Tablet Recommendations

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tmed18

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I'm a medical student looking for a recommendation about tablets for medical professionals. My criteria right now is that I would like it to fit into my white coat, be able to take some notes (for learning, not patient notes) on it with a stylist and be able to download the most beneficial medical apps. Any recommendations?
 
I'm a medical student looking for a recommendation about tablets for medical professionals. My criteria right now is that I would like it to fit into my white coat, be able to take some notes (for learning, not patient notes) on it with a stylist and be able to download the most beneficial medical apps. Any recommendations?
 
As far as fitting in a white coat, I think only an Ipad/mini or Note would do that job. I use a tablet for notes, but I have no hopes of it fitting into my white coat. I'm fine using a clipboard when needed.

There are some good Ipad styli (sp?) out there, but I don't think it's debatable that Ipads don't take written notes nearly as good as Notes or true tablets/hybrids.

As an aside, I like my Sony Duo, but it definitely doesn't meet your "fit in coat" requirement.
 
samsung note 10.1 2014 or wait for 2015 edition (If there is one). Best tablet to take notes because it has wacom digitizer technology. The ipad simply cannot compare in that department. There is also a 8 inch version if the 10.1 is too big.
 
Not a student yet so I can't speak to the efficacy of each tab as it relates to compatability, but as someone who has both the Samsung and the iPad, the iPad is far more reliable.
 
Get an iPad mini.

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I had a samsung galaxy tab in the past that was the buggiest POS I've ever owned. Ipad from here on out.

Although, I have been looking at cheap used surface pros to make note taking a little easier.
 
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I have been an apple hater all my life. I bought an iPad and that changed everything. The iPad Air will fit snuggly into your white coat pocket and its very light. Also, there are good apps on applestore (i.e. qxmd) that aren't on droid.
Between mini-3 or air 2, you can't go wrong with either, but I went with air because I wanted a tablet, not an oversized-phone. The air fits nicely and if you buy from best buy, u can return the air 2 even if u opened it and used it.

my $.02
 
samsung note> samsung tab. There not the same just so all u guys know.
 
It'll fit into your white coat pocket easier for when rotations roll around. Though, to be quite honest, you'll probably end up using your smartphone more.

This. OP, do you really see yourself carrying around a 7" tablet with you on rotations? I mean, honestly, it'll probably get "lost".

I have been an apple hater all my life. I bought an iPad and that changed everything. The iPad Air will fit snuggly into your white coat pocket and its very light. Also, there are good apps on applestore (i.e. qxmd) that aren't on droid.
Between mini-3 or air 2, you can't go wrong with either, but I went with air because I wanted a tablet, not an oversized-phone. The air fits nicely and if you buy from best buy, u can return the air 2 even if u opened it and used it.

my $.02

This really depends. If you want to do the basic stuff tablets do, an iPad is good. Personally, I couldn't stand using it because of the things I couldn't do or couldn't change on it.

That said, have they gotten over the whole "It's made for your finger, not a stylus" crap? If so, great! If not, it might be a pain to take notes on an iPad.
 
That said, have they gotten over the whole "It's made for your finger, not a stylus" crap? If so, great! If not, it might be a pain to take notes on an iPad.
I used one throughout college but quickly benched the stylus and grabbed a bluetooth keyboard. I had to zoom in and write larger than I would with a pen for it to be legible. Great tool for what I used it for, but handwriting was not one of them.
 
I'm a medical student looking for a recommendation about tablets for medical professionals. My criteria right now is that I would like it to fit into my white coat, be able to take some notes (for learning, not patient notes) on it with a stylist and be able to download the most beneficial medical apps. Any recommendations?

The iPad, its the best Tablet, and Apple has the best customer service. I would not go with Samsung, they have the worst customer service.
 
Surface pro 3 for class, ipad mini or equivalent small full windows tablet for white coat
 
mini will fit in your coat pocket. that is what we will be getting for 3rd/4th year from our school....

also, styli suck. end rant.
 
why do peeps like tablets so much? whats wrong with the laptop + phone combo?
 
****ty styli suck. The Surface Pro 3 stylus is nice.

Agreed. I had the chance to play around on a classmate's Surface Pro and really liked it. The stylus was great. I might be mistaken, but I couldn't imagine writing that well on an Apple platform. Then again... that tablet is huge and definitely wouldn't come close to fitting in my white coat. Very nice tablet though.

I plan to use my iPad mini, but could definitely see myself eventually using my iPhone out of practicality and not wanting my iPad mini to grow legs/get five finger discounted.
 
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I would go with an iPad mini to fit in your coat pocket. You can get a stylus to write on it. It's not quite as nice as an active digitizer pen but it will work just fine for notes -- I know a couple of people who do this.

For a bigger device with an active digitizer pen the Surface Pro 3 is pretty nice and I know people who like it, but personally I would go for a Lenovo Helix 2 instead. Similar concept (~12" tablet with active digitzer pen and detachable keyboard) but it is sturdy and much better as a laptop replacement. It attaches to a real laptop keyboard base with a hinge for the screen instead of a kickstand and extra battery in the base. The Surface Pro is too tablet-y to really replace a laptop in my opinion (kickstand and relatively flimsy keyboard).
 
why do peeps like tablets so much? whats wrong with the laptop + phone combo?

I find that I like to write rather than type sometimes.

Nothing is wrong with laptop + typewriter combos. Whatever you like is fine!
 
Idk about you guys, but I can definitely slide type faster than I can write with a stylus. Galaxy note user, but I rarely use my stylus any more.
 
Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Way cheaper than a surface pro or an iPad, especially if you get a refurb on amazon. Also it actually allows you to write on it, like the surface pro, but not like the iPad.
 
I have an iPad mini with a keyboard case that is extremely handy to carry around on the wards. I also used a Nexus 7 for a good chunk of MS3 but prefer the iPad.

I'll usually bring my laptop with me to the hospital as I prefer to work on my own computer - assuming there are even any computers available in a convenient location. But the tablet is nice for the portability, especially if you get PDFs of your review books and read them on the go.
 
why do peeps like tablets so much? whats wrong with the laptop + phone combo?

Last time I checked laptops don't fit in pockets. Plus, you don't want laptops sitting around in the room because opportunistic people might steal them. Even though you might be in a med student or resident lounge, someone might forget to lock the door or not close it. There have been cases of missing property.

I just use the smartphone and bring my charging cable so battery doesn't run low.
 
Anybody have any solid recommendations for an external charge block that is strong enough to charge an iPhone & iPad mini? I haven't had too much luck finding one yet. I've tried a few for my phone but they have barely kept it at the same %charge as when I plugged it in.
 
Do you guys cavi wipe your ipads at the end of the day or something? I don't know how I'd feel about bringing a tablet into a cdiff room
 
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Do you guys cavi wipe your ipads at the end of the day or something? I don't know how I'd feel about bringing a tablet into a cdiff room

I don't think those are effective against c. diff.

I wouldn't let those touch an ipad though. They're pretty noxious and who knows what they would do to the finish of the tablet. Just leave it at the nurses station or keep it under your isolation gown. There's no need to have your tablet out in every patient's room...
 
The iPad, its the best Tablet, and Apple has the best customer service. I would not go with Samsung, they have the worst customer service.

Apple fanboy? Please explain why iPad is the best and other competitors are worse. I assume you used an iPad and a Samsung tablet to make valid comparisons.
 
I don't think those are effective against c. diff.

I wouldn't let those touch an ipad though. They're pretty noxious and who knows what they would do to the finish of the tablet. Just leave it at the nurses station or keep it under your isolation gown. There's no need to have your tablet out in every patient's room...
Should have said bleach when I mentioned cdiff, but cavi wipes for pretty much any other contact room
 
Apple fanboy? Please explain why iPad is the best and other competitors are worse. I assume you used an iPad and a Samsung tablet to make valid comparisons.

Apple products are easy to use and very reliable. I used to own a Samsung Galaxy and it always kept "freezing" on me for no reason, and Samsung customer support was horrible. Samsung's products are actually just as expensive as Apple's.

There are some people who hate Apple and generally see Apple owners as "superficial", but I know a lot of converts to their products who just got sick of poor customer service and reliability.

I bought a second hand Macbook a couple of years ago and it ran better than a brand new Windows laptop. I would never even think of buying a refurbished Windows machine.

MSFT really ruined things when they introduced Windows Vista, and now they solidified their downfall with Windows 8.

Android products are just okay not great.
 
Apple fanboy? Please explain why iPad is the best and other competitors are worse. I assume you used an iPad and a Samsung tablet to make valid comparisons.

I've used both a Nexus 7 and an iPad. I was an Android guy for several years (the HTC Evo, original Note, and S4) but now use an iPhone. None is clearly "better," but things that annoyed me about the Android platform:

-significantly buggier with many, many more force closes per time period of use
-this is less true now, but many "niche" apps start out on iOS before moving to Android; Android is almost always behind iOS in development priority
-the inherently fragmented nature of Android makes it more difficult to develop for, leading to the above two issues
-Apple devices are "just easier" to use, especially if you get into the whole ecosystem; after I got a Macbook, I dove head first into the Apple devices and love it; this kind of compatibility simply doesn't exist on Android (half the time I could never get my S4 to be recognized by Samsung's own syncing software on my Windows machine)
-Apple devices are generally more intuitive and easier to use and, IMO, get more "style points" compared to Android (though this pretty meaningless), especially with the latest iterations to iOS which included much-needed features Android has offered far before Apple
-carrier/manufacturer imposed restrictions on Android software makes getting updates a pain and just pisses me off; yes, Apple does the same, but I don't want updates for my device to stop being supported within 2 years because it's no longer the "hottest thing"

I loved the customizability of Android, and the fact that widgets still aren't available on iOS bugs the hell out of me, but overall I've enjoyed using my Apple devices significantly more than my Android devices. That said, you pay a premium for Apple devices and they are certainly poor value in terms of raw hardware. But, frankly, I don't care about having a quad core when the significantly "underpowered" A8 chip makes the iPhone run just as well if not better; I don't care about having a 4K screen because I don't use my phone to watch movies, and I'm not going to be getting any 4K content anytime soon; and the customizability, though I do miss it at times, isn't such a big deal for me anymore.

The whole Apple vs. Android thing is just stupid. Having used both platforms, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on what you want out of your devices. In the education realm, I don't think one is clearly more superior than the other, and if anything I would prefer iOS simply because your IT department is more likely to support iOS devices for things like EMR access over Android. At my institution, for example, iOS setup was fully documented and supported while I was pretty much left to my own devices to get everything set up on my Android devices. It's not that big of a deal, but it did require time troubleshooting and figuring out how to configure everything that I'd rather not have spent.
 
I'm a medical student looking for a recommendation about tablets for medical professionals. My criteria right now is that I would like it to fit into my white coat, be able to take some notes (for learning, not patient notes) on it with a stylist and be able to download the most beneficial medical apps. Any recommendations?
I would just go with a pen, pad of paper and some Netter's cards but what do I know?
 
On a slightly related note, what are some apps BESIDES anatomy apps that are a good idea to download on tablets? Any evidence based medicine apps or anything really in particular?
 
On a slightly related note, what are some apps BESIDES anatomy apps that are a good idea to download on tablets? Any evidence based medicine apps or anything really in particular?
There are a lot of threads (one in recent months) with helpful apps.
 
I've used both a Nexus 7 and an iPad. I was an Android guy for several years (the HTC Evo, original Note, and S4) but now use an iPhone. None is clearly "better," but things that annoyed me about the Android platform:

-significantly buggier with many, many more force closes per time period of use
-this is less true now, but many "niche" apps start out on iOS before moving to Android; Android is almost always behind iOS in development priority
-the inherently fragmented nature of Android makes it more difficult to develop for, leading to the above two issues
-Apple devices are "just easier" to use, especially if you get into the whole ecosystem; after I got a Macbook, I dove head first into the Apple devices and love it; this kind of compatibility simply doesn't exist on Android (half the time I could never get my S4 to be recognized by Samsung's own syncing software on my Windows machine)
-Apple devices are generally more intuitive and easier to use and, IMO, get more "style points" compared to Android (though this pretty meaningless), especially with the latest iterations to iOS which included much-needed features Android has offered far before Apple
-carrier/manufacturer imposed restrictions on Android software makes getting updates a pain and just pisses me off; yes, Apple does the same, but I don't want updates for my device to stop being supported within 2 years because it's no longer the "hottest thing"

I loved the customizability of Android, and the fact that widgets still aren't available on iOS bugs the hell out of me, but overall I've enjoyed using my Apple devices significantly more than my Android devices. That said, you pay a premium for Apple devices and they are certainly poor value in terms of raw hardware. But, frankly, I don't care about having a quad core when the significantly "underpowered" A8 chip makes the iPhone run just as well if not better; I don't care about having a 4K screen because I don't use my phone to watch movies, and I'm not going to be getting any 4K content anytime soon; and the customizability, though I do miss it at times, isn't such a big deal for me anymore.

The whole Apple vs. Android thing is just stupid. Having used both platforms, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on what you want out of your devices. In the education realm, I don't think one is clearly more superior than the other, and if anything I would prefer iOS simply because your IT department is more likely to support iOS devices for things like EMR access over Android. At my institution, for example, iOS setup was fully documented and supported while I was pretty much left to my own devices to get everything set up on my Android devices. It's not that big of a deal, but it did require time troubleshooting and figuring out how to configure everything that I'd rather not have spent.

Couldn't have said it better. You described precisely why I made the switch from Android to iPhone/iOS devices.
 
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