I need a tablet to use as a digital notepad!

[Technologist]

1. What is your budget?
Ideally, $500 or less. The cheaper the better.

2. Would you consider purchasing used/refurbished?
I would really rather not.

3. Do you prefer a Slate, Convertible or Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)?
A slate. I only need a touch screen. Anything else just adds weight.

4. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
I have no preference. I'm more worried about other things.

5. Which country do you intent to purchase from?
United States.

6. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?
I hate Apple a lot.

7. How many hours battery life do you require?
I want long battery life. I don't have a specific number in mind.

8. What will be the primary usage scenario of this tablet? (Email/Web Surfing/Drawing/Word Processing/Entertainment/Notetaking etc)
Notetaking. Anything else is just extra.

9. Do you have an OS preference?
As long as it's open source, I'm good.

10. What software and tasks do you intend to run? (Microsoft Office or other Word Processing Suite/Photoshop/3D Studio Max/Autocad etc)
I would like some intuitive notetaking software. Ideally, I would be able to store my organized notes in cloud storage in a searchable format. But anything more effective than Microsoft Paint would be great.

10. Do you intend on playing Games? If so please list.
Not really, no. But, hey, an NES emulator would be cool. Nothing that would require a powerful machine, anyway.


Screen Specifics

1. What resolution do you prefer?
The higher resolution the better, but again, I'm mostly concerned about the tablet's functionality as a digital notepad. I doubt I'll be watching movies on this thing.

2. Do you require the screen to be readable in sunlight?
I doubt I'll be reading or taking notes outdoors very often.

3. Do you prefer your display to be glossy or matte?
I don't really care.

4. Do you require Touch? (without pressure sensitivity) (Which one: resistive or capacitive)
Capacitive, I think.

5. Do you require a Pen? (with pressure sensitivity) (Which one: Wacom or N-Trig)
...I'm not really sure! I know I need a pen. The specifics are hazy. As long as my writing is clear, I'm good.


Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require?
I shouldn't need too much memory. Again, I won't be using this thing to watch movies. I would probably be fine with less than 8 GB.

2. Do you require an Optical (CD/DVD) Drive to be built in?
No, that would actually be pretty terrible. Those things are heavy.

3. Do you require ability to add a second Battery or Hard Drive (Modular Bay technology)?
Nope.



So does anything even fit this description? I'm aware of digital notepads, but I'm not really impressed by any of them. The nicest one I've found is the Asus Eee Note, but it's not even available in the U.S., and it saves notes as Microsoft Office files, which is just weird... So I think my best option is getting a tablet computer. I don't know. Any guidance would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[AndreR]

...and it saves notes as Microsoft Office files...

Probably One Note. It is the best note taking software, but it requires Windows.

[sketchyd]

The lenovo thinkpad tablet sounds perfect for your needs.

[jnjroach]

HTC Flyer or it's 10" Cousin or the Thinkpad Slate are the only options that I can think of as they run Android (somewhat Open Source). Has a digitizer so you can take notes and syncs with Evernote in the cloud. I know you said you only wanted a touch screen, but taking notes using an on-screen keyboard is unrealistic.

[Technologist]

HTC Flyer or it's 10" Cousin or the Thinkpad Slate are the only options that I can think of as they run Android (somewhat Open Source). Has a digitizer so you can take notes and syncs with Evernote in the cloud. I know you said you only wanted a touch screen, but taking notes using an on-screen keyboard is unrealistic.

Oh. Whoops. Yeah, a digitizer is fine. That's pretty important, actually. I can't believe I forgot about that...

EDIT: After doing a bit more reading, I see that the Thinkpad would be wonderful. It's not as sleek as I'd like, but that's a minor complaint. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[Stan S.]

Oh. Whoops. Yeah, a digitizer is fine. That's pretty important, actually. I can't believe I forgot about that...

EDIT: After doing a bit more reading, I see that the Thinkpad would be wonderful. It's not as sleek as I'd like, but that's a minor complaint. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

People here are more geared to function than style. Even an iPad weighs in at 1.4 lbs and it's as bulky as any device with all it's glass in a 'thin design'. As someone who has a ScottyVest jackets to schelp my tablet and stuff around without a manbag or backpack or even a traditional laptop bag, the Thinkpad is a device that's ahead of the pack since it offers as much in terms of physical connections in the single device that's thicker by only a few mm and weighs slightly more as you need to get by with devices that have few to none. All of Thinkpad's ports can be used at the same time, while an ipad can only use one port (unless you get special cabling) or add on devices. What's the sense of sleek apple or vaio units if you need two or three additional devices (keyboards, usb connections, cables, multi-card readers) to take with you? There's a internal dock for the pen on the unit too.

[Technologist]

People here are more geared to function than style.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. It's not really a problem. I do wish it was more stylish, but it's certainly not bad, and it's a very good tablet (from what I've read), so I'm not at all worried about it.

[storebror]

I have to say (though it´s not really helpful in the discussion) that I actually wish more manufacturers built "ugly" tablets. I find the samsung/Ipad clones to look like toilet lids :O

I really dig the thinkpad design actually, ok in a perfect world it would be as light as a feather while still being built like a tank, but the design is great IMO.
I don´t like the hardware buttons though, I can´t stand things that are redundant and I feel they are.

PS. will the 10" HTC be better than what I´ve heard the Flyer to be?

[Stan S.]

I have a android phone with hardware buttons, nothing better since the phone always responds to the buttons pressed. I think they should all have at least one.

The HTC Puccini is said to have a dual core processor (1.5Ghz) while the Flyer has only the single core. Other than that we really don't know of any announced differences. Since the Flyer is listed at $499, I can only imagine the price of the Puccini unsubsidized by a carrier. Neither have any ports, and IMHO, the Lenovo is better since it's more flexible in it's design specs.

For discussion, I have CM7 on my HP Touchpad with a dual core, and it's clocked at 1.5, and it's pretty speedy. The HP has dual band "N" wifi in it (something you don't see all that often) and I love the 5Ghz which can take advantage of my high speed connection (50mb).

[sarah11918]

The nicest one I've found is the Asus Eee Note, but it's not even available in the U.S., and it saves notes as Microsoft Office files, which is just weird...

Um, no it doesn't. It saves them locally in its own file format, but they can be exported as graphic files to Evernote over a wireless network.

Maybe ask in the Asus Eee subforum here, because for a simple, cheaper than a tablet PC, note taking device, I think it's the best thing out there. Asus Eee Line

I happened to find one on eBay from someone selling theirs locally, but many in the forum have successfully ordered from Taiwan with no problems. Battery life is much better than a tablet PC because it doesn't do much else. It seems like a better fit for longevity and note taking, as long as your fine exporting your notes to Evernote as graphic files. I'd only go tablet PC if I really cared about handwriting recognition, text-searchable notes etc. Just my thoughts.