CNET is reporting that the launch of Livescribe’s app store for the Pulse SmartPen has not been going well.

The start-up launched a long-awaited app store last month, hoping to boost the appeal of its Pulse smart pen. The store included a range of applications from free games, to language translators, to specialized programs such as a Torah-chanting tutor.

However, since the store launched in beta form on November 19, customers have been experiencing issues ranging from difficulties downloading the applications to problems with the core “paper replay” feature, including challenges transferring recordings to the PC.

The company says it’s trying to track down the bugs.

PC Mag had an article yesterday about some of the new apps available for the Pulse SmartPen, the pen that records audio and synchronizes it with your written notes for later playback.

The pen’s app store, which launches in beta form Thursday with roughly 30 apps, will add features like language translation (Spanish-to-English and a Hebrew study guide) and games (video poker –the tiny cards actually appear on the OLED screen).

In some cases, you’ll be able to download the app and then Livescribe’s app partners will snail-mail the app-specific microdot paper to your home or office.

In typical Pulse fashion, users will be able to access their all their apps by first writing the name of the app on micro-dot paper and then, when they want to activate the app, simply tapping the pen on the app’s name.

As we’ve said before, the pen’s too expensive (about £120) to use as your everyday pen, but would be a handy tool for students, journalists, or anyone else who takes a lot of notes of lectures, meetings, etc. These apps make it even more attractive, although it’s probably a mite small to make for a great gaming experience.

You might remember that we mentioned the Pulse smartpen by Livescribe in an earlier post on unusual pens. This is the pen/computer that simultaneously records audio and captures handwriting and can sync the two for later recall.

Today, the company launched two new models and announced that it’s expanding into several more US retailers. And it appears that at least one of the new models is now also available in the UK (at Amazon.co.uk and at Micro Anvika).

According to Livescribe:

Customers can now select a 4GB and 2GB model in a new, stylish titanium color. The 4GB model holds more than 400 hours of recorded audio and provides ample storage for consumers to add applications such as entertainment, education and productivity tools to their smartpen when Livescribe launches its Application Store later this year. The 4GB Pulse smartpen has a retail price of $199. 95 and the 2GB model is $169.95.

(UK retailers are selling the 2GB pen for about £120.)

The smartpen uses an infrared camera at the tip and special paper to track your handwriting, while a sensitive microphone records the accompanying audio.

You control everything with buttons at the bottom of each page, and all you have to do to play back the relevant portion of audio is tap a word on the page.

You can store it all on the pen, or upload your notes and audio to your computer. Livescribe also offers software that will transcribe handwriting to text.

This video is kind of cheesy, but it will give you a look at what the pen can do:

Tim Moynihan wrote a Pulse smartpen review in PC World when the original came out last year and had plenty of good things to say about it. He concluded:

Does the Livescribe Pulse have limited appeal? Definitely. But if you’re a starving student, a roving journalist, or just a gadget freak, you owe yourself at least a few minutes with this pen. It’s an innovative and useful way to record and navigate lecture notes, interview dialogue, and your own audio recordings.

And he’s right, of course. The pen isn’t for everyone.

It’s expensive and requires the additonal cost of special paper, although Livescribe has said it is working on a way to let customers print the paper from their own laserjets. A few reviewers also have noted that the pen is not particularly comfortable for long-term use because the barrel is hard and does not come with any sort of cushioned grip.

So, it’s probably not the pen you’d want for everyday use jotting down ideas at work or writing in your journal. Still, it would be cool to have, right?

Bottom line: Hang on to your favourite rollerball…but if you have the pounds to spare, order one of these Pulse smartpens and let us know, so that we can envy you.