iPad

[Bison_PhD]

I will be attending a PhD program in the fall and I am thinking about getting an iPad as a second computer-like device. I hope to use it for note taking and reading PDF articles. My handwriting is horrible and I can type faster than I can write, but I need to be able to draw diagrams as well, which I cannot do on a laptop. Does anyone else use a tablet for this purpose? Does it work well?

This will not me my only computer as I have a MacBook, but my wife would not be too happy if I stole it for class and readings every day. The iPad would also allow her to surf the interwebs while I write and do research. Funds are limited, so I do not want to get the iPad if it will just be a toy. Thoughts?

[newms]

I don't own an iPad but there's an interesting and related discussion in this thread: It seems that the iPad would work well for your needs.

[Eigen]

It takes some getting used to, but I can see using it for that.

I was able to keep up in a 2 hour class the other day- important diagrams, bullet points, etc.

[Bison_PhD]

It takes some getting used to, but I can see using it for that.

I was able to keep up in a 2 hour class the other day- important diagrams, bullet points, etc.

What apps would you recommend for academic use? What do you use each one of them for?

[robot_hamster]

I've known a few people who had an iPad that they used for similar purposes. I was sort of jealous, looking over and seeing someone zooming in on something in a PDF file and highlighting stuff. Probably worth the investment if you're using it as a PDF reader and for taking notes.

[neuropsych76]

I will be attending a PhD program in the fall and I am thinking about getting an iPad as a second computer-like device. I hope to use it for note taking and reading PDF articles. My handwriting is horrible and I can type faster than I can write, but I need to be able to draw diagrams as well, which I cannot do on a laptop. Does anyone else use a tablet for this purpose? Does it work well?

This will not me my only computer as I have a MacBook, but my wife would not be too happy if I stole it for class and readings every day. The iPad would also allow her to surf the interwebs while I write and do research. Funds are limited, so I do not want to get the iPad if it will just be a toy. Thoughts?

I'm in the same boat. Also, I don't want to have hundreds of paper pdfs laying around that I will surely misplace.

I was debating whether or not to get a kindle or nook for an e-reader but i think its worth the extra money to get an ipad.

[sputnik]

I loves my iPad. Notetaker HD is the way to go for taking notes, editing pds's etc. It'll change the way you think about school.

[Kessith]

I have an iPad and I think it will be useful for class related things. I can't speak to using it for classes yet as I will be starting my grad program in the Fall, but for the past 4 years I have been teaching at a college and it is really useful for that as well. Something to think about if you will be a TA, there is a great app I use called Teacher's Attache that lets me keep track of attendance, grades, etc. and it connects to dropbox. Also things I have heard you can do with it but haven't done myself are connect wirelessly to a wireless printer or wireless projector. I don't know about note taking, I guess it depends on how fast you type on the keyboard and for me note taking also means lots of equations so not that easy to do by typing. It is really great to have to quickly and easily check your e-mail, etc. and what others have said about keeping pdfs on it to read is a great idea.

[Eigen]

I like NoteTaker HD... And although I'm currently using GoodReader for PDF Annotations, I'm thinking about swapping to PDF Expert- more expensive, but seems like its more fully featured.

Dropbox is definitely a must.

I was using the HardCandy Stylus, but the caps were a bit of a pain- I ordered one of the 2nd Generation ACase Styluses, and it just got here- so far I like the feel a lot more, it's thinner and a bit longer- feels more natural to write with. I'll see how well it holds up the next batch of notes I take.

The nice thing about NoteTaker HD for taking notes is you can make and use any background- so I have some pre-set templates I made using Adobe PDF Forms that I can use for different types of notes/lab notebook pages, etc. This means you can also use it to annotate PDFs, although the process is a lot longer than GoodReader (the whole import process)- but if I was going to take extensive notes on a PDF, I'd use NoteTaker.

Some of the features take a bit long to get to (shapes, etc), but I don't use them all that much.

[Bison_PhD]

Thanks for all the info everyone. It's been great so far. If there are any other apps that you have found useful for grad school please keep listing them. It would help me out greatly and hopefully help out others who are wondering the same things.

[Bison_PhD]

Just wondering what everyone thinks.

[Nurse Wretched]

This is what I'm leaning towards as well. 90% of what I do out of the house is read and annotate, and I can't really do that on a laptop because I draw lots of diagrams. I've been taking notes on paper, which is fine, but then I have to do something with them. We're wiping the HD of our laptop and installing Snow Leopard and using our iMac as my writing computer. Cheaper than buying a new laptop, and I think more functional for me.

[Jess77]

I love it. I use it for all my PDFs, notes, and whatnot. GoodReader is great...don't get iAnnotatePDF...learned that the hard way. Pages is good. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to get a stylus and then one of the good note taking apps with stylus function. Plus, the textbooks that I do need to get (theory books and whatnot) I just keep on the iPad. It makes things a lot easier. Dropbox is a must too.

[spagett]

I love it. I use it for all my PDFs, notes, and whatnot. GoodReader is great...don't get iAnnotatePDF...learned that the hard way. Pages is good. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to get a stylus and then one of the good note taking apps with stylus function. Plus, the textbooks that I do need to get (theory books and whatnot) I just keep on the iPad. It makes things a lot easier. Dropbox is a must too.

why not iAnnotatePDF?

[Jess77]

It crashes a lot and the whole organization set up isn't that great. I read 8 articles on it one night and then went to email them to myself and the app crashed and lost all my notes. GoodReader is much better and it only costs like $1 or $2, as opposed to $10 for iAnnotatePDF.

[Raputa]

I'm glad someone started this thread. I currently have a macbook that I use to take notes, but I don't like sitting behind a laptop in class (especially in a seminar); also, even though I have a new-ish macbook, it's really heavy to lug around. How easy is it to mark up/annotate texts/pdfs on the ipad? I have to write on articles &etc--are you able to quickly annotate, or is it a pain? I'm considering waiting a couple more generations before getting one...

[truckbasket]

How easy is it to mark up/annotate texts/pdfs on the ipad? I have to write on articles &etc--are you able to quickly annotate, or is it a pain? I'm considering waiting a couple more generations before getting one...

It's pretty easy and fast. It really depends on what program you're using and what kind of document it is (text vs. scanned and OCR'd). There are a bunch of apps that I use for academic work, mainly the PDF readers and the drop box-related tools. However, having the ability to search texts through iBooks is great, too. I'm not at the point where I could read an entire text on the iPad (it's still a little too heavy and I've bashed myself on the nose with it more than once), but quick reference is great.

iAnnotate doesn't crash for me, but it's a pretty loaded program and has way more functions that I'd ever need. I think you could get used to its interface and all the things it can do, but I prefer the simpler programs like Readdledocs that work straight from Drop Box. The Whiteboard app might be useful for collaboration (it's literally like a big white board that you can scrawl notes, outlines, ideas etc onto, which is shared with other users). Also, there are some reference / learning apps that are probably below grad seminar level, but they demonstrate what is possible w/r/t teaching. The Virtual History Roma app is hugely impressive:

Evernote is useful for cross syncing stuff. I keep a folder of ideas on there, as well as reading lists etc. Also, I'm still ironing out a comprehensive reading note database system (based on Zotero) that I can update through Dragon Dictate. Ideally, I'd love to be able to read and simply dictate into my iPad (or iPhone) page number, details, and cross references into a file that I'd just upload as a text file into Zotero's database. A work in progress.

As far as styluses go, I've had no luck. Admittedly, all I've tried were some pretty cheap rubber-tipped ones from Amazon and they went straight into the trash. You had to literally mash the screen to even get the iPad to recognize something was there. Completely useless.

There really is a lot it can do for us scholars, and new apps are coming out daily.

[luce373]

I think it's pretty easy to mark up the pdf's, at least for the chemistry articles I read. And I prefer GoodReader over iAnnotate. I was having problems getting iAnnotate to send the changes to Dropbox and you can't scroll the page while you're writing on it like you can with GoodReader.

As far as a stylus goes, I got mine from the Apple store. It was $15, I think, and works really well.

[Rose White]

As far as a stylus goes, I got mine from the Apple store. It was $15, I think, and works really well.

This is something I'm especially interested in. If someone can recommend to me the best kinds of styluses to use. My friend has one that seems to work well but you do have to hold it a particular angle to get it to register...I'd also like a thicker/longer one because of the way I hold writing utensils.

[Cashmere]

This is something I'm especially interested in. If someone can recommend to me the best kinds of styluses to use. My friend has one that seems to work well but you do have to hold it a particular angle to get it to register...I'd also like a thicker/longer one because of the way I hold writing utensils.

I'm also curious about this. I have seen a few stylus reviews on youtube, but the writing often looks chunky and blocky with lots of space in between individual letters and words. I'm not sure if this is just a function of the inexperience of the individual using the stylus or if it's something inherent to the technology. Those of you out there who frequently use a stylus to take notes directly on your PDFs, does the electronic format mirror your typical writing style fairly well (i.e., is it possible to write in condensed spaces using smaller strokes)? My handwriting tends to be scrunched and small in general, so I'm wondering if I would have any trouble getting the iPad to register my strokes.

[luce373]

The one from the Apple store has a rounded tip to allow for different writing angles, which is nice.

From my (limited) experience, it seems to be the iPad/apps that determine the ease of writing more than the stylus. Despite my stylus being much slimmer than my finger, the writing looks the same in terms of line thickness, responsiveness, spacing, etc. Maybe I'm just not used to the stylus yet, but it seems to improve comfort more than it improves the actual writing.

[newms]

So I'm thinking of getting an iPad for the Fall and I'm wondering if the iPad could replace the research notebook. Has anyone had any experience using the iPad to record your thoughts, research ideas and notes?

[Behavioral]

So I'm thinking of getting an iPad for the Fall and I'm wondering if the iPad could replace the research notebook. Has anyone had any experience using the iPad to record your thoughts, research ideas and notes?

I do that with my current phone for the most part, so I'm sure it can be done with an iPad.

[newms]

I do that with my current phone for the most part, so I'm sure it can be done with an iPad.

Just curious, since I will be moving to the States and getting a new phone as well - what smartphone (I'm assuming) do you use? And do you use a stylus to make notes or type them in?

[Behavioral]

Just curious, since I will be moving to the States and getting a new phone as well - what smartphone (I'm assuming) do you use? And do you use a stylus to make notes or type them in?

I use a Samsung Infuse 4G.

Don't use a stylus. It's 4.5" (11.4cm), so on portrait mode, the keyboard is quite big. I've been big on texting for ... 9 years now, and I can type on that phone at a decent rate for me not to have to rely on my laptop.