Excellent reply. Thank you for your detailed response and time. I agree as the phone is my only option when taking the notes. That's also good to hear the S pen is more effcient than Swipe. As for the speaker, I appreciate that. Coming from the 5s I'm sure it's on par with that.
I actually utilize Evernote on the iPhone, so this is good news. If I may ask, As for using the S pen for lengthy notes, is Evernote your turn to option or the LectureNotes app?
Also, when using the S pen in these apps, Evernote or LectureNotes, does it automatically transform it to text, or does it stay as handwritten?
Thanks again for the response and time.
I prefer LectureNotes over Evernote and the other programs I have tried. It has more features and more customizations, but it would all depend what you're looking for and also personal preference. I have the paid version. There is a free trial, which is fully functional but only gives you a limited number of notebook pages to work with, so you can try it out fully but if you wanted to use it long-term, you'd want to buy it.
I also use the "video" addon to LN (which is not recording from the video camera) - it does a screen recording of what you are writing/drawing along with audio and can be converted into an mp4. So you can hear what is being said (by you or the speaker) while you are taking your notes. This can be useful in a number of circumstances. Of course you'd need to be in an environment that was conducive to picking up the voice properly. Even without audio, you may want the screen recording to see the steps used to draw/diagram something. There is no free trial for the add-ons though, just the main program.
On the other hand, Evernote is free for the basic version and we get a free premium year through Samsung gifts. Evernote has improved since the app first came out and since the Note 3 came out and Evernote has added more S-Pen functionality and other new features. Since you are used to using it already, definitely give that a try if you get a Note device. You may find that sufficient without paying for an app. You can, btw, export LectureNote PDFs to Evernote also. (I'm not trying to push LN on you and am not associated with it, I just really appreciate the app, plus I have had very good experience when contacting the dev).
When using the S-Pen you can choose whether you make your notes to stay in your own handwriting or to have them converted into text as you write them. There are two ways to convert them as you write. Using the handwriting pad in the stock keyboard, which can be used anywhere, or using Direct Pen input, which can only be used in certain apps (but both the above apps are included). You should try both ways as some people prefer one or the other (I prefer the latter) and the pad location/size/color differs for each and the functioning is slightly different. Now you should have reasonably legible handwriting if you want it to convert or you will be spending too much time correcting it. It works well for me but if only your closest relatives can read your writing, you'll probably be out of luck.
Now if you don't have it convert, the benefit is not having to worry about corrections or checking if it is converting properly at all because your handwriting won't be changed. You can also easily use shorthand or abbreviations without it autocorrecting to something else. If you're used to having taken notes by hand before, you probably have shorthand that makes notetaking in your own handwriting very quick. But if you're someone who grew up only using computers to take notes, then you may not have this hard-earned skill.
So, it depends what works best for you. I do both in different circumstances. When I know I am going to be drawing diagrams/pictures/writing equations in the middle of my notes, I prefer to keep my notes in my own handwriting. But when I am taking notes for something that I want to use to change into a report afterwards or if I'm taking meeting minutes, then converting into text makes that quicker.
Handwriting will of course take up more space and depends on the size of your handwriting. Converting to text or just using the keyboard to type in the first place, will make the words much smaller than your handwriting can be and still be legible. So depending what you will be doing with your notes and how many pages will be needed, that may make a difference.
Of course, you can always use the keyboard to take notes as well and I like the stock keyboard, using swipe (it actually uses swiftkey technology) or you can install any number of other keyboards that you like better. With other keyboards, you will not have the handwriting pad (but can still use direct pen input where available) and also will lose the built-in multi-item clipboard button which is handy. I use the keyboard for typing when I'm not taking notes, and I can type pretty quick with it.
I prefer using the S-Pen for note taking. One reason, not mentioned before, is because I find it easy to look up at the speaker while taking notes in my own handwriting. Again, this may depend on whether you grew up taking notes by hand or not. But I can easily write multiple full sentences without looking at my phone and concentrate on what the speaker is doing/saying. When using the keyboard, I have to mostly look at the phone to make sure I'm hitting the right keys and check the words are right. If you need to keep your eyes on the speaker or a whiteboard/blackboard, then either handwriting or using a physical keyboard are your only options really (assuming you cannot be talking in the situation, in which case you can use speech to text).
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