Everyone should have the right to be able to speak their mind, but they also should have the know-how to do it in an effective manner. (See, we told you we love vocabulary!) Learning to express one's thoughts in a clear manner, having command of language, and using exposition to express an idea or opinion is a crucial tool for students to learn. Google’s own lack of innovation in tablets, particularly in creating a flexible multi-window operating system and courting tablet apps out of developers, is to blame here.While we love logic and vocabulary, we understand that writing is paramount: chief in importance or impact supreme preeminent. Where they fell apart was in flexibility: ask an Android tablet to juggle a writing window, a browser, and a media player (typically a YouTube playlist) all at once, and you’re in for a bad time. But I kept finding myself in between two poles.Īndroid tablets excelled at focus, forcing me to stay within a word processor (Google Docs or Microsoft Word) nearly all the time. I’ve tried the Pixelbook, the Pixel Slate, and various non-Googley Chromebooks like the HP x2 and the Lenovo Duet, even a couple of Windows devices like the Surface Pro. From the original Nexus 7, to the more powerful Nexus 10 and 9, to Samsung's excellent AMOLED tablets, to my beautiful and tragic Pixel C. Then maybe I’d finally run out of excuses for finishing off that second novel.Ī pile of my previous attempts: Pixel C (running Lineage), Pixel Slate, Lenovo DuetĪs a dedicated lover of all things Google (at least where hardware and software are concerned), I’ve tried pretty much everything I could get my hands on. (Yes, the keyboard counts as 'supporting hardware.' No one ever said dreams had to be consistent.) If I could get a tablet, or perhaps a convertible laptop with its fold-back screen, and an “endgame” keyboard, and I’d finally achieve portable writing perfection. With all that included, it needs to be powerful enough to run multiple applications at a time: a word processor, a small browser window for supplementary research, and a media player for music.Since I’m also a fan of mechanical keyboards, as are many self-described writers these days, a tablet + wireless keyboard combo is part of my ideal. I dream of the perfect mobile writing machine.I imagine a device that’s compact and light enough to carry anywhere, without the need for supporting hardware, and which differs enough from a conventional laptop or desktop interface to let me focus entirely on writing. There’s a dream I’ve had for years: a platonic ideal of consumer electronics.

Best tablet for writing