I’m not paperless and I never will be. Try as I may, I either can’t grab my tablet fast enough or I just miss the arts and crafts feel of real paper. That said, I have no problem admitting to the use of paper.

With all the hoopla about the “HipsterPDA” (heh, funny name) over at 43Folders, I decided to give it a try. It always looked like something I’d enjoy–I like excuses to buy new office supplies–and it’s cheap, so why not. Plus, they’re kinda cute, and very personalized (check out the Flickr photos of different Hipsters).

Here are some scenarios I would find it useful:

• I’m walking between classes and I want to find one of my teachers offices. Instead of stopping, pulling out my tablet, turning it on, checking, then turning it off, I grab the little hipster from my bag and check the page where I put all the contact info for my classes.
• My class just ended and my tablet is already away. I have a brilliant idea and I feel the need to write it down before it vanishes. As the professor says his farewell, I’m busily scribbling down in my hipster’s “Ideas” page.
• I’m out at lunch and I want to describe a layout to the person I’m at lunch with. Words just aren’t working and my tablet’s in the car. I grab the hipster from my purse and scribble on one of the extra pages. Unlike a napkin, I can also save this for scanning later if it turns into a real plan.
• I hate taking out my tablet on the bus because it’s a short bus ride with lots of bumping around, sometimes without a seat. I can still plan my day though with a quick look at my actions list, or I can jot down a quick idea.

Anyway, you get the point. No, the hipster wouldn’t be my life in a clip, but for the two days I’ve played with it, it’s proved pretty useful. If nothing else,  it’s kinda fun. Maybe I can add a little pocket to it for receipts and coupons.

What am I going to do with the notecards after they’re full or out of date? I don’t know. Throw them out? Scan them in? Make use of an old shoe box? We’ll see.  

And yes, for the record, I do have a Pocket PC smartphone (the Sprint PPC6700). Yes, I do use it ALL THE TIME, but no, I’ve never been able to jot down quick notes on it and actually use them later. I just can’t get into it. Plus, I lost the stylus a while back, so I only poke the touch screen with my finger (not great for writing). I use it mostly for texting, email (exchange accounts are brilliant), internet (EV-DO, baby. Sweeeeeet), and photos (sorry for the excessive use of parentheses).

Other posts that may interest you:

1. If you’re buying a ThinkPad for Fall, buy one early
2. Another Student Review of the Lenovo X61 Tablet (yours truly’s!)
3. Organizing with GoBinder
4. The Amazon Kindle: A Yin for the Tablet Pc’s Yang?
5. OneNote Organizer Add-In