Smaller than a laptop?

[Jayne]

I want to get my daughter something to take notes on at school.  I want something easy to type on, but preferably smaller than a laptop and easy to carry.  I would like it to support speech to text software and to have the ability to connect to a printer.

So does something like this exist?  I know almost nothing about what is available (other than Blackberry stuff). 

[OCLittleFlower]

There's a netbook -- theyre like tiny laptops. 

Laptops these days are so light though -- I'd rather just carry that.  Back in my day...  :tongue:

[Mr.Crowley]

Well, netbooks are out of fashion now. Sony Vaio did a good one not so long ago. The problem is they just weren't very portable. They were kinda thick, had poor battery life and fans and were comparatively expensive for what you got. They've stopped making most of them.

What I can recommend is a Chromebook. They're small, cheaper devices made by Google and partners like Acer, that don't have all the features of a traditional computer. All the software is accessed by the internet through Google apps.

For example, with Google Drive, you have online storage where you can store all your documents, music, photos etc. You can access them from any computer with web access. Then you have google apps for word processing, power point and spreadsheets. They have great battery life, too.

I checked and they do have text-to-speech software, as well as voice dictation and other accessibility features. You can also use some simple parental control tools as well.

The cheapest one appears to be an Acer C720. Looks quite fancy, actually.

[Parresia]

Get a windows RT tablet.  They come with MS Office, which is important for her to share docs, work on slides that her teachers might provide, etc.  They are light, easy to use, and don't cost nearly as much as a full laptop or even a tablet with windows pro.  This forum is a good place to get info about them: http://forums.wpcentral.com/#windows-8-tablets

[Dextimus]

I use Samsung N220 Plus 10.1-inch Netbook. It fits into pocket of my jacket. Wifi and UMTS 3.5G modem on board.

[Gardener]

You can do all this with an iPad and a keyboard cover: http://store.apple.com/us/product/HB730VC/A/logitech-ultrathin-keyboard-cover-mini-for-ipad-mini?afid=p219|GOUS&cid=AOS-US-KWG-PLA

She can also purchase, if she doesn't already have it, the Student edition of Office 365 (79 dollars) and it can be placed on a number of devices (5, I think).

I'm not *sure* about speech to text, but there simply must be an app for it.

She can print through wifi, and could also Skype with you, etc.

[Jayne]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.  I did not realize how complicated this was going to be.

[Gardener]

It's complicated to make things easier: technology.

[Kaesekopf]

I have two netbooks and adore them.  They are portable and easy to use, both keyboards I think are about 90% the size of a normal keyboard, and are good for on-the-go type things.  Especially useful for traveling.  Note-taking, I've never used them for that.