Tablet PC

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The Wavy Framer

The Wavy Framer

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
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New England / Northern California
Does anyone here use a tablet PC? I am not speaking about an iPad or Xoom or those types, unless they can do what I want, which so far they don't, that I know of.

I am thinking of getting one. What I am more specifically looking for is one I can use as notepad with a stylus writing tool that will then convert my handwriting to text. Then save as a PDF.

I am so over run by paper, I can't stand it. I see this as a way of creating notes easily and filing them in one tidy place on the computer.

thanks
 
I asked my niece, she has one for medical school. I will keep you posted on her response!

That was quick! She said YES her tablet PC does that. Not sure if that helps at all.

Soinds like a great idea to me, though.
 
The Wavy Framer said:
I am so over run by paper, I can't stand it. I see this as a way of creating notes easily and filing them in one tidy place on the computer.
Click to expand...

I understand the problem, running a business creates a mountain of details and as I get older I have serious need to jot it down in order to remember.

I do this by e-mailing myself, sometimes several times a day about several different issues. It all ends up in one place and is accessible and printable at work or at home. My Yahoo calendar is also set up to e-mail me about reoccurring bills and future events.

I'm not sure trying to write it all down on a tablet PC would be easier.

Doug
 
I have a(n old) Gateway Tablet and I have to say that it's pretty cool. I'm constantly amazed at how well the handwriting recognition works, especially considering how good (not!) my handwriting is.

That said, unless you plan to write stuff that can't be put in a computer understood font, typing is much faster. But if you like to make sketches or write complex formulae and include them in your document it can be handy. It can also be handy for presentations, because the screen swivels; and one reason I bought it was to use as a super-size GPS unit because it folds flat. However, after about 6 years I will confess that I was fooled by the glitz and virtually never use the capabilities.
 
Thanks for the replies!

Mary, do you know what tablet your niece has?

My typing skills are not the best, so typing notes is a slower process than writing it out. Also, my hand keeps up with my brain faster than my fingers do. Strange, but true.

David, is there a specific software program you use for the hand writing recognition?

Larry, I have asked iPad owners if they could do what I want, and the answer was no. There is not a stylus instrument available. There may be apps, but what to use..... finger? I would actually be thrilled if the iPad could do what I have in mind..... I WANT ONE!!!! I may go to the Apple store and ask an expert.

It seems to me that being able to write with a pen on a tablet would make the lives of many a bit easier. Wouldn't it be easy for a doctor to write notes in charts on a tablet and have it converted to text? Or a contractor in the field to make notes and write up orders? Seems so to me, but maybe for some typing it out is the way to go.

Being in the field myself, it would make my job much better.

Doug, I often type notes to myself and e-mail them to me. It's a good way to remember the things I know I will forget! :)
 
Hi Wavy, I think this is what you need:

mzl.ujtgycvg.480x480-75.jpg

IPad does have a WritePad app!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/writepad-for-ipad/id363618389?mt=8

And here's a video / demo: p?q=product/details/writepadhttp://www.phatware.com/index.ph
 
I just use the built-in functionality of XP Tablet Edition that came installed on the computer. Note: you do need to have a touch sensitive screen, you can't just install it on any laptop.
 
Larry Peterson said:
You mean the iPad and Xoom doesn't have a basic notepad/stylus app? Seems like a core app for a tablet.
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iPad does. I don't have it with me, but I think it's called UPad or UNote or something like that.

The application is not written by Apple, but it is only a few dollars. I don't have a stylus, and using my fat little fingers make it look like grafitti on a subway platform, but styluses (stylii?) are available at RadioShack, I think. If I had one, I know I'd lose it within 35 seconds.

I don't know how good the handwriting recognition on the UPad software is though.
 
I too have an old Gateway Tablet and, like David, was excited by the capabilities at first and attempted to use it to keep sketches, etc. Soon it was more touble than it was worth... then the pricey battery died and I had to replace it. Then the hard drive failed and I had to replace it. Then I needed to upgrade the memory. The battery has since died again...

I could use it as a boat anchor, but I already have one.

:icon9:
 
Bill Henry- said:
...but styluses (stylii?) are available at RadioShack, I think.
Click to expand...

So does the iPad use a different technology than the iPhone/iPod Touch? They won't work with anything but a real finger, unless there's some kind of special stylus that acts like a finger. I have no idea what the principle is, just that you can use a pen, stick or gloved finger on an iPhone...
 
Well, I had to do it...... I am now playing with my latest toy, uh, I mean work tool :D. iPad2

I am looking at several note pads/ Handwriting recognition apps. Unfortunately I have to pay for them to try them out. Crazy. :nuts:

David, there is a stylus pen available to use for the iPad, iTouch and iPhone. I bought one and it works just fine on my iPod and iPad.

Now the real trick is finding apps to do the things I want. There is not just one app. It will take a few different ones in combination, I think.

There is a very thorough review of the note taking apps so that should be helpful.
 
Thanks Gail. :)

For those of you interested, here is the review of 3 note pad apps:


...........................................................................
Notes App Review: Notes Plus, UPAD, Penultimate

by Realist?

Here is a comparison of key functionality in each based upon my personal preferences, priorities, and experience.

1. Handwriting Notes - UPAD is the clear winner with a movable close-up entry box and the ability to resize the area of the page that shows in the close-up box. Pen/highlighter selection is quick. There are multiple options for erasing and undo. The same process is used for marking up PDFs. Very smooth and writing looks great. NOTES PLUS also has zoom and close-up writing plus a unique feature where you can select sections of written notes and move them around the page, but this feature tends to crash the app and loses other data on the page. The close-up box is somewhat jerky and flashes during the writing process (especially in landscape mode). PENULTIMATE is great for quick notes as it opens the fastest, but lack of close-up or zoom capabilities limits the amount of data that can fit on a page.

2. Sending/Sharing - PENULTIMATE wins for simplicity (just tap the individual pages from a notebook you wish to send). NOTES PLUS wins for flexibility if used in conjunction with its Page Management capabilities to copy the pages you want to send to a separate notebook. Without using page management, you are limited to a single page or all pages from a notebook. UPAD is limited to either a single page or range of consecutive pages within a notebook.

3. Page Management/Organization - NOTES PLUS is the clear winner with the ability to arrange pages within the same notebook or move/copy pages between notebooks. You can also create folders. PENULTIMATE allows for arranging pages within a notebook. UPAD does not allow for arrangement of pages within a notebook, or copying pages between notebooks.

4. PDF Markup - only UPAD currently has PDF markup. You get the same great handwriting tools as noted above. Portrait mode is near perfect, although landscape documents are rotated to show within a portrait page. Hopefully this gets fixed in the next release.

5. Image Markup - again, only UPAD has, although it's somewhat quirky at this point and you can't paste images into notes.

6. Text Entry Via Keyboard - Both UPAD and NOTES PLUS offer this feature with the ability to resize and move the box in which text is entered.

6. VGA Out - both PENULTIMATE and UPAD have VGA out at this time. I plan to use it for business, but haven't tried it yet.

7. Sound Recording - only NOTES PLUS has, but I haven't tried it yet as it is not important to me.

8. Shapes - again, only NOTES PLUS has, but I really haven't tested much as I don't have a lot of use for it, but seems pretty neat.

SUMMARY: Each app is great in its own way and seems to cater to a different group. If I could keep only one, it would be UPAD.

UPAD is the best app for handwritten notes. Based upon its smooth, intuitive handwriting engine alone, UPAD is the clear winner for me. Add in the PDF capabilities, and the lead is even bigger. I just wish the page management feature were there and they fix the landscape PDF issue.

NOTES PLUS seems to be a fantastic app for taking notes while audio is being recorded and arranging/organizing content. Again, page management is superb and the developer seems to be very engaged and responsive. I would expect that many of the crashes are due to hardware limitations of the current iPad model, and this app will benefit most from the additional RAM and processing power of iPad 2.

PENULTIMATE is great for quick notes and sending out sketch ideas as long as there is not the need to have a lot content or smaller detail on the page.

All three apps are worth the price and I'd heartily recommend trying all three. Good luck in finding the one that's right for you.
.......................................................................................................
 
The Wavy Framer said:
Now the real trick is finding apps to do the things I want. There is not just one app. It will take a few different ones in combination, I think.

There is a very thorough review of the note taking apps so that should be helpful.
Click to expand...

It would be great to have apps for the major POS software and the platforms that run them. I know there is an app for Filemaker. Now Bert needs to make one for Frame Ready. Imagine how handy this would be for corporate quotes on the fly. We can do this now with a laptop, but an iPad2 would be so handy for this sort of thing.

One thing you could do with your new iPad is bookmark preselected art for your clients.

I am still holding money in my writer's account for either a new laptop (really need to replace mine) or an iPad. I will be interested to read about how you are using your new toy--I mean work tool. (Scrabble? This game is SO small on the iPhone. It's the only game I play though.)
 
The Wavy Framer said:
I am so over run by paper, I can't stand it. I see this as a way of creating notes easily and filing them in one tidy place on the computer.
Click to expand...

You have solved your notes problem by now, but in reference to making notes on a Windoze computer, I have always used AZZ Cardfile for that until a few weeks ago.

I started using Microsoft One Note that comes with Office and I am very impressed with it so far. I never thought I would be so impressed with one of their products, but I am. I've had it for years and never even looked at it before.

It's very versatile and allows as many notebooks to be made as you need. Each notebook can contain many tabs and many pages in each tab. You can draw, add images, add videos, type anywhere on the page, set up To Do lists with check boxes and lots of other stuff too.

I would recommend it to anyone looking to make notes on a Win computer.
 
I think the key to notes and to-do lists is that they sync across all your devices. Otherwise they are limited. I use Ta-Da lists and can pull them up on any computer. There is also an iPhone app for this software. I have not found an easy way to deal with notes though. I too am always losing little bits of paper, backs of envelopes and such. Typing fast onto an iPhone is not convenient. And none of us would keep a tablet in our back pocket to grab when the phone rings. At work we keep notebooks by every pone, but we are still dealing with all these notebooks with messages for various people.

In the days when I used a Franklin planner, I kept it open on my desk all the time, not portable, but at least there in my face. I would jot down all notes for the day on the planner page day and I never lost notes. Now I try to get everything into the computer as soon as possible--phone numbers into Address Book, and so on. but I am still dealing with little notes. I usually find them at night in my pockets.
 
Kirstie said:
I am still holding money in my writer's account for either a new laptop (really need to replace mine) or an iPad. I will be interested to read about how you are using your new toy--I mean work tool. (Scrabble? This game is SO small on the iPhone. It's the only game I play though.)
Click to expand...
At home we have both an iPad and a MacBook laptop.

I love my iPad, but it has a few things, IMO, that makes it less than practical for a serious/business platform.

The touch screen keyboard is cumbersome. If you are a speed typist, you cannot simply rest your fingers on the screen’s keyboard since they will at the slightest pressure enter a character. I’ve found I had to revert to the single finger typing method.

You can add an external keyboard, but from what I’ve seen the keys are fairly small for stubby fingers like mine. Also, lugging around another peripheral sort of defeats the purpose of the portability feature of the iPad.

Printing from the iPad is possible (with "PrintBureau"), but, as far as I can tell, you need to essentially link it to a “host” computer (with "MyPrint") which, in turn, links it to your wireless printer. I am still struggling to get my iPad to print when my wife is using her MacBook at the same time.

The “serious” applications you may need for spreadsheet or word processing are fairly good, but, the SS app, “Numbers”, isn’t even close to being as full featured or flexible as AppleWorks let alone Excel. “Pages”, reportedly the best word processor, has several nice features, but you will need to link it to your printer and, of course, there is the keyboard issue. I have both “Numbers” and “Pages”.

I’m not crazy about the iPad’s “Mail” app, either. They only give you three mail folders, “In, Sent, and Trash”. There is a way to add your own storage folders, but it can only be done if you have IMAP and you have add them at the server. It cannot be done directly from the iPad. It doesn’t appear that you can add folders if you use POP, but I’m not 100% sure of that.

Safari is the only practical web browser you can use at this time. As far as I can tell there are only three. I have “Atomic Web”, and although it is supposed to be more flexible than Safari, I haven’t figured out a way to import my existing bookmarks menus into it, yet.

On the positive side, the iPad has an incredible battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge and it’s really fun to use. Our MacBook will only hold a charge for about two hours, and since my wife uses the laptop exclusively, there is usually peanut butter on the keyboard.
 
Bill Henry- said:
Our MacBook will only hold a charge for about two hours, and since my wife uses the laptop exclusively, there is usually peanut butter on the keyboard.
Click to expand...

Is it getting old? My MacBook (Pro, 13") will generally run for 4-5 hours on a charge. One thing that makes a big difference is screen brightness. Turn it down unless you really need it brighter.
 
David N Waldmann said:
Is it getting old? My MacBook (Pro, 13") will generally run for 4-5 hours on a charge. One thing that makes a big difference is screen brightness. Turn it down unless you really need it brighter.
Click to expand...
Our living room is fairly bright and my wife's eyes aren't the best in the world, so she claims to need the screen well lit. We replaced the battery about a year ago, but even when brand new, it never held a charge for more than two hours. She runs it most often with the trickle charger connected so battery life is not a real problem.
 
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