Another suggestion thread...

[ricroma]

Hi everybody!

I'm new to the community, and also fair new to android, so please forgive my lack of competence! And also forgive me if I will be quite long to read... it's just that I'm at work and today is like the slowest day ever, so I'm also trying to kill some time.

Anyway, I'm writing here to ask for some help and suggestions.

Well, here I am, looking for a tablet that would suit my necessities. I'm not the type of guy that is looking for a uber tablet able to run Doom 11HD&3D to play on the metro to work, but yet I have some requests that seems really hard to satisfy in today world of tablets.

Handwriting (native) support: mostly I would use the tablet as a study tool, and therefore the possibility of handwriting is a must. Beside the normal note taking, I'm really looking into the possibility of taking free hand notes on pdfs and epubs. Exporting such notes would also be necessary. I guess that there will be apps for all these stuff, so what I need in first place is a good tablet that support a (decent) handwriting possibility. Browsing on the net these lazy work days, I've found out that tablets that support good handwriting must have a wacom screen. They are not many, and surely they are not cheap.

Always reading on the internet, I've found out that the HTC Flyer seems to be a good choice. It's not a really new tablet (I think it's even out of production) but it got really good reviews. Now: if I understood correctly, the Flyer shipped at 250 euros (I'm in Italy), but now I can only find it from 400 and up... that sounds kind of odd...

I know that soon the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1'' will be released. From the reviews it seems to be exactly what I want. Of course the price is going to be completelly out of my range, surely more than 400 or even 500 euros (I'm already squeezing every penny, and if I will spend 500 euros on a tablet my wife will go fubar).

So, to sum up everything and free you from my annoying writing: is there a cheap and yet value alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1''?

THere, I finally asked the question!

Thanks (especially for the patience),

Ricroma

PS: as everyone knows, Google Nexus 7 will be the next ground breaker on tablet. It seems to have a top of the line features with a really resonable price. Still, will it support handwriting?

 

[bdfull3r]

Tablets in general really suck at support native handwriting. The Android OS specifically sucks at hand writing recognition. A windows tablet pc may do better but at a much steeper price point. I would recommend the Nexus 7 if it is available in Italy. It is really cheap and really powerful. If it doesn't work then return it

 

[ricroma]

Thanks for the reply!
Well, I kind of understood that Windows tablet support hand writing better, but the prices are really out of my league! I've read that the Windows Surface Pro will support handwriting in a really good way... BUT it is rumored to be over 700 ?...

Only a clarification/question: when I say that I want "handwriting" support, I don't mean that I want the tablet to recognize my handwriting. I only want the option to use a stylus to take free hand notes on the tablet without major lags and discrepancies.
I repeat, I'm not an expert by any means, so I may be wrong, but I guess that I can find apps to tweak all the aspects of note taking: e.g. turn off hand touches, exporting notes as images/document, etc.

What I need for start is a tablet that allows me to write with a stylus in a decent way.

Again, thanks for all the support!

Ricroma

 

[bdfull3r]

Thanks for the reply!
Well, I kind of understood that Windows tablet support hand writing better, but the prices are really out of my league! I've read that the Windows Surface Pro will support handwriting in a really good way... BUT it is rumored to be over 700 ?...

Only a clarification/question: when I say that I want "handwriting" support, I don't mean that I want the tablet to recognize my handwriting. I only want the option to use a stylus to take free hand notes on the tablet without major lags and discrepancies.
I repeat, I'm not an expert by any means, so I may be wrong, but I guess that I can find apps to tweak all the aspects of note taking: e.g. turn off hand touches, exporting notes as images/document, etc.

What I need for start is a tablet that allows me to write with a stylus in a decent way.

Again, thanks for all the support!

Ricroma

Android has stylus support built in but the performance can be hit or miss.

The HTC Flyer brags about its stylus support and the Galaxy Note 10.1 is due out soon' again bragging about stylus support. those may be options to consider.

You can also buy a cheaper tablet like the Nexus 7 and then a third party stylus and see if any of these options work for you. Android Central has ran a few styli review recently to help you decide. Here is one The third option is probably the cheapest route to consider. Hope this helps

Wacom Bamboo stylus review | Android Central