Today, Livescribe, Inc. announced the release of the Livescribe 3 smartpen. This new smartpen is the quickest way to transfer your handwritten notes to a tablet or smartphone.

The elegant looking pen takes a simple twist of a ring to begin writing. You can watch your text appear in the Livescribe+ mobile app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

This new smartphone is a quick and easy way get your handwritten notes directly to your mobile device or tablet with low battery drain. The device is being sold at the starting price of $149.95. With this new smartpen users will write on Livescribe dot paper. The Livescribe 3 Smartpen is compatible with iPhones, iPads and iPods and an added plus, iOS 7 owners can download the Livescribe mobile app that is available now at the App Store.

The Livescribe 3 smartpen uses built-in microphones on a tablet or smartphone to create interactive “pencasts.” These “pencasts" synchronize recorded audio with written notes. The smartpen also allows you to share written notes as a PDF file over Mail, Messages, Evernote and other apps. It comes with a capacitive stylus cap. The cap controls Livescribe+ app. It also features Swiss-made ballpoint cartridges that are used with the Livescribe paper notebooks.

The smartpen is being produced in two editions. The first edition is priced at $149.95 and the second will sell for around $200.

Last year Livescribe introduced the Sky WiFi pen that transferred handwritten and audio notes to the cloud. The big issue with Sky was that users had to jump on WiFi in order to send or retrieve the notes Livescribe 3 solves those issues. It is designed to work with compatible mobile devices. Unlike the Sky the 3 does not have a built-in microphone. It hands off audio recording to your iPhone or iPad when the user hits the record button on the paper or on the app.

Gilles Bouchard, CEO of Livescribe, says, “People shouldn't have to choose between their pen and their digital devices. The Livescribe 3 smartpen sends everything they write on paper to their tablet or smartphone, where our mobile application makes this information useful in truly innovative ways. It’s simply the most elegant and versatile pen we’ve ever made.”