Hi, and Welcome to my first YouTube video
where I want to take some time to 
show something different
that i think students can benefit from.
I want to show you how i take handwritten 
digital notes on a Windows Laptop,
and overall which is the most budget friendly iPad alternative I have found.
The first part of this video series is 
going to be dedicated
to the hardware equipment that I use, 
 suggestions and alternatives.
This part can also apply to a MacBook and Linux laptops.
So let's get started.
This whole concept revolves around a existent device
for which we are gonna have another purpose,
and that is a graphic tablet.
Some of you might be familiar with a graphic tablet
because it is mostly used for drawing and photo editing
in apps such as: Illustrator, Photoshop and Lightroom.
Once connected via USB port or Bluetooth,
the area on the tablet corresponds to the screen,
and you can work with the pen stylus provided.
There are more categories of graphic tablets, such as:
The hybrid type, which is fully functioning PC 
with a Drawing Tablet
The Display tablet which work as an external monitor for your laptop with pen
and the standard Drawing Tablet
on which I am gonna focus on this series
because the price points are much lower 
and affordable for students,
compered to the ones that are used by professionals.
For me the journey started with XP Pen company,
and now I own two tablets.
The Star G960 has been with me for almost a year,
and it perfectly sits on top of my keyboard
 on my 15.7 inch laptop.
Although many people use their drawing tablets beside their computer and laptop,
I use mine on top since I don't need my keyboard when handwritting.
The Star G430S is one of, if not the 
cheapest graphic tablet on the market,
it only takes a small part of my laptop 
so that I can use it beside my keyboard.
But do note that it is not really accurate for big screens,
so it is mostly connected to my Android phone.
To accompany my Graphic Tablet,
I have my laptop which is 15.7 inch Acer Aspire 3.
I have had it for around 2 years now.
I do everything university related here,
a bit of drawing and video editing.
The most popular brand is Wacom, 
so if you want to check them out,
there is a really awesome video 
that can help you with that,
and I will make sure to put a link in the description:
I don't have any experiences with Wacom Tablets,
but with a bit higher price points,
you do get the ability to connect via Bluetooth.
If you don't have a laptop and you want to 
have the ability of your notetaking to be portable
there are a few alternatives as 2in1 Laptops which convert to tablet mode when opened 360 degrees.
I know that some of them have a pen stylus included
so if you are planning to buy a laptop anyway, 
consider this option.
If you want to try to digitize the way you study,
I will also encourage you to try to do digital art
since you already will have the equipment needed,
and digital stickers are unique and helpful.
I am planning to make another part of this series, 
where i can show you my studying workflow,
and maybe show you around in different apps
 for Notetaking on Windows.
If you are interested to see that make sure to subscribe so you can watch the video when it comes out.
If you have questions or suggestions, 
write them in the comment section down bellow.
Thanks for watching! See ya!
