Handwriting to text TF300 - General Questions and Answers

I have dug around a little bit, but haven't really come up with a good answer. In fact most threads are from '11. Hopefully there is something a little newer that somebody has found.
I have a TF300 and love it, but want to try and leverage it more for work. One of the biggest challenges I have is with notes. I don't necessarily want to get the dock. I would like to be able to take notes more efficiently than typing on the virtual keyboard. Are there any good apps out there that convert handwriting to text and would be compatible with my device? Thanks.

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[Q] Handwrite notes on Transformer??

Hi guys!
I had decided to go for an iPad 2 with 3g when i saw the transformer.
Ive been searching the net like a maniac but havent found any info about how well it does when handwriting.
Im planning to use it for work and i need to be able to take some notes really fast from time to time. Maybee on top of a pdf file.
Is that possible? And how well is the tablet when inking?
Anyone tried stylus?
I came from the HP Slate 500. Let me just say that the keyboard dock for the Transformer blows away the inking capabilities of the slate. You may be used to inking on other tablets with windows, but I can take notes and write things much faster using the TF's keyboard. I guess all I'm saying is if you're getting the transformer for content creation, you need the keyboard.
And just as a reference: I have been making handwritten notes and it will go as fast as I can write, which is pretty fast...it doesn't lag.
I don't know about inking on top of a pdf though....
there is already this thread going which may be of help, searching before posting may help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1079675&page=3
ezpdf gives handwritten annotation capabilities on PDF's
Also Repligo. Both are great for dealing with pdf.
For just taking notes like during a meeting or a lecture, there are a few options:
1. Genial writing, which is the best.
2. Handrite, not that much.
3. mNote, promising but works only in portrait mode. It FCs if in landscape mode.
4. Multi Memo, which I personally don't like but it also has voice memos.
Hope this helps...

Using the Asus Transformer for Business Instead of Netbook

Hello everyone,
So i thought I would go ahead and chime in with my own experiences and observations of the Asus Transformer (AT). I wanted to write an article that might help others trying to make a decision about replacing their laptop with the AT or maybe asking about a one vs the other. I wanted to stay away from a “VS” conversation and talk more about my experience. The long and short of it, is it depends. I think the AT can augment your business and maybe replace a netbook as a travel computer but i still need my laptop/desktop in the office. However, as you will see I am now using fully when out of the office my AT for all business needs and it works just fine.
Assumptions/Reasons for Buying:
So lets start with the reasons for wanting the AT. I wanted to find a solid replacement for my day to day use of my laptop while out of the office. I wear a number of hats one of which is application development, the other is as a Commercial Real Estate Broker. So needless to say this is for my brokerage business as i am pretty confident that there will be no Visual Studio use on the AT, well with the exception of a remote desktop of some kind. So, that all said what was i looking for? (Lets be honest we all want it ALL right but hey we can settle right?)
1. Email, this was first and foremost. A majority of both my businesses are relying on email as a main form of communication to my clients. Well, i didn't really need a tablet for this my phone handles it just fine, but typing anything longer than a paragraph is tedious , i have big hands and its just not the best experience, that said when i am out of the office most of my email replies are very short and so though i wanted/needed a better way to work with email the phone would have sufficed.
2. Document reading/generation: This one was a sticking point as we all know reading pdfs word docs and such is possible and works well on most devices, again the phone would work, but not for generation. I bought Docs to Go for my phone and it made things better but still no way was i going to get a "Word" experience. I know this is a debate by itself Microsoft "shop" vs opensource etc but lets be real, there is still a majority of the business working world that uses and will continue to use Microsoft office and so we just have to comply. (Yes you will service US Microsoft, resistance is futile)
3. Access to my daily files and work: So i also needed access to all my files and work related information. This was more a business choice than anything, putting information into the cloud, but i also had to think about how i was going to access so i am putting it in as a decision factor.
4. Browser media service: I wanted to be able to browse and access media whether at a clients to show them an article or news clipping or maybe a website etc. I also wanted something for reading surfing while having my morning coffee(We can be all work right?)
5. media entertainment Yes it has to be a "Fun" device to, watch a movie while travelling, or playing a game while waiting on my next appointent so this was on the list though not a major factor, as this gets us into an "apps" war and thats not the focus.
OK so there is more but that covers the major items
Decisions:
So I shopped and shopped borrowed friends ipads and a xoom, I really do like android in a lot of ways, it has its problems but I had an Iphone and was ready for a change. I am not going to bore you with the research but needless to say i chose the AT as my device to put this whole notion of Tablet for business to replace my laptop/netbook for work to the test.
REASONS:
1. Keyboard number UNO i wanted the physical keyboard cant live without it for major typing and work related stuffs. I tried the bluetooth one with the ipad and it wasn't bad, but the extra battery power in the AT was a bit of a topper not to mention all the expansions. ( I do think $150 is a bit much, but in the end, its what makes the Transformer a Transformer right?)
2. Expandability: Up to 64gigs of additional memory i can have a card with all my data a card with movies books music etc this was just too good to pass up. Yes i had already figured out a cloud solution etc but lets face it I wanted the kitchen sink with my device. The HDMI and USB were great additions as well. (A note my laptop took a dump one day and I was able to connect my external mouse keyboard to the AT and easily finish the day and deal with my laptop later)
3. Screen: yes as i mentioned it is going to be a bit of a "Play device" so it needed a great display and i liked this one over the xoom though the galaxy tab 10.1 i compared it next to was sweet and it had a keyboard, but the keyboard had no battery and had a lack of other expansion ports.
4. overall performace: this wasnt really to much of decision factor as all tablets are running tegra 2's for the most part and i wasnt looking at an ipad
THE PURCHASE:
I am putting this in because well it was an ordeal. I bought from bestbuy and got their 2 year replacement plan. Well i am on my 4th tablet and 3rd keyboard. Now I will be honest i wanted perfection and as was pointed out in a previous thread that just ain't gonna happen so really the first keyboard and tablet were it but i wanted a perfect no leak screen and a non discharging keyboard so back to the BB i went, again and again and again. Ok so now i have a series 60 tablet with a 50 keyboard and it all works, some light leaks but nothing that is earth shattering and doesn't bother me(Ok well it does but i got over it) So for those of you who think i just keep returning etc till its perfect, um take it from me, each one was worse, the second keyboard the space bar stuck, the 3rd keyboard was great, it does discharge but not a bad as the first. The tablet, on the second the light bleed was worse than the first and the 3rd one had huge dead pixel/flaws in the screen now the fourth some light bleed but in my opinion perfect as perfect can be. Moral of the story read the forums there are people here who are super helpful and will get you set straight but also be practical. If the little things really are going to bug you and you feel the need to come to a forum and write a post of Why i am returning my AT then its not for you, i knew the snowball i created with being picky and i got over it.
ONWARD!!!!!
OK THE SETUP APPLICATIONS AND PREP
1. First thing I did prior to buying anything was setup my business info and stuff to be accessible via the web. This required its own set of decisions which i wont get into, maybe a blog post about it later, but i migrated my stuff to google apps. (Hey i am going android so using google apps everything should all work right? it's all google, well sort of i will address it later)
a. Files and storage, i actually chose a combination of google docs and Microsoft live(25gigs of free storage how could i turn that down) I moved all the necessary files to the cloud and i was set
b. All my email addresses were migrated to my google apps and i was set there
c. Contacts moved to Zoho (I am debating this choice good for a later discussion)
2. Tested everything using my laptop and a web browser it all worked fine. I ran for about two weeks while i was doing more research on Android tablets apps etc, and I didn't have any issues.
3. Applications
a. Polaris Office/Docs To Go: I already had the later and the former comes with the AT so i was pretty much set for tablet handling of office docs. Its not a perfect solution by any means and would i like to have office on my tablet YES, do i need it not really. If i REALLY need to generate a word doc with high end formatting etc or i need that complicated cash flows analysis spreadsheet i can usually wait till i am back in the office in front of my computer. Remember this device is for travel/on the go and for THAT these apps are fine. (I am hoping they fix the keyboard issues with Office 365 because that will be IT and you will have it all)
b. Evernote became my note software, I REALLY miss onenote its my favorite office program but alas Android does not have support for it, mobile noter is not that great so migrated to Evernote. Evernote works well just takes a little bit to get used to as i had to change the way i organized my stuff, its different from onenote. (One thing i miss big time is pen input. I looked at the HTC Flyer because i really wanted to have the pen/OneNote experience. I found that this was one of those compromises. If i was still in school or in a job where i had to take copious notes in meetings, i would probably opt for a Tablet PC Fujitsu Q550 comes to mind so i could use pen input.)
c. With everything migrated to Google apps email was a snap put my google apps account info in and BAM its all there. I had already got Zoho synced with my contacts in Apps so they came down as well.
d. Using a combination of gdocs and the docs apps above is fine, though i really think google needs to "Finish" their products they have a habit of starting something putting it out there then never finishing or refine it. Google apps had a chance but with Office 365 available for a dollar more its gonna have troubles unless they step up their game. (We can have a google apps vs office 365 debate somewhere else)
e. To access my skydrive i use Sorami which is working well. The bad part is that i have to drag the file to the asus work on it here then push/send it, not ideal but it works. Quick note on collaboration, one of my sticking points on gdocs is that in order to collaborate on it and get all the functionality you have to convert it to a gdoc, i am not to keen on this as usually the conversion of complicated word docs with lots of formatting is horrible, hence Office 365 maybe the answer with the ability to use web apps and edit things in the native .DOC format. In any case its fine for on the go, and truthfully i don't know about others but my needs for generating complicated or highly formatted documents when i am away from my computer are pretty low.
f. For ZOHO i am limited to their mobile website they have an ios app now but android development is lagging, as it seems to with a lot of things, however i am hopeful they will come up with a native android app. I am still shopping on the CRM front so we'll see this may be a non-issue
That's the basics of apps i have the file explorers and a few games and other stuff but that's the basis of the business stuff.
HOW HAS IT WORKED
Now we get into the dirt of the article how did using the AT as a replacement for my daily out of office use workout. in a word GREAT but here is the skinny
THE GOOD:
1. Weight, wow being able to carry around my portfolio folder to hold documents etc and my AT was fantastic.
2. Access, i had access to all my documents when i needed them when i wanted them. (Let me clarify I know the AT is Wi-Fi so i tether it to my Nexus S 4G when i am not in range of a Wi-Fi hence my statement i can access everything) Yes its true i had that with just my phone but on the 10" screen with a keyboard i felt like i could really work with them when i needed and i could draft from scratch some pretty nice letters etc.
3. Email, yes i know we all have this with our phones but as i noted my hands are big so typing anything of length on the phone is tough for me, the AT made this a snap, take a few minutes between appointments to dock with my keyboard which is in my trunk not only does the pad get a top up, which it didn't need but hey some extra juice nevver hurts for that extra round of Angry Birds, and i can type up all notes etc.
4. Worth noting i did need to make a change to a .NET app for a client i was no where near a pc and this needed fixing now, i used splash top logged into my pc launched studio and made the change, was it horribly slow yes would i want to try and work that way HELL NO but was my client beyond happy and will i get a ton more business from him cause his problem was addressed right away OH YEAH. So i can do the same with office docs etc its not ideal but dang in a pinch there are work around’s.
THE BAD: (This i boil down to i would have been fine had i had a pc)
1. Well obviously programming, I did like having my laptop and being able to sit in a Pete's or something and work on some projects that had been lagging. So not being able to do my development is a bit of a downer, but its all about compromise right.
2. I mentioned earlier pen input. I REALLY like Onenote and I am an advid pen user, i replaced all the notebooks and post its around my desk with a Wacom Tablet and onenote. I did a tremendous amount of research, and business organization in Onenote, so putting this on the table as a “Compromise” was difficult. I downloaded EverNote and started taking notes via typing, and it wasn't so bad. Hence, my decision to make the switch. Again if Office 365 shapes up the way I think it will, i will be back in OneNote in a heartbeat.
SUMMARY
So for me the AT system will accomplish what i need and i think will only get better as android and apps mature. Email, doc reading editing and file creation, file access ebooks movies on and on the device is fabulous. For those thinking of going this direction, here are some thoughts. I look at my purchase of 700 which includes my 2 year replacement with BB and I compare that to what i can get in the PC world. Well the New Fujitsu Q550 i believe is about 700 and that is a full slate pc with about 6 hours battery has the stylus for writting runs office including one note (onenote + stylus = Heaven) there are a few reviews out there and this seems to be a nice challenge in the pc arena, if you want a PC for your work. The AT is not a pc so you have to adjust your thinking and try not to compare it to a netbook or pc thats why this is more of a "How i went about using the AT" rather than a vs because truthfully its not fair to compare apples to oranges. After making some changes to the way i do business i am able to successfully use the AT as a replacement for my day to day operations OUTSIDE the office i still have my PC and still use it. I think that moving forward online services like office 365 and google apps will level the playing field a bit to make comparing tablets to pcs a little closer but right now there are things that my tablet does that a pc is really hard pressed to do. Grab from my bag push a button read a book surf the net watch a video the list goes on. Maybe the new pc tablets will sleep/hibernate better and the gap will get closer I don't know. I miss some PC functions once in a while and with Tablets PC’s coming out as light as the Q550 I think the landscape is going to change, but take a look at your situation and see whats right for you. You can read “VS” articles all day but those are simply peoples observations/opinions. Take a step back and decide what you want and then mold your world to it.
Thats my experience please feel free to comment if we want to use this thread as a building block of Business “how to's” for getting people to undertand that tablets and pcs can live together it doesnt have to be an either or thats great. Maybe share some uses/apps things you do to leverage your AT in the work world.
The Rahl (Heh)
Why not use Splashtop HD to remote into your PC to do programming?
RTbar said:
Why not use Splashtop HD to remote into your PC to do programming?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He did mention that he did remote desktop to his comp for a quick fix. Its def not ideal, especially for a long time.
If you have your code stored on a Linux box, you could SSH into it and use a terminal-based text edit to do it. Yeah, not the most fun, but it takes less bandwidth/power to do.
i had thought about the linux box but truthfully if i need to program i will grab my laptop. My goal was to use the AT on the business side though i am finding new ways of doing things everyday. Though kind of wondering since i dont NEED an AT shoud i wait on next gen Tegra3. Heh yeah that opens the wholebcan of worms "if i wait ill get the newest and the best" youll never buy anything then butbyou cant help but wonder. Heh I think ifthey had some firm dates on tegra3 i might consider but since there are no firm dates ichosetheAT.

[Q] Livescribe Replacement App

Hello, I got my TF101 yesterday from Bestbuy, I also purchased the dock because what use would it be without lol.
My questions is, is there a way to emulate Livescribe functionality on the Transformer? I have spent the better part of an hour researching and looking but nothing truly fits the bill. Here is what I used and have tested.
Docs To Go. I used this on my OG droid and used it last night in class on my Galaxy Tab 7" with keyboard dock. DTG works well and is my default app.
Kingsoft Office is free and will be what I plan on transitioning to due to its enhanced UI and better features not to mention its free.
Extensive Notes allows me to either record notes or draw, but not both. This is a let down because my Art Appreciation teacher is constantly requiring us to draw examples for our notes.
Handrite Notes is another great app that does gets pretty close to my goal. While typing I am able to draw an image and it will downsize it, place it next in line of text, and allow me to keep typing. The problem here is that I am unable to go back and edit the drawing. If I make a mistake or the teacher goes and changes something I have to redraw everything.
I am ultimately looking for something as close to Livescribe as possible. I don't care if it costs. I want to be able to type my notes, draw on screen for math, art, geography, and record my teacher's lecture. I know this is a mighty bill to fit; however. I have found nothing to fully replace my pen and paper except for a tablet PC.
Perhaps something like OneNote would work?

Any other options to change from keyboard to keypad?

After discovering a lot of great features on my rooted E900, a new question made me using search function, but with not much help! So: is there any tweak in registry to change keyboard from full querty to keypad (like the physical keyboard from old phones, 1 to 9 with * and # and pressing three times on two for ex to write C letter) when you write a text message or text a web adress? I find this more handy when I'm driving, because with all that small letters from full querty is more dificult. Thanks in advance, and hope there is a solution, because when you write a number in the sms recipient, that keyboard appears.
I'm trying to think of a polite way to say this, and the best I've come up with is that, while I don't care terribly much about *your* car, I'm sufficiently concerned about the random people around you that the thought of making it easier to use your phone while driving is not even slightly appealing (for the record, it's illegal here, and for good reason).
For the record, I'm not so irresponsible so that I'm texting sms and driving, especially since I have a small baby in the backseat. When I PULL OVER and try to text something, the sunlight makes it harder to see the small buttons and I always hit the wrong button. I have pretty big fingers and that's why I want to use such a keypad.
And no offence, but I will never come to Seatle, only if I will win lottery and want to meet you personally, so don't be concerned.
The question still stays. Thank you
Please... Can someone help me with keypad?

Looking for a better handwriting app for school use

Bought the Adonit Jot. It's pretty good (after adding some conductive grease), but wish the writing angle could go a little lower.
So I'm doing my Masters in Management and need to take notes. No math or science, so I just need a good simple handwriting app. I know there are some threads on this, and I've read them. I'm looking into seeing if there have been any recent updates in the handwriting app world recently.
My requirements:
1) Something to prevent accidental touches, either palm recognition or other.
2) Handwriting looks good (Not my writing, the way the program handles it)
3) I like the "input area" that then transfers to the page, the ones where you write all over the page just don't work so well.
I've tried:
ezPDF Reader - don't like the full page thing. If I was doing Chemistry, it'd be better
Handrite - Awesome, but glitchy. Sometimes writing doesn't get transferred, and one time it screwed up my note, but luckily the program saved a backup
Supernote - OK, but not anywhere as good as Handrite
Lecture Notes - don't like the full page thing, also palm recognition doesn't work to well. Also my writing looks terrible in this program.
Papyrus - Installed, but haven't tried it yet.
and some others I can't remember
Anyway, I'm looking to see if there have been any more improvements in handwriting apps lately.
Also, if anyone knows of a better stylus than the adonit jot let me know. The adonit jot is very good, almost great, not fantastic. Particularly I'd like a lower writing angle (Adonit's is 45) and something lighter. That thing is heavy.
+1

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