Database Users

Handwritting / Taking notes?

Anybody tried taking handwritten notes (with a stylus) on this thing? I am wondering how that would work with your hand resting on the screen. I have a feeling it doesn't...

And if someone could tell if the precision is enough to select 4 pixels wide and 4 pixels high (or at least 8px wide, 8px high) objects with capacitive stylus it would be nice. I have an application with such small objects that I want to use through VNC and wonder if Xoom will be good enough for this.

Ordered a stylus today to try it.
I am also looking for a good app for this. iPad had some good apps but all I find now are for the Android phones.
If someone has suggestions on this I would like to know.

rljohnson said:
Ordered a stylus today to try it.
I am also looking for a good app for this.
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MaplePaint looks ok for taking notes.
Also, Repligo looks pretty awesome for annotating PDF documents. Simply print any doc to PDF, put it on your XOOM, and off you go. You can do handwritten drawings, notes, you can highlight, etc. and save your annotations back to your PDF. That one I definitely like!
But again, I believe that the hand resting on the screen will throw the whole things off and the stylus won't work.

I haven't tried it yet, but WritePad also looks promising. It's not free though and also not sure on the hand resting on the screen issue.

Try ezPDF!

I'm hoping one the HTC Flyer comes out their scribe app will get pulled out and put to real use on the XOOM.

RaptorMD said:
I'm hoping one the HTC Flyer comes out their scribe app will get pulled out and put to real use on the XOOM.
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Anything is possible but I would not hold my breath. Scribe is more than software. The stylus is made specifically for the digitizer and the software may not work with different hardware.

I'm still waiting for a killer notetaking app that allows stylus use. I have found Handrite to be serviceable. It doesn't let you rest your palm, but that hasn't been too much of an issue for me so far.
I've written the makers of Penultimate for the ipad and they responded that as of early March, they have no plans for an Android port :/

[Q] sylus/maths/notes

Hey just had afew questions regarding the tablet and searching didn't answer them that well.
1. what is the best stylus to use when taking maths notes/ doing past paper questions. I thought a plastic nib one would be better but cant seem to find any?
2. are the more expensive stylus better?
3. is a tablet really worth it for doing maths/notes on. currently I use a pen and paper but Im disorganised and loose them within a week. I somehow don't think i could loose a tablet
Thanks for the help.

Try Tabnotes, a trial is available on the market and you can use squared maths paper as one of the paper settings.
I am using the Bamboo Stylus from Wacom, although it is quite expensive, it seems to be the best stylus for the Tablet. Boxwave come a close second.

Thanks do you use it for writing notes?

I only have some inexpensive iPad / iPhone styli. they work very well with my other 10" tablet with a capacitive touch screen. While they work on my ASUS Transformer, they are not as sensitive as my real finger. What that means is that applying the same touch with a stylus may not register as nicely as a finger. Is that because I have rather large hands and relatively large fingers, while the rubbery finger on these styli are smaller than a child's finger? I just don't know. What it means is that I prefer my real fingers on my ASUS, while a stylus is prefered for my Archos. Maybe that Wacom stylus is the answer for an ASUS, while an Archos will work with just about anything.
Bye.

I tried both the nub type (boxwave) and the plastic type (DAGI).
I think they both suck compared to paper or a true digitizer. Honestly it wasn't worth it for me...the letters are all fat and you can't fit them anywhere...also sometimes it skips...like when you are trying to do a lower case a...it looks fragmented and funky.
Also, when i write my palm is wresting on the device and it confuses it. So I have to put my hand in an awkward/tiring position.
maybe it is just my writing style though.

TomAnkcorn said:
Thanks do you use it for writing notes?
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Yes , I use this for handwritten notes, I have done a small review of the stylus and have a sample of the Tabnotes output on the following link post 13.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1081199&page=2

HasC said:
Yes , I use this for handwritten notes, I have done a small review of the stylus and have a sample of the Tabnotes output on the following link post 13.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1081199&page=2
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HasC - o...m...g. That looks awesome. Completely different from what I've experienced. How do you hold your pen? All I can say is wow. As soon as my replacement 16gb comes in and if it isn't disfunctional like my last two...I'm buying the bamboo.

newtybar said:
HasC - o...m...g. That looks awesome. Completely different from what I've experienced. How do you hold your pen? All I can say is wow. As soon as my replacement 16gb comes in and if it isn't disfunctional like my last two...I'm buying the bamboo.
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You can hold the pen normally, the only difference being that you cant rest your palm on the TF however what you need to bear in mind is that Tabnotes has a unique note entry system where you can position a block where you would like the text to start and a writing area is displayed at the bottom which you would use to write your notes.
As your notes are written, they are transferred to the writing area, this is excellent as it allows you to write slightly larger than normal and you handwritten notes get transferred to the writing area to a size that you determine by picking a pen size. There is another option that you can pick that allows you to draw freehand which makes this app so flexible.
The best thing since I wrote the review is that after the 3.1 update, the screen sensitivity has improved which makes writing even easier and I would say that it is on par with my DHD or even the IPad2.

Thankyou so much for all the advice!
and it looks better than i expected will definitely be checking out that app thankyou
looks like its time to make the purchase wooo im exited

TomAnkcorn said:
Thankyou so much for all the advice!
and it looks better than i expected will definitely be checking out that app thankyou
looks like its time to make the purchase wooo im exited
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No problems, that's what we are here for on this forum, glad to be able to help.

Using a Stylus

I downloaded the SketchBook Express app from Autodesk. It's a great app for sketching and drawing, highly recommend. I wanted the ability to get more precise so I picked up a stylus from BB for way too much. while I was there I also took a look at the stylus for the Flyer. JEALOUS! That is a slick stylus and you can get such a very fine point that I do not believe is attainable with the Galaxy 10.1. It would be great if we could someday though. Anyone else play around with a stylus? Aside from the drawing aspect, it's a great way to keep finger grease from smearing all over your tab.

I would love a stylus like the flyer has, but those have digitizers in them or something so there's almost no delay

If you can wait a few weeks for the slow shipping, Deal Extreme has several to choose from. The one I got was comparable to a $12 Targus model.
It's not really possible to use a stylus like the one included with the HTC Flyer since the Flyer's screen also has a built-in digitizer.

Can you even draw without an insane amount of lag on the tab? The tab seems too sluggish to draw on, as you have to put your finger on the touchscreen, and drag it about 1 cm until the input is registered.
Comparing the Galaxy Tab with Asus Transformer (with Sketchbook Pro on both), the Galaxy Tab seems almost unusable for this. Perhaps the Touchwiz UX is the culprit?

I picked up a stylus by the the BB house brand, Rocketfish, for an inexpensive stylus for a trip...hoping to take notes with it. Talk about a disappointment. it's okay in place of a finger for navigation around the UI or even for use with Swype, but absolutely worthless for my intended purpose...very slow and inaccurate. I'm not sure how much is the stylus's fault vs the Galaxy Tab, but i'm returning it. Samsung's website has the official one for $20 and if you look around online, you can get a promo code for 15% off...but I don't know if that would be any better.

xenokira said:
I picked up a stylus by the the BB house brand, Rocketfish, for an inexpensive stylus for a trip...hoping to take notes with it. Talk about a disappointment. it's okay in place of a finger for navigation around the UI or even for use with Swype, but absolutely worthless for my intended purpose...very slow and inaccurate. I'm not sure how much is the stylus's fault vs the Galaxy Tab, but i'm returning it. Samsung's website has the official one for $20 and if you look around online, you can get a promo code for 15% off...but I don't know if that would be any better.
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A good quality stylus helps, but won't give you smooth note-taking. I have tried a couple and definitely a cheap one (like rocketfish) gives you significantly worse results than a higher end one (like boxwave).

Flaco05 said:
A good quality stylus helps, but won't give you smooth note-taking. I have tried a couple and definitely a cheap one (like rocketfish) gives you significantly worse results than a higher end one (like boxwave).
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That's good to know. Part of the issue, I think, is the extraordinarily wide tip if this stylus. I feel like I can't see exactly where on the screen it's making contact. I'll check out the boxwave one...any thoughts on the official Samsung stylus?

Adonit Jot & Jot Pro
As u guys know capacitive stylus have a very wide point so that it can be recognized by the device, therefore affecting precision. Thankfully some people already came up with a solution. U have to options.
1) DIY fine ponit stylus with materials u can find in ur house... for FREE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHhB2BF5yQM
I found a blog where someone made a more precise intructions .... but I don't
remember the site!
2) Someone took the idea to kickstarter and know they are commercializing there
version of a fine point stylus.... only that it cost around 20-30 bucks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpwfoEk0-bY
http://adonit.net/product/7
I just pre ordered one of these bad boys!!!

Pedraso XDA said:
As u guys know capacitive stylus have a very wide point so that it can be recognized by the device, therefore affecting precision. Thankfully some people already came up with a solution. U have to options.
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They're still not the same as the digitizer/pen set-up on the likes of the HTC Flyer or the Galaxy Note, both the items you linked to still have a pad of sorts on the end.
They both seem very similar to the oStylus, just dressed up to look a bit more like they have a fine point.

I have a few different stylii, and I mainly use them to keep the fingerprints and smudges off the screen.
For anything more than basic taps and swipes, though, they're pretty useless.

I had pick up one of the Rockfish styluses too. Not what I had hope but about what I expected. Better to be disappointed for $9 than $20+.
I ordered a Jot over the weekend. It will probably be a couple a weeks before it arrives but I will post a review if and when it does.

Jay Evans said:
I had pick up one of the Rockfish styluses too. Not what I had hope but about what I expected. Better to be disappointed for $9 than $20+.
I ordered a Jot over the weekend. It will probably be a couple a weeks before it arrives but I will post a review if and when it does.
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It's funny you mentioned Jot--I just found this stylus this morning and ordered the Jot Pro. Hopefully it's a fast 4 weeks!

xenokira said:
I picked up a stylus by the the BB house brand, Rocketfish, for an inexpensive stylus for a trip...hoping to take notes with it. Talk about a disappointment. it's okay in place of a finger for navigation around the UI or even for use with Swype, but absolutely worthless for my intended purpose...very slow and inaccurate. I'm not sure how much is the stylus's fault vs the Galaxy Tab, but i'm returning it. Samsung's website has the official one for $20 and if you look around online, you can get a promo code for 15% off...but I don't know if that would be any better.
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Bought of these at BB also for $8. Didn't expect much, but I do agree that it's horrible for memo/note taking. Great for surfing the web and other task though.

While I'm growing used to the e.stylo, I'm still wishing for something with a fine point. Ordered a Jot Pro; hopefully it's all that and more.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

Just wanted to toss my 2 cents in. I just got my Jot a few days ago. Works great. The biggest issue I have with drawing now is the lag between drawing a stroke and having it show up on the screen.
Any tips for fixing this issue?

Just got my Jot Pro. I should have thought this through...I have a Zagg Invisible Shield on my tablet. Anyone who's used one before knows that it has it's own stickiness characteristic. I should have considered it before ordering the stylus. It just doesn't work well at all. The screen has far too much grip with the protector on it. Now i'm faced with 1) returning the stylus (sad face because it works awesome on other devices), 2) removing my Invisible Shield and forfeiting the $30 it costs, or 3) or just hold into the stylus and deal with the problem later.
Like I said though, the Jot Pro does work really well on other devices without the Zagg screen protector. I was very presently surprised when trying it on a Nexus S. The accuracy is fantastic!

**** Taid said:
Can you even draw without an insane amount of lag on the tab? The tab seems too sluggish to draw on, as you have to put your finger on the touchscreen, and drag it about 1 cm until the input is registered.
Comparing the Galaxy Tab with Asus Transformer (with Sketchbook Pro on both), the Galaxy Tab seems almost unusable for this. Perhaps the Touchwiz UX is the culprit?
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was the transformer on 3.2? Just wondering because I saw a video of a person using the stylus on the old Galaxy tab (running gingerbread) and it writes smooth as butter. Just curious

i have the jot pro and the tab is still hopeless at handwriting due to lag. I don't mind if my writing looksawful but there are big gaps in letters where it can't keep up. Frustrating as I have heard and read this doesn't happen on transformer/ipad.

Jake-CT said:
i have the jot pro and the tab is still hopeless at handwriting due to lag. I don't mind if my writing looksawful but there are big gaps in letters where it can't keep up. Frustrating as I have heard and read this doesn't happen on transformer/ipad.
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I tried my Jot Pro on a friend's Galaxy Tab last night and can confirm this. Glad I didn't rip my Invisible Shield off. I wonder what causing it...

mtran2988 said:
was the transformer on 3.2? Just wondering because I saw a video of a person using the stylus on the old Galaxy tab (running gingerbread) and it writes smooth as butter. Just curious
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Yes, it was 3.2. However, having flashed BroodComb, used Titanium Backup to freeze all unnecessary bloatware and applied the V6 supercharger seems to have reduced the lag considerably -- it could be better though. (I don't know why you would compare Gingerbread with Honeycomb though?)
I have tried the touchscreen booster app as well, but it does nothing (or at least, I've noticed no difference).

Stylus or no stylus???

What do you guys think? Is there a good use for it? Do you use it? What are your thoughts in general.

i use a stylus once in a while, but its not what i expected originally. I had played with the digitizer stylus on the htc flyer earlier, and that was such a fantastic stylus experience, i thought i would be able to have that same level of detail, but apparently it doesnt work that way on other tablets, htc flyer has a special digitizer layer on top of the capacitive screen, that makes input form the special digitizer pen more accurate, like i can literally write chicken scratch on that thing and it is perfectly legible.
but on regular capacitive screens, the best stylus wont do much more than what your finger does. If you want to use the stylus just for swiping, and moving stuff, then it's okay i suppose, especially when its cold. But its not a handwriting replacement, or even a decent sketching tool, just a finger replacement. Regular styluses have this weird squishy foam tip also, that annoys me.

fraz82 said:
i use a stylus once in a while, but its not what i expected originally.
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^^^^
This.
I have the Samsung stylus and use it all the time. To me, it's a tad more precise than my finger and it keeps the screen clean of finger prints. The only app it seems to work better than average in is the Asus notes app that's available in the dev section. Even then, it's for quick notes and phone numbers not actual writing.

I'm using one now. The biggest advantage for me is when entering text. My wife asked for one. I grabed one at Walmart, tried it out and had to get one for myself. I like it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Yep I agree with everyone above. I purchased the Jot stylus which is supposed to be one of the better ones and it was just bleh. I wanted to use my Tab for note taking and stuff and it just won't register cleanly especially if you're trying to write 'normally'. For drawing and bigger letters it's fine, but anything smaller, forget it.

spyder560 said:
Yep I agree with everyone above. I purchased the Jot stylus which is supposed to be one of the better ones and it was just bleh. I wanted to use my Tab for note taking and stuff and it just won't register cleanly especially if you're trying to write 'normally'. For drawing and bigger letters it's fine, but anything smaller, forget it.
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There's an app for that. Touchscreentune in the dev section. It helps a great deal, though it doesn't make the Tab perfect. One caveat... You need to be rooted to use it.

Bamboo Stylus Feel... anyone tried it yet?

I've been waiting for reviews for this pen for a while. I don't see any third parties selling it yet either... I found one review, but it was in Japanese (which I can read) and wasn't very helpful in terms of the purpose I would be using it for. Particularly, the artwork...
I'm curious, is it really any different than the s-pen or is it just about the form factor?

SayaX said:
I've been waiting for reviews for this pen for a while. I don't see any third parties selling it yet either... I found one review, but it was in Japanese (which I can read) and wasn't very helpful in terms of the purpose I would be using it for. Particularly, the artwork...
I'm curious, is it really any different than the s-pen or is it just about the form factor?
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I'm curious about it too. I currently have a Samsung ET-S200EBEGSTD S-Pen with eraser which works and feels great. Will the Bamboo Stylus Feel actually feel better than the Samsung branded S-Pens? I'll wait for those reviews as well.

Looking thru and it does looks good. Any tried?

seeto84 said:
Looking thru and it does looks good. Any tried?
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I confirmed with Wacom, it has no eraser. Made me lose all interest.

I ordered 2 on the 7th. I got them yesterday. My wife is an artist and the Samsung stylus was to thin. She really likes the feel of it. Its really light though, and it feels like rough ceramic. I cant say that it writes better than the stock one. But it is easier to use. All they had was the white version that day. I do wonder if the $80 black carbon fiber pen would have been better. It has double the weight.
I need to use it a bit more before I can review it. Mainly because I put an anti-reflective screen protector on my tablet the day before.

Best Buy now has Bamboo Stylus
Titles says it all!

Ok, I was using it this morning after doing the OTA update. I didnt like it at all. I thought it might have been this matte screen protector. Just to double check, I grabbed my wifes Bamboo stylus and used it. It worked great! Mine was slow and didnt work half the time, but hers works better than the Samsung stylus. Now I have to figure out how to return mine. Its defective.
Using my wifes, there is something I didnt like about it. The button sits flush with the body and it feels the same. So its hard to find. I use it a lot because I have it set to erase.

wd4oay said:
Titles says it all!
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Link? I looked and couldn't find it... I found several Bamboo Stylus, but none for the Note 10.1. I do like the look of the carbon stylus on the Wacom Website.

This is where I got mine. Directly from the Wacom store.
https://www.wacom.com/store/bamboo-stylus-feel

Thanks for the link. I just ordered one. (White). I was gonna get the samsung based version, but this thickness might be perfect for. I hate how expensive they are. I wish they were half this price and then i could buy multiple pens.

kousakasan said:
Ok, I was using it this morning after doing the OTA update. I didnt like it at all. I thought it might have been this matte screen protector. Just to double check, I grabbed my wifes Bamboo stylus and used it. It worked great! Mine was slow and didnt work half the time, but hers works better than the Samsung stylus. Now I have to figure out how to return mine. Its defective.
Using my wifes, there is something I didnt like about it. The button sits flush with the body and it feels the same. So its hard to find. I use it a lot because I have it set to erase.
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Is setting the button to erase only for the Wacom stylus or can the stock s-pen do it as well? Care to share how? Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Just to share, any Wacom Penabled (Tablet PC) stylus will work with the Note series. I have three from my Tablet PC days and they all work with my Note 10.1 and Note II. Search in Google or Amazon and you can find a large range of styles and prices.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

The app you use has to have the option. The app I use most is Lecture Notes.
[Settings/handling/one time eraser] sets it to erase once after each time the button is pressed. Very handy.
I have noticed that the built in apps like SNote and Kno lack a useful setting menu. It would be nice if they gave us more options.

newst said:
Just to share, any Wacom Penabled (Tablet PC) stylus will work with the Note series. I have three from my Tablet PC days and they all work with my Note 10.1 and Note II. Search in Google or Amazon and you can find a large range of styles and prices.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
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Work? Yes. Work well? Maybe. I have one from a slate, and it's about 1/4" off when writing. Too annoying to be useful. I'm not saying yours don't work well, I'm saying that not all penabled stylus will work well.

I have a bamboo create tablet and the pen for that thing does not work on either my Samsung 7 Series or my Note 10.1. The S7S pen do work on the Note 10.1 and visa versa tho. The eraser work as well; haven't tried the eraser on Sketchbook Pro tho.