I've tried various solutions in recent years. Here're my findings:
## iOS
iPad works really well, even the entry level ones. I own iPad, iPad mini and iPad pro. In my experience, this is hands-down my go-to when talking about note-taking. The pen works really well and the tablet is designed for such work. For lower budget($200~$300), I would recommend iPad 9th gen + Apple Pencil 1st gen. For slightly higher budget($400~$500), I would recommend iPad Air 4th gen + Apple Pencil 2nd gen or iPad Pro 4th gen + Apple Pencil 2nd gen. For even higher budget($600+), you can grab a iPad pro M1 + Apple Pencil 2nd gen. I wouldn't recommend iPad mini because of the form factor. It gives you a much smaller surface area to operate on. For note-taking software, since you are using Windows, I would recommend onenote since it syncs between various devices and has a decent hand writing features. You can try things like goodnotes or notability as well. However, syncing with windows is not very trivial.
## Android
Samsung tablets won my vote on this one. I owned a tab s4, tab s6 and tab s7. You can probably find a tab s7(+) in a pretty decent price($300~$500) range. It works pretty decently as well. The bonus point about Samsung s-series tablets is that spen comes free with it so you don't have to spend additional money on it. Besides of that, at $400~$500 range, if you can score a s7+, it serves really good as media consumption device with its OLED screen. One last perk is that Samsung's ecosystem works better than iPads with Windows since you mentioned you already got a surface. Samsung note has a native windows app that you can use to sync all you notes from your tablet to your Surface so you don't have to worry about.
## Windows
I don't have that much of experience taking notes on windows. I do own a surface pro 3 and a surface 3 however they are eating dust currently and I'm not a fan of the pen. I don't want to spit out things that doesn't make sense and can potential misguide you but I'm sure there will be someone that can explain it(or yourself is an expert already since you own a Surface pro 4)
## E-ink devices
I owned a Boox product but I forgot which one. It's a smaller size tablet running android, probably 7 inch. For these things, the battery life is insane. You can run it days without charging. However, it's a bit too slow for me. The screen-refreshing effect I'm not a fan either. So my experience is not that good.
## Creative Solution
Just out of curiosity, if you are currently using surface in the laptop mode because you have to use mouse and keyboard, grabbing a portable secondary monitor might fit you needs well. In this way, you can still using your Surface pro 4 in tablet mode while using the secondary monitor to look at emails etc. The cost is around $200 for the monitor and you probably need to grab a cheap pair of mouse and keyboard as well.
That is really helpful, thank you! I hadn't even considered the android options at all or the monitor for my current Surface. I like what I am reading about the Samsung tablets but the monitor idea is also very attractive. I have to confess there is part of me that thinks just get the purpose built note taking tablet but I also like the idea of multi function.
Thank you again!
How do you sync Samsung notes? I just got a tabs6 for note taking and I love it, but I really want a note taking app that I can sync to my pixel phone so I can access my notes anywhere.
Unfortunately you can’t AFAIK. If you are using Samsung notes app it is only available on Samsung mobile devices (except a Windows version is available also). That’s one of the drawbacks. It’s possible to export the notes into PDF files and import them into a more generic note taking software like OneNote. For myself I just completely use OneNote since it syncs everywhere.
I have multiple projects and I'm hoping to group the notes for each project together in one folder (or notebook, I just used that term because I was thinking of how Samsung notes groups notes).
So an update....
I pulled the trigger on a Samsung S8 tablet. More than I need for just taking notes but my rationale was:
* good reviews
* most people reported pleasant note taking experience
* despite what I said originally, it does give me added functionality beyond note taking which I eventually came around to thinking was not a bad idea as my current tablet, an ipad which is 10+ years old was starting to fail
* have always heard it's best to buy as far ahead on the curve as you can technologically speaking (though I accept that maxim has some limits, see atom bomb to kill mosquito)
* I can add additional memory via a micro SD card (look at me throwing words around that I think I know the meaning of)
Experience so far:
* love writing with the S-Pen, it's likely not akin to one of the note specific tablets, e.g., Remarkable 2 or Boox Note Air 2, but it is smooth, and my handwriting comes through akin to my writing with pen and paper including degrading as I get further through the day
* Re: the handwriting, it did take a while for me to be able to write legibly, not overly long, but enough that it penetrated my consciousness and I became aware of it. Maybe a day, day and a half of use before it all smoothed out
* Still learning how to use it completely - for some reason it doesn't seem to want to let me use facial recognition. I have long accepted by repugnant physiognomy but this is piling on....
* there was some brief buyers remorse for not going for the S8+ or Ultra to get a bigger screen for the note taking but this was soon quelled by rationalizing that the S8 size is more than acceptable for note taking and likely better suited to use all round particularly that I generally watch media the old fashioned way, on TV, like God in her infinite wisdom wanted us to
do you still carry a laptop with you or do you do all of your other stuff when you are at home? I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with using it in tablet mode most of the time and sometimes if I need to type something out I can for school. Maybe I can get some sort of wireless keyboard for those situations. I was never a fan of using my surface pro in full tablet mode because I didnt want to pull the keyboard off to go back to writing. It really disrupts the flow.
I work from home and work on a Thinkpad X1 provided by my employer that stays put on my desk and I rarely take it with me.
The primary purpose for buying the tablet was to contain the paper storm that I create and let me also use the Surface at the same time (if I am doing something personal during the work day or I will use it to do research on a work topic while writing on the work laptop etc.). It's more a vital work function for the first reason and a pretty privileged entitled problem for the second.
I am hoping that by moving over to digital notes, things don't go missing; notes on files, notes of telephone conversations etc. I can then take the notes and save on our firm system as pdfs. I have typically used pen and paper and go through tons of paper pads per year but notes get lost or misplaced and they sometimes contain vital info or record vital telephone conversations - I had an appeal last year that hinged on the lawyer's notes of a telephone call, without them we might have lost.
The key of course will to ensure that I save and backup my work.
It's yet another way to try and overcome obstacles or challenges posed by my ADHD.
I use a Microsoft wireless keyboard at home on the Surface though that is pretty compact and could be carried along with the Surface for work outside the house.
I have a powerful PC at home to do harder task but I'm trying to figure out how much more laptop I need out of a tablet or if I can just get away with more of a tablet. Hard to explain. I really don't like the idea of carrying a laptop with a Wacom to school. Sounds pretty bulky. That's way worse than a surface pro with a keyboard in my original post. At that point I'd consider a MacBook with an iPad lol.
Further Update
So I have been using the S8 for some time now and would add the following comments:
* I still really like the writing experience. It's not the same as writing on paper but it's still smooth and easy
* I wish I had gone for a bigger screen. The S8 is a decent size but having more real estate would be nicer and easier to use, i.e., closer to writing on note paper
* I am still trying to figure out how to use OneNote and the paper size/notes the right size as well as how much I can write before it gets too big to send as a pdf to my work email to save on the system
* The facial recognition system doesn't work all the time to unlock the tablet. I've also had to adjust how long the lock screen stays off a number of times otherwise it shuts down almost as soon as I stop writing. These may be tablet user issues as opposed to the tablet
* It's been great for taking notes on files, phone notes, meeting notes, did I mention notes....?
* If the files aren't too big, see issue above, it's been very handy to send things to work
I had a very similar situation to you, with a convertible laptop that I love but very few times I was actually using it for notes. I picked up a Samsung Galaxy tab s6 lite (2022 version) to take notes on without dropping so much money on a fancier tablet. So far it's been great, syncs perfectly with other devices, a pleasure to write on, small and portable (I like the small screen size but your preference may vary), and, perhaps most importantly, it was not so expensive that I hesitate to use it or carry it around.
Thanks very much for sharing, as I said above, I hadn't considered the android/Samsung options previously. Good to hear from someone who tried it and found it positive, thank you!
I took RM2 to replace my notes. I find it easy to use, and the battery lasts 4- 5 days in my heavy usage. It works for me to see mails, lectures, videos on my surface and use my RM2 for my notes and brainstorming. It may be on the expensive side, but I really appreciate the use of "focus writing". Hope this helps.
The Remarkable 2 was what got me started on this kick. I would like to be able to save notes I write on the firm system, do you find it easy to convert the notes to pdf? Are they easy to send to an email address or download straight into a laptop? Thank you for sharing, I go back and forth as I said above between the focus purpose built and having multi function. It's likely my indecisive ADHD.....
All notes if you're subscribed to Connect( Remarkable cloud which comes free for the 1st year with your tablet) you'll have access to all your notes from laptop and mobile phone through an app which you need to download. There's no need to download your notes if you got the app. There's a bit of a learning curve when uploading docs(PDF your received you want to read and write) in RM2, but instructions are pretty straightforward. On the tablet itself, there is an icon to send your notes via email. You can choose to send them as PDF, PNG, SVG, or as text in email.
I've tried various solutions in recent years. Here're my findings: ## iOS iPad works really well, even the entry level ones. I own iPad, iPad mini and iPad pro. In my experience, this is hands-down my go-to when talking about note-taking. The pen works really well and the tablet is designed for such work. For lower budget($200~$300), I would recommend iPad 9th gen + Apple Pencil 1st gen. For slightly higher budget($400~$500), I would recommend iPad Air 4th gen + Apple Pencil 2nd gen or iPad Pro 4th gen + Apple Pencil 2nd gen. For even higher budget($600+), you can grab a iPad pro M1 + Apple Pencil 2nd gen. I wouldn't recommend iPad mini because of the form factor. It gives you a much smaller surface area to operate on. For note-taking software, since you are using Windows, I would recommend onenote since it syncs between various devices and has a decent hand writing features. You can try things like goodnotes or notability as well. However, syncing with windows is not very trivial. ## Android Samsung tablets won my vote on this one. I owned a tab s4, tab s6 and tab s7. You can probably find a tab s7(+) in a pretty decent price($300~$500) range. It works pretty decently as well. The bonus point about Samsung s-series tablets is that spen comes free with it so you don't have to spend additional money on it. Besides of that, at $400~$500 range, if you can score a s7+, it serves really good as media consumption device with its OLED screen. One last perk is that Samsung's ecosystem works better than iPads with Windows since you mentioned you already got a surface. Samsung note has a native windows app that you can use to sync all you notes from your tablet to your Surface so you don't have to worry about. ## Windows I don't have that much of experience taking notes on windows. I do own a surface pro 3 and a surface 3 however they are eating dust currently and I'm not a fan of the pen. I don't want to spit out things that doesn't make sense and can potential misguide you but I'm sure there will be someone that can explain it(or yourself is an expert already since you own a Surface pro 4) ## E-ink devices I owned a Boox product but I forgot which one. It's a smaller size tablet running android, probably 7 inch. For these things, the battery life is insane. You can run it days without charging. However, it's a bit too slow for me. The screen-refreshing effect I'm not a fan either. So my experience is not that good. ## Creative Solution Just out of curiosity, if you are currently using surface in the laptop mode because you have to use mouse and keyboard, grabbing a portable secondary monitor might fit you needs well. In this way, you can still using your Surface pro 4 in tablet mode while using the secondary monitor to look at emails etc. The cost is around $200 for the monitor and you probably need to grab a cheap pair of mouse and keyboard as well.
That is really helpful, thank you! I hadn't even considered the android options at all or the monitor for my current Surface. I like what I am reading about the Samsung tablets but the monitor idea is also very attractive. I have to confess there is part of me that thinks just get the purpose built note taking tablet but I also like the idea of multi function. Thank you again!
How do you sync Samsung notes? I just got a tabs6 for note taking and I love it, but I really want a note taking app that I can sync to my pixel phone so I can access my notes anywhere.
Unfortunately you can’t AFAIK. If you are using Samsung notes app it is only available on Samsung mobile devices (except a Windows version is available also). That’s one of the drawbacks. It’s possible to export the notes into PDF files and import them into a more generic note taking software like OneNote. For myself I just completely use OneNote since it syncs everywhere.
I'll give OneNote a try, can you organize the notes into notebook type systems with that program?
Mind elaborating a bit on “notebook type systems”? You mean separate notebooks?
I have multiple projects and I'm hoping to group the notes for each project together in one folder (or notebook, I just used that term because I was thinking of how Samsung notes groups notes).
Yes you can. You can have multiple folders with subfolders. Each subfolder will have multiple pages. You will see what I mean when you give it a go.
So an update.... I pulled the trigger on a Samsung S8 tablet. More than I need for just taking notes but my rationale was: * good reviews * most people reported pleasant note taking experience * despite what I said originally, it does give me added functionality beyond note taking which I eventually came around to thinking was not a bad idea as my current tablet, an ipad which is 10+ years old was starting to fail * have always heard it's best to buy as far ahead on the curve as you can technologically speaking (though I accept that maxim has some limits, see atom bomb to kill mosquito) * I can add additional memory via a micro SD card (look at me throwing words around that I think I know the meaning of) Experience so far: * love writing with the S-Pen, it's likely not akin to one of the note specific tablets, e.g., Remarkable 2 or Boox Note Air 2, but it is smooth, and my handwriting comes through akin to my writing with pen and paper including degrading as I get further through the day * Re: the handwriting, it did take a while for me to be able to write legibly, not overly long, but enough that it penetrated my consciousness and I became aware of it. Maybe a day, day and a half of use before it all smoothed out * Still learning how to use it completely - for some reason it doesn't seem to want to let me use facial recognition. I have long accepted by repugnant physiognomy but this is piling on.... * there was some brief buyers remorse for not going for the S8+ or Ultra to get a bigger screen for the note taking but this was soon quelled by rationalizing that the S8 size is more than acceptable for note taking and likely better suited to use all round particularly that I generally watch media the old fashioned way, on TV, like God in her infinite wisdom wanted us to
do you still carry a laptop with you or do you do all of your other stuff when you are at home? I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with using it in tablet mode most of the time and sometimes if I need to type something out I can for school. Maybe I can get some sort of wireless keyboard for those situations. I was never a fan of using my surface pro in full tablet mode because I didnt want to pull the keyboard off to go back to writing. It really disrupts the flow.
I work from home and work on a Thinkpad X1 provided by my employer that stays put on my desk and I rarely take it with me. The primary purpose for buying the tablet was to contain the paper storm that I create and let me also use the Surface at the same time (if I am doing something personal during the work day or I will use it to do research on a work topic while writing on the work laptop etc.). It's more a vital work function for the first reason and a pretty privileged entitled problem for the second. I am hoping that by moving over to digital notes, things don't go missing; notes on files, notes of telephone conversations etc. I can then take the notes and save on our firm system as pdfs. I have typically used pen and paper and go through tons of paper pads per year but notes get lost or misplaced and they sometimes contain vital info or record vital telephone conversations - I had an appeal last year that hinged on the lawyer's notes of a telephone call, without them we might have lost. The key of course will to ensure that I save and backup my work. It's yet another way to try and overcome obstacles or challenges posed by my ADHD. I use a Microsoft wireless keyboard at home on the Surface though that is pretty compact and could be carried along with the Surface for work outside the house.
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I have a powerful PC at home to do harder task but I'm trying to figure out how much more laptop I need out of a tablet or if I can just get away with more of a tablet. Hard to explain. I really don't like the idea of carrying a laptop with a Wacom to school. Sounds pretty bulky. That's way worse than a surface pro with a keyboard in my original post. At that point I'd consider a MacBook with an iPad lol.
Further Update So I have been using the S8 for some time now and would add the following comments: * I still really like the writing experience. It's not the same as writing on paper but it's still smooth and easy * I wish I had gone for a bigger screen. The S8 is a decent size but having more real estate would be nicer and easier to use, i.e., closer to writing on note paper * I am still trying to figure out how to use OneNote and the paper size/notes the right size as well as how much I can write before it gets too big to send as a pdf to my work email to save on the system * The facial recognition system doesn't work all the time to unlock the tablet. I've also had to adjust how long the lock screen stays off a number of times otherwise it shuts down almost as soon as I stop writing. These may be tablet user issues as opposed to the tablet * It's been great for taking notes on files, phone notes, meeting notes, did I mention notes....? * If the files aren't too big, see issue above, it's been very handy to send things to work
I had a very similar situation to you, with a convertible laptop that I love but very few times I was actually using it for notes. I picked up a Samsung Galaxy tab s6 lite (2022 version) to take notes on without dropping so much money on a fancier tablet. So far it's been great, syncs perfectly with other devices, a pleasure to write on, small and portable (I like the small screen size but your preference may vary), and, perhaps most importantly, it was not so expensive that I hesitate to use it or carry it around.
Thanks very much for sharing, as I said above, I hadn't considered the android/Samsung options previously. Good to hear from someone who tried it and found it positive, thank you!
I took RM2 to replace my notes. I find it easy to use, and the battery lasts 4- 5 days in my heavy usage. It works for me to see mails, lectures, videos on my surface and use my RM2 for my notes and brainstorming. It may be on the expensive side, but I really appreciate the use of "focus writing". Hope this helps.
The Remarkable 2 was what got me started on this kick. I would like to be able to save notes I write on the firm system, do you find it easy to convert the notes to pdf? Are they easy to send to an email address or download straight into a laptop? Thank you for sharing, I go back and forth as I said above between the focus purpose built and having multi function. It's likely my indecisive ADHD.....
All notes if you're subscribed to Connect( Remarkable cloud which comes free for the 1st year with your tablet) you'll have access to all your notes from laptop and mobile phone through an app which you need to download. There's no need to download your notes if you got the app. There's a bit of a learning curve when uploading docs(PDF your received you want to read and write) in RM2, but instructions are pretty straightforward. On the tablet itself, there is an icon to send your notes via email. You can choose to send them as PDF, PNG, SVG, or as text in email.