Digital Notepads - How Do They Compare to Tablet PCs

Digital Notepads - how do they compare to Tablet PCs?

With the popularity of Laptops, Tablet PCs and even PDA cell phones the Digital Notepad has been lost in the maze. You may not realize that there are many to choose from and that they can prove to be very useful. I can see that a Digital Notepad could work well in several situations and that they fill a niche in the digital market.

Especially if you already have a laptop, a desktop, a tablet PC and a PDA cell phone you need to give a Digital Notepad a look. Chances are you can already connect to the internet so for those tasks that require less challenging technology a Digital Notepad fills the bill. They can be used in situations that are not handy for other tech gadgets, they are fairly inexpensive, they are lightweight, and the battery life is great. Not to mention that they look so much like a tablet PC you could impress with less!

I have always touted that staying organized on the go is made easier by combining paper with electronics. If you receive a call while on the go it is not always convenient to take notes on your cell phone. Yes, a PDA phone loaded with Windows Mobile lets you hand write notes but not while you are talking. Carrying a paper binder is OK, but in order to keep your notes in digital form you have to scan them. I don't know about you, but I hate those curled corners.

Using ordinary paper placed on the Digital Notepad coupled with a special digital ink pen just write your notes, draw your pictures or doodle as you see fit - page after page (some have a 999 page capacity). Then transfer them as digital files to your computer where you can view, edit, organize and attach them to emails. Some Notepads have internal memory as well as memory card slots for instant recording of your notes.

Note taking never looked so good and I see these Digital Notepads being used by so many people. A few ideas would be students, real estate agents, doctors, lawyers, delivery drivers, writers, artists, sales people, moms and dads and anyone that wants to keep a digital diary.

Other benefits of a Digital Notepad is that they are stand alone light weight units (usually under 1.5 pounds), that they use ordinary AAA batteries that last for up to 100 hours and the prices are much less than a laptop or most PDA cell phones. Some have software available to covert handwritten notes to text without changing the layout of your notes. Depending on the Digital Notepad you choose file formats include text, Jpeg, BMP, PDF and even HTML.

Some of the choices include:

Cyberpad 8.5 x 11 USB Black Digital Notepad Pen Win XP 2K

• 1.5 pounds
• 32 MB internal storage for over 150 pages of notes
• SD Slot
• Runs on 4 AAA batteries for up to 15 month battery life
• LED low battery indicator
• USB
• Can be used as a Microsoft PowerPoint Blacboard
• Handwriting to text converter

SolidTek DigiMemo 692 Digital Notepad with Memory

• 1.24 pounds
• 35 MB internal storage for 999 pages of notes
• CF Memory card
• Runs on 4 AAA batteries for up to 100 hours
• USB

Genius G-Note 5000

• Compact size
• 32 MB internal storage for up to 500 pages of notes
• Red and Black digital ink pens
• Right or Left handed
• Use attached to PC or as stand alone unit
• Rated for 80 hours of use before recharging

Aiptek My Note Premium Digital Notepad/Tablet

• 32 MB internal memory for up to 100 pages of notes
• SD card
• Stand alone unit
• Handwriting and Graphics
• 8.5 x 11 inches
• Runs on 5 AAA batteries
• Carry Bag
• Notes save to Word, Text, BMP, JPEG, PDF, and HTML

There are some very interesting Digital Notepads on the market and I have to say that the last one I mentioned would be my choice. Being able to save my notes as a text and HTML is a huge advantage.