Is this a good choice for an engineering student?

[William Heymann]

Last semester I went through probably a thousand pages or more of paper from notes to diagrams for assignments. However keeping track of all of that has gotten way beyond excessive so I am looking for a tablet to takes notes on instead.

I have a laptop already and for basic text types notes I had been keeping them on the laptop but it is hard to also do all the diagrams and more complex equations on a laptop so I also had paper notes in addition to paper for working on homework problems. The problem is that notes on paper have to be scanned in order to be shared with others very easily.

I have done a lot of research so far and it seems like the best option but I don't know if I am missing some other better option or if this would even work at all for what I need. I did notice that it has wolfram alpha integration with snote for solving more complex math equations and that looks pretty darn useful.

So what would you guys recommend as my best option. I would prefer not to go the surface pro route since I already have a laptop and the surface pro is far more expensive and I want something with an active digitizer like the note has in order to be able to write on it effectively.

Thanks for the help

 

[OffTheChains]

Try Camscanner
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intsig.camscanner&hl=en
Scan a image converts to pdf and still could easily add notes and alot more.
I use it for work daily.
My two cents. Good luck

 

[bclinger#IM]

I use Lecture Notes and Camscanner. Camscanner produces an excellent photograph turn pdf and Lecture Notes excels at producing the final product.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[William Heymann]

I appreciate the suggestions about writing stuff by hand and then scanning it with a phone. I don't think that will work very well for me though. That would still mean carrying around a fair bit of paper to write on and then take pictures of it or put it through a higher rez scanner.

I would like to take notes directly on a tablet in order to completely get rid of the paper step. From what I can find that pretty much means using an active digitizer tablet so that I can draw on it accurately enough for both diagrams and equations.

 

[srkmagnus]

I don't have a Note, but have seen people talk about the note taking aspects and really like it. I would suggest stooping by your nearest tech store and play with it. See if it could meet your needs.

Let us know what you decide to get.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[isosunrise]

I am an engineer/scientist and bought the Note 8 for the main purpose of note taking. I used to carry around paper note books and got tired of collecting them and sorting through them.

At the moment, I am just using S-note for note taking. I write notes, draw sketches, make tables, etc and I love it. I have different note book folders for my different projects. Another good thing is that it syncs with S-memo on my Galaxy S4 so I always have my notes with me.

As a scientist, I also read a lot of journal articles. I open them as PDF in EZ PDF reader and can write notes all over it. I used to print them out, and have box fulls of these articles!!!

I highly recommend an active stylus device like the Note 8 for you.

 

[William Heymann]

Thank you. That sounds like exactly what I needed to know. I am going to try and get somewhere this week to check it out in person before ordering it. Just depends on when I get out of the lab.

 

[OffTheChains]

I appreciate the suggestions about writing stuff by hand and then scanning it with a phone. I don't think that will work very well for me though. That would still mean carrying around a fair bit of paper to write on and then take pictures of it or put it through a higher rez scanner.

I would like to take notes directly on a tablet in order to completely get rid of the paper step. From what I can find that pretty much means using an active digitizer tablet so that I can draw on it accurately enough for both diagrams and equations.

Camscanner allows notes after the scan when its in pdf look into it. It might work
I didnt see iosunrise reply about the note8. Good luck

 

[srkmagnus]

Good information, iso. If I was still in school the an iteration of the Note tablet would be something I would consider.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bclinger#IM]

Camscanner allows notes after the scan when its in pdf look into it. It might work
I didnt see iosunrise reply about the note8. Good luck

Camscanner does provide annotation functionality; however annotation is only on the produced document (picture), not the entire document.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[brecklundin]

LectureNotes (app) supports layers. You can import a PDF into a layer for a page in LectueNotes then add notations. The advantage here is you can imports your prof's pdf notes then during a lecture you can be taking notes on the pdf in context with the class.

You can also record the lecture and have it attached to the notebook you create, maybe with page/section level granularity, via use of a layer created simply to contain the audio.

You can do similar things with S-Notes too...it will end up a personal preference.

Something else which is nice is you can create pages to mimic those wonderful green engineering pads with the graph paper. You can even export the background and page look in a PDF.

Were I once again a student I would be hard pressed to settle for only the Note 8.0 or Note 10.1 as I think I would have use of both form factors. I love the 8" size for portability but can certainly make a case for porting to the 10.1 when editing & rewriting notes. And I am note sure which I wouldhave selected for use in a lab setting. I think maybe the 8.0 would be my choice to replace my old lab book.

Maybe I live this family of devices because I would have had so much fun in class when in college. These bad boys really work to tame that paper-beast. The earlier mention of CamScanner is highly seconded for use when a PDF is either not available or practical. Just snap a photo and *poof* you have a PDF. One observation though, the Note 8.0 has no LED flash for the camera. That could seriously limit it's use in capture to PDF conversion thanks to exposure issues when shooting in the dark recesses of "the stacks".

You won't be sorry going with a Note 8.0 or 10.1...I do not see a discipline which would not be managed with this family of devices.

I would check out some vids on YouTube as several serious students put them both through their paces. Here is one of my fav examples of what a very organized person can do with a tool like this:

[yt]yKYsYUNFFkg[/yt]
[yt]Zja4z9MJ3Qw[/yt]


Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

 

[William Heymann]

I tried the tablet at best buy and it was very cool so I ordered one.

What are some apps I should probably get for it? So far I am planning on the wolfram alpha app.