120 JANUARY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 383
WhateveryourPC,hardware, software,officeapplication
or macroissues,SimonHandby isheretohelp
Send [email protected]
Helpfile &
Business HHHel
I’matruck-mounted crane operator,and as
such Ioftenfind myself twiddling my
thumbs as Iwait forsupplyboats, trains,
lorries and joiners. To tide myself over,I
read books (lots of books!), whichhavethe
handiness of beingeasily put aside when I’m
required to do some actual work. As abit of
apuritan, Ihavesofar refused to ‘upgrade’
frompaper to an ebook reader.
Lately I’ve had an increasing urge to try
writing my own novel, but my typing ability
is best described as ‘glacial’,soIwould
prefertowritewith astylus. Ican also see
the advantage in having something that can
carry an electronic library around with me.
I’mafter arecommendation forasmall
tablet device that Ican writeonwith a
stylus and have my scrawl converted into
text. I’d like to use the result in Microsoft
Word, chiefly because I’mfamiliar with it.
I’d also like to be able to read ebooks, but
Idon’t need to watch films, surf the
internet or playgames. Also,I’mnot after
something flash and expensive: building
sites are dangerous places, and accidents
and thefts happen. Can you help?
Tim McGrath
There are afew ways you could achieve what
you need, but the best-value approach would
be to use an Android tablet. Our reviews
editor,James Archer,recommends you start
with the 2019 Samsung Galaxy TabA,which
you can buy on Amazon forless than £200.
You’ll also need to buy the tablet version of
Samsung’s S-pen, and spend another £9 on
the MyScript Nebo note-taking app.Finally,
it makes sense to buy aprotective case:
these start at around £10, so your total
outlayshould be under £250. Notethat
Nebo has some strict compatibility
requirements, so other combinations of
tablet and pen maynot work.
Once you’re set up,the Nebo app will
capture and recognise handwritten notes you
make with the stylus. Youcan store the text in
various ways, including saving your notes
directly in Word’s .docx format, or simply
copying the text intoaWord document;
there’s afree Word app forAndroid.
We should mention that voice dictation
has recently become areliable alternative to
typing, and it mayprove quicker and easier
than using astylus. Youcan use Google Voice
Typing on most Android devices, although you
mayneed to install and select the Google
Keyboard first. However,while voice
recognition should cope reasonably well
with moderatebackground noise on site, it’s
much less accurateifyou’rewithout adata
connection. It’s also less privateifyou’d
rather not be overheard.
Finally,there are lots of ebook readers for
Android. It’s hard to argue against the Kindle
app,which manages and displays ebooks
bought from Amazon. Using any reader will
mean the tablet’s screen stays on, so battery
lifecould become an issue.You can use the
tablet’s supplied USB cable to charge from
any USB port, or buy acigarettelighter-to-USB
adaptor forafew pounds; look forone with a
2.4A rating (or 4.8A if there are two ports).
Anovelapproach
⬆There’s aMicrosoftWord appfor Android that lets you save documents in the .docx format
➡Google Voice Typing is very effective,but only
with an internet connection
