**REVIEW** Rocketbook Core (updated)

(Go to the bottom of the post for a couple of updates)

Five years ago when I got the Livescribe Echo, I was still writing short stories. In the past couple of years, I have been using it for Bible study notes, writing a family journal (as I add to the family tree), and keeping some notes on my health. The one problem is, the software that I used that snappy my writings to text has been discontinued. All my notes now are as I write them.

A while back, someone was teasing me because I go through so many sticky notes. I explained that I have to write everything down - if I talk to the internet company or call someone about my insurance, etc - I jot notes on a sticky. It's not really convenient to write in my Livescribe notebooks on the fly. I always end up with a wallet full of sticky notes. They litter the desk in my bedroom, the little table in the living room. and are stuck to the overs of books. 

Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, I will get to the point.

My niece was telling me about something called the Rocketbook. There are various versions but she thought the Core (formerly called Everlast) would be the best one for me. 

So what is a Rocketbook? As explained in this link, it is "a cloud-connected smart notebook, productivity, and app experience", or as I call it, my re-usable notebook.

It works with the Rocketbook app. I take my notes, scan them using the app on my phone and they are sent to whatever cloud destination I chose. Once the notes are "in the cloud", I can wipe the notebook pages clean with water so that they are ready to be re-used. Over and over and over and... Yeah.

Now, I am no pro at using a Rocketbook but for my purposes, the Core is really simple. And much more affordable than buying more Echo notebooks. The Rocketbook (executive-size) cost me $21.71 and comes with one erasable pen.  I paid $28.69 for a 4-pack of single-subject Livescribe notebooks when I got the pen back in 2016. I never did buy more; I just learned to write small and use every inch of paper!

(NOTE: I see just now that the price of the executive-size Rocketbook has gone up. The cheapest color choice -Midnight Blue - is $27.81 as I type this. I have a feeling the price will settle down after the holiday season. Do shop around or go to the official site. I see a lot of price variation between Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.)

I wanted the letter-size Core because it has more page space but I got the executive-size because it fits in my purse - to take to appointments. I ranted about how much I love the one I got and my family for me the letter-size for home so that I could use it for Bible Study. 

The Rocketbook beats my Livescribe in more ways than one.

Rocketbook is a lot more user-friendly and easily available on the go than Echo. Once the Rocketbook notes are in the cloud, I can pull them up via email or 8 other cloud destinations. I tend to send my stuff to email, OneNote, and OneDrive. 

I especially love the OCR transcription feature - which turns my handwriting into text. This feature is gone for my Livescribe since the program I used has been discontinued. That was the entire point for me, to be honest. I have been looking around for other programs that work with the pen.

Bible study with & without Rocketbook

The Rocketbook works with erasable pens. The notebook comes with (and is recommended to be used with) a Pilot's Frixion erasable pen. The Pilot pens are cheaper to replace than the Livescribe notebooks.

that rubberized nib 
is for erasing the ink
from regular/non-Rocketbook paper

The Pilot feels and handles like "regular" pens. The Livescribe is fat because of the components inside. The one complaint I have about the Frixion is that I'm having trouble finding anything other than a fine or super-fine point.

It's also possible to use highlighters in the Rocketbook - special and erasable highlighter, of course. 

Then there is the whole waste and space issue. There is no paper waste with Rocketbook and very little use of space. Both notebooks are very slim at 16 pages (32 with front/back writing space).

With the Rocketbook, you can use a permanent marker to make your own templates for calendars, planners, etc. (I know there is a Panda version that is made to be a planner but I haven't looked into it.) 

The Panda 
which I don't need

Panda Planner
as shown on Amazon

There are, of course, accessories. I'm not in need of any. I would love to have a folio to hold the notebooks but I have no trouble sliding the small one into my purse and keeping the larger size with my other writing essentials on the desk.

As I said, there are various versions of the Rocketbook. The first one I ever saw was the Wave but I read that it has limited usage before it needs to be replaced. I went with the Core because it's supposed to be of "endless" use. Saving money is the point for me.

You can get an overview of the different versions of Rocketbook here. For people like me - who just need a simple way to keep track of notes - I think the Core is the best choice. For business people or those who need a variety of ways to organize might want to look at the Fusion. Students might want to check the Academic Planner. Personally, I think it might be cheaper to just make your own templates in the Core. That's just me though.  For the certified brainiacs out there, maybe take a look at the Matrix. Just go take a look at all of them and see which fits you best.

The one thing about Rocketbook is heat or water exposure (depending on your notebook version). Remember, these are meant to be erased with either heat or water... I'm pretty sure the high-summer heat of Arizona would scrub my Core clean as new! But I don't know. Go look that up.

If you are looking for a way to carry and protect the notebook, search on "covers", "folios", "capsules", or any of those things as "compatible with Rocketbook".

To finish, I want to point out that there are all kinds of Rocketbook items in addition to the different notebooks - index cards, whiteboards, and these "beacons" that you can attach to send stuff to the app.

Although my items came from Amazon, I suggest going through Rocketbook's site to make sure you get full product support.

Peace

-Free

UPDATES

• The little symbols at the bottom of the pages are really hard to see, especially in the wrong light. I can't memorize them because I can't memorize anything!

And, yes, that is how light they actually are!

• The front and back covers are too slick. They feel nice to hold but slide all over most surfaces. 
• You really do need to get one of the tiny spray bottles to keep on hand. I have been wetting the towel with water from my drinking bottle. Not cool.
• The "capsules" or jackets are almost necessary to hold the pen & cloth and notebooks. However, they cost as much or even more than the notebooks themselves.
• When I was taking a camera photo of the page to show the symbols, the QR on the page triggered a "note" field. That was interesting and I need to explore it.

That was weird...

• The pages material is so "flex-like" that it's easy to flip past one & skip blank pages. This happens so much that I wish the pages had tabs on them!
• I still love the Rocketbook but these are the minor annoyances I am noticing the more I use the books.