Tablet for Writing

WritingLife · Aug 26, 2017

Hey AbsoluteWrite, hope you are all having a great day and getting a lot written

I want to start a bit of short story writing, but I hate carrying a pen and paper around with me. I always find some strange inspiration when I am out somewhere so I want something that I can keep in my backpack when biking around that I can pull out and start typing on whenever the urge hits me. Of course I have thought of the iPad or the Surface, or the Tab but I don't really want to spend that much when all I want to do is some writing on it. What do you all use for your writing when you are not putting pen/pencil to paper? And how much did it cost when you bought your tablet? If it is going to be an expensive purchase then I might have to look at something used, which could be good as I could get something older if there is something really good that is not made anymore. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks for the help in advance everyone

I went to the store yesterday to look at some tablets and get a feel for them, when this lady who was also looking at tablets started chatting with me and said that she had used Wacom Bamboo tablets for writing and drawing before and that I should take a look at some of the older models of them. When I got home I hopped onto the computer and did a little browsing that revealed how good of a tablet these little things are and even better I found one for just over $100 at https://www.for-sale.ie/wacom-bamboo-tablet and after meeting with the seller last night I love it. Thanks for the help everyone, much appreciated

cbenoi1 · Aug 26, 2017

Android-type tablets don't have the touch screen characteristics (speed, resolution, capacitance vs resistive, etc) to do a good job with pen writing. Either you try to find a good & cheap 2-in-1 Windows 10 tablet-PC that works the way you want (there are a few under US$500), or buy a Bluetooth keyboard you can hook up to your Android tablet (many models around US$50 or less at major electronics outlets).

Hope this helps.

-cb

Ari Meermans · Aug 26, 2017

My spouse gave me an RCA Galileo Pro 11.5" 32GB 2-in-1 Tablet with Keyboard Case Android 6.0 specifically for writing when I want to work outside on the deck or I'm going to be somewhere overnight. And I love it. It would also be great in a pinch if my laptop suddenly went kaput since I backup/sync to my Google Drive anyway. He bought it for $79.00 (new); I see it's on Amazon right now for about $125.00.

Possible drawbacks for hiking/biking: it weighs about 1.65 lbs.; it's large with an 11.5" screen; and, it's a bit slow in booting up.

WritingLife · Aug 28, 2017

Ari Meermans said:
My spouse gave me an RCA Galileo Pro 11.5" 32GB 2-in-1 Tablet with Keyboard Case Android 6.0 specifically for writing when I want to work outside on the deck or I'm going to be somewhere overnight. And I love it. It would also be great in a pinch if my laptop suddenly went kaput since I backup/sync to my Google Drive anyway. He bought it for $79.00 (new); I see it's on Amazon right now for about $125.00.

Possible drawbacks for hiking/biking: it weighs about 1.65 lbs.; it's large with an 11.5" screen; and, it's a bit slow in booting up.

That seems like a great tablet. It doesn't support touch writing with a pen very well thought correct?

Ari Meermans · Aug 28, 2017

WritingLife said:
That seems like a great tablet. It doesn't support touch writing with a pen very well thought correct?

Yeah, no. Sorry 'bout that. I should have realized you needed and wanted a tablet with a stylus. My only excuse is I really love my tablet. I don't have any recs for a tablet with a stylus; I had looked into those at one time and had to accept that the only ones worth anything were worth more than I could afford.

cbenoi1 · Aug 28, 2017

If all you want is to digitize your writing, you can still use pen & paper and scan the work afterwards. Microsoft Office Lens, which comes free on Android, uses the camera to scan document and send them to OneNote or any other 'share'.

In summary: pen&paper -> Office Lens on Smartphone or Tablet -> share to OneNote, which stores to cloud

-cb

ETA: check to see if what I wrote worked. Only the scanning to OneNote works. Ink-to-text requires OneNote pen input. Sorry.

Luciferical · Aug 28, 2017

The Surface Pro 4 that I have works great for writing (and sketching, too). But you will pay for it. Over $1000. It no longer comes with the detachable keyboard, so that's another $110 (last I looked).

Oh, and given how bad my chicken scratch is, the handwriting recognition is pretty good, too.

So I've very much enjoyed it.

WritingLife · Aug 29, 2017

Ari Meermans said:
Yeah, no. Sorry 'bout that. I should have realized you needed and wanted a tablet with a stylus. My only excuse is I really love my tablet. I don't have any recs for a tablet with a stylus; I had looked into those at one time and had to accept that the only ones worth anything were worth more than I could afford.

No worries

I think I might be looking into it anyways so I don't have to eat cup of ramen too much this month!

J.Catherine · Aug 29, 2017

What might be a cheap alternative is that if you have a smartphone to buy a Bluetooth connecting keyboard instead. It cuts down the weight of carrying around a tablet, and will only cost like £30 max.

Luciferical · Aug 29, 2017

There are some very portable keyboards out there. Including...

Laser Projection Keyboards

Vicent · Sep 25, 2017

In my experience using tablets solo is a mess of a proposition. To further expand a bit on the two in one choice, my recommendation is dell. I have always found their service to be superb and the computers are solid all-rounders.

wirehead · Sep 25, 2017

My handwriting is pretty messy and I'm much more comfortable with typing things and using my stylus for drawing instead.

Using a bluetooth keyboard... and there's some small folding ones... can make it fairly practical to do writing on a phone's screen. I did some long-form writing on a Moto Q and it worked largely because the chicklet keyboard was just barely good enough that I could type at creative-writing-speed.

Tablet for Writing

WritingLife

cbenoi1

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

WritingLife

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

cbenoi1

Luciferical

WritingLife

J.Catherine

you call me Jen

Luciferical

Vicent

wirehead