TAKE HANDWRITTEN NOTES with iPad

Many years ago, I had a meeting at Apple�s headquarters in Cupertino. The Apple employee I�d come to talk to walked into a conference room with an armload of tech. He put his PowerBook on the table, followed by his Newton MessagePad. After a few minutes this guy realized that he needed to take notes on what I was saying, and guess which device he used�neither! He pulled out a paper notepad and started writing.

Regardless of how good a real or virtual keyboard may be, sometimes there�s no substitute for the immediacy and flexibility of pen and paper. So it should come as no surprise that quite a few iPad apps try to emulate the experience of writing in a physical notebook. And if you�re trying to remain inconspicuous in a meeting, �writing� on an iPad (perhaps concealed in a notebook) is less likely to attract attention than typing.

All these apps let you use your fingertip as the pen. However, you may find it difficult to write accurately with your finger, especially at smaller sizes, and your fingertip may block your view of what you�re writing. So you might pick up an iPad-compatible stylus, such as Ten One Design�s Pogo Sketch (http://tenonedesign.com/products.php?application=iPad, $14.99) or any of several models made by DAGi (http://www.dagi.com.tw/front/bin/rcglist.phtml?Rcg=2), which are notable in that many have transparent tips that make it easier to see what you�re doing. However, be aware that with any stylus, if you rest your hand on the iPad as you write, you can make stray marks or prevent the app from seeing your input. That means you may have to adopt an unnatural and uncomfortable writing position.

Examples of apps that let you write notes by hand include:

� Jot: Jot lets you write or sketch on a mini whiteboard, optionally adding typed notes, labels, and comments. You can also share your jots by email or show them on an external VGA display. (Tabula Rasa, $7.99)

� Penultimate: This app tries to look exactly like a plain notebook (with plain, lined, or graph paper). You can write or draw with the pen, erase, and delete�and show your work on an external VGA display. Interestingly, the app also attempts to filter out any stray marks made by resting your wrist on the iPad while you write, which is both uncommon and helpful. (Cocoa Box Design, $3.99)

� Write Now XL for iPad: Write or draw in a variety of colors and line widths, with any of several page backgrounds�and even change the offset so that your fingertip doesn�t cover what you�re writing. (JetWare, $2.99)

� WritePad for iPad: Unlike the others here, WritePad performs handwriting recognition�what you write is immediately turned into editable text. You can type in WritePad if you prefer, but you can�t draw�the lines themselves aren�t saved, only the text. In my brief testing both with and without a stylus, accuracy left something to be desired, although it�s supposed to improve with training. (Stan Miasnikov, $9.99)

Although these apps focus on handwritten input, scads of other apps support handwriting along with typing and/or audio recording.

Source of Information : TidBITS-Take Control of Working with Your iPad 2011