Pocket Moleskine - Great Capture Device
- No additional noise, stimulation from it.
- Satisfying writing experience. Analog - texture of paper, feel of pen when writing letters or drawing.
- Much quicker startup and shutdown for quick notes.
- Higher resolution.
- More flexible than any software can allow.
- Permanent. Unless written in pencil and still pretty durable.
- Can easily write at all angles. Best free-form drawing for simple stuff that doesn't have to look precise. Great capture device that way and also great for a quick sketch of something to show what you mean while talking with someone.
- Improves your handwriting if you try.
- Improves your drawing and sketching if you try.
- Cheap in relatively small quantities which is what most people use.
- Not intimidating - or at least not compared to PDA.
- No learning curve.
- Pocket in the back comes in handy.
- Low maintenance. No batteries or outlet required!
Treo 650 - Great Pocket Computer with Phone Capabilities
- A portable computer that is comfortable in your hand.
- Stimulating, may cause eye fatigue compared to paper.
- Digital means content can be transferred and repurposed without re-entry Can bring along a lot of reference material - but it is typically a bit of a hassle to get that stuff on there from your computer. Knowing what to bring and refreshing the content is an issue.
- Can surf for information with things like Wikipedia, Web, RSS reader Handwriting recognition not so great.
- Not as fast or comfortable to record information.
- Delicate due to electrical nature - be careful about spilling on this or dropping it.
- Extra functions like voice recording and camera are nice.
- Substantial learning curve.
- High maintenance, needs regular charging.
I carry both. My Treo is my cell phone, so I almost always need it with me. Sometimes I wish I had a small cell phone that was just good at being a phone, though. I think if I were a heavy phone user, I might use something that excelled as a phone. No QWERTY, no small numbers. I've yet to master using other functions while I'm on the phone because I don't want to interrupt the call. That's too bad.
Mobile Moleskines. Most of the time when I leave my home/office I have a large moleskine if I'm driving or a pocket moleskine if I'm on foot. If I am just walking in a loop and have no plans to go anywhere else, I bring my black Volant pocket Moleskine which is more comfortable in my pocket. I'm not expecting to write much and only occasionally do. Sometimes I limit myself to an index card for those loops. Depends on how long the loop is and what's handy that minute.
Treo. The Treo QWERTY is very nice in the occasional situation where I need to type out an email of any significant length and that happens at times. I like to check my email when I'm out because I randomly get big ticket software orders which I like to fulfill ASAP.
For all its fantastic modern swiss army knife features, my Treo doesn't inspire me to write. Although, there's one case that isn't true -- my web connection might provide me with stimulus to write. But just sitting there, it is inspiration neutral. If I need to record something and it is just a snippet, I type it in. I use it for: calling of course, looking up and recording phone numbers, writing down references such as books or movies I want to check out, reading the occasional ebook, reading RSS feeds, looking things up on Wikipedia or googling including using google maps to see where I am or to find something when I'm on the move. Lots of good stuff.
My Moleskines. Here's where a lot of my current writing is. It's an excellent, enjoyable tool for writing ideas and notes and drawings. And sketching if I were so inclined. Space and pockets are in short supply, so we tend to want to address multiple needs with the same tool, but if I had my way, I would just write in my moleskine. I would write about projects perhaps and write reminders, but I wouldn't convert my special writing object into a to do list or GTD machine. But, that's just me.
The Future. I'm hoping I won't have to choose. The Treo and its offspring will only get better. I guess when a PDA/Communicator starts feeling and looking like paper, the death knell of the moleskine and its offspring will sound. But meanwhile, I'll hunt for pocket space and enjoy the luxury of having both.
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