Best tablet-esque device for taking notes?

[nixium]

I take notes on a dell tablet PC - and it's pretty amazing with OneNote and Windows Journal. The stylus is brilliant, and i can match my native handwriting on my paper.

Tried it again with a kensington stylus and a HP touchpas running CM9 alpha. The problems are:

1. The handwriting apps I tried are not very mature. First of all, there is no "black" space for me to rest my palm on as I hold the stylus. The palm touch is considered a gesture, and I have to hold the pen without resting my palm, which makes the handwriting a chore. (Maybe there are better apps)

2. The kensington stylus I tried has a rubber tip - not very good for precision writing. I'm gonna get the jot pro stylus to see if it fares any better.

3. Somewhat laggy compared to the tablet PC as far as writing goes.

In summary, just can't get the same precision as a tablet PC (or even close.)

Does anyone here use a tablet for taking notes? If so, what do you use (Apple/Android/etc), what stylus, and what App?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The HTC Flyer, Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet and Motorola Xyboard 10.1 as well as the Samsung Galaxy Note all have active digitizers that will give you the precision you are used to. If you combine them with the Quill note taking app for Android the Flyer and Thinkpad also have palm rejection. There may be an app for the Xyboard with palm rejection but I'm not sure and the Note is small enough you probably don't need it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...t#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS53cml0ZS5RdWlsbCJd

A capacitive pen for the iPad or any of the other Android tablets not mentioned above will never give you the same level of precision. If you do have to make do with a capacitive pen the Jot stylus is one of the best ones out there.

Samsung is supposed to release a 10.1" Galaxy Note Tablet that should also do what you want.

 

[Ns1]

Things I'm actively looking at:

HTC Flyer
HTC View
Samsung Note
HP TC4400

 

[runawayprisoner]

For note taking with a stylus, I think iOS and Android are already immediately out.

OneNote + active digitizer like N-trig or Wacom are what you are looking for.

Look up the Fujitsu Q550, or HP Slate 2 (or the Slate 500, which is cheaper).

 

[ChronoReverse]

I'm liking my Galaxy Note although it's note quite up to the TabletPC I had in the past. Precision is lightyears ahead of silly capacitive pens since it's a Wacom active digitizer which turns off the capacitive screen when I'm writing.

 

[shortylickens]

Having used both, I honestly think a small cheap laptop with OneNote is better.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Things I'm actively looking at:

HTC Flyer
HTC View
Samsung Note
HP TC4400

If you are open to Windows 7 options the Dell Latitude ST may be worth a look. It's not the cheapest option out there but it comes surprisingly close to hitting the size of an iOS or Android tablet.

For note taking with a stylus, I think iOS and Android are already immediately out.

OneNote + active digitizer like N-trig or Wacom are what you are looking for.

Look up the Fujitsu Q550, or HP Slate 2 (or the Slate 500, which is cheaper).

There is no reason note taking with a pen should rule out Android,, the Flyer, Thinkpad, and afaik Xyboard all have N-trig digitizers while both Galaxy Notes are Wacom.

 

[Ns1]

If you are open to Windows 7 options the Dell Latitude ST may be worth a look. It's not the cheapest option out there but it comes surprisingly close to hitting the size of an iOS or Android tablet.

Looks cool but $700+ is way more than I wanted to spend.

My budget for a note taking device was $150 (no more than a livescribe setup)

 

[QueBert]

Have a Note myself, I find my writing with the pen on it is easier to read than my actual hand writing. I haven't used any other tablet'esk devices to write on so I can't compare it. But it's a great device, I really like the double tap the pen on the screen to open the S Pad app. You can also long click on the screen to take a screen shot then write directly on the image.

 

[runawayprisoner]

There is no reason note taking with a pen should rule out Android,, the Flyer, Thinkpad, and afaik Xyboard all have N-trig digitizers while both Galaxy Notes are Wacom.

It's not the panel that's the issue. It's the platform it's on. Android and iOS devices are still slow at heart (ARM processors), and inking requires a much faster processor (x86) to be usable.

I know this from experience. I have personally tried the Flyer and the Galaxy Note, and though handwriting works, there is a significant enough amount of lag to be distracting.

And it's lag from pen input, not from the devices themselves.

 

[nixium]

Thanks guys, excellent input here.

At the bottom of it all, I was trying to justify a tablet purchase by using it as a note taking device. Apps and web browsing and all are nice, but plopping $400+ on a good tablet would make a lot of sense if it could support taking notes.

So basic options seem to be:

ipad + capacitive pen OR
Android with active digitizer (better performing)

The dell latitude ST is awesome, but I don't need another laptop right now. Maybe I should sell mine and get this and just use my touchpad for tablet stuff.

I tried an iPad2 with a jot pro stylus with notes+. It's very good, but there were weird issues. Sometimes in the middle of writing (I write cursive) the pen would just stop. Other times, the blank space that notes+ brings up that allows you to rest your palm wouldn't ignore like it's supposed to, and the app would start moving.

 

[Ns1]

I tried an iPad2 with a jot pro stylus with notes+. It's very good, but there were weird issues. Sometimes in the middle of writing (I write cursive) the pen would just stop. Other times, the blank space that notes+ brings up that allows you to rest your palm wouldn't ignore like it's supposed to, and the app would start moving.

Relevant to your interests:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2925937/best-stylus-ipad-review

 

[nixium]

Thanks for that link.

Maybe I should go with the iPad after all, the app selection is simply amazing.

 

[Raswan]

How about a piece of paper and a pencil?

 

[Ns1]

Related:

If I wanted to markup a word document, is a tablet running some type of windows my only hope?

 

[deathBOB]

I have no personal knowledge of tablets, but I saw your post and it made me think of this article:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2925937/best-stylus-ipad-review

 

[runawayprisoner]

Related:

If I wanted to markup a word document, is a tablet running some type of windows my only hope?

If you are just highlighting stuffs, an iPad will do fine.

If you are trying to write or doodle, consider a Windows tablet.

 

[Ns1]

If you are just highlighting stuffs, an iPad will do fine.

If you are trying to write or doodle, consider a Windows tablet.

need to write/doodle/comments.

My options right now are samsung galaxy tab 2, windows tablet, or lenovo tablet (the one with the wacom stylus). decisions decisions.

 

[Super56K]

Related:

If I wanted to markup a word document, is a tablet running some type of windows my only hope?

My methods aren't perfect, but I have mostly converted to editing long (300-600+ page double spaced) documents on an iPad using the GoodReader app. The stylus I use is an Adonit Jot Pro. I prefer it over the blunt tipped ones because I can see what I'm writing. I convert the MS Word file to PDF on my laptop, and then access it through GoodReader via a linked Dropbox account.

From there I'm able to mark it up as I work through it, using free hand mainly. It's not as efficient as a hard copy, but it's a net win versus printing 300-600+ page documents 2-3 times during an editing process. It does slow down my pace a little, but I consider that a good thing while editing so I'm not complaining.

All that said though, if my usage consisted of editing say sub 50 page documents I'd use hard copies and keep it simple. And if taking extended free hand notes were important an iPad wouldn't be seriously considered. It doesn't take but a few seconds to realize what a step back it is compared to actual handwriting. But, for my usage, it's a different ballgame where the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[Ns1]

Re^^

Yeah I thought of that PDF solution but I'd like to stay in word Format if possible...



F- it, I got, $275 in staples rewards. I'm buying a galaxy 2 7".

 

[xSauronx]

I take notes on a dell tablet PC - and it's pretty amazing with OneNote and Windows Journal. The stylus is brilliant, and i can match my native handwriting on my paper.

Tried it again with a kensington stylus and a HP touchpas running CM9 alpha. The problems are:

1. The handwriting apps I tried are not very mature. First of all, there is no "black" space for me to rest my palm on as I hold the stylus. The palm touch is considered a gesture, and I have to hold the pen without resting my palm, which makes the handwriting a chore. (Maybe there are better apps)

2. The kensington stylus I tried has a rubber tip - not very good for precision writing. I'm gonna get the jot pro stylus to see if it fares any better.

3. Somewhat laggy compared to the tablet PC as far as writing goes.

In summary, just can't get the same precision as a tablet PC (or even close.)

Does anyone here use a tablet for taking notes? If so, what do you use (Apple/Android/etc), what stylus, and what App?

for making notes? i dont do a lot of that specifically, but i use the swype keyboard for everything i do type. relatively long emails are pretty easy with that. touch typing on a tablet drives me crazy. i keep one note synced for all sorts of stuff, but i dont really edit it in much.