Q: Why do I need Senstone?
If notetaking is an inevitable part of your daily life; if you want to jot down ideas and create to-do lists with the minimal effort; if you want your notes to be accurate and well-organized, then Senstone is for you. At the tap of a button it records, transcribes, and organizes your notes.
Q: Why can’t I use my phone for this?
You can, and it will help in some situations. But Senstone is fighting a bigger beast. One of the most surprising insights we have found is that we lose our train of thought because of tiniest distractions, which are everywhere: a phone call, a notification, a random sign on the street, a previous to-do item in your notepad, etc. They all trigger new associations and new thoughts, simply overriding the ones we had before. Senstone minimizes the time between idea popped up in your head and saved in your notepad, therefore reduces any possible distractions.
Q: Is speech-to-text recognition quality better than Siri?
Short answer: it is quite similar. Long answer: we tested numerous engines and found best results with Nuance, which we are using currently. This is the engine behind Siri’s technology, and it delivers results at 95% accuracy and higher, and is adapting to speaker’s style over time. We are improving these results with dual microphones, noise reduction, and additional audio processing.
Q: What mobile devices does Senstone work with?
Senstone works with an iPhone 5s and higher on iOS 9+ and with Android 5.0 or higher. Tablets and other devices are on limited support. Please reach out to us if you would like to use Senstone without iOS or Android smartphone.
Q: How secure is data transfer?
We ensure encryption of our data and it is highly protected during data transfer over the air. For that, we use standard mechanisms such as OAuth2, HTTPS, session tokens, etc. to manage authentication/authorization, secure the connection and communication, and then encrypt the data on the backend.
Q: Will anyone be able to read my notes?
No, unless you allow them. We apply encryption to each layer of storage and communication (Senstone, mobile app, cloud) and prevent unauthorized access, even if you lose your Senstone.
Q: How long can I record with Senstone?
There are three parts to this answer. First, Senstone can store up to 2.5 hours of recording when disconnected from a phone, but it uses your phone’s and cloud storage when connected, which allows many more hours. Second, the battery allows creating about 3 hours long recording in a single charge.
Third, the speech-to-text functionality has limitations on how many texts it can transcribe in the basic version of the app.
Q: How many recordings can I make?
You can make as many recordings as you want, but there is a limitation to the number of speech-to-text transactions per month. The reason is that we’re using third party API and have to pay for each transaction. The limit we accounted for so far is 300 minute-long transactions per month (average of 10 notes per day), but we will modify this to the factual number of average daily usage. We will allow (almost) unlimited transactions for first 3 months, will measure average usage and will set the limit just above that number. Our goal is for you to not notice any limitations with average use, and provide a premium subscription for heavy usage.
Q: How many notes can I store in a cloud?
You can store as many text notes as you want, but there is a limit to their original audio recordings, as they take much space. The basic version will allow you to store 50 hours of notes, which should be enough for 1 year of average use, but you will be able to use the premium version of the app for extended audio storage.
Q: What’s premium app subscription?
Premium app subscription is made for those who use Senstone intensively and need more capabilities. It gives you much more storage in the cloud, many more speech-to-text transactions and more unique features. It will be charged monthly, and the pricing is still in the works.
Q: How long is a battery life?
One full battery charge lasts for about 4-5 days of average Senstone usage or about 3 hours of continuous recording.
Q: Is there a warranty?
Yes, there is a 1-year warranty for manufacturing defects. If Senstone is not functioning well, we will exchange the device for a new one.
Q: Can I playback my audio?
Yes! While text is faster to read, audio recording can give you a better understanding of your original train of thought. We also use the audio to analyze your intonation, mood, and surroundings and extract new insights about yourself.
Q: Can Senstone speak back to me?
No, Senstone only records your voice, and processes it on your mobile device. It is designed to listen to you with no distractions, and we intentionally chose to leave off the speaker to keep it as small as it is.
Q: Do I have to use Senstone app to read my notes?
Yes, and no. Senstone is designed to give you great end-to-end notetaking experience, from capturing, to organizing, to working with notes, and therefore, we provide both hardware and software tailored for this purpose. But we realize that many of you are used to your current notetaking apps. For this reason, we provide a third-party integration with apps like Evernote and others (the list will grow as our customers vote for new apps). For this to work you still have to download Senstone app, but it can automatically integrate with your favorite apps without revisiting our app each time.
Q: What is the best distance for recording?
Senstone should be near when you speak for best performance. You can hang it around your neck, clip it to your shirt collar or a jacket, or even wear it on your wrist. Distance to the microphone for the best performance is 8 inches (20 cm).
Q: Can I transcribe lectures, meetings, or interviews?
Not in the first version. Currently, Senstone is a personal device and is optimized for use by a single person. Optimal distance from mouth to Senstone is 8 inches (20 cm). We can record on larger distances, but we cannot yet perform speech-to-text transcription when speakers are located further away from the device. In those cases, you will have to bring Senstone close to the person speaking.
Q: How’s recognition quality on noisy streets or busy places?
It is almost the same as in a quiet room. We used Senstone extensively during CES conference where there was a lot of noise and got the same good results as before. The reason is that we use a special near-range microphone to capture sounds on short distances and filter the surrounding noise.
Q: Would it be easy for me to search through my notes?
Finding any memo created with Senstone is quite simple. You can search through your notes by content, location, time, hashtags and even your mood during the time of recording.
Q: Is there a risk my notes will be lost?
No. All your voice notes are stored on your smartphone and backed up in Cloud.
Q: Is Senstone sensitive to weather conditions?
Senstone has a basic water protection against direct sprays and water splashed. (IP44).
Q: Can I record secretly so no one notices?
You can try, but this is not polite (and in some cases illegal), so we try to prevent it. Each time you record, Senstone’s LED screen will flash, telling both yourself and people around you that you are making a recording.
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