Galaxy Note or Lenovo tablet?

[storebror]

Ok, my latest ponderings in the realm of tabletPC/tablets is to skip a arge tabletPC and go for either a Galaxy Note or a Lenovo thinkpad tablet.

I want something to function as a digital sketchpad so that I can get away from my desk.

I like the Note obviously for the wacom tech. I´m worried it might be too small in the long run. Not so much the screensize, but rather the handling...I mean will the hand get really tired from "hanging in the air" while drawing on account of it being too small to comfortably rest the palm? Another fear here is that since Samsung released the s-pen SDK, I´m thinking they´ll want to release more devices with this hardware. I would hate to buy the Note only to find that a s-pen Galaxy Tab is out a month from now.
More plusses for this device is that I really am overdue on a new phone(my current one isn´t even a smartphone ) and the camera is good enough to not have to bring along my big camera.

The Lenovo on the other hand feel like an almost perfect size, but uses the dreaded N-trig. From what I´ve seen though (latinvixens videos) the drawing functions really well atleast in some apps. Otherwise it feels like a so-so device.

My third option basically is to go all in and buy a Fujitsu t900(not the 901 which is still too expensive here). This one is not really fair to compare to the other two though, but I mention it any way. It costs twice as much as the other two. I feel this one will enable me to sell the desktop, but on the other hand it might not be as mobile as I want. Both in terms of size, but also being a complete PC. My thinking here is that hopefully a less capable device will force me to be a bit more loose with my art, cause anytime I open Photoshop here on the big computer I feel I have to produce something polished and that´s not necessarily what I want from a mobile sketchpad(although I want enough capability to take it further than I would a pencildrawing on a piece of paper, otherwise I can just stick to that).

I think that´s it, hope someone has some advice that will finally make me wanna part with some money.

[Steve B]

Well, I think a lot of this depends on what you're thinking of using the device for. The idea that you're comparing a phone and an icore computer doesn't make much sense. You can own a work truck or a ferrari, and then get a bicycle too, ya know? They both get you places, but you drive them for different reasons.

Note- It seems to me that clearly the Note is only good as a secondary device. If you want a truly mobile sketchpad that you can have in a pocket all the time, and will really always carry with you because its your phone, then its awesome, and there are really no other options. It's also the cheapest by far, with a contract, at something like 300$. Ergonomically, you should try buying a little flip-cover sketchpad of a similar size, and see what you think of sketching and writing on it. To me, it's big enough-- you either hold it in the hand or set it on the table or keep it in your lap, the way you would a little paper sketchpad. But if you're really wishing you had a bigger pad, because you'd be sad if they released an SPen Tab, and its an either/or choice, then I wouldn't get it.

I can't speak to the Lenovo, as I haven't researched it as much. Clearly its a slate. Do you need a keyboard?

Clearly the t900/901 is the most robust. Keyboard, etc. But what are you hoping to use it for? It's mobile in that "move it form place to place" sort of way, but at 5 lbs, I found the t5010 too heavy for real "in the hand/arm" computing. Of course, it's great as a desktop replacement or workstation. Very powerful, good screen, DVD player, good keyboard, etc.

Truthfully, we need to know more about how you're going to use it. Otherwise, I would suggest just getting two different devices.

[Jamison Cush]

I would wait until at least Mobile World Congress at the end of the month to see what Samsung has lined up. They will probably unveil a new Galaxy Tab, which may utilize the S Pen.

Also, I would suggest getting some hands-on time with the ThinkPad Tablet if you haven't already. It's a bulky device -- heavy too. Of course, it's targeted for business users who need something that can survive a few drops and last a few years.

[Agent 9]

As odd as it sounds, you need to not look at the device, but rather the software it can run now [and how well] and what software you would ideally use. For example, those two android devices can at most run Sketchbook Mobile which is even still a FAR cry from Sketchbook pro on Windows (you can't even have a moderately large canvas, among other big issues), and pales in comparison to things like Corel Painter, My Paint and Photoshop... and that's not even going into the issues with the OS and software not working properly all the time especially with the pen/touch interface; or how the devices themselves are essentially 'throw away devices' as you can't upgrade them, or change out faulty parts or dead batteries.


Get yourself a used/ refurbished Core 2 Duo Wacom equipped Tablet PC from ebay for ~$350-500 and be able to upgrade it, and run whatever program you wish and so on; as thin/ light with as long of battery life? No, but that's the cost of being able to do whatever

[Steve B]

Well, I think that depends on what the intended usage pattern for the device is. Frankly, we still don't really know that.

The OP did mention that he/she was up for a new phone anyways. If you could get a new phone, and it has pen input on a 5" screen, and you can use it to sketch anywhere at anytime, why not? You're not going to draw the Mona Lisa on it, but if what you really want to do is rough out ideas, etc. on the fly, it's probably a really really good choice. Also, the Note is being upgraded to Icecream Sandwich sometime soon, so that should really help it take better usage of the pen. If a bit of $ rolls in, and I get one myself, I'll be waiting until that update occurs before I buy personally.

I still think this is a matter of probably needing 2 different devices, but we don't really know yet.

[storebror]

Thank you for the thoughts so far.

SteveB; sorry if I wasn´t clear enough. My main concern is that it replaces my pen and paper sketchbook. With the added bonus of colour and undo
I want to be able to whip it up whenever and wherever I get an idea, BUT I also want it to be fairly competent for those moments when I do want to take the picture to a more finished state.
The fujitsu I did say that I didn´t compare them, I just added it in to say that it´s part of my thought process if no one here thinks the other devices are going to cut it.

Jamison Cush, Getting hands-on with devices that fall even slightly out of the mainstream is virtually impossible here. Last year I went to our capitol city to find a store that stocked the lenovo, but couldn´t find one
I haven´t even seen a tabletPC in a store here...ever.(except for online stores)
The Note is in every store however, but ideally I would want to try it with other apps than the default.
I had high hopes for CES, lets hope you are right and there will be more interesting stuff at MWC.

Agent9, I agree and would prefer to stick with photoshop, but like I said that also comes with the added bagage of me having used that in a proffesional capacity. So I have a hard tme freeing myself from using it towrds no particular goal...just doodling. If I could have a simple app that just simulates a pencil/pen and watercolour/gouache, with pressure sensitivty.

Since I posted the OP I have read up on some reviews and like always it´s easy to fixate on the negative. The Note is looking pretty sweet if only it was a tad larger.

EDIT: You are right that I need two different devices, but what I tlk about here is a device that is as capable as possible in terms of letting me produce drawings/paintings while at the same time being as mobile and "non intrusive" as possible. If I need to wait for windows to boot up everytime I want to doodle, I´ll go nuts.
My fear of getting a full fledged tabletPC is that I´ll keep it on my desk and never bothering bringing it with me.

[alex.db]

Don't know about you guys but I would think walking around with a big arse phone all the time would become quite cumbersome and impractical (I've seen people try to use tablets as thier primary mobile phone, hilarity ensues...).

comparing an oversized phone to a dedicated tablet convertible is a bit silly. For one the lenovo is way more expensive. There is always the benefit of a quicker and less fiddly boot up with a slate though, you won't have to pull out the laptop and twist the bezel, then start the machine. With an SSD, boot times on the lenovo can be less of an issue, however it's still slower than an android slate (or any slate really).

edit:
reading your post above, maybe a simple solution would be to have a notepad application (for arguments sake, let's say onenote - which does have pressure sensitivity etc) run during startup. It's one less thing you have to do to get to a "usable" state.

I would be inclined to do a fresh install of windows on a machine like that however, to avoid all the bloat from slowing down the boot process.

Cheers,

[ronr9286t]

I've been using the Note as my primary mobile phone and quick note-taker for over a month, and I really like it. I don't do any drawing, and use a Fuijitsu convertible tablet for business (I live in Outlook and OneNote). The Galaxy Note has been a great device for MY uses, but I wouldn't imagine it would be very good for drawing, at least until there are more competent drawing applications for it.

Ron

[Steve B]

If you are thinking that you'd occassionally like to take that sketch "farther" on the same device that you're doodling on, then my guess is that the Note is not a good choice. I think it would be very hard to do that on a 5" screen, and my understanding is that Agent9 is right, and the Android version is limited. I've not used it though, or any other Android apps for that matter, so it's all hearsay.

If you are looking for a mobile sketchpad that has a bit of oomph.... does it need to be Wacom? Stuff like the older Fujitsu slates (st5112) and the older Motion slates (le1600/1700) might serve you very well. They run Windows and have Wacom, and the Fujitsu's in particular get very good battery life-- easily in the 4-6 hour range, which is still pretty good for mobile computing devices, even in today's market, and those are a few years old. The st5112 and the le1700 are eve CoreDuo and Core2Duo respectively, so they've got a reasonable amount of oomph to them as well.

Here's a link to a thread here where someone's using CS4 to paint on the st5112. Scroll down and you'll see the drawings. Seemed pretty good to me. And you can easily get that for 250-400$ US on ebay.

edit: as for whether or not the Note is too big to be a phone, it's a matter of opinion I suppose. I definitely wouldn't buy one sight unseen. Personally though, I almost never put my phone to my ear anymore-- it's all bluetooth. So, for me, I see no issue. And it's not like people didn't use land lines for a million years. Those were waaaaay bigger than the Note. I think the pen has value for the right people, and is worth the trade off in having a slightly-cumbersome screen size to make it really usable. I could see doing rough sketching in ICS, and I could see using it to possibly fill out simple PDF forms, or to make notes and to do lists. That sort of stuff.

[storebror]

reading alex.db´s reply I get the impression that you guys(or just some of you perhaps) are under the impression that I am talking about one of Lenovos tabletPCs(like x201,x220 etc) I am not. This is the one, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet Review.

Also, this version of sketchbook seems to be all I need(not all I want, but hey...) https://market.android.com/details?i...RjaGJvb2toZCJd
when I say I want to be able to take the drawings further I´m not necessarily talking about rendering for 40 hours, but rather have the ability to colour it beyond simply blocking in chunks of colour...so basically pressure sensitivty and possibly layers. Judging by this forumpost http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=232184 both sketchbook pro and adobe touch seem to be more than fine for my drawing needs, Ihaven´t really seen any good pics on how it handles painting(other than autodesks own publicity screenshots)....but again my main reason for wanting such device is to be more free in where and when I create. But since I don´t exactly ooze money I want to have as good a device as possible from the start.