I was at a meeting the other day and someone pulled out a flat device about the size of a kindle or a mini iPad and wrote upon it. I didn’t get a chance to ask what it was.
After reading about lots of digital notepads, I find that the features vary widely. I wouldn’t be sketching, so I don’t need varying levels of pressure. Some of them sync with your phone, your computer, and or The Cloud. I think some can convert handwriting to printed text (but I’m not sure). If they can’t do that, do you have to print (as opposed to writing in soon-to-be-extinct cursive)? I think I’m looking for something to take the place of a paper journal/diary. I’ve got stacks of those going back decades. (Note: they all must be thrown on the funeral pyre with me.) I tried a Rocketbook when they first came out, but wasn’t satisfied-- they’ve probably improved by now. Cost is not a primary consideration-- up to a point. I figure I’ll have to spend several hundred dollars (if amazon sells it, I can use my boatload of rewards points), but I’m not prepared to go for the $1,500 iPad.
A search for “digital notepads” yielded a bunch of “Best” sites-- here are a few, but there are plenty more. I’d rather hear from actual users if there are any on the board.
My opinion? Get a mid-level iPad and whatever Apple Pencil works with it.
That way, you have a device that can do many more things than just take notes, and you have dozens of note-taking apps to choose from.
I have used this setup for many years and love it. My preferred app is Noteshelf, though there are many equally competent ones.
As long as you have iCloud set up, everything is backed up to the cloud daily, so if your iPad falls over the side on your next cruise, you buy a new one and all of your notes reappear.
ETA: The Rocketbook Reusable Notebook gets an honorable mention from me. It’s a paper/plastic notebook that you write on with special pens that can be removed with Windex. The key is that each of the 10-20 reusable pages has a QR code and some other stuff on it that lets you photograph it with their app and it automatically delivers a PDF of your note based on little checkboxes at the bottom of the page. I would have continued using it if I were allowed to use the app by my employer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep using it.
The downside of an iPad is that it’s a distraction machine. For a lot of people, the advantage of a dedicated writing device is that when you are using it you aren’t costantly tempted to check your E-mail, or Twitter, or get distracted with notifications, breaking news, game updates…
Otherwise, an Apple Pencil is great, and there are lots of good note-taking apps as well as apps that will translate written words into text as you go.
Your comment makes sense, but I use my kindle the way people use iPads, for web-surfing, reading online publications, reading books (including library books), accessing The Dope, playing Wordle. I’m really wanting something just for note-taking, journaling, writing.
This site has some informative device reviews:
The reMarakble 2 looks promising, as does the Kindle Scribe, although I’m not really interested in annotating books.
But I have never used a device that worked so fluidly as the Apple Pencil on a proper notebook app. I also use my iPad for sheet music (forScore) and have thousands of pages of sheet music with my annotated bass lines on them. The iPad +Pencil is a sweet combo for taking notes and marking up documents.
Full disclosure: I haven’t used any of the dedicated notebooks besides Rocketbook, though that one is in its own category since it is a physical notebook that you later scan in.
I ordered the Supernote. It was $300-ish. I got the A6X, which is smaller than my kindle.
It seems to offer everything I want without extras. I don’t plan to use it as an e-reader, but only for writing and editing. I read on my kindlefire 99% of the time and on my phone for the other 1% when I’m stuck somewhere. I don’t want to add another device to that mix.
I love all the things that the iPad can do. I’m especially impressed when people use it for music. I sing in a choir, but can’t really call myself a musician, and I don’t need to own lots of sheet music. But if I did…
This year during the High Holy Day services our rabbi and cantor used iPads for all of the services-- prayers, singing, and I think sermons, too. The associate rabbi still lugged around the ginormous machzor – 1,042 pages!
I’m really wanting something just for note-taking, journaling, writing.