Electropen 4 review: Reduce gaps between analog and digital

If you are an artist or illustrator, then a pencil and paper mean a lot to you. With the two, you can occupy yourself while giving out a piece of art to the world, even if no one cares. When something good comes out on paper, you often feel like sharing it on social media and this is where one issue creeps up. How to put your artwork on paper to a digital screen? The solution comes in the form of Electropen 4 — a pen that replicates your efforts on paper and puts it on a digital canvas. It comes with an ultrasonic receiver, which is Bluetooth-enabled, to pair with your smartphone, tablet or PC. Additionally, you can also use a USB cable to record your doodling inputs on a PC or laptop. The Electropen 4 is not the first one to be in the market, which is evident from the build of the product. It’s not a clumsy cylindrical rod with a refill inside — it is a proper ball-point pen. It looks like a pen and certainly feels like one when you use it. You can change the refills, available easily in the market. The batterypowered pen also comprises of a battery powered ultrasonic transreceiver, which needs to be placed on the top-centre of the notepad you are using. The trans-receiver has an internal storage, battery, power and Bluetooth buttons, and a small LCD display for status. It is very easy to use – no technical knowledge required. With computers, we noticed that the Electropen 4 is in its zone on Windows 10 PCs, particularly with the Windows Ink app. While there is much software available for the Windows platform, it does not always gel with them smoothly. Although Portronics suggests an app for both the Android and iOS platforms, we would recommend using a third party app for doing so as the suggested one seems to have compatibility issues. With a few notable drawbacks, like the pointer’s precision and choice of compatible software and a price of `5,999, it may seem a bit expensive as an additional accessory to your computer or tablet.