First Impressions of PLAUD NotePin

Another AI wearable is on my person

An attractive traveler at RSW Gate D8 checks out new technology

To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:

En Route to Boston

Before leaving for the airport this morning, I used a new gadget, the PLAUD NotePin, to record today’s Morning Journal.

The audio has clicking noises, because the NotePin’s sensitive microphone captured friction as the pin on its lanyard rubbed against my shirt.

I heard about NotePin from Jerry, a friend in Malden, Mass. He and I share a passion for new technology, especially related to audio and AI. This gadget offers both.

NotePin—let’s name it Plaud—records when you press it or when you click on “Record” in the paired iPhone app. It’s sleek to the touch, with a metallic feel and not much weight. It comes bundled with the lanyard, a magnetic fastener, and a clip—all designed to attach the pin to your clothing.

What’s cool about Plaud is that his recordings can be transcribed, summarized, analyzed, mindmapped, and interrogated through the magic of AI.

The other day my Sanibel friend Gil Peters and I had one of our long, philosophical, and irreverent conversations at his house. His eyes glaze over whenever I try to introduce him to a new gadget, but he’s a good sport and agreed to let me record.

With the hour-long recording on my iPhone, I asked Plaud if these two guys sound like good friends. He replied:

Yes, Len and Gil appear to be good friends. They engage in a lengthy and casual conversation, discussing a wide range of topics from technology to politics to personal anecdotes and investments. Their dialogue is relaxed and familiar, indicating a level of comfort and camaraderie typical of good friends.

When I emailed that reply to Gil, he responded, “A-freakin’-men to dat, Bruthuh!”

I conducted a different experiment yesterday, recording a Q & A Zoom session with Tiago Forte, part of my Building a Second Brain (BASB) membership.

Plaud in seconds wrote a quick and useful summary that included a To Do list of follow up items and an odd section titled “AI Suggestion.”

AI has identified the following issues that were not concluded in the meeting or lack clear action items; please pay attention:

That seems cheeky to me, since I didn’t ask for Plaud to weigh in on those issues. But what could it hurt to consider them?

Maybe I should, as he suggested, “develop comprehensive strategies for managing digital overload across various platforms and contexts.”

Plaud needs an editor who can translate buzz-wordese into something punchier.

I’ve just started exploring this new wearable tech, which means I now attach two devices to my shirt. My Humane AI Pin has proven itself to be impressively useful, answering questions with a tap of my finger.

I wish these two gadgets could one.

That’s what I enjoy about trying new wearables. You can see innovation budding all over, and it’s never clear which ones will survive.

Darlene and I are beginning our descent on JetBlue to Logan Airport in Boston—a quick trip organized around the 9th birthday today of my grandson Ryan.

I look forward to introducing him and his brother Jake, who is 11, to Plaud.

I love to imagine what they will be wearing on their shirts when they’re my age.