GreyhoundGirl Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I am going to buy a new tablet before I start classes this summer and I am looking for advice. I currently have an older Kindle fire and my husband has an ipad so I am familiar with both of those brands. In my budget I am thinking of either the largest Kindle (10") or an ipad mini (7.9"). The ipad would sync with my iphone and I know that's the most commonly-used one for education, but I am wondering if the screen on the kindle might be better. I plan to use it to look at powerpoints in class, but probably not for note-taking. Has anyone used the Kindle Fire for class or have any insight? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I don't know much about kindle products but my first question would be - will you be able to view powerpoints on it? Second, does your program require anything specific/will you be forced to get one through them? Aside from that - I can't imagine spending the money to buy a product *just* to look at powerpoints. Consider your clinical year and all of the potential apps you may find useful, personal use, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdflygirl Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I'm looking for more insight on this as well. I've been debating getting a larger tablet (ipad or ipad pro) and using it to draw/write on powerpoints and save all of my notes to dropbox. I currently have an ipad mini, and in my opinion, other than reading books, it's really not useful for much else. I've downloaded the Netter app on there and while the app is the best I've ever seen, the mini simply isn't big enough to view the different plates and use interactive features. I think it would be hard to view powerpoints on. Our program requires a specific laptop, but I haven't heard anything positive about it from current/past students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpshoe Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I think it's best to check with your program and what they recommend. I know my program just requires any laptop. I'm using my current one and plan on getting an iPad as i'm most familiar with them and I think they have the most versatility. I have a ton of ebooks and textbooks on mine now and I know they will be helpful in school. If you have a solid laptop, I think you'll be good with either of your choices, but I would go with the iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I don't know that you will get much added benefit from a tablet if your plan is to primarily use it to view powerpoints. You'll have your laptop with you every day anyway. It's probably better to wait until classes start to see how things go and then you can reassess your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 I don't know much about kindle products but my first question would be - will you be able to view powerpoints on it? Second, does your program require anything specific/will you be forced to get one through them? Aside from that - I can't imagine spending the money to buy a product *just* to look at powerpoints. Consider your clinical year and all of the potential apps you may find useful, personal use, etc. True, I would also want it for medical apps. I don't know that you will get much added benefit from a tablet if your plan is to primarily use it to view powerpoints. You'll have your laptop with you every day anyway. It's probably better to wait until classes start to see how things go and then you can reassess your needs. Hmm... I was planning on bringing my tablet daily so that I didn't have to bring my laptop. Can I ask why you had your laptop daily? I don't really plan on taking notes electronically, but I could if forced to. I was also looking at a convertible tablet running windows 10. That might be a good compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 True, I would also want it for medical apps. Hmm... I was planning on bringing my tablet daily so that I didn't have to bring my laptop. Can I ask why you had your laptop daily? I don't really plan on taking notes electronically, but I could if forced to. I was also looking at a convertible tablet running windows 10. That might be a good compromise. I take notes faster by typing which I have found helpful in keeping up. If you are someone who prefers note taking by hand, consider that there are some nice apps where you can import your powerpoint slides or notes into an app and take notes directly on a tablet. I know iPads do this, not sure about kindle. But then everything is in one place and often transferrable between products (assuming brand compatibility). I also find it nice to have my laptop should I have free time to work on assignments, etc that are just not functionally as user friendly on a tablet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmc5108 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I got an iPad Air for school and loved it. I downloaded all the power points and used iannotate to type in notes and draw on the slides. One thing annoying was having to convert the ppt to a pdf to annotate it, but some professors put up both options. Overall I loved it and never had a problem with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I got an iPad Air for school and loved it. I downloaded all the power points and used iannotate to type in notes and draw on the slides. One thing annoying was having to convert the ppt to a pdf to annotate it, but some professors put up both options. Overall I loved it and never had a problem with it An app like notability will let you import a ppt and take notes directly on the slides (as well as any other number of articles/documents). Super helpful and worth the $5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 True, I would also want it for medical apps. Hmm... I was planning on bringing my tablet daily so that I didn't have to bring my laptop. Can I ask why you had your laptop daily? I don't really plan on taking notes electronically, but I could if forced to. I was also looking at a convertible tablet running windows 10. That might be a good compromise. You'll need it for things like exams, quizzes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max PA17 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Some schools issue laptops. Each of us got one to use throughout the program that we "inherit" once we are through the program. So before spending money I would check with your school. You might not need to buy anything, unless you want it anyway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakingpatience Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 You'll need it for things like exams, quizzes, etc. This is very school dependent. I bring my laptop to school each day but would just as easily function with an iPad. Honestly I use my laptop more for distraction during class then any benefit I get from having it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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