Best note taking app for iPad

[chowdown]

Note taker HD was one of the first apps I bought. I do not use it much because it works much better if you use a finger than it does with a stylus.

With respect, this is one of the more bizarre claims I have seen on this forum.

You have to write pretty big, and even with the wrist guard turned on, I still got lots of marks all over the 'paper'.

Have you tried using Edit2 mode?

I find Penultimate the best so far, out of the half dozen or so that I have bought.

In what way do you find Penultimate superior to NTHD? In my experience, NTHD's ink is only surpassed by neu.Notes, and having said that, it is still very good.

As for features, NTHD makes Penultimate look like a toy.

 

[Mdorricott]

With respect, this is one of the more bizarre claims I have seen on this forum.

Have you tried using Edit2 mode?

In what way do you find Penultimate superior to NTHD? In my experience, NTHD's ink is only surpassed by neu.Notes, and having said that, it is still very good.

As for features, NTHD makes Penultimate look like a toy.

I actually did say any of that, I think you miss quoted me

 

[chowdown]

I actually didn't say any of that, I think you miss quoted me

Oops, my mistake, sorry. I meant to quote jollywa.

 

[Mdorricott]

Oops, my mistake, sorry. I meant to quote jollywa.

Ha, no probs, I actually agree and think NTHD is a fantastic tool and up to now, has been the best I've tried

 

[jollywa]

Chowdown I was not "making a claim". I was simply stating my experience with Notetaker HD. I own 3 different stylus and it does not read any of them particularly well. I constantly have to go back over my writing to fill in the places that did not 'ink'. In addition, as I said before, if I write like I would normally write on my tablet computer, I get marks all over the page with, even with wrist guard on. Using Edit 2 mode, gives me a tiny box at the bottom of the page in which to write. No worries about wrist guard, because with such a tiny writing surface at the bottom of the box, there is no place for a wrist to go anyway. It is not a "CLAIM", rather a statement of my experience with the app. Sorry you find that "bizarre".

 

[Justin Brock]

Hi All,
Thank you for the continued support and feedback as it helps us tremendously. In the upcoming version of Notability users will have the ability to add a caption under a photo or a figure!

Justin it would be nice if you guys could copy some of the ways iAnnotate does their interface, excluding the bizarre file handling feature.
I like being able to hide tool bars for a cleaner interface if needed. I want to see the content I am working with like Apple's Pages.

The ability to lock out the keyboard was a nice start, but you need more.

Here is a tip for those who would like to practice with Notability or possibly Pages over the weekend for creating content using only the iPad.

Create a report about the JAPANESE 8.9 QUAKE AND TSUNAMI that includes still shots of destruction, audio, maps, and additional notes. Use some of the ideas mentioned in earlier posts I have made here about Notability and content creation then add a generous amount of your own ingenuity.

The practice will make you that much better when it comes to the pressure of a classroom or a business project.

AUDIO
There is considerable video footage from AVN/HKN TV on CNN or FOX and on You Tube. that would be a source of audio while you are creating your notes if you use Notability to record it from say your TV playing while you work.

LOCATION
Sendai airport japan is easy to find using the iPad map app. switch to hybrid view then zoom until you recognize the arial view seen from the helicopter video shots. Play around until you have a feel for the area and spot other locations seen in the videos. Take screen shots of what you see (home and power button until photo click).

PHOTOS
Play You Tube clips and make screen shots. View news on the web and rip of images by holding a finger on them until the save image dialog pops up. The iPad 2 may add a bunch more options. Use earlier trick mentioned by using the built in Photo app to crop your pictures.

WEB
Copy and paste from browser or use Notabilities feature for inserting a web page into your notes.

RESEARCH GOALS
What happened to the loaded Japanese train or that ferry that disappeared? How many souls could be lost? What was their last know position? Map it.

How extensive is the danger from the two reactors that are overheating? Map it. Add notes about reactor design, pinpoint all reactor locations compare to fault lines, etc.

Add your ideas here...

create a family of notes sorted by subject.

SHARE
How many options do you have? Which in your opinion is the best way?

Post your observations here to help those who are new to iPad with iPad 2 to get started with the best content creation tools.
Get good enough at it and you could get a job creating content for CNN or FOX which could have done far better job if they had the talent.

The point is. A sharp individual can do a lot with the tools Apple gives you in the app store. The more you use it the faster you get as you can create notes as fast as you can think.

Post your thoughts here to advance the ability of others to use various tools to create notes for their own use.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

To address of your questions.

In the upcoming version you will have the ability hid tool bars to create a larger work area.

You can already change the label that is underneath the image put it comes standard with text. In the upcoming version you will be able to choose adding captions under images or pics. The inserted image will not come standard with a label but rather without one.

Thank you for the feedback and please let me know if there are any other features you are looking for.

 

[Justin Brock]

Hi All,
Thank you for the continued support and feedback as it helps us tremendously. In the upcoming version of Notability users will have the ability to add a caption under a photo or a figure!

Whoa - wait a minute - I can already do that in Notability (as can the poster above, apparently). Or do you mean that you plan on expanding that feature?

What I ment is inserted images/pictures will not come standard with the word "Picture" etc underneath. You will have the ability to still add captions but will no longer have the generic labeling. This will provide a cleaner smoother interface.

Sorry for any confusion the last post may have caused and thanks for all of the feedback.

 

[Justin Brock]

Hmm, I'm not understanding why it's so hard to read your notes in Notability... It has a toolbar on the top and a toolbar on the bottom - other than that, its just your notes.... What makes it so hard to read your notes in Notability??

It's not just the toolbar - when the screen is touched to scroll down or zoom in etc .. the keyboard pops up as well - i find that 1/2 the screen is taken up with toolbars and/or the keyboard at all times - they need a 'read only' function obviously it's just my opinion but i find it a big drawback

Thank you for the feedback. In the latest release you are able to lock the keyboard thus creating a larger screen for reading notes.

 

[shanshuprophecy]

Has anyone tried Notebooks for iPad?

I like the idea of nested notebooks & the todo creation. It also has a cool web clipper
That saves web pages for reading at a later time.

I know the "Notabillity Nazis" that frequent this thread will provide a barrage about how Notability will meet all these needs & more so, for the record - I already own Notability - it's a good app with some good features - no argument there - BUT - and this is important to me - I don't much care for the UI overall. It's a personal preference & I mean no disrespect to the devotees of Notability ... I find it clunky & unresponsive & I don't like the way it handles my files overall or the awkwardness of document/note creation - sorry! It's actually not just Notability, it's all of the multi-media notebooks - perhaps we are asking too much from them at this stage? I am reverting back to more dedicated apps that do only one or more things but that do them very well. ( my latest love is NotetskerHD - best app for drawing/ writing and love the UI - but, it's not really made for typed text ...

Anyway ) - I would love to hear from anyone who has used Notebooks for iPad? I love the screenshots but that is obviously not always the realty so before I shell out for yet ANOTHER note taking purchase I was hoping for some comments/feedback?

 

[chowdown]

Jollywa, my apologies for expressing myself so oafishly.

I recommend the Targus or Griffin stylus (same pen, different brands) or the the Boxwave capacitative stylus. Many people here also vouch for the Stylus R Us styluses, but I'm not a fan for various reasons.

You've already pinpointed the advantage of edit2 mode in NTHD, ie, no need for any palm-protection as you're writing at the bottom of the screen.

In my opinion, palm-protection in note-taking apps is generally a bad joke except for Notes Plus (of which I'm not a big fan for various reasons) and neu.Notes, which is pretty much the only app I use nowadays except for Good Reader, NTHD and neu.Annotate. It has quite a few bad comments in the App Store, but they seem to be for earlier versions. I use it extensively every day at work (in conjunction with a projector) and cannot recommend it highly enough. Amazingly, it's free.

There do seem to be some possible issues with its vga mirroring under iOS 4.3. For that reason, I'm not upgrading to 4.3 until the developer can give an assurance that these issues either don't exist or have been ironed out. There is an update coming sometime in the next two weeks.

Writing with your finger is ok if you don't have to write more than two words. For those kinds of uses I guess an app like Penultimate would be fine.

 

[donka]

In my opinion, palm-protection in note-taking apps is generally a bad joke except for Notes Plus (of which I'm not a big fan for various reasons) and neu.Notes, which is pretty much the only app I use nowadays except for Good Reader, NTHD and neu.Annotate.

Penultimate actually works really with a stylus and palm protection. There is no designated area for palm protection but if you rest on the screen and write with a stylus, it takes the upper most contact (usually the stylus) as the input and ignores the lower contact which would be your palm. Simple but effective.

 

[jollywa]

Penultimate actually works really with a stylus and palm protection. There is no designated area for palm protection but if you rest on the screen and write with a stylus, it takes the upper most contact (usually the stylus) as the input and ignores the lower contact which would be your palm. Simple but effective.

I agree with you about Penultimate. I do use a stylus on it. I have a Targus and a Pogo Sketch. I have a couple others on order.

For notetaking, Penultimate does seem to handle my style of handwriting better than the others. And after reading your explanation, I can begin to see why that is.

I don't suppose any one app is will the "be-all/end-all". But I keep looking for one that is.

 

[jollywa]

Jollywa, my apologies for expressing myself so oafishly. .

Not a problem. One of these days, I will take another stab at Notetaker HD and see if I can the hang of it better. On the YouTube video that I watched recently, it certainly looks like it will do a lot of things that I would use. But I can't get past the problem with my handwriting in that app.

As I said in an earlier post, I do have a couple other brands of stylus on order. Maybe one of them will work well.

 

[shanshuprophecy]

Not a problem. One of these days, I will take another stab at Notetaker HD and see if I can the hang of it better. On the YouTube video that I watched recently, it certainly looks like it will do a lot of things that I would use. But I can't get past the problem with my handwriting in that app.

As I said in an earlier post, I do have a couple other brands of stylus on order. Maybe one of them will work well.

I have recently bought notetakerHD & as a left handed who hasnt got a stylus I can vouch for the program - although I am ordering a stylus at this very moment )

I like the way the drawing/writing/colour modes allow me to think so therefore its not currently a feasible app for note-taking in meet ins etc .. I think typing is the way to go for me there butmit has. Ice file management & a great UI & I recommend giving it a try if you like the more creative options of drawing & writing in colour etc ..

 

[astonkiller]

Hi I need a notepad that does copy and paste from safari + with pictures.any one help thanks