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Best note-taking setup with tablet and keyboard?
wraith808:
You might try a clamcase instead of the zagg.-wraith808 (January 02, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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Thanks. Looks good but it's not out yet for iPad Air and also I'm in the UK, so I suspect it will take a few more months to get here.
-dr_andus (January 03, 2014, 05:28 AM)
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Ah... that sucks. It adds a bit of weight to it, but after trying that vs. other alternatives, it was the best for what it does. As a note, other alternatives I tried were:
Adonit Writer+ Keyboard (a big contender vs. the clamcase, although also not for the air currently)
Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover (linked the one for ipad air. Didn't like the angle or the lack of travel between the keyboard and the screen) Also tried that with the STM Org Board which if you're going to go with one that just attaches, is a great addition.
Logitech Keyboard Folio (same problem as keyboard cover)
Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio (strangely enough, this one felt better than the other two logitech offerings... but still couldn't get past the depth of the keyboard travel to the screen)
What I finally settled on was the Logitech Tablet Keyboard and the STM Skinny Ipad cover (also used the inCase Book Jacket Select depending on weight needed). I found that separating the tether between the two was the way to go- I'd been trapped into laptop like world, and this actually worked a lot better.
Did you consider using a digitizer with a tablet solution?
-wraith808 (January 02, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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Interesting suggestion. Do you have any particular tablet + software in mind to do this with? I presume this would use handwriting recognition? The last time I used that was with my Palm T|X...
-dr_andus (January 03, 2014, 05:28 AM)
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Well, there's two ways to go... either handwriting as is, or handwriting recognition.
The first thing is getting a good pen- the Adonit Jot Pro wins hands down IMO. It's a bit pricey, but worth it. There's a more expensive one for artists; it uses bluetooth to facilitate pressure sensitivity. But I didn't need it. Wacom is also pretty good, but surprisingly, Adonit was the way to go for me. That's the most important one- more important than the application.
For the application, however, I use OneNote/Outline+ and Evernote/Penultimate. Both have search across handwritten text, so they have the ability to index all of my notes.
I also use AirDisplay to extend my computer screen when I'm at my desktop and then use my iPad like a wacom tablet to write/sketch on my computer.
And, I use the Whitelines products to converge regular note taking and scribblings with my iPad... it works wonders for scanning diagrams and sketches into my evernote account.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about any of them.
mouser:
Btw I have to agree with paulo -- if i was just wanting a device for notetaking, i'd prefer to be carrying out a small little windows netbook with a good built-in keyboard.
techidave:
DR_Andus, i believe that they do. Google's word process would be one. I am not your typical app person. I don't need a lot of apps, thus I don't download and play with many. More and more of google's apps are designed to work offline. 1st generation of stuff, you had to be online, but now they are seeing one of the errors of their ways and changing it. and they do have a dropbox app too!
dr_andus:
I'm in the UK
-dr_andus (January 03, 2014, 05:28 AM)
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Ah... that sucks.
-wraith808 (January 03, 2014, 09:56 AM)
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Nah, it's not that bad. :) But many thanks for the extensive suggestions and links. I'll have a think about the various options.
Btw I have to agree with paulo -- if i was just wanting a device for notetaking, i'd prefer to be carrying out a small little windows netbook with a good built-in keyboard.
-mouser (January 03, 2014, 10:20 AM)
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I think we're talking about very different types of note-taking. Yes, if I'm preparing for a big writing job while I'm mobile, I'll definitely take my Asus Win XP netbook with me. It's a replica of my PC workstation.
But here I'm talking about ad hoc notes, ideas that occur to you when you least expect them (which is why I keep talking about taking notes at night while I'm in bed). In those situations I would use a tablet when I'm home or at work, and a PDA/smartphone (iPod Touch in my case) everywhere else, because I can just whip them out and take the notes before I forget them, even if I'm in the gym changing room or out shopping. Carrying around a netbook would be too taxing, and I'd forget what I wanted to write down by the time I'd boot it.
More and more of google's apps are designed to work offline. 1st generation of stuff, you had to be online, but now they are seeing one of the errors of their ways and changing it. and they do have a dropbox app too!
-techidave (January 03, 2014, 10:24 AM)
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Thanks. I'm wondering though if Google Chrome apps have really 'arrived' yet. I looked at the top rated note-taking and distraction-free writing app reviews in the Chrome store, and a lot of users mention losing data due to sync problems or forgetting to save it, which has never happened to me on iOS over the past 3 years (well, ok, there was the Simplenote incident, but I mean with my other apps of choice). It suggests to me that the Chrome system hasn't quite reached maturity the way iOS did.
xtabber:
Please note that I'm not just looking for a writing machine in general. For that there is my P (where I also use WriteMonkey, Outline 4D, Gingko app, Scrivener or Dragon NS for various writing tasks).
I want a portable and cordless note-taking/writing solution that I can use when I expressly do not want to turn on my PC or my netbook. It might be the weekend when I don't want to turn on my work machine, or the middle of the night, when I just had an idea before falling asleep, or sitting on the couch, or being out and about, or at a business meeting.
Originally I bought my Asus eee PC exactly for this reason. However, eventually the ever-increasing booting or waking-up time with Win machines just put me off from using them. The competition to what I am looking for is pen and paper, which are instantly on.
-dr_andus (January 03, 2014, 07:59 AM)
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Professional photographers will tell you that the best camera is the one you have with you.
You seem to have plenty of devices that you can use in the comfort of your home, so I would suggest looking for something that will always be on you and you can use anywhere. Unless you wear Harpo Marx's topcoat, to me, that means the smallest form factor device you can live with.
I use both a Nexus 10 and a Nexus 7 (2013), and while the 10 is unbeatable for reading large format documents, the 7 is what I use most of the time, because its portability means that I almost always have it at hand. The 7 is also faster and more responsive than the 10. even though it is, in theory, less powerful.
A keyboard is nice, but removes the "always with you" factor. Logitech makes a backlit Android keyboard that you can keep nearby to use with the tablet when convenient (e.g., at your bedside), but for quick and ever-present access, I'd suggest learning to work effectively with the tablet alone so that you can do so when you need to.
Finally, while I don't use an Android editor with your requirements, and so can't give you any recommendations, here is a place to start looking.
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