Laptop vs 2 in 1

[jay257fost]

I was just wondering what the opinion on this would be. I need to get a new laptop for Med School because mine won't make it much longer. Can anyone tell me if a tablet/laptop combo is a better purchase for med school? Is the touch screen and use of a stylus something you really think is useful enough to pay for? Or would I be better off using that money just buying the most capable regular laptop I can?


FWIW I am considering the Lenovo ThinkPad T460 and the ThinkPad Yoga 460/260

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[deleted600623]

Not a medical student yet but I have the Lenovo thinkpad yoga and its incredible. I used it to take notes in biochemistry through the OneNote app and loved it (Aced biochem as well but not sure if there's a correlation lol). The stylus is incredible. You can get so much more out of the Lenovo yoga compared to just a MacBook pro.

 

[Pacna]

I use a Sony Duo 13, and its touchscreen functionality is very helpful to me. I would recommend a more reliable device, though, like a Surface or Lenovo product.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I have a yoga, tbh I don't ever use the tablet function and I rarely use the stylus. In my opinion it would be better to pay for a better performing laptop than a 2 in 1. I do know some people who like their surface pro, though.

 

[Teddy.KGB]

I bought a laptop prior to starting medical school, which works great in classes. But I was talking to M3s who mention that on the wards, people use tablets pretty much exclusively. In the end, I can watch ESPN on either (most of its use... after pornography), but one of these combo devices would have been a better purchase for me.

 

[Suit]

Get an iPad Air 2 or Pro.
Get a Zagg slim or BrydgeAir keyboard. Get iAnnotate.
You're set for 2 years.

Then for clinicals sell the iPad and get a mini.

 

[doc-Oc]

hp spectre i have it and i love it.

 

[frosted_flake]

How did you take your notes in UG? If that worked for you, I would be hesitant to change it now, although your study habits will likely change in med school.

FWIW, I adore my 15 inch MBP. I wish they still made the 17 inch version. It makes it very convenient to do side by side work and looking at the screen for long hours isn't (too) straining on my eyes.

 

[ridethecliche]

I didn't read the question but I assure you that the answer is the Microsoft surface pro.

I have the sp3 and its fantastic.

 

[ridethecliche]

I have a yoga, tbh I don't ever use the tablet function and I rarely use the stylus. In my opinion it would be better to pay for a better performing laptop than a 2 in 1. I do know some people who like their surface pro, though.

How do you not use it lol. Well I guess the stylus might not be as great?

My workflow for classes is to put the ppt. on the surface and write notes in there. If I'm in class ill type things in OneNote, but when reviewing things ill make passes with different color pens.

I do have an old laptop I use as a desktop at home with dual monitors at my desk. The arrangement works perfectly for me especially when usbs are so cheap.

 

[okokok]

I have a Surface Pro 3 and it's great. There's a 4 out now too. I use OneNote and the stylus exclusively for lecture notes. We have an organ systems curriculum and I love how in small group classes when someone's like "oh man I vaguely remember that from [some system from a few months ago]" I can immediately pull up those lecture notes on OneNote and review the topic. (Admittedly this has happened like twice all year but it still made me happy haha)

 

[kbeitz]

FWIW, the touchpad functionality of a 2-in-1 has saved me a few times.

For example, signing and sending documents digitally. Instead of printing and signing and scanning back in digital form, I just dump into onenote, sign them, and send them back to a pdf. Doesn't seem important until you need to find a scanner and printer to get your enrollment/scholarship documents in. Needing those two other pieces of hardware will probably cost you your savings on the laptop.

The size and weight of my surface has also saved my back and allows me to be as efficient and paperless as I want to be (ex: I could dump FA2016 into onenote and hand annotate it if I wanted to).