Microsoft’s One Note program adds a powerful elements to your notes… sound.

One Note allows you to record audio with your notes, play back the audio and see the notes that you wrote in real time. Want to see how it works?

Current generation Tablet PCs like the Motion LE 1700 enhance this function with array microphones that allow you to get better audio quality.

A pen makes a lot more sense for note taking than a keyboard because it is unobtrusive. So a Tablet PC is ideal for note taking at conferences.

A Tablet PC goes under the radar at a conference because it takes the expected form of pen and paper.  On the other hand, if you pop out your laptop, the people around you might suspect that you’re hacking the Internet or something!

Because you write on the screen flat on your table or lap, it’s also harder for the people sitting five rows behind you to glance at or be distracted by your screen.

Tablet PCs are designed to last for hours on a single charge thanks to the use of Intel ultra low voltage processors. That means that your Tablet can practically go all day at a conference on a single charge.

Using Microsoft OneNote to organise your conference notes and capture the audio at the conference will help you to make use of valuable information.

TIP: Want your Tablet PC to last a couple of extra hours at the conference? Turn your screen brightness down to the minimum you can practically use and detach unneeded peripherals.

One of the most likely places that you’ll see a Tablet PC is at a school or university. Tablet PCs are especially handy in university for two reasons:

1. Digital note taking and recording
2. Mobile computing.

Of course, a regular laptop can do mobile computing.  However any time you need to take notes, a Tablet PC comes into its own league.  That’s because for taking notes a regular laptop with keyboard is:

• Too slow
• Too noisy
• Too distracting
• Too difficult to balance.

Note: Many people tell me that they can type faster than they write. That might be true when handwriting an email using text recognition, but not usually for note taking when text recognition doesn’t matter.

Watch the Microsoft Tablet PC Education Presentation

A Tablet PC allows a student to be organised to an unprecedented degree. These are just some of the things that a Tablet PC will allow you to do:

• Organise lecture notes into a digital folder
• Audio record lectures with your notes (with Microsoft OneNote)
• Carry your entire note history, handouts and recordings with you at all times
• Access the Internet from anywhere with Wi-fi or 3G.

The only drawback for many students is the higher price of a Tablet PC. So the question is, will it add value to your education? If it can help you to get organised, to get ahead and pass exams then why wouldn’t it be worth it?

Read Microsoft’s top 10 benefits of Tablet PCs in education.