Galaxy Note 10.1 [was Note taking in meetings?]

Trojan

I'm looking for a replacement for (Laptop+Reams of paper) that I tend to bring to meetings.

I need to be able to display photos, display PDF, display any kind of website (no "disabled Flash" bs), draw boxes and diagrams, handwrite text notes and have them saved locally, or better to the cloud, OCR a big plus, ability to take photos nice but not essential.

In particular, I think that an Android tablet with stylus could be a good solution for my needs, and on initial investigation the Galaxy Note 10.1 looks good (albeit pricey).

Do you folks have any advice on this?

Tom Dunne

Galaxy Note 10.1 most definitely.

However, the regular stylus that comes with it is utterly useless for anything other than a bit of pecking on a virtual keyboard.

I got this and it really has revolutionised my note-taking. I use it for, among other things, taking notes (the handwriting recognition is actually fantastic), drawing doodles on notes I have taken (drawing tools on the Note 10.1 are quite sophisticated) and highlighting stuff/making notes on PDFs.

About the only thing I do not use the stylus for is entering passwords.

The S Note application is quite comprehensive, giving various different templates for note taking, along with hooking it up to Exchange to attach a note to a meeting. You can also attach a map to a meeting note. It synchronises with the Samsung Cloud - don't know how much use that is to you. However, you can export to a variety of formats (including PDF) and save them to the likes of Dropbox.

The Note 10.1 with the pen above has really made me see Android tablets in a different light. I use it for so much, at work, at home and at university.

timetogo

Tom Dunne wrote: »

However, the regular stylus that comes with it is utterly useless for anything other than a bit of pecking on a virtual keyboard.

I got one last week and was about to argue with you about that point until I realised you're right. The stylus works fine but it's a bit small. I have found myself hitting the button too often when gripping the pen. I'll give that holder a try.

See if Papyrus is worth adding to your app list.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steadfastinnovation.android.projectpapyrus&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd

It's just for scribbling on and taking notes. It's basic but that means it's not fiddly. It gives you an A4 sheet to write on. You use your finger as an eraser. If you pay €2 for the premium tool it'll sync your notes up to Dropbox for backup.

I only got the Note 10.1 because it has the better processor and more memory than the Tab. I didn't think I'd be using the pen much. Now the pen gets used all the time.
And the split screen functionality is getting a look in too. I'm studying at the moment. It's handy to have a YouTube video in the top half of the screen and Papyrus open in the bottom half to take notes (while in portrait mode).

Tom Dunne

timetogo wrote: »

And the split screen functionality is getting a look in too. I'm studying at the moment. It's handy to have a YouTube video in the top half of the screen and Papyrus open in the bottom half to take notes (while in portrait mode).

That's something that I was initially quite enthusiastic about, but now it's a bit "meh". I have used the "floating windows" the odd time while entering an appointment or a reminder to do something.

Speaking of which, S Pen aside, the S Voice app is a bit of fun, yet somewhat useful. While normally I would see these kinds of things as useless toys, I have used it a few times to create a reminder or send texts. The programmers also have a sense of humour - it's not often that you verbally thank a gadget and it expresses its appreciation to you. Had me rolling around the floor laughing on more than one occasion.

Trojan

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the Note 10.1 is about to drop in price? It seems to have been around a while and is using slightly older CPU tech - if there's a new version on the way that might force the price down that would be pretty sweet, as even the 16GB version is quite expensive.

Tom Dunne

Trojan wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the Note 10.1 is about to drop in price? It seems to have been around a while and is using slightly older CPU tech - if there's a new version on the way that might force the price down that would be pretty sweet, as even the 16GB version is quite expensive.

No idea.

Try xda-developers.com - there might be something there.

timetogo

Trojan wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if the Note 10.1 is about to drop in price? It seems to have been around a while and is using slightly older CPU tech - if there's a new version on the way that might force the price down that would be pretty sweet, as even the 16GB version is quite expensive.

I'm not sure the processor is that old.
http://www.androidbenchmark.net/cpumark_chart.html
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/1798967

My reasons for getting it were
1: Couldn't get the Nexus 10. Even jumping through the hoops on other threads.
2: Great processor.
3: 2GB RAM.


Now if I was to buy one tomorrow my reasons would be.
1: Pen, pen, pen, pen & pen. I absolutely didn't care about it when I was buying the tablet. Now I'd consider the Note 2 as my phone whenever I'm due an upgrade.
2: Great processor.
3: 2GB RAM.
4: Has a MicroSD card slot. I upgraded my 16GB Note to 48GB for about €23.

I'd still like the resolution of the Nexus 10. Maybe that'll be in the Note 10 V2 or whatever.

waynegalway

Slightly off topic, but worth considering.....

I was so impressed with the S3 (my first Android experience) that I went shopping around to replace my iPad last summer. I looked at all the tablets available at that time, and the 10.1 tab looked to be about the best package.

However, one thing stopped me. There is no (easy) way to get a VGA-OUT connection from it. Th reason this was a deal-breaker for me was that I need a tab for giving lectures where the projectors have VGA connections only. So I couldn't use the Galaxy Tab for work.

I know it's off topic a bit, but just in case you're ever thinking that you might have to connect it to a projector at some stage, bear in mind that VGA projectors (while arguably out of date due to HDMI) are far more common than other types. So I stuck with my iPad2. But I would have gone to the Galaxy if it had that one very specific thing that I was looking for.

timetogo

You can get HDMI -> VGA cables. It's a bit messy though. Might be worth it if you were desperate though.
http://andyjamesduncan.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/samsung-galaxy-10-1-note-vga-projection/

I've an XBMC box at home under the TV. Using an app like Yatse I can click something on Youtube and send it to XBMC to play. Similarly if there is media on the tablet I can send it to the TV. Cables are sooooo old fashioned.

waynegalway

timetogo wrote: »

You can get HDMI -> VGA cables. It's a bit messy though. Might be worth it if you were desperate though.
http://andyjamesduncan.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/samsung-galaxy-10-1-note-vga-projection/

I've an XBMC box at home under the TV. Using an app like Yatse I can click something on Youtube and send it to XBMC to play. Similarly if there is media on the tablet I can send it to the TV. Cables are sooooo old fashioned.

Yeah, I looked at the tab to HDMI cable and the HDMI to VGA cable solution, but it's awful messy having 2 cables compared to the iPad solution.

Cables are old fashioned, fair enough. Tell that to the Department of Education right now and I'd say you'll get a very blunt answer!

timetogo

waynegalway wrote: »

Yeah, I looked at the tab to HDMI cable and the HDMI to VGA cable solution, but it's awful messy having 2 cables compared to the iPad solution.

I know but it's either

iPad + 1 cable.
or Note / Tab + 2 cables.

And you'd probably need 2 cables for the iPad anyway in case you ever need to plug into a HDMI port.

So if you prefer one platform over the other at least theres a choice.

waynegalway

timetogo wrote: »

I know but it's either

iPad + 1 cable.
or Note / Tab + 2 cables.

And you'd probably need 2 cables for the iPad anyway in case you ever need to plug into a HDMI port.

So if you prefer one platform over the other at least theres a choice.

Yep, there's a choice alright. I really like the iPad for work, and I prefer the S3 as a phone over the iphone. It's all down to personal preference. Just thought I'd put the OP in the picture as to what helped me decide which tablet to stick with.

Trojan

New toy

It takes a bit of getting used to. Any further advice on apps etc appreciated.

Atomicjuicer

Surface pro coming out very soon.

Would that float your boat?

errlloyd

I realise you're sorted already, and this is a bit "left field" I suppose.

But I was a debating world championships sponsored by this company and I was impressed with the product.

One of the lads was a practising Lawyer in South Africa he said they were all using Smart Pens. To me the deal breaker was the pen being too big, but I am watching this company keenly to see if they can slim it down.

http://www.livescribe.com/en-gb/smartpen/

Trojan

I do really like the Google Now set alarm feature - any other cool ones?

Papyrus seems very nice for notes.

biebiebie

I've used my Note 2 to take down meeting minutes. Works a treat, and raises a few eyebrows to boot

Tom Dunne

Make sure and download the new Adobe Reader software - you can scribble and draw on PDFs, plus you can save them with the annotations.

Trojan

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Make sure and download the new Adobe Reader software - you can scribble and draw on PDFs, plus you can save them with the annotations.

Wow, that's got to be the first time anyone's ever recommended me Adobe Reader

Trojan

Any recommendations for Mind Mapping or spray-diagram tools that work nicely with Android+stylus?

godtabh

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Make sure and download the new Adobe Reader software - you can scribble and draw on PDFs, plus you can save them with the annotations.

that would be very handy for me at meetings. mock up of pdfs at design team meetins could be very handy

timetogo

Trojan wrote: »

Wow, that's got to be the first time anyone's ever recommended me Adobe Reader

ezPDF does it too. It's not free though but I bought that a couple of years ago as it was better at the time. Just checked it for writing using the pen over a PDF. Works fine.

webels

Like lecture notes myself. Free version available but limited to 8 pages and 2 notebooks. Really find the pen responsive using it. Use ezPDF too its excellent for annotation and freehand with the pen.

To be honest I find the note 10.1 really useful - really good battery and seriously quick with the quadcore, refurbs come up from time to time for GBP 270ish on ebay argos outlet, I got one of these and cant complain (year warranty too).

Tom Dunne

godtabh wrote: »

that would be very handy for me at meetings. mock up of pdfs at design team meetins could be very handy

It's unbelievably handy. I read a lot of academic papers in PDF format, so scribbling on them, annotating them and putting in definitions is made extremely easy on the Note 10.1.

To put it into perspective, I had a similar app on the iPad (don't recall its name). But highlighting with your finger just isn't right. And annotations were cumbersome at best. However, with the pen and the Note 10.1, it becomes incredibly intuitive.