21st century is as synonymous with technology as Montblanc is with luxury.
Montblanc’s recent innovation – the Montblanc Augmented Paper is the perfect cocktail of luxury, finesse, technology and creativity. The MAP is a notepad that deciphers analogue notes and transfers them to the digital domain. In simpler words, all your scribbles and doodles can now be transferred from paper to your smartphone by the click of a button. The tedious task of taking clear pictures of your artwork is completely eliminated. The MAP is a creative genius, but only for those with pockets deep enough to afford them. It is priced at a whooping £530. Well, technological brilliance comes at a price.
Image source:highsnobiety.com
Image source:telegraph.co.uk
On the outside, the MAP looks like a fancy leather envelope. Yes, it is the same black Italian leather used for the Maison’s new Urban Spirit leather collection. However, on opening it, you will find a specially adapted StarWalker ballpoint pen along with a paper notebook, under which is hidden the electronic digitising wizardry.
Image source:telegraph.co.uk
So how does one complete the journey from the analogue to the digital realm? In two easy steps:
1. Start writing notes using the StarWalker on the notepad. The electric slate underneath the paper records all the strokes of the pen, be these words, symbols or absent-minded doodles.
Image source:ignant.de
2. Once you are done, press the button on the side and behold, as these notes get transferred wirelessly to a mobile App where they can be accessed in digital form. The really useful part, however, is once transferred, the Augmented Paper can also convert these written notes to searchable text. No need for typing out rushed class notes, eh?
Image source:highsnobiety.com
Image source:highsnobiety.com
The same goes for sketches.
Image source:highsnobiety.com
Image source:highsnobiety.com
Montblanc claims that the MAP offers “best-in-class handwriting recognition in 12 languages including English, German, Russian, Spanish, Italian and Chinese”. However, for super accurate conversions, your handwriting should be neat. Rushed notes may get the recognition software all in a tizz. Montblanc obviously recommends that, once the branded paper pad is depleted, you should purchase official replacements, however ordinary paper works just fine. The rechargeable battery life offers up to eight hours of use, while on-board memory lets you file away 100 pages on the internal storage before wireless transfer via the App (available on both Android and iOS) becomes necessary.
Image source:highsnobiety.com
This is indeed a product capable of spearheading a creative revolution in the technological world.
