Guest Post - Chris - Three things I want Filofax to produce (2) Organisers that hold Mini-Tablets

Again thank you to Chris Partridge for the second in his series of Guest Posts on what he would like Filofax to produce, if you missed his first post take a look back at it here. 

The next thing I want Filofax to produce is an organiser that holds my new Google Nexus 7 tablet.

The new iPad-holding Pennybridge is just out, and the Flex with its slide-in iPad case is on the way soon, but why should Apple fans have all the joy?

Anyway, fitting an iPad into a Filo comes means big increases in size and weight. Fully loaded with the iPad (650gm) and inserts, the Pennybridge is likely to weigh a couple of kilos and is almost as big as an A4 desk organiser. That is just too much to tote around. And removing the iPad from its frame is a bit of a faff.

I want an organiser that holds everything I need for meetings - my Nexus tablet, paper to write on and a pen - in a light, convenient package. I don't want to use the tablet in the organiser, just to be able to slip it into a sleeve that will protect the screen when I am carrying it about but allow it to be removed easily for use.

An A5 organiser with a pocket in one side would be ideal. The Nexus 7 fits well within the A5 form factor so it would be very simple to make. It weighs in at only 340gm so the whole thing would weigh less than a kilo (unless you are very, very addicted to inserts, of course). The picture shows my Nexus in a naff A5 notebook folder from my stationary drawer, just to show how ideal the size is as a tablet case.

Steve The Philofaxy Man has already experimented with holding a Kindle in the notepad holder slot of a Malden and it works sort of with the Nexus, but it really needs to be a properly fitted pocket to be truly acceptable.

So why not, good people at Filofax? If you need any more encouragement, Apple is strongly rumoured to be launching a mini-iPad in September that would be a very similar form factor to the Nexus, so organisers with tablet pockets should have very wide appeal.

Guest Post - Chris - Three Things I Really Want Filofax to Produce: (1) Digital Paper

Thank you to Chris Partridge for submitting the first of three guest posts about what he would like to see Filofax produce. 

I know, I know - Filofax produced digital paper when digital pens first arrived ten years ago, but nobody bought it. So why should they try again now? 

The Livescribe pen, that's why.

When digital pens were introduced a decade ago it was confidently predicted that we would all use them to write documents and translate them into computer format using handwriting recognition software.

Writing is much more intuitive than typing, they said, and everyone would just love to ditch the keyboard and use good old pen and paper. But they didn't. The software for translating handwriting into computer typeface could not handle the average scribble, so digital pen users found they had to spend as much time correcting the final document as they did writing the thing in the first place. So digital pens bombed, except in specialist form-filling applications.

However, the Livescribe pen finally cracked it, with a digital pen that is genuinely useful for lots of regular people. Anyone who takes notes at meetings, lectures or briefings finds the Livescribe totally brilliant.

It is a digital pen with a dictaphone inside. At the lecture (say) you switch it on and it records the spoken words. As you listen, you make notes. Afterwards, the pen links the audio with the written words, so you can listen to any part of the lecture simply by pressing the nib onto the paper where your note is. No more 'fast-forwarding' looking for that particular quote - just select the written note and it is played out to you.

For journalists like me it changes the way we work. Students, lawyers, insurance assessors and many others are adopting it with speed.

The only drawback is that the Livescribe pen needs special paper printed with a background of barely-visible dots to work - so you have to buy your notebooks from them. They are good, and not particularly expensive, but they are all that is on offer. And Filofax's digital paper only works with the old Nokia and Logitech pens.

So I want Filofax to produce Livescribe-enabled paper so I can have a choice of really nice binders that reflect my personal needs and tastes.

And if Filofax were to make pen-holders large enough to accommodate the rather chunky Livescribe pen, that would be an added bonus.

What do others think? Have you ever tried out a digital pen?

You can find more about Chris and his past-times and interests on a couple of his blogs: Rowing For Pleasure and Ornamental Passions