The Digi Acc Mini USB Pen Recorder is manufactured for and shipped by Digi Acc (www.digiacc.com), an online vendor with a web presence since 1999, selling a wide range of Chinese made electronics and electronic accessories.

We ordered two devices from Amazon.com (we trust their shipping and returns department far more) and recived our pen cameras about  2 weeks after odering.

The single best feature of this spy pen is the price.  At $26.70/piece your investment is quite small.  And it shows.  These are the types of devices that cost $0.20 to manufacturer and can be bought for $1/each in quantities of 500.  Essentially, you are getting an over priced pen with laughable video quality.  If you have any use for quality recordings,  fogret this model.  As a Private Investigator, this grainy video would be of no use when presented as evidence in court, it is quite simply that bad.  If you are looking for a stocking stuffer gag toy for a friend you don’t like or your little nephew who will probably break it by New Years, then this fits the bill.

Spec wise, the Digi Acc Pen Recorder comes standard with 4GB, which is actually decent given the price point.  Resolution is claimed to be 640×480 at 30 FPS with a total pixel count of 300K.  In reality, the video looks like something you would obtain from a phone camera circa 2003.

The user manual is fantastic example of what happens when you do not invest in proper a english translation as it is an unreadable mess of gibberish.  However, there is some comedy value in this:  “Excite the pen by insertion of the button.”

Typical plasticy feel, and quite light.  As a writting utensil it was OK, but the ink well is very small and likely to run out quickly.

Standard USB connector with plug & play software.   The included lithium-ion battery lasts a reported 85 minutes, however our testing showed a powered up recording time closer to 60 minutes.

This device DOES include audio recording with decent mic capabilities.  Playback was somewhat garbled with a slight static pitch.

For professionals, there is a time and date function, but good luck setting it up using the manual.  Through trial and error, we were able to get it working correctly (you have to go into the pen and edit the user config.txt file.  A simple built in software menu would be much nicer.  But again, at $27.60…

Warranty is stated as 1 year manufacturer, but really, if this thing stops working sending it to China and dealing with customer service is more painful than simply buying a new one (or better device would be our reccomendation.)

All said, this is an expensive writing pen with a camera feature, or a cheap and poorly made pen camera with a writing feature.  Either way, we would suggest investing in a better model.  If you are a professional, don’t even bother with this one, not even as a back up.