab. There are also pens (Equill), where text recognition takes place with the help of an additional “base” on top of the sheet, and there are Wacom technologies (known to many from Bamboo Spark) - as they say in the network - which are based on electromagnetic resonance.
It is on the basis of Wacom and the Montblanc smart kit works.
How much does it cost
? This story, of course, was originally from before the “kata”, it was necessary to begin with the price. Montblanc is a premium class, and everything that a company supplies to the market is, in the usual sense, expensive. Considering that we are all accustomed to the fact that the niche of gadgets somehow becomes cheaper from year to year, buying a smart kit for 50,000 rubles seems strange.
Nevertheless, there are several answers to the criticism of prices. Firstly, of course, these are products for those who usually enter GUM or TsUM with shouts, such as: “carry something more expensive”. The main audience of such brands is people who have money. When we talked in GUM and in the Atrium with representatives of Montblanc, it turned out that some of them, in principle, take such a kit just to “immediately all”: a pen, a notebook, and a leather cover.
Also, the demand for a prestigious accessory greatly increases during the holidays, and if there is a so-called “best business gift”, then this is most likely an expensive pen, and here the choice is very, very narrow. And if other companies (the same Neolab) are trying to expand their audience, making special educational applications or creative, then in Montblanc everything is easier - this is a business segment.
And finally, we must pay tribute to the fact that the company is “cashing in” is not very much: the minimum cost of a complete pen from the StarWalker collection is 20,800 rubles; the minimum cost of a folder for documents is 38,200 rubles, a daily planner or an organizer is 25,700; the cost of a small notebook - from 2900 rubles. That is, it turns out that such a kit is also a bargain, because the cost of a Wacom tablet seems not to be included here.
How it looks
You get the device in an impressive box, inside which everything is neatly packed, wrapped in velvet. This is probably some special ritual that is inherent in the entire "luxury". Inside - a leather folder, quite restrained, and the only decoration is a dot-logo.
In terms of performance, everything is flawless in principle: smooth seams, neat and durable structure of the kit, soft leather. This folder is really nice to hold.
The folder is designed in such a way that all the components of the kit can be simultaneously in one place. Plus, there are additional pockets on one (non-working) side, for example, for business cards.
The full working set is a pen + notebook + folder with a tablet “sewn into” it.
All electronics fit on one side. And this may cause some inconvenience. When we first opened the test pad, it immediately caught my eye - people wrote only on one side.
Indeed, in order to fill the entire notebook on both sides, it will have to be shifted to the reading surface, which (depending on whether you are left-handed or right-handed) will be on the right or left.
However, unlike some other pens, there is no need for any special paper here, and there is no dependence on branded notebooks and in general from notebooks. For convenience, you can choose the usual single sheet, make a record, save it and not see this "one-sided" problem.
From the "electronic" elements: the on and off button:
Connector for the charging cable:
And the central button, which is already inside the folder: it performs the functions of synchronizing the device with the smartphone and using it - the records are stored in the memory of the gadget.
And here we should make a separate remark, especially since Western commentators are paying attention to this. Most smart pens are capable of transmitting data in real time. Here synchronization is a little different:
In other words, it will not work to observe the emerging picture in the smartphone. This is both a minus and probably a plus. For example, those pens that work through an infrared scanner have special notebooks with micromarking, and the application remembers the whole page. That is, writing something on one of the pages, "zero" it will not work.
In the case of Montblanc, things are a little different: you can use the same sheet as long as there is at least some free space on it, translating each note as a separate sheet into the app at the touch of a button.
And, of course, the most valuable element of the kit is the pen. She is special.
As they say in one edition:
In other words: unlike Equill, for example, we don’t have two gadgets to charge. We have one gadget - a tablet. In the pen itself there are no batteries, and it does not “sit down” at the most inappropriate moment.
As already mentioned, for this project, the company chose a ballpoint pen from the StarWalker collection. It features a discreet design, classic appearance.
Crowned cap soaring inside the glass (gel?) Tip company logo.
This pen does not disassemble and does not unwind.
And in order to change the rod, you must use a special "tweezers". The rod is pulled out in front.
Despite the fact that the application has a step-by-step instruction, when we first met, in principle, it was immediately clear how it works: a couple of buttons, a charging connector, a tablet. Connected, wrote, remembered.
Montblanc
application The application, although in English, is not very complicated. Its main task is to save notes, which can later be assigned "tags", as well as send them immediately to the right recipients.
After saving a note in one form or another, in the future you can return to it, make a new mark on it, even manually, with your finger across the display - the application works in the “no-pen” mode. Moreover, it is possible to correct what is written by the means of the software itself: there is an amusing function “Split” - a gradual deletion of the written.
In fact, to be completely honest, the “remote” is, as it were, transferred to the same place, but to another page. Nevertheless, it is probably possible to quickly correct the data in this way.
Well, then - the matter of technology: return to the main screen, find "Lena", which remained in its place on the new sheet, and -
If we want to completely remove something from the written, then in the note editing mode, it is enough to use a virtual eraser.
Also, the note can be expanded, probably in order to make the interlocutor, who may be on the right, or on the left, or opposite you, it would be more convenient to read your entry.
In the settings of the application, you can change the color of lines and thickness. There is enough palette to mark important tasks with different colors.
The thickness of the proposed three basic options: pen, roller, marker. And this is very good, considering that directly our pen is a ball pen. The lines from the “digital pen” are very similar to the original ones.
Well, of course, the application is a way to control the charge of the device: in the settings it is in a separate menu bar.
So what is the result?
Before us is a prestigious accessory of a world-famous brand, and this, of course, is worth a lot in absolute money. However, here, in general, a tablet comes as a gift, so the user only pays for Montblanc. It seems to be honest.
Despite the fact that niche and smart pens, seemingly small, and there are proposals and cheaper and less cumbersome, the Google Store suggests that this package is necessaryabout 10,000 installations. And this is the same as at the moment at the Equill smart pen.
As in the case of the Montblanc watch on Android Wear, it’s quite difficult to talk about the advantages and disadvantages, because Mont Blanc will be directly responsible for the advantages, but the software provider will be responsible for the advantages, and this is not entirely fair. The company Montblanc did not develop electronics. But in general, everything works correctly within the stated features: the application performs its basic functions regularly.
To date, products from this collection are available in several colors "male" and female ".
Pens in “Mont Blanc” is a story from 1906, connected with innovations, discoveries and recognition all over the world, so one can say that, in the category of these gadgets, the company was basically expected. And today we will show what waited.
By itself, the market for smart pens is not so voluminous, to be honest. It is expected that by 2024 the turnover in the category will reach $ 4.260 million, not showing the most progressive increase (about 18%).
There are not so many implemented projects either: today there are probably no more than a dozen famous “long-playing players”. And, to my surprise, if we consider the Western "Top-5", "Top-10", dedicated to this topic, then Montblanc is not often present there. And if it is present, it gets very contradictory assessments .
The technologies on the basis of which smart pens are working have also exhausted themselves: today, smartpens are known that recognize text using an infrared scanner - for example, our pen from Neolab. There are also pens (Equill), where text recognition takes place with the help of an additional “base” on top of the sheet, and there are Wacom technologies (known to many from Bamboo Spark) - as they say in the network - which are based on electromagnetic resonance.
It is on the basis of Wacom and the Montblanc smart kit works.
How much does it cost
? This story, of course, was originally from before the “kata”, it was necessary to begin with the price. Montblanc is a premium class, and everything that a company supplies to the market is, in the usual sense, expensive. Considering that we are all accustomed to the fact that the niche of gadgets somehow becomes cheaper from year to year, buying a smart kit for 50,000 rubles seems strange.
Nevertheless, there are several answers to the criticism of prices. Firstly, of course, these are products for those who usually enter GUM or TsUM with shouts, such as: “carry something more expensive”. The main audience of such brands is people who have money. When we talked in GUM and in the Atrium with representatives of Montblanc, it turned out that some of them, in principle, take such a kit just to “immediately all”: a pen, a notebook, and a leather cover.
Also, the demand for a prestigious accessory greatly increases during the holidays, and if there is a so-called “best business gift”, then this is most likely an expensive pen, and here the choice is very, very narrow. And if other companies (the same Neolab) are trying to expand their audience, making special educational applications or creative, then in Montblanc everything is easier - this is a business segment.
And finally, we must pay tribute to the fact that the company is “cashing in” is not very much: the minimum cost of a complete pen from the StarWalker collection is 20,800 rubles; the minimum cost of a folder for documents is 38,200 rubles, a daily planner or an organizer is 25,700; the cost of a small notebook - from 2900 rubles. That is, it turns out that such a kit is also a bargain, because the cost of a Wacom tablet seems not to be included here.
How it looks
You get the device in an impressive box, inside which everything is neatly packed, wrapped in velvet. This is probably some special ritual that is inherent in the entire "luxury". Inside - a leather folder, quite restrained, and the only decoration is a dot-logo.
In terms of performance, everything is flawless in principle: smooth seams, neat and durable structure of the kit, soft leather. This folder is really nice to hold.
The folder is designed in such a way that all the components of the kit can be simultaneously in one place. Plus, there are additional pockets on one (non-working) side, for example, for business cards.
The full working set is a pen + notebook + folder with a tablet “sewn into” it.
All electronics fit on one side. And this may cause some inconvenience. When we first opened the test pad, it immediately caught my eye - people wrote only on one side.
Indeed, in order to fill the entire notebook on both sides, it will have to be shifted to the reading surface, which (depending on whether you are left-handed or right-handed) will be on the right or left.
However, unlike some other pens, there is no need for any special paper here, and there is no dependence on branded notebooks and in general from notebooks. For convenience, you can choose the usual single sheet, make a record, save it and not see this "one-sided" problem.
From the "electronic" elements: the on and off button:
Connector for the charging cable:
And the central button, which is already inside the folder: it performs the functions of synchronizing the device with the smartphone and using it - the records are stored in the memory of the gadget.
And here we should make a separate remark, especially since Western commentators are paying attention to this. Most smart pens are capable of transmitting data in real time. Here synchronization is a little different:
- You write a note
- You push the button
- Data is sent
In other words, it will not work to observe the emerging picture in the smartphone. This is both a minus and probably a plus. For example, those pens that work through an infrared scanner have special notebooks with micromarking, and the application remembers the whole page. That is, writing something on one of the pages, "zero" it will not work.
In the case of Montblanc, things are a little different: you can use the same sheet as long as there is at least some free space on it, translating each note as a separate sheet into the app at the touch of a button.
UPD. 13:52. We have just received a clarification from representatives of Montblanc. In the latest models of this year, instant display on the screen in real time is implemented. In the Russian retail, while both models are presented.
And, of course, the most valuable element of the kit is the pen. She is special.
As they say in one edition:
The operation of an EMR device can be explained (not quite in a scientific way) like this. At the tip of the pen is placed transceiver element in the form of a resonant LC circuit (capacitor C and inductance L). The working surface (for example, the cover of the notepad) forms the matrix of inductive transceivers. As is known, an electric current in a closed circuit appears when the magnetic flux passing through it changes. And it is possible to change external magnetic flux, for example, by supplying inductive transmitters (antennas) with alternating current. The induced oscillations in the LC circuit of the pen in turn cause changes in the intrinsic magnetic flux, which leads to the generation of electrical response signals in inductive receivers on the working surface. If you measure the induced signal on these sensors at several points,East
In other words: unlike Equill, for example, we don’t have two gadgets to charge. We have one gadget - a tablet. In the pen itself there are no batteries, and it does not “sit down” at the most inappropriate moment.
As already mentioned, for this project, the company chose a ballpoint pen from the StarWalker collection. It features a discreet design, classic appearance.
Crowned cap soaring inside the glass (gel?) Tip company logo.
This pen does not disassemble and does not unwind.
And in order to change the rod, you must use a special "tweezers". The rod is pulled out in front.
Despite the fact that the application has a step-by-step instruction, when we first met, in principle, it was immediately clear how it works: a couple of buttons, a charging connector, a tablet. Connected, wrote, remembered.
Montblanc
application The application, although in English, is not very complicated. Its main task is to save notes, which can later be assigned "tags", as well as send them immediately to the right recipients.
After saving a note in one form or another, in the future you can return to it, make a new mark on it, even manually, with your finger across the display - the application works in the “no-pen” mode. Moreover, it is possible to correct what is written by the means of the software itself: there is an amusing function “Split” - a gradual deletion of the written.
In fact, to be completely honest, the “remote” is, as it were, transferred to the same place, but to another page. Nevertheless, it is probably possible to quickly correct the data in this way.
Well, then - the matter of technology: return to the main screen, find "Lena", which remained in its place on the new sheet, and -
If we want to completely remove something from the written, then in the note editing mode, it is enough to use a virtual eraser.
Also, the note can be expanded, probably in order to make the interlocutor, who may be on the right, or on the left, or opposite you, it would be more convenient to read your entry.
In the settings of the application, you can change the color of lines and thickness. There is enough palette to mark important tasks with different colors.
The thickness of the proposed three basic options: pen, roller, marker. And this is very good, considering that directly our pen is a ball pen. The lines from the “digital pen” are very similar to the original ones.
Well, of course, the application is a way to control the charge of the device: in the settings it is in a separate menu bar.
So what is the result?
Before us is a prestigious accessory of a world-famous brand, and this, of course, is worth a lot in absolute money. However, here, in general, a tablet comes as a gift, so the user only pays for Montblanc. It seems to be honest.
Despite the fact that niche and smart pens, seemingly small, and there are proposals and cheaper and less cumbersome, the Google Store suggests that this package is necessaryabout 10,000 installations. And this is the same as at the moment at the Equill smart pen.
As in the case of the Montblanc watch on Android Wear, it’s quite difficult to talk about the advantages and disadvantages, because Mont Blanc will be directly responsible for the advantages, but the software provider will be responsible for the advantages, and this is not entirely fair. The company Montblanc did not develop electronics. But in general, everything works correctly within the stated features: the application performs its basic functions regularly.
To date, products from this collection are available in several colors "male" and female ".