Best note taking app for iPad

[leelai]

I have just downloaded Evernote on my iPad2 and for the life of me I can' figure out how to clip from a website as advertised. When I hit the various symbols, all I can get is something for photos and something that looks like it might record voice? I am stumped how to use this application! Thanks for any advice you happy Evernote users can give me.

Have you downloaded Evernote to your computer? As far as I know web clipping is only done there. In the app when on the Home page, up the top will be a list of sections, press more, you will be presented with Places and Searches, press Places which will take you to a map with a red pin, press pin and here is everything about Evernote. Hope this helps you!!

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[Ads]

[Heaviside]

On Circus Ponies: Yep, yep. It isn't the thirty bucks I object to, but the fact that there is so little information given (either in the app store or on their web site) to make it a good gamble for me. Maybe they are relying on their established Mac customer base.

Which brings up a related issue: I scan a number of different app review journals on-line each day, but they are almost 100 percent concerned with games and pedestrian "remind me" apps. Only rarely do I see a review of a real work tool.

[vgorena]

WOW! After reading through 44 pages, I am slightly less confused over which is the best note taking application. First of all, a huge thank you to all of the previous comment authors.

Reading through this massive thread did provide some significant insight. As a few people put it, not every app is best for every user. You have to know how you planning using the application (school, work, business meetings, sales calls, personal stuff, etc.) Once I realized I did not have my usage requirements identified (kicking myself), I knew I did not know what I wanted or needed. The amount of apps out there can be overwhelming, and a lot of time and money can be wasted (see first line).

I am an IT Consultant and get involved in a lot of meetings for various projects and stuff. My impression of my needs was that I was looking for something like the old Franklin Planners or DayPlanners where I could maintain meeting schedules, and tie the meeting notes to the meeting, and somehow cross reference that into a client and/or project folder. Looking for this is like looking for the holy grail. One person put it that many app developers write for a particular task and that is it, after 44 pages I believe that person now. I may need to crack out my developer skills again and develop my own.... or just use two apps.

Anyway, there were several that made the short list of possible note taking apps...SmartNotes, Circus Ponies Notebook, Notability, Note Taker, Notes Plus, Evernote, Groovy Notes, and Meeting Pad. Circus Ponies was eliminated fast due to cost and not really meeting ultimate desires. Evernote was eliminated due to monthly/annual subscription cost; funny how some were complaining about high cost of Circus Ponies but were using EverNotes. Moving on... Note Taker and Notes Plus both looked OK, as well as Notability. SmartNotes and Notability were two that had the voice recording feature and note to audio linking. I decided to go with Notability for now as it is on sale this week for $.99. If it doesn't work, I will be back looking at others.

Ron

Hi... I read your analisys of the apps... I didn't read all the post, but, could you please analize this other 2 apps and let me know what you think?

1. Paperport Notes of Nuance...
2. MyNotebook!



Sent from my iPad using iPF

[d3mha]

I use notability it's a great app

[Luvntravln]

Who is using Noteshelf; what do you think?

[jsh1120]

I agree with jsh1120 when it comes to paying for something that really does the job well. I wonder if the developers couldn't work a deal with iTunes to permit a short trial period. Even 7 days would be enough for me to test drive an app and decide if I like it or not.

The "trial" period approach requires a lot of administration when it goes through a third party vendor (e.g. Apple). Though I may be wrong, I believe the 24 hour "trial" that existed in the Android Marketplace has now been revised. In any event, it's obvious that Apple doesn't like "trial" apps. From their perspective (and from the perspective of the developer as well), I think a simpler, no questions asked return approach would be easier to administer. The current Apple model enables a purchaser to return an app for store credit. I think that would be a reasonable compromise if the process were simplified for "expensive" apps.

[guthrien]

I use the actual Evernote app as a review library or for writing small notes. The cross platform availability and powerful search are the primary motivators for me using it. It's simply beautiful for viewing an established library, though the iPhone app allows for easier photo or voice notes than does the iPad. My main interaction with putting things "in" the system is through other apps that sync with Evernote or more importantly Web Clipping. Now unfortunately due to the close nature of iDevices it's not as easy to clip web content. If you are a power user or need to do extensive clipping, it would be worth investing 10 minutes doing a web search for "bookmarklets" which are JavaScript bookmarks you create in Safari that allow auto complete options such as clipping pieces of websites for Evernote or many other programs.

[willpower]

I started using noteshelf and liked it. I shall continue to use it for longer notes. However I have since tried notability and like it better. I find the interface and usability better.

[jollywa]

I just bought penultimate for $3 ... And it is really good for input (I use a stylus) ... It supports PDF generation and you could email it or push to ever note.

It does hit all your wants but for $3 it's the best handwritten one I have used.

I guess your "wants" would depend upon what you use it for. I have Penultimate and, while it does many of the things I want to do, it falls short on the key ones - conversion of handwriting to text and the ability to edit on the fly, opening up a section so that you can insert comments, add charts and tables, etc. It has a feature to block hen scratches made by your hand as it rests on the screen and it sucks. It may be the angle at which I hold my stylus, but I get tons of random squiggles every time I write with it. And you have to write so large with those horrible styluses for iPad. I have several and, while some are better than others, nothing even comes close to calibre of handwriting I can do on my Tablet PC. And when I print it out, the printout is horrible. The letters are huge on the paper. I kept a log of my mileage and hours spent on a 4-month project. I printed it out, thinking that I would use the printout as support for my expenses. I was so embarrassed by the quality of the print out that I ended up typing the entire thing alll over again and printing out the re-worked log. I just downloaded an update to it and a few of the things I complain about may have been corrected in the update. That is, if their sales verbiage is to be believed. We shall see. The app that I want is one that will do everything that my Tablet PC notetaking software will do.

[persephone]

This thread is packed with valuable information. Thanks everyone!

I've got a blog with more details about what I use and how I use it (christophermayo), but to keep it short: I'd recommend Evernote for typewritten notes and Note Taker HD for handwritten ones (possibly 7 notes HD Prem if you are wanting conversion of English to text).

There are many factors to consider with typewritten notes, so I think what you choose ultimately depends on how you use the app. If you have a specific use case in mind, please post it here and we can give advice. I think general questions like "how is XX app?" are just too vague to be answered very well.

For handwriting, one thing I can say is that I would strongly recommend you do NOT use Penultimate. I bought that on the recommendations it got all over the place and was horrified by how my notes looked. I spent a really long time trying to like it. The user interface is great, but it looks like a kid drew with a blurry crayon when I export it to PDF. I hate the notes I took with it. The zoom feature on apps like Note Taker HD is so important for getting the handwriting to work well.

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