Would a tablet PC be good for a college student for taking notes in class?

best laptop backpack review 2011 image

awesomo

I have a laptop but it is a little big to bring to class. It has a 17" display and is over an inch thick. It probably weighs a good 10 lbs. I had to buy a laptop bag for it because it doesn't fit in my oversized backpack! I also have a lot of books and other things so I need to reduce weight. Also, I ride my bike sometimes and it is almost impossible to do with a 50lb backpack and a laptop bag over the shoulder as well.

I am taking a few easy lecture classes this semester that I know will be note heavy. I have taken my laptop to a few classes in the past but most of the classes were engineering, math, or physics with a lot of formulas and stuff that I can't easily type into a computer. I am wondering if a tablet PC would be a fix for this if I could write down equations and formulas and just take notes on it. One tablet could replace all my notebooks and the ability to have internet in class to look things up during the lecture would seem to maybe be beneficial? I am on a budget so should I get a tablet or just stay with the notebooks? Also, do tablets have the ability to record a lecture? Maybe just sound with high quality? I have trouble taking notes and paying attention to what the instructor is doing at the same time. I think a voice recorder built in would be awesome!

Are these things worth the money? What kinds are available that would be perfect for a classroom setting? Do these things just come with a Wi-Fi card or do I need a subscription to a phone company for 3G? I would rather not have to pay a monthly subscription for internet when the campus internet is Wi-Fi, free, and over the entire campus.
Can you use a pen to write on the screen of a netbook or does the technology exist? I need to write formulas and stuff, not just type letters or characters.

Answer
Yes, it does exist. You can use a stylus (don't use a pen. It won't work on capacitive touchscreens and will cause scratches on resistive ones). They usually come with the tablet pc if it has a resistive touchscreen and you can find them on ebay if it has a capacitive touchscreen.

What kind of tablet pc do you want to buy? An iPad, maybe? I don't recommend that if you are on a budget, though. Maybe you can get one with Android Honeycomb? Those are usually cheap, and you can download a sound recorder app and a note-taking one. And Android tablet PCs are, like, much better than Windows ones.

Pictures of Honeycomb tablets:

http://www.hardwaresphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/acer-inconia-a500-android-honeycomb-tablet-pc.jpg

http://www.browse-tools.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Asus-Eee-PC-Tablet-Pad-MeMO1.jpg

Most come with WiFi. There are some tablet PCs that have a version with WiFi and a version without. If you have your eye on a particular model, check reviews and ask around. If you have a com sale or something coming around, wait till then. Those kinds of sales are great places to find a good tablet PC for a cheap price.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Would a tablet PC be good for a college student for taking notes in class?
Rating: 95% based on 981 ratings. 4,6 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thanks For Coming To My Blog