Good tablet/laptop for reading papers?

[gmperez]

Hi everyone! I am a second year grad student in a Biology program, and I was thinking about dropping some money for a good electronic device to read papers on (I don't want to have huge stacks of papers). I already have a great laptop to do typing, simulations, and other computer work, but I wanted a tablet just for reading papers and marking them up. I was looking at the Surface Go and Surface Pro, and I was leaning towards the Surface Go since it is around 300 to 400 USD cheaper than the Pro, and I don't really need the laptop functionalities of the Pro. Do you guys have any experience with either of those two, or possibly other recommendations? Thank you so much!

 

Also, if this topic has already been brought up/answered, I would really appreciate it if that thread could be linked to me!

[morawel]

I recently got an iPad for this purpose and I really like it so far. I briefly considered the Surface models but decided they were too expensive and I already have a pretty good laptop, too. But they did seem nice! I went with the basic 9.7” iPad with the iPencil, which is great for highlighting and marking up papers. 

[AllieKat]

I'm considering the Amazon fire HD 10 for this, for a cheap price point (~$115 right now, or $90 on prime day next month). I've only used others' for a short period, though, so I'm not sure how it would fare day-to-day.

[heuristicSystems]

On 6/11/2019 at 3:30 PM, AllieKat said:

I'm considering the Amazon fire HD 10 for this, for a cheap price point (~$115 right now, or $90 on prime day next month). I've only used others' for a short period, though, so I'm not sure how it would fare day-to-day.

I used an Amazon Fire for a few years, and I did not like it for reading papers. It was somewhat usable for videos and internet surfing, but it was generally not a pleasant experience.

 

I bit the bullet about a year ago and bought an iPad. It is phenomenal. It is very easy to read papers, and things just work and work quickly.

 

They are cheaper than they used to be. I got mine for $310 (https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-9-7/32gb-silver-wifi), though the pen was an extra $100. 

 

It's definitely not cheap but, if you can't afford it, I would probably recommend reading on your computer or on paper rather than getting a cheap tablet. Just my two cents, though. Good luck!

[cephalexin]

To add to the discussion on iPads, I use an iPad mini, and I love it. I originally went with the mini because of price but honestly prefer the smaller size. I also use a generic metal mesh stylus  (brand: the friendly Swede) and notability as my app of choice. It works great for importing papers and annotating them.