Re: Best tablet for writing/editing

Subject: Re: Best tablet for writing/editing
From: Carter Campbell <lists -at- soph-text -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:02:13 -0600

I've been after a good writing tablet for a long time and I haven't found anything that really works even close to flawlessly. There is usually some sort of drawback to the device.

The closest I have come to this is the Asus Eee Slate EP121 <http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-eee-slate-12-1-64gb-ep121-tablet-with-wi-fi-ep121-refurbished-ep121-1a005m/10188275.aspx?path=7fdc48532762c48e44b5a74cecff1f2den02>. I used it for about 2 years, but found that for all of the things I ended up wanting and needing to do with it, I kept running out of disk space (it only comes with 64GB). Also, the thing weighs more than I would like and has a short battery life. It has a bluetooth keyboard and I used a bluetooth mouse for keyboard-centric tasks, but the WACOM tablet tech and the Win7 hand writing tools made writing and correcting pretty easy and sketching simple drawings was pretty fast. If they had put a bigger drive in there, it would have been grand.

If you are looking for something that is small and has a touch screen, try the ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T <http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX42068> and/or the ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH51T <http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX44676>. I use both, the DH31T uses Ubuntu and the DH51T uses Win8 (not impressed). Both have touch screens and both OS's can use the touch screen. You can't fold the screen down to work as a tablet, so writing notes is more or less out of the question, but markups and screen gestures work well and I have to admit, I like the feel of the hardware.

In my opinion, pen-based development computing isn't there yet. All of these new devices, at least to my mind, are designed to consume info, not create it. It may be coming, but I have been waiting 15 years or more for it to arrive and, well, nothing . . .

Honestly, if you want just a "writing and editing" machine that can be hauled anywhere you want and will truly be "only for writing and editing", then I would think that a netbook (I still have and use my ASUS EEEPc 901) with Linux or a Macbook Air would work beautifully for you. If it is Windows you are after, then a lower end ultrabook could be the answer. Both the VivoBooks I use are inexpensive (and the prices are in Canadian, so if you are in the States, they should be quite a bit cheaper).

Carter

If you're captive to the Windows domain, definitely consider getting a
Surface. tablet and its accompanying keyboard. Surface is the next
generation of the Tablet PC, of which I am extremely fond. Our PM and a
consultant we recently hired used the Surface to work on our documents.

In the past I used the Tablet PC OS and rather enjoyed its handwriting
recognition and voice recording features. The screen display wasn't as
vivid as today's displays. Nor the battery life as long. OneNote really
excels as a Tablet PC app, even though Microsoft insisted at the time it
wasn't designed specifically for Tablet PC.

Windows isn't my operating system of choice. But I have to admit that Apple
fails in the hardware innovation department. They had a poor handwriting
tool in the Newton, but there were underpinnings that would have made the
iPad so much better. Instead Apple produced a basic tablet and trusted 3rd
party developers to build in the experience. Now we need a ton of apps to
rival the basic functionality of onenote.

It Tablet PC were made lighter and wih a battery that lasted longer, I
might not have switched to Apple. Well, at least not as a tablet.

As an aside I saw somewhere that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 makes a great
sketchbook. http://youtu.be/Y9qjx0_iTtQ

-Tony

On Sunday, September 1, 2013, Craig Cardimon wrote:

Afternoon Whirlers,

I'm looking around for a tablet (as inexpensive as possible). I want to
use the tablet for writing and editing.

The tablet could replace my venerable Windows XP laptop. Suggestions and
recommendations?


--
Cordially,
Craig Cardimon
"The Duct Tape Writer"
(Assignments wrapped. Deadlines beaten.)



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--
Carter Campbell
Technical Communications
lists -at- soph-text -dot- com
Calgary Alberta



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References:
Best tablet for writing/editing: From: Craig Cardimon
Re: Best tablet for writing/editing: From: Tony Chung

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