I want to get back into creative writing, and for work I prefer to take handwritten notes (I have my own weird shorthand and it helps with retention). I’d also like the ability to write at night and not disturb my partner.

I don’t want to go near iOS and the tablet would be primarily used for writing purposes.

Any recommendations or 'what to avoid’s?

Sorry if wrong community, I couldn’t find another relevant

  • abhibeckert@beehaw.org
    3·
    11 months ago

    My advice is avoid tablets entirely. Even the best ones are not even remotely as good as paper.

    Lots of people recommending the Supernote A5 X… I haven’t tried it, but a quick search says it has “15-20ms” of latency. I have an iPad (which I don’t consider usable for notes*) and it has 7ms latency which is too high in my opinion.

    If you really must have your notes in digital form… try Whitelines paper notebooks. Their main feature is light grey paper with white lines, but more importantly they have subtle locator code on the four corners of the page, and Whitelines has a free phone app that uses those locator codes to perfectly sort out the perspective when you take a photo of the page to digitise it. That system works a lot better than regular edge detection other apps use, and also the white lines work better than grey or blue lines.

    Officeworks has Whitelines notebooks. They’re available in various sizes and the same price as any other premium notebook (not as cheap as the Officeworks house brand… but it’s also better paper than that brand).

    (* my iPad Mini is used as a portable web browser for situations where my phone is too small and my laptop is too big- which is a situation I find myself in regularly as part of my job… I have tired using it for notes and definitely don’t recommend it for that - a phone is definitely better than an iPad for note taking)

    • boogetyboo@aussie.zoneOP
      2·
      11 months ago

      Thanks for the suggestion but this seems a cumbersome alternative. My work is in the digital space and note taking needs to be there in a fairly rapid and shareable way. I’m seeking an improvement to my onenote use (handy but not handwritten), and my scores of paper notes (handwritten but handy to no one else), plus the ability to handwrite creative pieces and not have to type them up online. Thanks again though!