iPad Handwriting on the iPad - Page 6

jocampo · 09-26-2012, 02:21 PM

Really?

Even for simple notes? I know I can do it with my fingers, but I was looking for something that can write more precise than my own finger and especially, with a thinner font ...

During my Monday meetings at work, I barely take notes. So I won't be writing lot of lines or several paragraphs at time. I do not use the iPad for that.

WT Sharpe · 09-26-2012, 04:20 PM

To be fair, my main app for handwriting is WritePad, which is one of the ones that employs handwriting recognition. Since WritePad converts handwriting to text on-the-fly, I never find myself running out of room on the screen. If I didn't use WritePad and was just writing and storing handwritten notes, I probably would continue the search for the perfect stylus.

FlorenceArt · 02-01-2013, 03:55 AM

Penultimate is free now, I don't know if this is a promotion or a policy change.

It wasn't very expensive to start with, but I had never bought it because the screen shots in the app store looked ugly. However, in the last update it seems they have revamped it and now it looks rather elegant. I downloaded it last night and I like it, though it probably won't replace Noteshelf. I will try to post a more detailed review later.

Turtle91 · 02-01-2013, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Penultimate is free now, I don't know if this is a promotion or a policy change.

Gahhh...I hate apple! I can't update my iPad 1 to version 6 iOS...so there are several apps I can't use!

I know, "The app? The App? You can't handle the App!" (in my best Jack Nicholsen - Col Jessep voice) But it is still annoying....

Jessica Lares · 02-01-2013, 10:02 AM

Penultimate will be free forever now. It might get Evernote Premium features in the long run, but as far as I can tell, from being an Evernote user since 2008, it won't be much that the freebie users won't get, besides like sharing and collaboration.

I too am fond of Noteshelf and my Jot Pro though.

FlorenceArt · 02-01-2013, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Gahhh...I hate apple! I can't update my iPad 1 to version 6 iOS...so there are several apps I can't use!

I know, "The app? The App? You can't handle the App!" (in my best Jack Nicholsen - Col Jessep voice) But it is still annoying....

Yuck. I sympathise. This forced obsolescence policy sucks, especially since the pace seems to be accelerating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Penultimate will be free forever now. It might get Evernote Premium features in the long run, but as far as I can tell, from being an Evernote user since 2008, it won't be much that the freebie users won't get, besides like sharing and collaboration.

Thanks, I suspected as much.

WT Sharpe · 02-01-2013, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Gahhh...I hate apple! I can't update my iPad 1 to version 6 iOS...so there are several apps I can't use!

I know, "The app? The App? You can't handle the App!" (in my best Jack Nicholsen - Col Jessep voice) But it is still annoying....

I feel your pain. I also have an Original Flavor iPad, and there are three apps on it that I can't update because all three require iOS 6. One of those apps is WritePad, which I've mentioned several times in this thread. I can still use it, but I can't update to the latest, greatest, and presumably most accurate version.

FlorenceArt · 02-04-2013, 05:52 AM

I'm afraid I am too lazy to write a complete review of Penultimate, and after all since it is now free, it's easy to just try it and decide for yourselves. My general impression is that it's a nice app, but it doesn't offer much that others don't have, except for the handwriting recognition on Evernote. If it works with your handwriting (it doesn't on mine, of course), it could be very useful. The indexing is done by Evernote, so your notes have to be transferred to Evernote first, but after the indexing is finished the search works offline too.

Also, the handwriting engine is very fluid and responsive, but tends to smooth out the dots on the i's, and it doesn't really look like my handwriting, but it remains legible. By me at least.

There is no wrist protection but the app recognizes my wrist and mostly I can write with my wrist on the screen. Unfortunately there are glitches and unexpected results, and the wrist sometimes leaves small marks on the page. That's not a big problem when writing on a blank page (I can just erase the marks), but when annotating an existing page it can be.

Apart from the handwriting recognition, this app is very similar to Bamboo Notes, but the wrist recognition works better in Bamboo.

FlorenceArt · 02-04-2013, 10:29 AM

Two other apps that I have been testing lately are Moleskine and Pento. I wouldn't advise paying for either of these as they are clearly still works in progress, but they both have good-looking interfaces and look promising.

To a notebook addict like myself, seeing the name Moleskine on an app is of course very exciting. And since the app is (for now) free, I lost no time in giving it a try. The app is visually very pleasing and does look like a Moleskine notebook, but there is still a lot of work to make it useable. The app is excruciatingly slow and a bit buggy. Handwriting is not very good but sketching is OK. iOS auto-correct does not work on the type tool, which is a big problem for me (in French, since the accents are not on the iOS keyboard, auto-correct is essential to fill them, otherwise typing is slow and cumbersome).

Pento is sold for $2.99, but I would not recommend paying for it just yet. However the app is regularly offered for free, and that's how I got it. There is also a Pento Lite apparently, which I didn't try. I really like the look of the app. It has a "grabber" function that you can use to copy a web page to your notebook (as an image) and annotate it. But like Moleskine, it still needs a lot of work. The interface is sometimes clumsy or annoying (no undo button but a gesture which I can't be bothered to memorize) and essential functionalities are missing (auto-correct again). I don't see a lot of upgrades though, so I have to wonder if it will ever get to be worth the price asked. I hope so.

Faterson · 02-04-2013, 10:51 AM

Just my recommendation... I use neu.Notes for handwritten notes on my iOS devices, and couldn't be happier.

jojoba · 02-10-2013, 07:11 PM

I'm in the process of testing out different apps for hand writing to text conversion. Experimenting with 7NotesHD, Notes Plus and WritePad at the moment. Does anyone prefer one over the other?

WT Sharpe · 02-11-2013, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojoba

I'm in the process of testing out different apps for hand writing to text conversion. Experimenting with 7NotesHD, Notes Plus and WritePad at the moment. Does anyone prefer one over the other?

I've frequently mentioned my preference for WritePad. I've tried the others, but just love the way it works on the iPad. Two caveats: (1) The OP of this thread, FlorenceArt, isn't quite as impressed as I am by WritePad, although the fact that Florence is French may have something to do with that opinion. WritePad seems to be optimized for English. (2) WritePad now requires iOS 6 for upgrades; meaning if you have a first generation iPad like I do, you won't be able to upgrade to the latest and greatest version. But I am amazed by its accuracy and ease of use and highly recommend it.

I bought my grandson a copy of WritePad for his Kindle Fire but wasn't nearly so impressed by the way it performs on that device. On the Fire, you need to write in a small text box and manually convert after writing one or two words. On the iPad you can use the entire screen for writing and it's converted to text on the fly. WritePad isn't perfect, and you still need to proofread the converted text for mistakes, but as you continue to use the program, those mistakes become fewer and fewer.

FlorenceArt · 02-11-2013, 05:27 AM

Jojoba, I see that your location is "Europe". Presumably you won't have an American handwriting then. I wouldn't recommend WritePad in that case. The handwriting recognition in Notes Plus worked reasonably well for my French handwriting. You can test it via the free (I think) app MyScript Memo. Check the Notes Plus website for details. It's been a while since I used the app, so things may have changed.

But to be honest, I just don't see the point, personally, of handwriting recognition, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on that.

murraypaul · 02-11-2013, 05:34 AM

From the same MyScript people, they also have MyScript Calculator, where you can write equations on the page, they are recognised as mathmatical symbols, and the equation solved.
Don't know how useful it would be, but it is very impressive as a tech demo.

jojoba · 02-12-2013, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I've frequently mentioned my preference for WritePad. I've tried the others, but just love the way it works on the iPad. Two caveats: (1) The OP of this thread, FlorenceArt, isn't quite as impressed as I am by WritePad, although the fact that Florence is French may have something to do with that opinion. WritePad seems to be optimized for English. (2) WritePad now requires iOS 6 for upgrades; meaning if you have a first generation iPad like I do, you won't be able to upgrade to the latest and greatest version. But I am amazed by its accuracy and ease of use and highly recommend it.

I bought my grandson a copy of WritePad for his Kindle Fire but wasn't nearly so impressed by the way it performs on that device. On the Fire, you need to write in a small text box and manually convert after writing one or two words. On the iPad you can use the entire screen for writing and it's converted to text on the fly. WritePad isn't perfect, and you still need to proofread the converted text for mistakes, but as you continue to use the program, those mistakes become fewer and fewer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Jojoba, I see that your location is "Europe". Presumably you won't have an American handwriting then. I wouldn't recommend WritePad in that case. The handwriting recognition in Notes Plus worked reasonably well for my French handwriting. You can test it via the free (I think) app MyScript Memo. Check the Notes Plus website for details. It's been a while since I used the app, so things may have changed.

But to be honest, I just don't see the point, personally, of handwriting recognition, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on that.

Thanks, both!

I've settled on the 7NotesHD and WritePad combo: 7NotesHD because it has great editing features as you do hand writing to text conversion (and it seems to be learning my scribbles fairly well), and WritePad because it has language support for my native language.

I think Notes Plus in general looks like an amazing app, but I'm not comfortable with their hand writing to text conversion process, because it doesn't give you a live display of the conversion with editing options. Also, the text ends up in different text boxes, which I don't want. Otherwise an impressive app, though, and with very accurate conversion for me so far.

I've posted my impressions of the three apps' hand writing to text conversion features here:

http://macademise.wordpress.com/2013...xt-conversion/

09-26-2012, 04:20 PM	#77
WT Sharpe Grand Muckity-Muck Posts: 26,644 Karma: 70641104 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindles: Paperwhite/K-3/Touch, Sony PRS-600, iPod (audio books), iPad1	To be fair, my main app for handwriting is WritePad, which is one of the ones that employs handwriting recognition. Since WritePad converts handwriting to text on-the-fly, I never find myself running out of room on the screen. If I didn't use WritePad and was just writing and storing handwritten notes, I probably would continue the search for the perfect stylus. __________________

02-01-2013, 03:55 AM	#78
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,384 Karma: 1792163 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad 3, iPhone 4S	Penultimate is free now, I don't know if this is a promotion or a policy change. It wasn't very expensive to start with, but I had never bought it because the screen shots in the app store looked ugly. However, in the last update it seems they have revamped it and now it looks rather elegant. I downloaded it last night and I like it, though it probably won't replace Noteshelf. I will try to post a more detailed review later. __________________ "The thing about witchcraft," said Mistress Weatherwax, "is that it's not like school at all. First you get the test, and then afterward you spend years findin' out how you passed it. It's a bit like life in that respect." Terry Pratchett (The Wee Free Men) MR Philosophy discussion :::: My LibraryThing :::: My Abstract Art :::: Current avatar: Anatole

02-01-2013, 10:02 AM	#80
Jessica Lares Guru Posts: 965 Karma: 1346144 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: Kindle 3 (Wi-Fi), Kindle Fire, iPad Mini	Penultimate will be free forever now. It might get Evernote Premium features in the long run, but as far as I can tell, from being an Evernote user since 2008, it won't be much that the freebie users won't get, besides like sharing and collaboration. I too am fond of Noteshelf and my Jot Pro though. __________________ Jessica - Daily Expressions

02-04-2013, 05:52 AM	#83
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,384 Karma: 1792163 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad 3, iPhone 4S	I'm afraid I am too lazy to write a complete review of Penultimate, and after all since it is now free, it's easy to just try it and decide for yourselves. My general impression is that it's a nice app, but it doesn't offer much that others don't have, except for the handwriting recognition on Evernote. If it works with your handwriting (it doesn't on mine, of course), it could be very useful. The indexing is done by Evernote, so your notes have to be transferred to Evernote first, but after the indexing is finished the search works offline too. Also, the handwriting engine is very fluid and responsive, but tends to smooth out the dots on the i's, and it doesn't really look like my handwriting, but it remains legible. By me at least. There is no wrist protection but the app recognizes my wrist and mostly I can write with my wrist on the screen. Unfortunately there are glitches and unexpected results, and the wrist sometimes leaves small marks on the page. That's not a big problem when writing on a blank page (I can just erase the marks), but when annotating an existing page it can be. Apart from the handwriting recognition, this app is very similar to Bamboo Notes, but the wrist recognition works better in Bamboo. __________________ "The thing about witchcraft," said Mistress Weatherwax, "is that it's not like school at all. First you get the test, and then afterward you spend years findin' out how you passed it. It's a bit like life in that respect." Terry Pratchett (The Wee Free Men) MR Philosophy discussion :::: My LibraryThing :::: My Abstract Art :::: Current avatar: Anatole

02-04-2013, 10:29 AM	#84
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,384 Karma: 1792163 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad 3, iPhone 4S	Two other apps that I have been testing lately are Moleskine and Pento. I wouldn't advise paying for either of these as they are clearly still works in progress, but they both have good-looking interfaces and look promising. To a notebook addict like myself, seeing the name Moleskine on an app is of course very exciting. And since the app is (for now) free, I lost no time in giving it a try. The app is visually very pleasing and does look like a Moleskine notebook, but there is still a lot of work to make it useable. The app is excruciatingly slow and a bit buggy. Handwriting is not very good but sketching is OK. iOS auto-correct does not work on the type tool, which is a big problem for me (in French, since the accents are not on the iOS keyboard, auto-correct is essential to fill them, otherwise typing is slow and cumbersome). Pento is sold for $2.99, but I would not recommend paying for it just yet. However the app is regularly offered for free, and that's how I got it. There is also a Pento Lite apparently, which I didn't try. I really like the look of the app. It has a "grabber" function that you can use to copy a web page to your notebook (as an image) and annotate it. But like Moleskine, it still needs a lot of work. The interface is sometimes clumsy or annoying (no undo button but a gesture which I can't be bothered to memorize) and essential functionalities are missing (auto-correct again). I don't see a lot of upgrades though, so I have to wonder if it will ever get to be worth the price asked. I hope so. __________________ "The thing about witchcraft," said Mistress Weatherwax, "is that it's not like school at all. First you get the test, and then afterward you spend years findin' out how you passed it. It's a bit like life in that respect." Terry Pratchett (The Wee Free Men) MR Philosophy discussion :::: My LibraryThing :::: My Abstract Art :::: Current avatar: Anatole

09-26-2012, 02:21 PM	#76
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 2,699 Karma: 6852069 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: iPad mini, Kindle Touch and PW	Really? Even for simple notes? I know I can do it with my fingers, but I was looking for something that can write more precise than my own finger and especially, with a thinner font ... During my Monday meetings at work, I barely take notes. So I won't be writing lot of lines or several paragraphs at time. I do not use the iPad for that.

02-04-2013, 10:51 AM	#85
Faterson pokrývač škridiel Posts: 490 Karma: 2395522 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Device: iPad 3, iPad 1, iPhone 4, Kobo Mini, Android 7" 4, Kindle DX, 3kb	Just my recommendation... I use neu.Notes for handwritten notes on my iOS devices, and couldn't be happier.

02-10-2013, 07:11 PM	#86
jojoba Addict Posts: 205 Karma: 39638 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Europe Device: Kindle Touch, iPad 3gen, Sony PRS-T1	I'm in the process of testing out different apps for hand writing to text conversion. Experimenting with 7NotesHD, Notes Plus and WritePad at the moment. Does anyone prefer one over the other? __________________ macademise your research.

02-11-2013, 05:27 AM	#88
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,384 Karma: 1792163 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad 3, iPhone 4S	Jojoba, I see that your location is "Europe". Presumably you won't have an American handwriting then. I wouldn't recommend WritePad in that case. The handwriting recognition in Notes Plus worked reasonably well for my French handwriting. You can test it via the free (I think) app MyScript Memo. Check the Notes Plus website for details. It's been a while since I used the app, so things may have changed. But to be honest, I just don't see the point, personally, of handwriting recognition, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on that. __________________ "The thing about witchcraft," said Mistress Weatherwax, "is that it's not like school at all. First you get the test, and then afterward you spend years findin' out how you passed it. It's a bit like life in that respect." Terry Pratchett (The Wee Free Men) MR Philosophy discussion :::: My LibraryThing :::: My Abstract Art :::: Current avatar: Anatole

02-11-2013, 05:34 AM	#89
murraypaul Interested Bystander Posts: 3,090 Karma: 7357565 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony PRS505, Nook Color(CM7), iPad3	From the same MyScript people, they also have MyScript Calculator, where you can write equations on the page, they are recognised as mathmatical symbols, and the equation solved. Don't know how useful it would be, but it is very impressive as a tech demo.

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