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iPad iPad vs. the historian

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Voltron23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 22, 2013
5
0
Hi everyone-

I review tons of historical, primary sources for school and like to write notes in the margins. Instead of having to print all of them out I thought the iPad would work well and had a few questions I hoped you could help me with:

-Can I easily review PDF sources and take handwritten notes on them?
-Also, can I print out the PDFs with my notes on them?
-Overall, do you find it easy to hand write notes via a note-taking app and on the PDFs?

Thanks for your time and your help. Much appreciated! :)
 
Thank you, chumawumba! Since I don't need much in terms of features at this point, I think I'd be okay with an older generation one, I think? Thanks again for your quick reply!
 
I read a lot of pdfs on my iPad mini, but don't annotate, you may want to ask for recommendations on programs to do that.

I would get at least a generation 3 iPad, so that you have the hi-res Retina display. If you own, or plan to buy another, newer Apple device that uses a lightning connector you may want to move up to a gen 4 so you aren't messing around with different adapters/cables.

To save some $, look at Apple refurbs or Best Buy open box inventories.
 
Thank you for the input, twoehr. I'm going to start researching apps for annotation.
 
Voltron23 said:
Thank you for the input, twoehr. I'm going to start researching apps for annotation.
Click to expand...

You might want to consider iAnnotate for taking notes on your PDFs on the iPad: http://www.branchfire.com/iannotate/

Taking notes using your finger to input handwriting feels a little clunky for some users. But there are some reasonable styli for use with the iPad that give you the feeling of writing with a pen/pencil. For example, the Eco-Essential Pen (http://www.ecoessentialpen.com/) is a pen or pencil with a black iPad stylus built-in to the pen cap.
 
Voltron23 said:
Hi everyone-

I review tons of historical, primary sources for school and like to write notes in the margins. Instead of having to print all of them out I thought the iPad would work well and had a few questions I hoped you could help me with:

-Can I easily review PDF sources and take handwritten notes on them?
-Also, can I print out the PDFs with my notes on them?
-Overall, do you find it easy to hand write notes via a note-taking app and on the PDFs?

Thanks for your time and your help. Much appreciated! :)
Click to expand...

I use the ipad almost daily for pdf annotation, notes etc. There are a few apps that work well - notability, goodnotes, topnotes, magicalpad...just to name a few. I really like notability and topnotes but spend some time researching them.

An ipad2 and above will work just fine. Integrate dropbox and you will be all set. Stylus is optional based on personal preferences.
 
Voltron23 said:
Thank you, chumawumba! Since I don't need much in terms of features at this point, I think I'd be okay with an older generation one, I think? Thanks again for your quick reply!
Click to expand...

How large are your PDF files? Older iPads (the ones with less RAM) tend to take longer processing larger PDFs. Also, searching through a document is much faster on machines with more RAM.
 
Thank you so much for all of your responses. Easily, most helpful forum I've ever posted in :)

I appreciate the app recommendations and the tip about the stylus which had been a major consideration of mine as well.

Badrottie, crashes and limited support could definitely be an issue but since the primary purpose will really be reviewing sources, the cost benefit may lean in that direction. However, if I manage to find an enticing offer for a newer-gen iPad, I'm okay with that too. From what I've read here and on other sites, it seems nothing lower than 3rd gen is what's best.

Nightspring, I think that is definitely a great point. The performance issues you and Badrottie brought up have me considering a newer iPad. Typically, the sources are 30-60 pages long, sometimes longer if I'm working on a research project and am reviewing journals on JSTOR.
 
Voltron23 said:
From what I've read here and on other sites, it seems nothing lower than 3rd gen is what's best.

Nightspring, I think that is definitely a great point. The performance issues you and Badrottie brought up have me considering a newer iPad. Typically, the sources are 30-60 pages long, sometimes longer if I'm working on a research project and am reviewing journals on JSTOR.
Click to expand...

Yes, for that kind of use, a third or fourth gen iPad would be best. I don't think a second gen would crash under that load, but it would definitely be a lot slower. I think if I were you, I'd look for a refurb fourth gen, as that should last you 2-3 years, while a third gen might be useful for only 1-2 more years.
 
Thank you everyone. Your insights, recommendations and opinions have been invaluable. Cheers!
 
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