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One of many nice issues about the big variety of Android tablets is their versatility for work and play. You will need to be a bit choosy when you’re into taking handwritten notes, although, since some assist styluses higher than others, and a few do not assist them in any respect. A handful of writing-focused choices even sport paper-like screens that intently mimic paper.
Take into account that dependable, highly effective tablets aren’t precisely low-cost — particularly if you would like simple note-taking. However for a average funding, you may get a terrific E Ink pill or conventional Android slate that is nice for writing and even digital artwork.
Prime tablets for taking notes
Greatest total
Onyx Boox Go 10.3
With an included stylus, expansive 10.3-inch display screen, and lengthy battery life, Onyx’s pill is our high choose for a cause. The Onyx Boox Go 10.3’s massive display screen ends in snug note-taking, and its 3,700mAh battery retains you learning, journaling, or working for over per week.
- Crisp, responsive E Ink show
- Buy consists of stylus and case
- Android interfaces means you’ll be able to set up your favourite apps
- No entrance gentle put in
- No expandable storage
E Ink is arguably among the best mediums for digital note-taking. It is simpler on the eyes than screens and mimics writing on precise paper. Plus, E Ink tablets require lower than half as a lot charging as LED tablets. The Onyx Boox Go 10.3, our favourite pill for college students and professionals, might get via as a lot as per week earlier than that you must drop it on the charger.
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Onyx hits the goal with its streamlined Boox Go 10.3 e-reader
Minimalist bliss
What units the Boox Go 10.3 aside? One in every of its largest highlights is its Android interface, permitting you to obtain your favourite note-taking, studying, and productiveness functions. In Android Police’s firsthand expertise with Boox’s 10-inch pill, the system lived as much as expectations by way of stylus efficiency, completely emulating the pure really feel of writing on paper.
Past that, a local note-taking app provides handy templates, like pocket book paper and calendars, and with the flexibility to obtain your favourite streaming providers like Spotify or Audible and Go 10.3’s onboard audio system, lengthy research classes could be livened up with some background music. Sadly, the Go 10.3 lacks a entrance gentle, so it in all probability will not be a useful device at the hours of darkness.
The Go 10.3 prices about $380, a worth that will get you every part that you must convey the pill to class or an necessary assembly, together with the system itself, a stylus, and a magnetic case. It is price noting that, whereas the Go 10.3 is a comparatively slim system, we discovered it to be a bit heavier than you’d anticipate in our testing, which can influence how simple it’s to hold round.
Premium choose
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
Energy and efficiency
$670 $800 Save $130
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 combines class-leading efficiency with a number of the greatest note-taking software program options on an Android pill. The included S-Pen has simply 2.8ms of latency, which makes it ideally suited for jotting down notes. Its wonderful AMOLED show makes it a terrific alternative for multimedia consumption too.
- Flagship-grade efficiency with out breaking the financial institution
- Included stylus pairs fantastically with stylus-optimized software program
- IP68 ranking for beachside doodling
- Massive 8400mAh battery
The smallest of Samsung’s 2023 flagship tablets, the Galaxy Tab S9, ranks extremely as one of the best premium note-taking choice with its 11-inch high-resolution, 120Hz AMOLED show and taller-than-usual 16:10 orientation. Since there is no Tab S10 mannequin at this dimension (solely bigger ones), we expect that is nonetheless one of the best Galaxy Tab for notes.
Samsung upgraded the pill with a extra environment friendly Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, making it ideally suited to multitasking. Patrons may even discover useful additions like a microSD card slot for storage enlargement over and above the 128GB storage accessible on the bottom unit.
Furthermore, Samsung’s built-in software program suite, which incorporates apps for notes and drawing and assist for S Pen options, makes the Galaxy Tab S9 among the best note-taking tablets in the marketplace. The S Pen’s extremely low 2.8ms latency additionally ensures a superlative note-taking expertise. The stylus may also be used to navigate the interface utilizing gestures.
Samsung has additionally made considerate additions to apps just like the Gallery, the place the S Pen is useful for annotation or extra handy enhancing. When carried out, the stylus magnetically attaches to the pill for straightforward stowing.
Learn our evaluate
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 evaluate: Premium, highly effective, dear
With an AMOLED show and nice efficiency, the one query surrounding the Tab S9 is whether or not it is price $800
The IP68 ranking makes the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 a terrific choice if you end up doodling on the seaside. In the meantime, maintaining the pill going all day is a big 8,400mAh battery that may be topped up moderately shortly with 45W charging assist. Whereas the pill is steeply-priced, the included S Pen and ample energy guarantee it will be a relentless companion for years.
Greatest worth
TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G
The TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G provides a singular resolution to eye pressure via its textured, nano-etched show know-how. Writing on this pill with a stylus nonetheless mimics a paper-like expertise, and it does not sacrifice coloration and readability fairly as a lot as an E Ink pill does. The beneficiant 10-inch display screen offers loads of actual property for jotting down notes, and the 5G mobile connection ensures your productiveness will not be interrupted.
- Show holds up nicely in direct daylight
- Uniquely paper-like show and writing expertise
- Battery can final per week relying on utilization
- At the moment solely accessible for buy via Verizon
- Nonetheless a step down from conventional shows
Not fairly an LED pill and never fairly an e-reader, the TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G is a extra inexpensive resolution than different gadgets on this checklist.
The Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G textured show is one thing distinctive in comparison with regular tablets and even E Ink readers; you’ll be able to nonetheless get pleasure from full, superb coloration, whereas reaping the e-reader advantages of minimized eye pressure and a writing expertise very like bodily paper. The gadgets’ show settings are versatile sufficient to accommodate various wants, with three distinct show presets: coloration paper, ink paper, and common mode.
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The TCL Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G permits you to go off the grid whereas staying on it
A textured show takes this 5G pill to the NXT degree
In addition to its uncommon show, the Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G behaves very like an odd pill. Its 2.2 GHz Octa-core processor handles nearly any duties you’d demand of a pill with ease, together with note-taking, social media, and streaming. Have lots of digital notebooks, textbooks, and different necessary issues to maintain monitor of? The onboard microSD slot expands the Tab 10 NXTPAPER’s storage from 128GB as much as 1TB.
An unconventional show does imply a couple of quirky use-case caveats, although. For one, we did not like utilizing the Tab 10 NXTPAPER with sun shades on — polarized sun shades, extra particularly, which impacted visibility of the display screen at sure angles. This in all probability is not a giant deal to most customers, however when you foresee lots of idle sketching within the solar or outside lectures, it could be one thing to think about.
There’s additionally the truth that, as of proper now, the Tab 10 NXTPAPER is a Verizon unique. That limits your buying choices, and in addition means you will must put up with some Verizon apps preloaded onto the system.
Premium E Ink
Onyx Boox Observe Air3 C
The pocket book replacer
The Onyx Boox Observe Air3 C is not the most affordable E Ink pill, but it surely’s undoubtedly one of the vital succesful. It acts as a wonderful studying system, because of its twin show. You will get pleasure from studying magazines and comics in full coloration. However most significantly, Boox’s user-friendly stylus would possibly make you ditch paper for good. Your notes and drawings will look nice in coloration or black and white.
- Textured display screen mimics paper
- Stylus is very responsive for each drawing and note-taking
- Shade show is useful for studying comics and magazines
- The colour show is sweet, however we want it was sharper
In your quest for the last word note-taking companion, you’ve got probably heard of Onyx’s wonderful Boox vary E Ink tablets, of which the Observe Air3 C is one of the best but. It isn’t what we would name a steal, however contemplating its suite of options, the Air3 C will tick many bins for the avid note-taker.
First off, the Air3 C is slim and feather-light, even after lengthy studying and writing classes. There’s additionally an elongated bezel on one aspect for a extra pure grip and to maintain your fingers from smudging the display screen. Even with its lighter construct, the Air3 C packs in a strong battery, a microSD card slot for extra storage, and even an honest set of audio system.
The Air3 C does not lower corners with the display screen both, and it shouldn’t at this worth. It makes use of a dual-format 10.3-inch Kaleido 3 that shows coloration in 1240 x 930 decision — a commendable effort for an E Ink system. Comics, pie charts, and the rest you’d wish to see in coloration look good, although not as crisp as on a regular pill. Then again, the pill’s monochrome shows content material in a fair sharper 2480 x 1860 decision.
However let’s flip to the star of the present, the Air3 C’s stylus. As our evaluate notes, writing on this pill is fairly superior, primarily as a result of Wacom layer. Whether or not sketching or writing, you’ll get pleasure from pen-like precision that you simply received’t discover in lots of different tablets, E Ink or in any other case.
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Onyx Boox Observe Air 3C evaluate: Filling the void between pill and e-reader
It isn’t flashy however the Observe Air 3C fills an necessary area of interest
Additionally, whereas a skinny layer of glass protects the display screen, it does not inhibit the writing expertise. That is as a result of Onyx added a paper-like textured movie that we expect feels quite a bit like common outdated paper. Writing and drawing come naturally. Artists, particularly, will admire the beneficiant choice of brushes and layer choices discovered within the notes. Significantly, the Air3 C would possibly simply substitute your sketchpad.
A compact choice
Supernote Nomad
A extremely transportable, streamlined note-taking system
Supernote’s latest E Ink system could also be small, however that’s what’s nice about it. It doesn’t provide as many options as some others, however what it does, it does nicely. The paper-like floor is as near paper as you may get, and the stylus (offered individually) is extremely responsive. Most notably, the Nomad contains a swappable battery and the choice to extend storage to an unlimited 2TB by way of microSD.
- Small dimension ought to slot in most purses, messengers baggage, and backpacks
- Black and white show precisely shows 16 shades of grey
- The show has the feel and appear of actual paper
- Stylus is offered individually
- Efficiency lags with some sideloaded apps
Whereas the Supernote Nomad’s working system, dubbed Chauvet, relies on Android 11, you undoubtedly will not mistake it for the Google-developed platform. Its closely retouched interface factors to the system’s excessive concentrate on note-taking, which it does higher than the rest at this worth.
On the forefront is a comparatively typical E Ink panel, however outfitted with arguably probably the most paper-like end accessible at this time. This goes a great distance in offering a satisfying writing really feel, with out the fatigue that comes from attempting to stabilize a stylus on slick glass. It sees the identical pitfalls of different E Ink shows (principally a poor refresh price and grayscale limitation) however has nearly as good of a tactile response as something we have reviewed.
Its stylus works nice, though it is offered individually, and the $60 price ticket does not sq. very nicely with the Nomad’s personal $300 MSRP. However it helps all EMR styluses, so you should use your individual when you have one, or choose up a third-party EMR stylus for a bit cheaper.
It ships with just some inventory Android apps and entry to varied software program from Supernote, however you do have choices to extend the flexibility. The March 2024 OS replace added the flexibility to sideload Android apps, and as we have already seen within the wild, customers are already including tons of performance with numerous light-weight software program suites. Take notice, although, that its quad-core Rockchip system-on-a-chip and mere 4GB of RAM cannot deal with something considerably resource-intensive.
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Supernote Nomad pill evaluate: Actual paper is outdated information
A note-taking expertise that feels good
The Nomad will not fulfill your wants when you’re trying to get pleasure from streaming video or gaming in your off time. However it provides you with a handy, particularly transportable solution to digitize handwritten notes, and will not distract you with the potential for binge-watching something when that you must work.
Software program superiority
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE
The least costly latest Galaxy Tab with stylus assist
$380 $450 Save $70
Samsung’s flagship tablets get a lot of the press, however its smallest Tab S sequence launch delivers a particularly comparable expertise because of the corporate’s refined Android implementation. It makes some notable compromises in comparison with the full-on Tab S9, however they will not considerably have an effect on the way in which most individuals use a pill.
- Glorious stylus assist and precision
- Handy multitasking options
- Premium construct quailty
- Not precisely blazing quick
- LCD panel might pop a bit extra
The Samsung Galaxy Tab sequence provides what most name probably the most refined pill expertise on the Android market. Extraordinarily just like the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, the smaller S9 Fan Version options the identical OneUI OS implementation customers love, at a considerably cheaper price than its extra highly effective siblings.
Predictably, it sacrifices some notable high-end Tab S9 options to get its worth so low. Its LCD panel’s nowhere close to a premium OLED panel, but it surely’s nonetheless vivid, colourful, and completely high-quality for many customers. The largest compromise comes within the type of its Exynos 1380 SoC, which underperforms in comparison with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship Tab S9s obtained. However so long as you keep away from extraordinarily resource-heavy apps or in depth multitasking, you should not have any issues.
The largest causes to go for a Galaxy pill are the software program’s typically user-friendly and customizable design, and the way nicely it helps stylus performance. Pen precision and palm rejection are nearly as good as they get, and OneUI consists of many options for streamlining work. It even comes with the stylus included.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE evaluate: Elevating the bar for worth
Samsung’s midrange powerhouse is almost excellent
Whereas it was fairly dear for a midrange pill at launch, the high-end construct high quality, included S Pen, and extremely praised software program now make it a detailed contender for greatest worth. To essentially step up its handwritten notice talents, we suggest selecting up a paper-like Tab S9 FE display screen protector.
Reasonably priced versatility
Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2
Does all of it after which some
The Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 stands out for its mixture of a stellar OLED show and succesful stylus enter utilizing the included Precision Pen 3. All of this makes it a terrific worth choice for note-takers on the go.
- Probably the greatest screens on a pill
- Precision Pen 3 provides exact note-taking capabilities
- Worth-priced positioning
- Mid-range processor and restricted RAM could make heavy multitasking a chore
- Boring, utilitarian design
The Lenovo P11 Professional Gen 2 will not win any awards for being probably the most thrilling choice, however makes up for that as a well-rounded, highly effective system with a terrific show for media consumption. Avid note-takers will admire the 11″ OLED panel, which runs at 120Hz for a handy guide a rough interface and fluid cloud gaming. The oversize display screen makes it a breeze to jot down notes in your alternative of apps utilizing the included Precision Pen 3.
The stylus provides a matte end, replaceable nibs, and 4,096 stress sensitivity factors, making it a wonderful alternative for note-taking. That mentioned, the pen suffers from noticeable jitter when writing at an angle that may make sketching a less-than-ideal expertise. Thoughtfully, the pen could be linked magnetically to the again of the pill, making certain it is by no means out of attain.
Sadly, efficiency is not the main target of the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2. As a substitute, the pill takes a value-oriented strategy with a MediaTek Kompanio 1300T chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which could be upgraded with a microSD card. It is completely suited to light-weight duties like searching the web, catching up on social media, streaming, and note-taking, however not for operating highly effective apps or enjoying video games.
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Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 evaluate: A pill worthy of your subsequent bingewatch
Your eyes will thanks after your subsequent 8-hour marathon
Regardless of its inexpensive worth level, the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 retains the fundamentals. It may also be bought as a bundle with the Precision Pen 3 and a keyboard dock, making it a fair higher worth for the cash.
A Samsung various
OnePlus Pad 2
Excessive-end efficiency at a midrange worth
The OnePlus Pad 2 is the one to get when you worth a productivity-first pill. On this second technology of the OnePlus Pad, you will get pleasure from a bigger display screen and refreshed {hardware}. The 7:5 facet ratio of the display screen is especially geared in the direction of multitasking and makes it a cinch to open two apps concurrently. A low-latency stylus additional accentuates the pen-like note-taking expertise.
- Massive 144Hz show optimized for studying and multitasking
- The OnePlus Stylus provides suitably low latency for note-taking
- Lengthy battery life
- Stylus haptic suggestions restricted to sure apps
- Stylus prices further
The OnePlus Pad 2 sticks to the model’s ethos of providing unbelievable efficiency at a value-oriented worth level. The corporate’s second pill will get the necessities proper with a vivid, 12.1-inch show; it is a slight enlargement on its predecessor, however an OLED panel would’ve definitely elevated the OnePlus Pad’s {hardware} credentials.
In any case, the LCD display screen delivers wealthy distinction and a panel that is still completely viewable outdoor. The silky easy 144Hz refresh additional provides to the fluid expertise.
Whereas the weird 7:5 facet ratio won’t be ideally suited for watching motion pictures, the OnePlus Pad is a superb alternative for productiveness fiends. Looking a number of pages concurrently, multitasking, and performing note-related duties flourish on the OnePlus Pad 2, although you’ll have to splurge further on the OnePlus Stylus Pen to maximise the capabilities of the pill.
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Overview: The OnePlus Pad 2 stunned me in nearly each approach
Working from a pill is lastly tempting
The OnePlus Stylo 2 has {hardware} assist for minimal latency, which ought to imply lag-free note-taking. That mentioned, you will want related software program to make the most of that low latency. Elsewhere, the stylus helps palm rejection, tilt assist, and 4,096 ranges of stress sensitivity, making note-taking a cinch.
Powering the OnePlus Pad 2 is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Mixed with 8GB or 12GB of RAM, the pill may even play the newest video games. One frustration is the absent fingerprint scanner, one thing the primary technology additionally lacked.
OnePlus did not make any upgrades to its pill’s battery, but it surely did not really want to. The Pad 2 provides wonderful longevity with its 9,510mAh battery, making it one of many longest-lasting tablets round. You may as well get the OnePlus Pad 2 bundled with the stylus in addition to the keyboard accent, making it nice worth.
Tremendous premium choice
Apple iPad Professional 11-inch (2024)
The cash-is-no-object choice
$929 $999 Save $70
With the evolution of the M4-powered iPad, the 2024 iPad Professional has reached a zenith for 11-inch tablets. With an improved OLED show that provides even higher distinction and a construct high quality that few can match, that is arguably one of the best and thinnest pill ever made. However to personal one, Apple expects its clients to make a considerable funding.
- Beautiful show
- Glorious battery life
- M4 CPU is nice at multitasking
- Skinny and lightweight
- Disturbingly costly
- Earlier equipment will not work with it
- Digicam is disappointing
The brand new iPad Professional (2024) has two important promoting factors over the peerlessly serviceable prior design. One is an improved OLED panel, or slightly, two OLED panels stacked to create superior distinction and definition. The second huge change is the change from the M2 processor to the all-new M4 silicon, offering higher gaming and utility efficiency. As anticipated, this gorgeously engineered system is thinner than any iPad earlier than it and is destined to grow to be an exhibit in a museum of early Twenty first-century merchandise.
Nevertheless, it is arduous to disregard the numerous funding Apple is asking for the 2024 iPad Professional and its 13-inch counterpart. The associated fee doesn’t cease on the iPad Professional itself, as not one of the equipment from the earlier technology are suitable with this mannequin, additional inflating the value.
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iPad Professional (2024) evaluate: Moveable energy and promise at an impractical worth
The iPad Professional 13-inch (2024) has impressed me to take action far more with the iPad
As good as the brand new Magic keyboard is, it prices greater than many midrange Android tablets, and the value of the Apple Pencil Professional will make you anxious about how your youngsters would possibly deal with it.
And, for a pill that, with all of the optionally available extras and AppleCare+, might value greater than $2500, it has a mediocre digital camera. However it does have that cool Apple emblem, and they’ll engrave it without spending a dime.
Goal-built for notes
reMarkable Paper Professional
Not very versatile, however undoubtedly eliminates distractions
The Outstanding Paper Professional is technically a pill, however exists completely to allow seamless note-taking and administration. Whereas it is extraordinarily restricted in comparison with a typical Android pill, it is arguably probably the most just like writing on actual paper.
- Tremendous skinny profile
- Feels remarkably like precise paper
- A large 10″ display screen
- Not significantly versatile
- Would not have a backlight
- Not low-cost
The Outstanding Paper Professional is technically a pill, however in contrast to any others we suggest. For starters, it does not run Android or perhaps a modified model of it, as a substitute counting on a starkly centered Linux-based OS known as Codex; its horsepower is not anyplace close to sufficient to run most third-party apps, even when you might in some way sideload one your self.
Even with its limitations, the Paper Professional is a considerable improve to the Outstanding 2, including an E Ink Gallery 3 coloration show and entrance lighting, considerably boosting the system’s performance. Outstanding additionally constructed its newer pill with an aluminum chassis and glass show, affording not solely higher sturdiness however a extra premum really feel.
It does succeed on the one factor it units out to do, which is to function a digital pocket book with streamlined group, customization, formatting, and enhancing of your handwritten notes. It provides a variety of instruments, each primary and superior, to make navigating your written phrases fast and simple. The textual content transcription additionally shines, yielding almost excellent success regardless of the “mediocre-at-best” handwriting we fed to it.
Arguably, probably the most noticeable optimistic is how comparable the Outstanding Paper Professional is to precise, wood-pulp paper. It merely feels extra actual than a lot of the competitors, leading to constant writing that will not fatigue your palms, and it will look nearly an identical to your analog notes. Additionally, like paper, you do not have to cost it — nicely, you do, however solely each couple of months, at greatest. Within the month we used it frequently, we hardly observed the battery indicator drop.
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Overview: The Outstanding Paper Professional provides a curious mixture of enhancements and compromises
As limiting and releasing as paper, now in coloration
As nice because the Outstanding Paper Professional is for writing, it merely is not good for a lot else, and that is actually the one main useful disadvantage. The easy add course of for the 2 exterior doc codecs it does assist (EPUB and PDF recordsdata) works shortly and with out problem, so you’ll be able to learn most of your present ebooks when you’re resourceful sufficient to transform them (which is tremendous simple with the open-source Calibre software program).
Streaming and gaming of all types are out of the image, however what do you want movies or video games for? You are purported to be taking notes.
Selecting one of the best pill for taking notes for you
Whether or not you take notes at a lecture, jotting down necessary factors in a enterprise assembly, or journaling for enjoyable or psychological well being, the suitable pill can assist. A great mixture of {hardware} efficiency, show functionality, and software program refinement makes it simple to digitize handwritten notes, and even scan them for later looking and referencing. Relying on which route you are taking, you can too get most or the entire huge performance Android provides.
Our best choice, the Onyx Boox Go 10.3, blends the 2 worlds about in addition to potential. Its E Ink show soundly beats different paper-like screens, with out sacrificing the visible consolation and tactile really feel of writing on a note-focused pill. It is no barn burner, however its {hardware} can eke out sufficient efficiency to allow a slate of third-party apps.
You’ll be able to spend significantly much less and get one thing each bit as nice to write down on by choosing the TCl Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G. Its distinctive nano-etched show combines one of the best of the E Ink and LCD worlds, so you’ll be able to get pleasure from a paperlike writing expertise in addition to vibrant, full-spectrum coloration. Plus, the 5G mobile connection makes this feature significantly extra transportable than others.
After all, it would not be a correct pill roundup with out mentioning Samsung. The Tab S9 and S9 FE are among the many high high-end and midrange tablets, respectively, largely resulting from Samsung’s mastery of Android implementation and stylus assist. Its Wacom EMR layer guarantees professional-quality pen precision, and OneUI is nearly as good because it will get. Whereas the true S9 is a bit dear, the less expensive S9 FE provides most of the professionals, with few cons.
Greatest total
Onyx Boox Go 10.3
The Onyx Boox Go 10.3 is a streamlined notetaking system with a paper-like display screen, and in depth Android performance, wrapped up in a premium physique. It is considered one of our favourite e-readers, sports activities in-depth handwritten notice assist, and appears and seems like a high-end system.