Hello Notes Plus 3.0, Goodbye Samsung Slate?
Hello Notes Plus 3.0, Goodbye Samsung Slate?
Ok, this may be a little premature, but I am
seriously considering ditching my Samsung Series
7
Slate & going back to the iPod. And here's my rationale:
Original reason for dissatisfaction with iPod:
-Inking / stylus experience was poor (using Tagus
stylus)
-Handwriting recognition post-writing was substandard (Phat pad).
-Unavailability of OneNote (with true thing on the
Dad...
As a result, I was dissatisfied with i Pad as a
handwriting solution, and picked up the first decent
Windows Slate on the market. The Slate had the following advantages and disadvantages:
° Full One Note available on Windows
. True digitiser 1 pen experience with fine
level of control.
• Excellent handwriting to text conversion, during
and after time of actual handwriting input.
Disadvantages
° fess intuitive tablet experience
° Larger, heavier device
° Not fully solid-state (fan, heat, noise).
So, the Slate addressed the issues I found with
the Dad, but also introduced some new frustrations.
Once I started facing issues with the Slate, I decided to
borow back my iPod (which my eldest daughter had
happily adopted for awhile. I also decided to try
a different stylus, as I had begun to suspect that
at least some of my issues were related to the stylus
itself.
The first thing I noticed, was that the new (Geho
brand) combo pen-stylus was much more effective
on the i Pad Much less pressure required, and much
fewer strokes missed, While still less accurate than
an active digitiser + pen, this does make the i Pad
much more useable,
The real (& unexpected) improvement though,
came in the form of a major version upgrade to my
favourite note-taking app, Notes Plus. Most
importantly, Notes Plus has now added (via
an in-app purchase) a VERY effective handwriting
to text conversion. What amazed me is just how
effective and accurate it is-even with my cursive
scrawl. Compare with the un-edited conversion
below here to judge for yourself.
The final improvement which has occurred since my
last attempt with the Dad, is that there is now a
Microsoft OneNote app for the iPod. While I wish it
did real inking, I think a combination of Notes Plus
for authoring, and OneNote for filing, could be
very effective-Time will tell-Ill let you know.
Samsung Win 7 Slate + OneNote
Just thought I'd let the Blogosphere, Twitterverse and Facebook-whatever know that my new Samsung Series 7 Slate Video is currently uploading. (I'll post the link when it's available - > link is now available here: http://youtu.be/IhprcxfGAso)
One complaint to @Samsung - "iPad" has 2 syllables in one word, and everyone knows what it is and who makes it. Even the GalaxyTab manages 4 syllables, and good brand recognition. "Samsung Series 7 Slate" - seven (hard to say) syllables, and almost no one recognizes the product... Hard work needed Samsung to refine the image, the message (and perhaps the product name?).
Thanks to some constructive feedback both online and at home, this new video is shorter, with greater focus on the device and the software (OneNote).
I hope you like it, and keep the feedback / requests coming. David.
Paper fights back + Planetary
Week 3 of Paperlessness with iPad is over. I continue to rely on AwesomeNote as my virtual filing system / scrapbook and to do list. Notes Plus continues as my preferred handwritten note taking tool. I also make some use of email and calendaring.
Citrix on the iPad has turned out to be less useable than I had hoped, mainly because of the incompatibility between the iPad touch UI and the Windows UI which is being controlled. If Apple was to enable Bluetooth mouse support I think this could be a different story.
As the title of this post suggests, paper has been fighting back! I have been handed all sorts of printouts in and from meetings, and by workmates passing work to me. In some cases, this is just the sensible thing to do. Ie when I have taken on work resulting from a meeting where the attendees marked up copies of documents, it just makes sense to take those notes to work from. I think until everyone is working from a compatble paperless device, this will just be the way it is.
I am not signaling surrender or failure by any means! I have greatly reduced my own paper usage and consumption, and am much more aware of the volumes of paper in use around the office, which is a good thing.
The exercise has also forced me to be serious in my dedication to effective use of the iPad as a paper alternative - a habit formed which I hope to perpetuate.
Planetary
Planetary is a fun, artistic, intuitive, visually appealing and free app, which acts as a visual interface to your iTunes library. The best way to understand it is to try it out.
Until next time - fight the paperless fight!
Update on Paperlessness – Paperless Newspaper
This is now week 2 of my Paperless month with the iPad. Things are working out very well at work, and the combination of AwesomeNote as an electronic binder, along with Notes Plus for handwritten notes, is working out very well.
Below you can see some screen images from Notify, a Notes Plus competitor. Notify does have at least one feature I'd like to see in Notes Plus, which is a variable zoom drawing window. For general look and feel and usability, however, I still prefer Notes Plus for day to day use.
I also wanted to mention here a Paperless newspaper reader, PressReader, introduced to me by a work colleague. For those who like to access their full daily paper, without the paper, PressReader does a fantastic job of providing access to thousands of international titles at a fee of US$0.99 per edition, or an "all you can eat" fee of around US$30 per month.
STM ‘skinny’ case & PhatPad for text entry
While I wait for my Portenzo case to turn up, I decided I needed a case so I could use the iPad without worrying about scratches. While the Apple cover is cute and clever, it offers no protection for the back of the device. I had a bit of a look online but couldnt really find anything suitable.
On the day the iPad got delivered I discovered the 'stm skinny - for iPad 2' in JB Hi Fi in Brisbane CBD.
the stm skinny
I snapped up the case straight away. It offers full front and back protection for the device, as well as the same auto on/off feature as the Apple cover.
Truth be told, if I had discovered this case first I might have given the Portenzo case a miss. Anyway, what's done is done, and I'm sure I'll get plenty of use from both cases (That is, when the Portenzo case eventually arrives).
As a side note, the text for this entire post (ie excluding formatting and hyperlinks) was written using handwriting text entry mode in the PhatPad app. This is a mode I used to use extensively on my Windows Tablet PC with Window's system wide inking and text recognition (Hello Apple...feature request for iOS). PhatPad does a great job of emulating that feature. To me, this is a much faster, more natural, and less intrusive way to take notes during a business meeting, while still providing the advantage of having the result as fully editable text notes.
PhatPad handwriting text entry
Apps for Paperless Living
As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, I'll need the right set of apps if this paperless experiment is going to work. The following are an initial set of apps I have invested in. Most are paid apps. One or two are free. I'll start with the iPad-specific apps, but I'll also mention a few 'universal' apps (ie those which you purchase once, and which will run at full resolution on both the iPhone and on the iPad).
So, the iPad-specific apps I will start with are as follows:
Citrix Receiver: This free app is first cab off the rank for me. As part of the Citrix suite of virtualisation and remote access products, this app will allow me to use the iPad 2 to connect to my virtual office desktop, giving me access to a full Windows experience, and full, secure file access while on the move.
Drawing Pad: While this art-box app looks like it could be a bit of fun, it also looks like it could do some serious work in terms of creative drawing and illustration. Useful in creative thinking and workshop scenarios.
Flipboard: This app looks like a great way to consolidate my social network feeds in a magazine style format, to make the most of the iPad screen.
iThoughts HD: This is the HD / iPad sibling to the very capable mindmapping app I already use on my iPhone. The app sync's with Dropbox (among others), and as a result I am easily able to keep my mindmaps in sync with iThoughts on all of my iOS devices, and with Freemind on the desktop.
Keynote: This Apple presentation program (combine with a suitable video-out accessory) will allow me to run presentations from the iPad. Keynote for iPad will also run Microsoft Powerpoint presentations.
Notesplus: An interesting looking freehand note taking app
Noteshelf: Another interesting looking freehand note taking app
Pages: The iPad version of the Apple word processor. What more do I need to say?
Penultimate: A well reputed freehand note taking app.
Phatpad: Another freehand note taking app. This one has the added interest of handwriting to text conversion, which should make for a very interesting experiment.
Touch Hockey: Hmmm, how did that one get in there? Good for a game with the kids, friends or during an especially boring presentation 
UPad Lite: The free version of another contender for the freehand note taking app.
As you can see from the above apps, I am particularly interested in getting a working electronic freehand note taking system working. I plan to try all of the above freehand writing apps, and will report back here on the pros and cons of each.
I'll also conduct a review of each of the other apps as time allows.
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