My use case is simple, I just want a digital copy of my notes -- I don't need any OCR or anything fancy like that, and I'm not convinced that a LiveScribe is the way to go.
I had high hopes for the NoteSlate, but that product has turned out to be vapor ware.
The thing with the smart pens is that they're chunkier than I'm used to, and then I worry about the smoothness of the pens.
I know the LiveScribe doesn't have gel based ink refills, which is basically the only type of pen I write with. I find the friction from normal ball point pens a little uncomfortable.
Some good starters are the LAMY Safari, the TWSBI 540, and the Kaweco Sport. All of these cost <$50 and can take bottled ink (with possible modifications to the Kaweco), reducing refill costs drastically.
I, too, used to think gel pens were the bomb, but writing with a fountain pen is just something else. :D
If you're trying to do mirror writing they become awesome again, but that's not a frequent use case:-(