Samsung (or other) Tablet with Pen

[corkman]

Hi All,

I travel a lot and frequently get documents emailed to me, which I need to review and comment on. Printing things off, writing comments, then scanning and returning is not possible.

I had the idea that if I got a tablet with a pen then I could open the document, write my comments directly on the document, save it and send it back. Seems it's not that simple? I asked at a Samsung shop and the girl showed me I need to take a screen shot of the page, then open it in the "s-pen" app and write my comments, then save it and forward by email...... its got to be done page by page..... but the documents I am reviewing are frequently 20 pages or more, so that's not exactly convenient.

Am I missing something here? Maybe there was something lost in translation between me and the shop assistant. I don't mind opening a document in another app, as long as it opens the entire document.

I looked at the Galaxy Tab A 9.7. From online reviews etc. it seems the Galaxy Note 10.1 with pen is a more powerful (better?) device? But the girl said "no have". I couldn't quite get if she meant they didn't have it in store, or that it is not available in Thailand, or it has been discontinued? Anyone know - and as far as it relates to the question above, I am not set on any particular device or brand if it can do what I am asking?

Thanks in advance.

CM

[kkerry]

If the documents can be downloaded in PDF format or can be converted to PDF, then there are some useful editing apps available for Android that should do most of what you want, e.g. PDF Max.

[thedemon]

I guess you mean something like this:

If so there are many Windows applications that allow you to annotate PDF documents.

For the device to run them on I would recommend Microsoft's Surface Pro.

[WhizBang]

If you want/need anything near the full functionality of a computer, and a good touch tablet with a good pen, then I would suggest you take a good look at the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

I bought one last year and could not be happier. Finally, a tablet that really works and has an outstanding pen (included). Runs a full version of Windows 8.1 (upgradeable to 10, I suppose), and that means you can run ANY windows software, not just lightweight 'apps'.

Comes in a variety of flavors with different processor, memory and SSD capacity options. I went for the top end model (i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and am certainly glad I did.

Seriously, take a look at it. I bought mine in Fortune at one of the Banana IT outlets.

[Digitalbanana]

> open it in the "s-pen" app and write my comments, then save it and forward by email.

S-pen app is part of the Samsung bloatware installed when you buy. It has some features like pen pressure line thickness that a generic app might not have. There are loads of generic Android apps to allow editing documents on the go. But anything heavy duty better on a higher end processor.

[corkman]

Thanks for the replies guys.

1. I'll go to a Samsung store with a Thai friend that can translate better and try opening a multi-page document in the s-pen app, as suggested above.

2. Separately, I will go check out the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I quickly looked on line and see it is a bit over my budget, but there is a "Microsoft Surface" too which is half the price. Will that do what I need it to do? To be clear, I am not looking for a lap-top / desktop replacement. If I am composing a document from scratch, or re-writing it then I will use a traditional laptop / desktop.

Thanks a mil.

[thedemon]

2. Separately, I will go check out the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I quickly looked on line and see it is a bit over my budget, but there is a "Microsoft Surface" too which is half the price. Will that do what I need it to do? To be clear, I am not looking for a lap-top / desktop replacement. If I am composing a document from scratch, or re-writing it then I will use a traditional laptop / desktop.

Must be the Pro version. The "Microsoft Surface" you are referring to is a low powered tablet running Windows RT, not full Windows. Basically they are lemons.

The Surface Pro 3 is much improved over the original Pro and Pro 2. However the earlier models would easily handle what you are trying to do - in case you can find one cheaply.

[corkman]

2. Separately, I will go check out the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I quickly looked on line and see it is a bit over my budget, but there is a "Microsoft Surface" too which is half the price. Will that do what I need it to do? To be clear, I am not looking for a lap-top / desktop replacement. If I am composing a document from scratch, or re-writing it then I will use a traditional laptop / desktop.

Must be the Pro version. The "Microsoft Surface" you are referring to is a low powered tablet running Windows RT, not full Windows. Basically they are lemons.

The Surface Pro 3 is much improved over the original Pro and Pro 2. However the earlier models would easily handle what you are trying to do - in case you can find one cheaply.

Thanks for that - I'll check it out ASAP.

[kevc]

I've got a note pro 12.2 all you have to do is take out the pen click on screen write that'll take an image which automatically opens up, do your changes writing with the pen then click on share and select which way you want to send it email, messenger, line or whatever, no need to save anything once you've sent just discard.