Electronic Notebooks
Discussion
A question for the PH Massive please.
Going to be starting some significant learning in the new year, and really want to move away from taking notes on traditional pen and paper, thinking that an electronic notebook/pen combo will make it easier to take/review/revise the notes I take later and also provide a level of backup of content,
I'm not an Apple fan, and seriously hope an IPad isn't the only answer...
I've been looking at e-ink/e-paper devices such as the remarkable 2, boox note air 2 plus & the new Kindle scribe but also a traditional tablet with pen input - the Samsung Tab S8+... After a number of you-tube reviews I think i can discount the initial release of the scribe, and I like the idea of the boox with it's native android capability, but am concerned about longevity & support. The remarkable looks good initially, but not sure if it's pure note taking is enough given it's poor support for reading (textbooks etc). The final option I've seen is a traditional tablet from the likes of Samsung - with a full ecosystem of support, but loosing the epaper screen...
Has anyone on here got any experience of any of these devices or any alternatives - I've seen a few in the flesh, but not had any serious time with them, so would appreciate your inputs...
Thanks in advance,
Simes.
Going to be starting some significant learning in the new year, and really want to move away from taking notes on traditional pen and paper, thinking that an electronic notebook/pen combo will make it easier to take/review/revise the notes I take later and also provide a level of backup of content,
I'm not an Apple fan, and seriously hope an IPad isn't the only answer...
I've been looking at e-ink/e-paper devices such as the remarkable 2, boox note air 2 plus & the new Kindle scribe but also a traditional tablet with pen input - the Samsung Tab S8+... After a number of you-tube reviews I think i can discount the initial release of the scribe, and I like the idea of the boox with it's native android capability, but am concerned about longevity & support. The remarkable looks good initially, but not sure if it's pure note taking is enough given it's poor support for reading (textbooks etc). The final option I've seen is a traditional tablet from the likes of Samsung - with a full ecosystem of support, but loosing the epaper screen...
Has anyone on here got any experience of any of these devices or any alternatives - I've seen a few in the flesh, but not had any serious time with them, so would appreciate your inputs...
Thanks in advance,
Simes.
What do you use as your main machine? What is your budget?
Thinking in isolation, if I wanted that sort of machine for uni, I'd be tempted to get a Surface. Scribble on it like a tablet. Dock it at home to a real monitor and use it as a proper computer. Type up assignments on the main screen, refer to notes on the Surface screen etc. No need to faff about with syncing across devices.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/surface
Given all the online systems in use by educational establishments these days, are you sure that note taking by hand will be useful? Maybe go in with pen and paper and see what systems your college (or whatever) use first? They might provide notes, video's, transcripts etc.
FWIW, for recent corporate training, I only used pen and paper to revise, answer practice exam questions etc. They provided comprehensive records of everything in multiple formats and note taking wasn't necessary.
Thinking in isolation, if I wanted that sort of machine for uni, I'd be tempted to get a Surface. Scribble on it like a tablet. Dock it at home to a real monitor and use it as a proper computer. Type up assignments on the main screen, refer to notes on the Surface screen etc. No need to faff about with syncing across devices.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/surface
Given all the online systems in use by educational establishments these days, are you sure that note taking by hand will be useful? Maybe go in with pen and paper and see what systems your college (or whatever) use first? They might provide notes, video's, transcripts etc.
FWIW, for recent corporate training, I only used pen and paper to revise, answer practice exam questions etc. They provided comprehensive records of everything in multiple formats and note taking wasn't necessary.
Edited by wyson on Sunday 1st January 18:32
I use a Boox Note Air, which I've had for a couple of years.
I'm a list-writer and a note-taker and this is excellent in enabling me to organise stuff, and keep things long-term. I can also download and annotate pdfs, so for learning I'd have thought it would be very useful.
Functionality is limited, though, really to notes, lists, doodles, drawings. It does have a web browser, but it's a bit clunky.
ETA, I did a fair bit of research, and the Boox came out on top for a combination of usability, support and cost.
I'm a list-writer and a note-taker and this is excellent in enabling me to organise stuff, and keep things long-term. I can also download and annotate pdfs, so for learning I'd have thought it would be very useful.
Functionality is limited, though, really to notes, lists, doodles, drawings. It does have a web browser, but it's a bit clunky.
ETA, I did a fair bit of research, and the Boox came out on top for a combination of usability, support and cost.
I teach at a university and in my lectures (200+ students, engineering) at the moment there is a pretty even split between students using:
- laptops to type, probably slightly more Windows than Mac.
- laptops to write on, be it Surface Pros and the like or traditional laptops with touchscreens.
- using tablets, probably slightly more iPads than others and a sizeable minority using styluses.
And handful of students just use their phones or pen/paper, the latter often with a laptop or tablet at the same time,
IME what students choose to do is dependent on the subject and the mode of delivery.
- laptops to type, probably slightly more Windows than Mac.
- laptops to write on, be it Surface Pros and the like or traditional laptops with touchscreens.
- using tablets, probably slightly more iPads than others and a sizeable minority using styluses.
And handful of students just use their phones or pen/paper, the latter often with a laptop or tablet at the same time,
IME what students choose to do is dependent on the subject and the mode of delivery.
wyson said:
Given all the online systems in use by educational establishments these days, are you sure that note taking by hand will be useful? Maybe go in with pen and paper and see what systems your college (or whatever) use first? They might provide notes, video's, transcripts etc.
This is good advice. You could also ask the provider what they think is good in advance of the course starting. They may even have some guidance on them students seen of their website.595Heaven said:
PC Pro have a review of the Kindle Scribe in the latest issue. Gave it three stars out of five. Great for reading, but the writing part is pretty poor.
No handwriting recognition
No way to annotate ebooks
Stylus is magnetic so easy knocked off
Not cheap
I'd be all over it if it had OneNote compatibility. No handwriting recognition
No way to annotate ebooks
Stylus is magnetic so easy knocked off
Not cheap
Taita said:
Try Obsidian or Onenote for your software note-taking needs, both great 
All my work notes are in OneNote. I love being able to print to it from my laptop and scribble notes all over it. It also has great cross platform compatibility as I can open it on my macbook to insert a document and then write on it on my android or iOS phone/tablet.I'm mostly using a Windows laptop either my own or or works, though also have a chromebook & use GoogleDrive between my own devices phone/laptop/chromebook. Had a surface equivalent device from work - couldn't get on with the small 12" screen for windows.
As for budget - I can spend upto a grand on this but also ideally need to refresh the laptop/chromebook this year, so what I save here can be used there.
The training materials is a mix of pdf/slideware and video, with occasional webinar, mostly remote. And will use the laptop to display that..
I want to hand write notes as I find that works better than typing for me, and I'd rather try toj use a device rather than pen/paper to make it easier to review/find stuff when I need to look back at notes.
I agree the scribe is missing a lot of functionality, and think the Boox Note Air would work, but there no availability in the UK for a few weeks, so going to try the remarkable with its 100day return policy first. After trying samsung tablet in store its clear. You cant make this sort of decision without some real time on the device. The remarkable is reasonably priced (£300), and means I have enough for a decent laptop replacement as well if it works out..
Thanks for your input, I'll update when I get something.
As for budget - I can spend upto a grand on this but also ideally need to refresh the laptop/chromebook this year, so what I save here can be used there.
The training materials is a mix of pdf/slideware and video, with occasional webinar, mostly remote. And will use the laptop to display that..
I want to hand write notes as I find that works better than typing for me, and I'd rather try toj use a device rather than pen/paper to make it easier to review/find stuff when I need to look back at notes.
I agree the scribe is missing a lot of functionality, and think the Boox Note Air would work, but there no availability in the UK for a few weeks, so going to try the remarkable with its 100day return policy first. After trying samsung tablet in store its clear. You cant make this sort of decision without some real time on the device. The remarkable is reasonably priced (£300), and means I have enough for a decent laptop replacement as well if it works out..
Thanks for your input, I'll update when I get something.
I have a boox, but read-only rather than a notebook.
There are also tablet screen protectors available which have a slightly matt surface, trying to replicate a more papery feel than glass and intended for write-on use. They seem mostly aimed at ipads but I guess would succumb to scissors if none were specifically made for a Samsung.
Newc answering a similar question in a previous thread said:
said:
I have the small Boox, the Poke, which is a kindle alternative rather than a large screen ipad pro style which I think you are looking for.
Unit itself is great and overall no qualms recommending them bar point below. It's Android so lots of access to the settings for customisation and a file manager. Though my device is monochrome screen so while you can load apps not all of them are monochrome friendly, eg you can't see some buttons because they are rendered as grey on black. The power button on the poke is too easy to press, have had a couple of power ons in pocket draining the battery, can't comment on the other models obviously.
Big caveat is service. I cracked my screen (my fault, long drop onto concrete). Good online response from them to send to a service centre in Poland, but two months later it just came back unopened. No idea what happened, and they had warned me that turnaround was 6 to 10 weeks so I had already bought another one anyway.
I also have an S8+. Great device in general, but it is surprisingly bigger and heavier than you might expect. I previously had an S6, and I went up to the plus size because I wanted the better screen and thought 'it's only a bit bigger, I'll scarcely notice'. This was an underestimate. If you can I would try and hold one for a while, I think it is just a bit unwieldy for constant use as a write-on device.I have the small Boox, the Poke, which is a kindle alternative rather than a large screen ipad pro style which I think you are looking for.
Unit itself is great and overall no qualms recommending them bar point below. It's Android so lots of access to the settings for customisation and a file manager. Though my device is monochrome screen so while you can load apps not all of them are monochrome friendly, eg you can't see some buttons because they are rendered as grey on black. The power button on the poke is too easy to press, have had a couple of power ons in pocket draining the battery, can't comment on the other models obviously.
Big caveat is service. I cracked my screen (my fault, long drop onto concrete). Good online response from them to send to a service centre in Poland, but two months later it just came back unopened. No idea what happened, and they had warned me that turnaround was 6 to 10 weeks so I had already bought another one anyway.
There are also tablet screen protectors available which have a slightly matt surface, trying to replicate a more papery feel than glass and intended for write-on use. They seem mostly aimed at ipads but I guess would succumb to scissors if none were specifically made for a Samsung.
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