davidnimmo.com Life, The Universe and Everything

8Jan/12Off

Hello Notes Plus 3.0, Goodbye Samsung Slate?

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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.

26Nov/11Off

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.

2May/11Off

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. 

stm skinny

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. 

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PhatPad handwriting text entry

25Apr/11Off

Long-Form Handwritten Notes

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20Apr/11Off

First Ink Blog from New iPad

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18Jun/10Off

iPhone inkBlog

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