Will a tablet be useful for college?
Hi , I m thinking of buying a tablet , will it be useful for me to do my college study? The tablet that I’m thinking of buying is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) .
I have got iPad 4! It's an amazing tablet. I have quite a lot of useful apps, that help me to study.
First of all, I do Computer Science and I have my personal blog, so i use Textastic, its an html/css ssh app, so you connect to your server and can change its content anywhere, anytime.
Secondly and most importantly there is an app called iAnnotate which ready ppt/pdf/doc and etc text formats, you can read/modify/make notes of your slides or documents just by sitting on the lectures, its amazingly useful when the exam time comes!
There are tons of apps of your choice! You can make you life more organised and easier with the iPad!
And in addition, iPad is just cool, maybe a bit overpriced, but since I work, I dont care... Good money investment overall!
Tablet is a very useful tool as it lets you carry a lot of books without paining your hands/shoulders. Add an external Keyboard and you even type and make docs with ease. I've used tablet in my Med School and it had helped me a lot. But, the biggest frustration in using tablets is that they are not very good at multitasking. I mean you can't shift from one program to other like you do on computer. So IMO it can't replace computer. It gives you great mobility, so making notes, recording audio lectures and arranging them is easy. I use a desktop when I need to make presentations and write long text docs. And Tablet for making notes, making small changes to PPT and docs, reading on the go, in the wards. I used Samsung Galaxy Tab initially, but later Shifted to iPad as some publications like McGraw Hills are available on iOS and not yet on Android. Research whether the books and other stuff you need for college are available on android are not. If not, and available in iOS go for iPad. And make sure you have a laptop to fallback on when you have to do huge content creation.
I'm in college and last October, I was wondering the same thing. The answer to that question will be decide by the answer to this one- "What is the purpose of this device I'm going to buy? Will I use it to create content or will I use it to consume content?"
1. Create content involves writing code, writing long articles, making movies, making audio files, playing big games, running multiple OS, photoshopping pics etc.
2. Consuming content means playing video games, reading e-books, clicking pics, surfing the net, using net based services etc.
If 1 is the kind of thing you want to do, you'd be better off with a decent Laptop. If however, your needs are limited to number 2, you'd waste money buying a Laptop and should buy a tablet.
For me, the answer was 1 and so I bought a Laptop.
If you are really interested in Tablets than Laptops, I advice you to look up on Convertible laptops.
and much more. Convertibles can be pretty helpful than conventional Tablets.
It is like having the best of both worlds : tablets and laptops. :D Go in for this kind of form factor. Do a bit of research on the models, as you will be spoilt of choices from all the leading brands.
I agree with DalSan M. It's great as a reader. I don't have a tablet, but my buddy often uses her laptop to access her e-textbook while having the answers open on her tablet. Another buddy uses his tablet to watch videos in the dining hall.
In my experience, a tablet has been nearly useless while attending college. Very few of my textbooks have been offered online, and those available are overpriced, or limited ownership. The software like McGraw Hill's Connect and My Math Lab do not run on Android operating systems. While you can input data with an external keyboard, nothing is quite like Microsoft Word when writing a paper. The tablet can be a good way to store your notes and study on the go, but you can do this on your phone as well.
If you're taking traditional lecture classes, there really isn't a demonstrable advantage. However, if you're taking a less traditional class where you may spend most of your time standing (like I took an audio production class in a studio) the tablet becomes very handy for taking notes where a laptop would be unwieldy.
I think it would be an added help to have and use a tablet, but mostly for using it for an e-book reader, take notes with, record lectures, etc. As far as using for productivity, it may not be as useful or as good as an actual laptop (or even netbook). It mainly depends on your use for it and what you are going to college for. If it is for computer sciences, then it may not be that helpful since most of the software needed will not be available for Android or iOS. Otherwise, the cramped space is harder to type with, even when using an external keyboard, and the on-screen keyboards are not exactly what you would like use constantly (editing autocorrection mistakes all the time is a big pain). Even the college website may not be fully compatible, making it harder to navigate and use. Tablets can be fun to use otherwise and may be a good break from school work to refresh yourself if you are getting frustrated. It can be helpful, but should not be used as the main tool for college.
I agree with the others, but to me more specific, yes, it can be useful, but no, it is not a replacement to a laptop (or desktop computer). The limitations of tablets are such that they are particularly useful for viewing/consuming, less useful for inputting (e.g. typing and formatting essays) and generally not useful for processing (e.g. running data analyis packages).
If you connect an external keyboard to your tablet using a USB OTG cable, it can prove to be quite a useful tool. Not more useful than a laptop I'd say, but definitely a good extra to have.
i agree with bruce regarding the homework. i have an asus transformer but i still rely on my laptop a lot for most of my works. tablets are great for reading and taking notes, but get a laptop for most of the other works.
If you are planning on doing your homework on it, you are much better off with a laptop. Tablets just are not very good for content creation.