First, let me clarify that Amazon is OVERSTATING the retail price. If you go to this company's website, you will see that Amazon is listing the retail price of the wireless RF version, while what Amazon appears to be selling here is the wired version, which retails at $49.99.

Having said that, I bought the RF version. Therefore, the following comments may or may not be applicable to the wired version being sold here...

When I bought the wireless version of this product, I was not looking so much for a pen as I was an alternative to a traditional mouse. This product does the trick. The "pen tip" is pressure-sensative, which also acts as your left-click for normal mouse operations. I tend to grip and press my pens firmly, so I had to learn how to relax so as not to constantly "left-click" when I don't mean to. I had to learn how to relax anyway to avoid getting writer's cramp from this thing. That was easy.

The device has a self-centering slider that acts as the scroll wheel. Kind of counter-intuative because you actually pull UP on it to scroll DOWN, and vice versa. No biggie, just had to get used to it.

That same slider presses directly in torward the pen center to act as the "right-click". The problem is the inward travel is pretty deep, and makes it virtually impossible to right-click without accidentally navigating off of the icon I'm trying to right-click on to begin with! My work-around is to use the WinXP Shift-F10 shortcut to trigger the right-click menu. This is fine for me because I'm left-handed and therefore my right hand is available to hit the Shift-F10 combo. You right-handers may find this to be a non-viable solution.

I have experienced what other reviewers talk about the downward tracking tendency when trying to write straight from left to right. But since I'm really only using this as a mouse, it's not so much of an issue for me. If I'm actually trying to use the device as an electronic pen, I found that holding the device turned slightly clockwise fixes that.

Specifically regarding the RF wireless version, it comes with a cradle that acts as the recharger. Very handy to constantly recharge when I'm in long blocks of non-use, such as while typing this review. The instructions recommend that you charge for at least 2 hours before use. But the battery on mine was completely drained and took around 12-16 hours to fully charge. After that, I have had no problem with heavy usage during my work day every day.

I actually contacted tech support because the incorrect charging instructions led me to believe I had purchased a lemon. Tech support was very responsive and helpful on the phone (email address on their website caused a bounce-back, but that could be the email server at my workplace).

I've had a for a week, so I can't speak to the longevity of this device, but it does come with a 1-year warranty.

All in all, I'm addicted to this thing. It is definitely the way to go IMHO if you're looking for a non-tablet pen -- as long as you can work with its quirks.

I bought this particular product for the trip from the UK, to the US. The touch pad on most laptops is a stopgap device for most {to judge from the whinging I hear}. Travel mice are only good for about 15 min for most people before they want to pitch the thing out the nearest window. How ever, a full size Mouse on a airplane truly isn't an option either. The I-pen is as portable as a Highlighter Marker. Fully as useful/ functions as, any two button mouse. Additionally it requires NO additional software if used in that mode. The only gripe I have is that I've currently found no workarounds to use it' s more esoteric abilities {Like making written notes ON a web page, saving it and then being able to send it.} that work for my Linux machine. If you only use it for productivity during travel, the price is well worth what you get. If you can use it for more it's a steal.

[...]

There are very few standalone "digital pen" mice available; people who wish to use the ergonomic pen design often have to cough up additional funds for a digitizer tablet [...] that is bulky. This particular model has been around for several years, apparently, but they have not updated it.

I bought this specifically for ergonomic reasons and because I did not want a bulky tablet component (though I do own a Wacom for special uses). It's a bit chunky; while it was uncomfortable for me to use, it's probably fine for others. It feels light, and while this is could be a good thing if you tend to get finger-fatigued, the cord hanging off the end unfortunately seems to weigh all that much more.

The most important problem for me, however, was that this digital pen-mouse doesn't seem to be calibrated correctly. A 2003 review article elsewhere also pointed out this problem: Assuming the mouse button is supposed to be positioned at the top of the pen where your index finder rests, you cannot write or draw in a straight line across the screen. The cursor will slant upwards from left to right, effectively rendering any drawing potential useless; the other article also commented that the handwriting recognition suffers from this weirdness. You can try to hold the pen at a different rotation, but it's not perfectly round, so it will end up being more uncomfortable.

For average mousing, I suppose people can get used to the quirk, but for uses that require a bit more accuracy, look elsewhere. It's a good idea, and I really hope someone will finally deliver a good pen-mouse that doesn't use ink or special paper or pad.

I bought the I-Pen hoping it would help with my aching wrist from grabbing a mouse all day; I was looking at graphics tablets, but I use dual monitors at work, so that was not an option. I tripped across this little doo-hickey, and thought I'd give it a shot.

First of all, the mouse works great; it can be used on almost any surface (except clear glass or white paper). The pen's a little "full-bodied", which makes it difficult to grab, at times, but other than that, it's a nice tool to have. I can hardly wait until they release the wireless version(s), but the cord dangling off it is not too bad.

Second, their customer support is GREAT!!!!! When my I-Pen arrived, I noticed that the right mouse button was sticking, and I could only get it to work about half of the time. I went to their web page and got a response back within a few hours indicating that my unit was defective, and another one was on the way. The second unit works great, and thus my faith in capitalism was restored :)

As for the carpal tunnel, I'll keep you posted....

UPDATE: Just wanted to let you know about the carpal tunnel issue; this thing has really helped me. I now have writer's cramp, but that's another story (j/k). Seriously, I love this product. I'm still waiting for the wireless version, but I have found that this simple tool has really helped me be more productive for longer periods of time.