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Old 04-21-2011, 08:23 AM   #11
fgruber
Edge User
 
It would good to hear from someone with IPAD and edge. I only have the edge.

It is true that if you annotate a pdf on the eink side the annotations are not stores in the pdf as you may expect. You can export them as image. However, for the LCD side there are several really good programs that can make annotations that are compatible with adobe pdf (e.g., repligo, ezpdf reader). Also since the screen on the LCD is resistive you can write small enough to be useful. THe only drawback is that the LCD has no palm rejection. I have found annotaing pdfs on the LCD perfectly useful and if you use dropbox you get automatic sync.

Regarding the journal there is a small delay when you write. But I think it is perfectly useful. Also thanks to lutz we can now convert our annotations into onenote ink which make the journal extremely useful.

By the way you can write pretty small and use a pointed stylus which you can't have with capacitive screens.

The way I see it there are 2 main limitations with the IPAD (or any other capacity screen tablet) for your purposes: lack of palm rejection and lack of precision (meaning that you need a tick stylus). I know that there are some apps that try to compensate with some software based palm rejection and zoom type writing but you should probably try them and see how useful they really are.

Quote:
Originally Posted by niemba View Post
Hi guys -

I do not currently own either an eEdge or iPad, but am looking for something to use as I parse the tomes of literature that are relevant to my dissertation project as I attempt to complete my PhD. The eEdge is certainly high on my list, but I have a few questions with respect to the eEdge / iPad "controversy."

First, my understanding is that annotations can only be exported in pdf format as images - and as a result, the pdf loses its searchability/etc. This would be a serious limitation for me, as I would like to use a tablet of some sort to annotate pdfs, but store and organize them on my desktop (in conjunction with the Personal Brain software), and would therefore want to retain all the original information in the pdf file, in addition to my subsequent annotations... In contrast, my understanding of the pdf annotators on the iPad are that at least some of them are able to export the annotations to the pdf in a format that is readable by Adobe / etc, and so does not result in loss of functionality. Are there any plans in the works to make the annotated pdfs compatible with Adobe or other pdf readers?

Second, from the videos I have seen on YouTube of the eEdge, it seems that there is a significant delay in annotation between application of the stylus and what appears on the screen... I have not attempted to use an annotator on the iPad yet, but wonder if the delay is comparable between the two?

Third, again from the videos on YouTube, the handwritten annotations were all very large - how sensitive is the eEdge screen? How small can you write using a stylus?

Fourth, can you be more specific about the limitations of the iPad as a pdf annotator? There seem to be a number of sophisticated apps out there for pdf annotation using the iPad, especially when combined with higher-end styli (e.g. the Wacom Bamboo stylus.)

Thank you very much!

Last edited by fgruber; 04-21-2011 at 08:27 AM.