Surf report: gadgets and apps for a paperless lifestyle

• iNotebook transports paper notes to mobile device
• Sensu Brush combines writing and painting on a tablet
• Doxie scanner saves files directly to iPad

Technology, bah; some people say nothing quite compares to flipping through — not swiping — pages and writing on paper. But we're here to say the two aren't mutually exclusive, as evidenced by this week's tech picks.

iNotebook

As crazy as people are about the iPad, it doesn't have quite the flexibility of the freewheeling old-fashioned notebook. But in late November, Targus debuted a solution to bring notes and doodles — in your own handwriting — to the tablet.

Built in collaboration with iDevices (the company that also brought us the iGrill food thermometer and iShower radio), Targus' iNotebook ($179.99) transports paper notes into digital ones on the iPad. The beautifully designed accessory includes a sensor and pen that will transmit handwritten notes to an app using Bluetooth. There is, of course, an actual paper notebook as well, encased in a gorgeous white canvas or more subtle black portfolio cover.

You don't need to buy special paper to take advantage of the technology since the most important components are the pen, sensor and app. The system also includes integrated memory so you can jot down notes when you're away from the iPad and send them to the app at a later point in time. You can also annotate notes, record audio, share files via email or store them on Dropbox. Turns out paper and iPad can play well together.

Sensu stylus

Another thing you can't quite do on a tablet: watercolors. An iPad work of art might not be worth the likes of a Cezanne, but that doesn't mean mobile devices aren't conducive to your creativity and artistic prowess.

Ordinary styluses can only do so much, so that's where the Sensu Brush ($39.99) comes into play. Combining two useful tools in one, the Sensu has conducive hairs on one end and a rubber nib on the other to draw, paint, write and gesture on touchscreens. The elegant chrome-plated stylus gives drawing apps, such as Sketchbook or ArtRage, a much more tactile experience, making this a great accessory for the digital artist. Just don't dip this in paint.

Livescribe Sky Smartpen

Perfect for meetings and lectures, Livescribe's Sky smartpen (beginning $169.95) will record audio while you're taking notes. Leveraging the Wi-Fi network lets the pen automatically sync your scrawls, along with their audio recordings, to your Evernote account, meaning files are synced, organized and searchable across computers, tablets and smartphones. Evernote even lets you play back synced notes with audio called "pencasts."

What amazes me most about the Livescribe's smartpen isn't the pen itself (which I'd characterize as feature filled but bulky), but the notebook that comes with it. The paper is printed with microdots throughout, which helps the pen's infrared camera capture your written notes. The pad also includes printed controls on the inside covers and bottom of each page, powerfully transforming the pen's taps into actions, allowing you to record, play, connect to wireless networks and more. This, however, means ordinary paper isn't compatible with the pen, leaving you with two options: to purchase Livescribe's notebooks or print the company's dotted paper for free.

Doxie One

The adorable and pint-sized Doxie One scanner wants to help you transition to a paperless lifestyle. Apparent's Doxie One ($149) scans documents, photos, business cards and receipts at up to 300 dpi using optical character recognition technology to make text easily searchable. These files can be saved directly to an SD card or to an iPad using an adapter (not included).

When the files are transferred to a desktop, the company's software can sync them across cloud services, such as Evernote, Dropbox and Google Drive. Furthermore, integration with iMessage means you can send your files, including PDFs, as you would a text message to another person's Mac, iPhone or iPad. Doxie One comes in gray but can be customized with seven fun Pantone color skins.

Moo NFC card

Here's one last paper goodie with a tech twist. Maker of beautiful business cards, Moo has decided to innovate on the tried and true experience of exchanging cards.

Its latest, a Near Field Communication-powered business card, isn't meant to be passed on. Instead, people with NFC phones can tap the card to seamlessly save contact information. Blending paper with digital, the NFC card has an embedded microchip that allows others to download information you want to share — letting you network both on- and offline. Beyond contacts, the potential includes automatically loading web pages, maps, apps or even your portfolio with a tap, and the chip can update this information over time.

Moo's NFC cards will be available in early 2013, but you can sign up to be kept updated on the company's website.

E-mail Alice Truong at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @alicetruong.