"<p class=""body-dropcap"">You can go completely paperless with an iPad and an Apple Pencil, or a Samsung Galaxy Note, but for many there's still no substitute for traditional pen and paper. Smart notebooks are one way to bridge that divide. They let you write on real paper with a real pen, and then transfer those notes to your smartphone or computer, although the way they accomplish that can vary depending on the type of smart notebook. In many cases, those notes can automatically be sent to specific apps like Evernote or Dropbox, and your handwriting can be automatically converted to editable, searchable text—saving you time you might otherwise use retyping those notes yourself. </p><h3 class=""body-h3"">What to Consider </h3><p>While all smart notebooks let you take notes on paper and digitize them, they go about that process in different ways. Some use special paper that you simply take a picture of with your smartphone to scan, some rely on a smart pen that automatically captures notes or drawings itself, and others use a tablet placed behind a piece of paper that handles the work of digitizing your notes. Each has their own advantages, and they can vary considerably in price, which makes it important to choose the best one for your needs.</p><h3 class=""body-h3"">How We Chose</h3><p>To pick these smart notebooks, we researched thousands of online customer reviews, focusing on products that are consistently rated four-out-of-five stars or higher. We also took professional reviews from a range of established sources into account, including SlashGear, PCMag, and TrustedReviews, and relied on our own experience using notebooks from a number of these manufacturers.</p>"
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