I'm a grad student, and my back is killing me because I carry so many notebooks around. I decided to purchase a digital tablet so I could downsize my packed-full messenger bag, and not have to waste time re-writing my notes.At first, I thought of purchasing a tablet PC; I decided against it because I already have a netbook and a laptop, and I really don't need another computer. It took a while to sift through the various digital tablets that Amazon.com has to offer, but I finally found this little gem.
What makes it better than the DigiMemo (my second option) tablet is that it has voice recording capabilities, a headphone slot for playing music (via a SD card), and if you connect it to your computer via USB, it becomes a fully functional tablet with the pen as a mouse. Artists may want a traditional tablet like a Wacom, but I found doodling with this really fun. I did a few drawings in GIMP and the pen was just as responsive as the one from a Wacom tablet I bought a few years back.
The other digital notebooks all had trial versions of their proprietary handwriting recognition software (which you had to purchase later, blech), but iVista includes this in their package, along with a program that converts your writings to text.
My biggest concern was that I wouldn't be able to use this tablet to write math formulas (I'm a physics major). The software is able to save your notes as either text, PDF, or an image file (JPEG, TIFF, etc.), so I just save my notes as PDFs or images so I don't have to worry about the software misinterpreting my writing. You can even edit your notes while they're displayed on your computer screen; I erase all the scribbles I made and now I have polished, professional notes that impress my classmates. Since I can now email my notes as attachments rather than having to lend them out or Xerox them, I'm the new go-to for notes from a missed class.
My only gripes (which are small) are that:
a) It would be nice to have a little notch for a pen holder; a replacement pen is $20 from iVista's website, and you can't use the tablet without it. I'm a little clumsy, so I've to be careful with this.
b) I expected it to be a little lighter (it's about 1.5-2 lbs), but that's okay--it's still way better than carrying around three binders!
c) My saved notes aren't automatically in a standard recognizable format; you've to use the included software to convert them to standard extensions. It's understandable given you've to use that software if you want to edit your notes before you save; I just wish there was an option to save directly as a JPEG if you weren't concerned with editing. That way, a computer that doesn't have the iVista drivers installed will be able to read my notes as if they were on a flash drive. But meh-I usually wait until I'm at home before I look over my notes anyway.
Right now, I'm giving it a 5/5 for product description/performance (it actually works better than I'd anticipated). My only concern now is the durability. It seems to be built pretty sturdily, so I don't expect it to break.
It /is/ a bit expensive, almost the price of a netbook-but based on the reviews I've read about other digital tablets I think if you go cheaper you're going to get what you pay for. If you've the cash for this, it's a really handy thing to have, especially for a scatterbrain like me who has loose notes flying everywhere.
BTW, that little microphone in the picture isn't included. :p
EDIT: iVista's customer service is really quite good. They contacted me shortly after the purchase of my tablet, and listened intently to everything I'd to say about it. +1 more point for the iVista tablet-other reviews of digital notebooks I've researched have said that they've trouble getting any customer support when they need it.
EDIT #2 (12/22/2010): Another reviewer mentioned that their notes came out messed up because the pen over-scrawled everything they wrote. I've have this happen a 3-4 times, and it's a good thing I keep hard copies of my notes in a file, otherwise I'd be in a bind. I've noticed that the pen can be a bit hyper-sensitive when you're using just 1-2 sheets of paper; it tended to scramble my digital notes unless I held the pen properly upright and used my 'best' penmanship. I've learned to avoid this by always having a thicker stack of paper to bear down on; the tablet isn't so pressure-sensitive then, and I can even leave the pen on the tablet idly without fear of accidental markings.
Other than that, the tablet is still holding up well; no stress cracks, programming bugs, etc. My only concern now is how long the tablet's rechargeable battery will last, and where I can find a replacement (I don't see one listed on iVista's website).
Bit of a shame that there is not spare pen included: very easy to leave your pen somewhere.I was skeptical with buying this product, normally I don't pay so much for something I have never used before. But it looked to have many good features and good reviews, so jumped out on a limb and bought it.
And glad I did. Setting this thing up was a breeze. First you install your Tablet Drive followed by Ink Pen (a program), write on your tablet then plug it in and you're set. Everything is automated. Once you plug in the tablet the recognizing programming will pop up and ask you want you want to do. It is simple, you just choose which file you want to send to your computer, choose in which file you want this as BMP, JPEG, Word stuff like that, click convert and you're done. It's that simple. Yo udon't need Office and programs of the sort when you want it for the basics.
When I first opened this product I got to messing with it and noticed that my palm might bump one of the buttons since they're right beneath my wrist. That's not a problem because the buttons only activate when you press the pen to them. I was mashing and mashing them trying to get them to work, so I used the pen to see what would happen and it worked. Another thing is that it came with extra ink refills plus what was in the pen. I was thinking I would have to buy the set of 10 about two weeks later, but now I don't have to do that for awhile.
There's also a thing called a dummy pen (something like that), you have two of them and they're for replacing the refills when you want to use your tablet on the computer. Instead of waisting your ink when you're using it like a mouse.
Another feature I like is that there would be no more searching of an ink refill when there's the dummy and refill in two slots, inside the tablet underneath it next to the battery. You have to open the battery chray.
I bought this for my book writing. Half my book is on paper and so I will be spending countless hours on the computer just transferring it. And I kept telling myself I could get it done faster if I could do half at work. Now I can. Also, compared to a PDA or phone, if used at work no one will tell you to get off your PDA or phone because it looks like a clipboard. If you do a lot of paper work, you could fool anyone into thinking you're working when you're really jotting stuff down on your portable computer.
I know I shouldn't be giving people that idea, but we all like to squeeze in a little extra time for ourselves while at work.
On another note; Here you pay for Shipping, but if your head to the main iVista site you get the same product for the same price but free shipping. i bought it there.
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