I've been reading this forum for the past week or two and am pretty close to buying an i5/8GB SP3. Main uses would be PDF reading and annotating, and occasional note taking at meetings. Trying to go as paperless as possible. I would also use it as a laptop replacement when I travel (I currently own a Vaio Pro 11 and love it, thanks to its tiny size and light weight). So onto a couple of specific questions:
1) Lapability. I often sit in lazy boy type chairs or sprawl out on a sofa with a laptop. The design of traditional laptops allows me to generally find a comfortable position for the laptop, almost regardless of how slouched or strangely I may be sitting/laying. Understanding that an SP3 probably won't be quite as flexible as a laptop in terms of its ability to be positioned comfortably, have people generally found that they are able to use an SP3 in all of the same positions/chairs/sofas on which you previously used a laptop?
Obviously it will work fine sitting on a table or sitting in my lap if I am sitting rigidly with good posture, but I'm curious to hear from people who sit in comfortable chairs, recliners, on sofas, etc., and simultaneously try to use their SP3.
2) PDF reading/annotating/handwritten notes. Are people generally happy with it for this purpose? I played with an SP3 yesterday at an MS store for about 10 minutes and was extremely impressed with its handwriting capabilities. Are there any hidden frustrations/annoyances that I might not discover in 10 minutes of toying with it that would only become evident to me after prolonged use (for instance, how often do the batteries in the pen have to be replaced?)? Or is the experience consistently truly as good as I found it to be yesterday while playing around with one at the MS store?
My alternatives for this purpose would be getting a tablet like an iPad or a Galaxy Note, and keeping my Vaio Pro 11. If I went this route, the tablet would be used for PDF reading/annotating and handwritten notes, and the Vaio Pro 11 would be used for laptop purposes. My concern with iPad is that it has only capacitive stylus, and I like to rest my wrist/palm on the surface of the tablet while I write. This would totally kill productivity on an iPad, right? My concern with something like a Galaxy Note (which I understand does use a digitizer, so palm/wrist resting shouldn't be a concern) is availability of decent notetaking and PDF annotating software. Would love to hear from folks who have gone through a similar decision making process.
Thanks to all for any advice.
1) Lapability. I often sit in lazy boy type chairs or sprawl out on a sofa with a laptop. The design of traditional laptops allows me to generally find a comfortable position for the laptop, almost regardless of how slouched or strangely I may be sitting/laying. Understanding that an SP3 probably won't be quite as flexible as a laptop in terms of its ability to be positioned comfortably, have people generally found that they are able to use an SP3 in all of the same positions/chairs/sofas on which you previously used a laptop?
Obviously it will work fine sitting on a table or sitting in my lap if I am sitting rigidly with good posture, but I'm curious to hear from people who sit in comfortable chairs, recliners, on sofas, etc., and simultaneously try to use their SP3.
2) PDF reading/annotating/handwritten notes. Are people generally happy with it for this purpose? I played with an SP3 yesterday at an MS store for about 10 minutes and was extremely impressed with its handwriting capabilities. Are there any hidden frustrations/annoyances that I might not discover in 10 minutes of toying with it that would only become evident to me after prolonged use (for instance, how often do the batteries in the pen have to be replaced?)? Or is the experience consistently truly as good as I found it to be yesterday while playing around with one at the MS store?
My alternatives for this purpose would be getting a tablet like an iPad or a Galaxy Note, and keeping my Vaio Pro 11. If I went this route, the tablet would be used for PDF reading/annotating and handwritten notes, and the Vaio Pro 11 would be used for laptop purposes. My concern with iPad is that it has only capacitive stylus, and I like to rest my wrist/palm on the surface of the tablet while I write. This would totally kill productivity on an iPad, right? My concern with something like a Galaxy Note (which I understand does use a digitizer, so palm/wrist resting shouldn't be a concern) is availability of decent notetaking and PDF annotating software. Would love to hear from folks who have gone through a similar decision making process.
Thanks to all for any advice.
The fact that the Type Cover can be flipped all the way around when using as a tablet is a pretty powerful feature.
