Tablets for medical training

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thesauce

thesauce

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Hey guys. I'm hoping to get some advice from the techies out there.

I'm beginning to accumulate tons of paper with different studies that I have to read on a regular basis. I believe a tablet (something like an iPad) may make my life easier in this respect. What I really need is something that can do the following:

1. Run flashplayer
2. A device compatable with a stylus that I can use to mark up/edit PDFs and save them that way.

Does anyone use a tablet on a regular basis and does it have these capabilities? Any advice? Thanks.
 
I don't know of any that come equipped with a stylus (though you really shouldn't need one) but if your only limitation is Flash compatibility then all that rules out is the iPad. Of course I don't claim to be a tablet expert so I'll yield the floor to someone with a stronger opinion. 🙂
 
aSagacious said:
I don't know of any that come equipped with a stylus (though you really shouldn't need one) but if your only limitation is Flash compatibility then all that rules out is the iPad. Of course I don't claim to be a tablet expert so I'll yield the floor to someone with a stronger opinion. 🙂
Click to expand...

I can buy the stylus separately. That's ok. I just don't want to end up with one where all the compatible stylus's suck and you can't edit the PDFs or save them after editing.
 
thesauce said:
Hey guys. I'm hoping to get some advice from the techies out there.

I'm beginning to accumulate tons of paper with different studies that I have to read on a regular basis. I believe a tablet (something like an iPad) may make my life easier in this respect. What I really need is something that can do the following:

1. Run flashplayer
2. A device compatable with a stylus that I can use to mark up/edit PDFs and save them that way.

Does anyone use a tablet on a regular basis and does it have these capabilities? Any advice? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Dell has a tablet that has a stylus. i cant remember the model though

your best bet is to pick up a used tablet pc, reformat it and install windows 7 on it. thats what a bunch of my engineering classmates did
 
thesauce said:
Hey guys. I'm hoping to get some advice from the techies out there.

I'm beginning to accumulate tons of paper with different studies that I have to read on a regular basis. I believe a tablet (something like an iPad) may make my life easier in this respect. What I really need is something that can do the following:

1. Run flashplayer
2. A device compatable with a stylus that I can use to mark up/edit PDFs and save them that way.

Does anyone use a tablet on a regular basis and does it have these capabilities? Any advice? Thanks.
Click to expand...

What size of tablet are you looking for? A 7-inch? Or a 10-inch? Those really are the only two choices nowadays. Since the iPad doesn't support flash, that really only leaves Android. I personally own a Galaxy Tab in the 7-inch version, and it does what I need it to do. Not sure about the stylus compatibility, but you could always google that. Otherwise there is the Evo View 4G from Sprint, which is also a 7-inch that you could get off Ebay without a contract. I know that has a stylus option. But, I hear it's pretty expensive. Otherwise there are tablets from Acer, Asus, and Samsung that are 10-inchers that look pretty promising (again not sure about stylus compatibility). My suggestion would be to do some research on some of these tablets to see what fits your needs best.

Cheers!

EDIT: Acer has a 7-inch tablet called the Iconia that runs the latest version of Honeycomb. I'm sure someone will make a stylus compatible with it, but since it's new, it may not be for a while.
 
Not sure why OP thinks he needs flash...


Cuz he doesnt. It's dying very quickly. More and more websites are moving away from flash cuz it sucks. Just wondered if OP did his homework, and has some reason that he actually "needs" flash, or if he just buys the android hype that the iPad is worthless cuz it lacks flash.

Sent from my iPad
 
That's a valid point. MS is making an effort to transform OS functionality to favor HTML5 and Javascript, which would effectively phase out Flash. Until then, however, there are many websites/applets that would be lost without Flashplayer.
 
Asus EP121 Windows 7 slate + Microsoft OneNote.

Also, wait for Windows 8 slates if you can; I am.
 
AZFutureDoc said:
Not sure why OP thinks he needs flash...


Cuz he doesnt. It's dying very quickly. More and more websites are moving away from flash cuz it sucks. Just wondered if OP did his homework, and has some reason that he actually "needs" flash, or if he just buys the android hype that the iPad is worthless cuz it lacks flash.

Sent from my iPad
Click to expand...

Flash is dying just like Windows XP is dying.

Oh, wait, it's not.
 
I will tell you a few of my experiences right now:

-My supercomputer laptop that can play Crysis 2 is too heavy, but it really does do everything and is a good fixture on my desk.

-My netbook is good enough for lectures, but the two-leaf form-factor is very annoying.

-Very few of the upper termers that I talked to, that had great grades in basic sciences, took notes on laptops. Most took either handwritten notes, or annotated printed ppt slides, or read and annotated from the book.

The current dual-core Tegra 2 or Snapdragon Tablets are great, but the technology will probably update over Spring 2012. If you buy a tablet JUST AS you are STARTING medical school, you will be guaranteed to have almost the latest technology. It could be a quad-core tablet or one with 3D or dedicated graphics or a 20-hour battery. Who knows.

I wish I had a tablet but I will wait for the next generation. Ultimately, it's an entertainment and slide/video viewing device. There are VERY good lab videos and slides to review with a tablet, but as long as you're in review mode you can do the same with a bulky laptop (or even a lab computer if you want air conditioning).
 
paul411 said:
The Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPads are very solid traditional tablet PCs.
Click to expand...

+1. i almost bought that model before i bought the current lenovo i have. Lenovo makes great products for the price
 
With an emphasis on solid. They are heavier than bricks.
 
I've played with an iPad, and I was very impressed by it. You can digitize a paper document easily with the built-in camera, and then annotate it. I believe you can use a stylus, but your finger works better than I would have expected.

I'm going to pick one up as a present to myself when I get accepted to medical school, and when I make sure the school I attend does not force you to buy "their" computer. The iPad 3 is supposed to be out this fall, so I've got my eye on that.

I would just go to the Apple Store and play with one if you don't know anybody who has it.
 
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