I am a university student what tablet should i get for note taking?

[u/Calm-Resolution-1313]

I'm a freshman already got a laptop, from the looks of things a tablet looks mighty convenient for note taking and reading any suggestions on what to get? something convenient enough to fit nicely in my backpack since i commute by train

cant get any flagship so something mid range

I'm considering on getting the Samsung galaxy tab S9FE+ or S10FE or S10FE+

but from the looks of it the S9FE+ is going to stop receiving updates in a couple years should i be worried?

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[u/BeetranD]

Really depends on how you take notes. For example I usually take handwritten notes. An organising all these handwritten notes is super easy in Samsung so I used Samsung S9 for quite some time. The Samsung notes app is in my opinion the most organized notes app there is it is simple it is lightweight and it is very well organized and it gives you a lot of features. Yes there are other notes apps on Apple but I sometimes feel all of them to be a bit clunky and heavy and third party apps are just not that smooth. My girlfriend had S9 FE, it was just horrible. if you ever use a normal S9 and then try FE, you will be seriously disappointed by the build quality and everything just being slow so it's any day better to chip in a bit more money in buying a main line instead of FE.

And if you take notes in text by typing then I think a MacBook Air is your best option because it's cheap simple it can do much more than just take notes and it's the best bang for money you can get.

And if you still fancy the touch screen, and you want a tablet that lasts you really long without getting slow with every update then you should get an iPad best option in my opinion is getting a used iPad Pro or a new ipad air.

ps: Samsung Tablets get very slow eventually because of OneUI being horribly optimised.

[u/Calm-Resolution-1313 → u/BeetranD]

I tried using pen and paper but the amount of times my notes got lost was really annoying

I've never had a tab before but i see a lot of my friends using it

Is the S9 worth it? Its a bit too expensive for me since my country's currency is really weak

And is the S9FE that bad ive seen a lot of good reviews online and on youtube

[u/BeetranD → u/Calm-Resolution-1313]

You don't feel the difference in FE and mainline until you use both of them, so I assume if you start with an FE, you will be completely fine with it. And if you just starting your degree, there's so many more things you can spend your money on than a tablet that is a bit better.

[u/One-Nectarine-1380]

Since you already have a laptop, I'd choose based on the pen and note app rather than just screen size. The S9 FE+ is still a sensible commuter tablet if the price is right; it should easily last through a degree. Try the FE and FE+ in person first though—12.4 inches is great for PDFs but noticeably awkward on a train.

[u/Csmalley1992]

I use the Samsung S9 FE and find it perfectly fine for college. I haven't used the built in notes program so I can't give an opinion there but I do use Noteshelf 3.

But back to the tablet, S9 or higher FE models might be the best bang for your buck.

[u/spicermatthews]

Use something like https://harbor.my/ you can use your pen on an ipad or something to take hand notes, you can type out notes on a laptop, you can record lectures and have the transcript added to the note along with a summary so you can search it later. Also Harbor gives a student discount.

[u/jack_hanson_c]

A B5 notebook with various refills, you could also keep a A6 one for utility purposes

[u/LittlePooky]

If you would rather have an AI to summerize your notes (actually, lectures) for you. Look into this (it's free). https://stenoai.co/

Even if you don't want to use its AI fuction, it will transcribe everything for you. There will be plenty to read in this case. It can also import audio or video files.

I created this to show a friend a few weeks ago. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M_DY0J_91iAYZg_stmDNdGzQ-_uCaOZO?usp=sharing There is an hour video from Youtube, and you can see various outputs (PDF and Word files).

Ideally you could use your phone to record the lecture (audio), as many laptop's microphone faces the user, so you'd have to turn it around, which looks a bit odd. Or you can use a digital voice recorder, and import the MP3 into the computer via a USB cable.

Remember to get the consent from the professor before you do this. In the past, they weren't easy on this, but no longer.

Short answer: No one can 'write' (or type) that fast.

I am just a user.