This week’s question asks how to make notes on textbooks when using a tablet or e-reader. Weigh in with your advice in the comments — and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com!<\/p>\n
What is the best e-reader or tablet to view, read and annotate textbooks on?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I’m assuming (or just hoping) you’ve managed to get some of your textbooks in PDF form — those are the easiest to mark up with the right software. If you get an e-textbook from, say, Amazon’s Kindle platform, expect to work with more limited annotation tools. Meanwhile, textbook vendors like Chegg have their own e-reader apps, and the quality of their note-taking tools can vary pretty wildly. So yeah, find those PDFs if you can. <\/p>\n When I was in college, I once tried to get through a finance class with a digital textbook saved on a second-generation Kindle because it was massively cheaper than a physical copy. The caveat? Turns out that trying to skim through incredibly dry, dense writing on a screen the size of a small paperback was the one of the stupider ideas I’ve ever had. What I’m getting at is that, if you’re dead set on using something like a tablet to read and annotate your texts, go with the biggest thing you can. <\/p>\n Thankfully, you’ve got lots of options. All of Apple’s iPads — including the basic, 10.2-inch model<\/a> — now support the Apple Pencil for precise note-taking and annotation. They’ll cost you extra ($129 for the magnetic iPad Pro Pencil<\/a> and $99 for the first-gen model<\/a>) but they’ll be indispensable in your journey.<\/p>\n Even better, iPadOS has a wealth of very highly regarded apps for marking up PDFs: LiquidText’s<\/a> clever approach to note taking, linking and organization has won it plenty of fans, and students can get it at a discount. MarginNote<\/a> also has an active, thriving fanbase — this video from YouTube Paperless X<\/a> does a great job of running through the differences.<\/p>\n If Android is more your speed, Samsung’s tablets are probably the safest bet, and two of them — the Galaxy Tab S6<\/a> and Tab S6 Lite<\/a> — come with their own S Pens right in the box. Tablet apps on Android have historically been hit-or-miss, but there are few that might work out well for this specific situation. INKredible Pro<\/a> and SquidNotes<\/a> seem to excel at general note taking, but you can use them both to mark up PDFs all the same. We also like Microsoft’s classic OneNote<\/a>, if for no other reason than it’s likely to be supported for a long time.<\/p>\n But if you’re looking for something that replicates the look and feel of paper — or something that tries, anyway — the ReMarkable 2<\/a> might be just the ticket. It hasn’t been released yet, but it’s a gorgeous e-ink tablet that’s incredibly light, syncs notes to the cloud and packs a battery that should last longer than your average tablet. And if its pen is anything like the one the shipped with the original model, writing with it should feel delightful. <\/p>\n In the meantime, you may be tempted by the original ReMarkable, and it’s certainly still a great tool if writing and note-taking are your biggest priorities. The thing is, its 1GHz FreeScale processor was already pretty wimpy when the tablet launched in 2017. Take it from me: I’ve tried marking up the occasional PDF on one, and it was so sloooooow<\/em> that I can’t even imagine trying to write on top of an entire textbook.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Tags:<\/b> Amber Bouman<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Amber Bouman<\/p>\n
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When you need to take notes on a tablet or e-reader, use these tips. This week’s question asks how to make notes on textbooks when using a tablet or e-reader. Weigh in with your advice in the comments — and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! What is the best e-reader … Continue reading Ask Engadget: What’s the best way to annotate digital textbooks?<\/span><\/a> Continue Reading