Tablet computing is one technology that I’ve been attempting to early-adopt for years, but it’s never quite been there. What I’ve always dreamed of is the PADD device that everyone walked around with in Star Trek TNG: A small, light, sleek, multifunctional device that accepts pen input, accepts touch input, and is reasonable to carry around.
Around 2003 I purchased a Toshiba m200. It was a hybrid Windows XP Tablet computer. It had a keyboard but could also be converted into tablet mode. The operating system was a clunky afterthought on Windows XP, but it did have one shining star in the product offering (and it was not stupid marble game). It was OneNote. At the time everything Microsoft made seemed clunky and over-complicated, but OneNote did everything that made sense, and nothing else. It was, and still is, a great product.
I stopped using it, though. The application was great, but the operating system and hardware were just not there yet. Also people kept asking me why I was drawing on my laptop (since tablet computers were still fringe).
Now its 2010. Everyone has heard of the iPad. Tablet computing has gone mainstream but there does not seem to be a single killer OneNote like application for the iPad. This may have something to do with the lack of an included stylus. This void, however, can be filled using a combination of applications.
First off, you’ll need a system for organizing those notes. This is where Evernote comes in handy. The interface is clean, it supports cool features like automatic geotagging and you can even attach voice sound clips to your notes. Even better than OneNote, it supports automatic synchronization between all sorts of devices. It’s pretty mature, and has been around for awhile, but the iPad is the killer device for this service.
Unfortunately, since it started as a web browser / desktop application, Evernote does not yet allow you to scribble those quick notes. On the bright side it does allow you to email content to your primary notebook, and this is the trick.
For your stylus sketches and note taking, go grab a copy of Penultimate. Of the dozen or so drawing / sketching / scribbling apps I’ve tried, this one is by far the best. Input is clean and precise. It is also the only one I’ve found that works while your wrist is rested on the screen, which makes scribbling a lot more comfortable.
Once you’re done with that scribbled note in penultimate, use the ‘email this note’ feature to fire it off to Evernote. A quick synchronisation and there it will appear in your notebook.
It’s not perfect yet, and it’s a bit awkward, but it works well enough for me!
