Irex as a notepad?

Goshzilla · 10-07-2007, 11:55 PM

I'm new here though I have been reading the forum for months. I kind of get the impression that the Iliad compared to the other ereaders is the best for displaying mathematical documents written in LaTeX and converted to PDF. The format sizes seem to line up well enough that it could be used as a decent textbook. Here is a link to a free PDF file for a class I took in Analysis to give owners an impression of what I am looking for http://www.math.utah.edu/~taylor/foundations.html

I was wondering though how good this device is at taking notes. Is the pen writing resolution as good as a tablet pc? or is not an adequate substitution?

sianon · 10-08-2007, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goshzilla

I was wondering though how good this device is at taking notes. Is the pen writing resolution as good as a tablet pc? or is not an adequate substitution?

It is adequate for note taking, the software for converting to text is also good. the main problem with the Iliad for note taking is it's small screen size. In the field I usually write on A4 note pads and find the much smaller Iliad difficult to manage. Yet one more reason for me to want an A4 version

Karen

HappyMartin · 10-08-2007, 07:48 AM

I find the same as Karen. My handwriting is poor and the software still seems to cope but the little screen is a bit annoying. For reading it is fantastic.

Martin

nekokami · 10-08-2007, 11:43 AM

I use mine as a notepad all the time-- in classes, meetings, shopping lists, etc. It's been extremely convenient. I don't use handwriting recognition software, though. (I do have a program on the mac that I keep meaning to try, just haven't gotten around to it.) I find the size quite convenient, and my notes are perfectly readable later.

Finding a particular later page is sometimes a nuisance, though, based on the slow screen refresh/paging rate. I'm hoping someone will create a notes browser that displays an array of thumbnails (e.g. 4x4) as I think I could usually recognize the page I want pretty quickly by the general shape of the text. Also, be aware that using the stylus does draw the battery down faster.

Goshzilla · 10-08-2007, 08:53 PM

Thank you for the responses. I'm a math major and I use paper all the time for sketching out proofs and formulas, both which would need a good resolution to do electronically, and the standard A4 paper size. I do like the idea that I could be reading a math book and I get an idea that makes grabbing a piece of paper a hassle so I would just write in the book itself without physically damaging the pages.

So it sounds like the iRex is the closest thing out there next to a tablet PC that can do this(I have a Rocketebook 1150, but since its a touchscreen the resolution is severely limited as well as the occasional error while writing), but the screen size might be too small to work vigorusly on long formulas. (No I don't plan on getting a chalkboard, its too messy).

nekokami · 10-09-2007, 09:08 AM

I used my iLiad for sketching out proofs while taking Real Analysis (I took notes from that class, too.) I don't know how well handwriting recognition works for math stuff, what with the variety of symbols, subscripts and superscripts, etc. I'll probably be finding out this year, as I need to include statistical notation in a lot of what I'm doing now.

Goshzilla · 10-09-2007, 04:21 PM

That brings in a new perspective

k so lack of handwriting recognition is not troublesome for me, I never had to deal with it when writing on paper. Good to know that the resolution is sufficient for writing small subscripts, superscripts and the various greek, arabic and math symbols.

nekokami · 10-14-2007, 09:05 PM

Yes, the resolution is fine for all of that.

I just finished a 4 day conference (NASAGA - North American Simulations and Games Association) during which I generally kept my iLiad on for 10-11 hours at a time, taking notes frequently. No problems-- and I got a lot of interested looks, and many people came up to me between sessions and asked to try it! Some were put off by the fact that it doesn't have on-board HWR, but most still saw it as an extremely interesting and useful device. And they were also envious of the fact that I have a couple of thousand books loaded. I think iRex may be about to sell a bunch more units.

Goshzilla · 10-15-2007, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

Yes, the resolution is fine for all of that.

I just finished a 4 day conference (NASAGA - North American Simulations and Games Association) during which I generally kept my iLiad on for 10-11 hours at a time, taking notes frequently. No problems-- and I got a lot of interested looks, and many people came up to me between sessions and asked to try it! Some were put off by the fact that it doesn't have on-board HWR, but most still saw it as an extremely interesting and useful device. And they were also envious of the fact that I have a couple of thousand books loaded. I think iRex may be about to sell a bunch more units.

Well you pretty much got me sold on it

, I'll be saving up for the Illiad v2.0

pdam · 10-15-2007, 08:02 AM

I created a couple of custom lined paper files as I write smallish - I find the Iliad really good as a general notetaking device - I also use it for semi-formal reporting - where I have a document with printed questions and a space to scribble the answer in - again the Iliad is great for this type of thing.

I draw a lot of diagrams in my work - I find the Iliad a little too inaccurate for this when I want to display a lot of detail.

The ability to take notes is a bonus for the device - but I wouldn't buy it just for this feature (how much for a notepad?!) - I already have a Pegasus Mobile Notetaker which is better for detailed drawings and very long notes, also easier to stow away. The Pegasus allows you to annotate on screen documents ... it would be good if the iLiad could be used as a tablet when connected to a PC like this, sadly as of yet it can't :-(

Good luck with your decision ...

10-07-2007, 11:55 PM	#1
Goshzilla Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 346 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Rocket Ebook 1150	Irex as a notepad? I'm new here though I have been reading the forum for months. I kind of get the impression that the Iliad compared to the other ereaders is the best for displaying mathematical documents written in LaTeX and converted to PDF. The format sizes seem to line up well enough that it could be used as a decent textbook. Here is a link to a free PDF file for a class I took in Analysis to give owners an impression of what I am looking for http://www.math.utah.edu/~taylor/foundations.html I was wondering though how good this device is at taking notes. Is the pen writing resolution as good as a tablet pc? or is not an adequate substitution?

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10-08-2007, 07:48 AM	#3
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	I find the same as Karen. My handwriting is poor and the software still seems to cope but the little screen is a bit annoying. For reading it is fantastic. Martin

10-08-2007, 11:43 AM	#4
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I use mine as a notepad all the time-- in classes, meetings, shopping lists, etc. It's been extremely convenient. I don't use handwriting recognition software, though. (I do have a program on the mac that I keep meaning to try, just haven't gotten around to it.) I find the size quite convenient, and my notes are perfectly readable later. Finding a particular later page is sometimes a nuisance, though, based on the slow screen refresh/paging rate. I'm hoping someone will create a notes browser that displays an array of thumbnails (e.g. 4x4) as I think I could usually recognize the page I want pretty quickly by the general shape of the text. Also, be aware that using the stylus does draw the battery down faster.

10-08-2007, 08:53 PM	#5
Goshzilla Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 346 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Rocket Ebook 1150	Thank you for the responses. I'm a math major and I use paper all the time for sketching out proofs and formulas, both which would need a good resolution to do electronically, and the standard A4 paper size. I do like the idea that I could be reading a math book and I get an idea that makes grabbing a piece of paper a hassle so I would just write in the book itself without physically damaging the pages. So it sounds like the iRex is the closest thing out there next to a tablet PC that can do this(I have a Rocketebook 1150, but since its a touchscreen the resolution is severely limited as well as the occasional error while writing), but the screen size might be too small to work vigorusly on long formulas. (No I don't plan on getting a chalkboard, its too messy).

10-09-2007, 09:08 AM	#6
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I used my iLiad for sketching out proofs while taking Real Analysis (I took notes from that class, too.) I don't know how well handwriting recognition works for math stuff, what with the variety of symbols, subscripts and superscripts, etc. I'll probably be finding out this year, as I need to include statistical notation in a lot of what I'm doing now.

10-09-2007, 04:21 PM	#7
Goshzilla Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 346 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Rocket Ebook 1150	That brings in a new perspective k so lack of handwriting recognition is not troublesome for me, I never had to deal with it when writing on paper. Good to know that the resolution is sufficient for writing small subscripts, superscripts and the various greek, arabic and math symbols.

10-14-2007, 09:05 PM	#8
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Yes, the resolution is fine for all of that. I just finished a 4 day conference (NASAGA - North American Simulations and Games Association) during which I generally kept my iLiad on for 10-11 hours at a time, taking notes frequently. No problems-- and I got a lot of interested looks, and many people came up to me between sessions and asked to try it! Some were put off by the fact that it doesn't have on-board HWR, but most still saw it as an extremely interesting and useful device. And they were also envious of the fact that I have a couple of thousand books loaded. I think iRex may be about to sell a bunch more units.

10-15-2007, 08:02 AM	#10
pdam Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 100 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: iLiad, iPaq, Psion5&7, Blackberry	I created a couple of custom lined paper files as I write smallish - I find the Iliad really good as a general notetaking device - I also use it for semi-formal reporting - where I have a document with printed questions and a space to scribble the answer in - again the Iliad is great for this type of thing. I draw a lot of diagrams in my work - I find the Iliad a little too inaccurate for this when I want to display a lot of detail. The ability to take notes is a bonus for the device - but I wouldn't buy it just for this feature (how much for a notepad?!) - I already have a Pegasus Mobile Notetaker which is better for detailed drawings and very long notes, also easier to stow away. The Pegasus allows you to annotate on screen documents ... it would be good if the iLiad could be used as a tablet when connected to a PC like this, sadly as of yet it can't :-( Good luck with your decision ...