Our smartphones make for great note-taking companions. They can be used to jot down ideas, save pictures, find information and pretty much everything you want with the help of intuitive apps and features. They are a boon to students, researchers and the casual users alike.
There are many mobile apps available for notes creation. Each of them has their strengths and weaknesses. We take a look at some of the very best of them, ensuring that you don’t have to rely on the traditional paper-based notepads (except for doodling maybe).
Evernote
The grand-daddy of note taking apps, Evernote is fast and simple. But its biggest selling point is that it syncs your notes across all devices and all manner of mobile OSes. Be it Android, iOS, Windows Phone or BlackBerry, your notes are there for you, with all manner of picture and multimedia snippets included. The Web Clipper extension makes saving whole web pages or part of them a snappy process.
And did I mention that it works with desktop PCs and Macs as well? Everything from clipped web articles, notes, pictures and more are displayed exactly as you left them in your notes.
Platforms: All major mobile OS and desktop OS
Price: Free / Premium versions with Offline access to notes.
Google Keep
If you want dead simplicity when it comes to taking notes, its hard to beat Google’s material design inspired Keep. This app does notes and reminders too, syncing with your Chrome web browser to deliver desktop notifications to you.
Google Keep is aesthetically beautiful and it also is the most easiest to use. It may seem a bit barebones with its simple user interface but when it comes to the bare essentials, Google Keep is more than up to the task. It emphasizes the quickness of taking a note, making lists and snapping photos to include with notes. All notes are synced with your Google account. It also features alarm function with the reminder feature to keep you apprised of things.
Platforms: Android / Web / Windows Phone & iOS (Unofficial Clients)
Price: Free
Notability
Looking for a notes app that includes unique features not found on other apps? Notability for iOS gives you the means to incorporate videos in your notes as well as sketching features. This in addition to all the default note-taking capabilities found in other apps.
Notability also offers a audio recording feature as you’re taking down a note. This is helpful when you’re interviewing someone or just thinking out loud whilst you type the note.
Platform : iOS
Price: Rs 303 (based on exchange rate)
Honorable Mentions
Simplenote: A bare-bones note taking app that does one thing and does it right. Text-based note taking. It features syncing across Android, iOS and web app versions. Free.
Penultimate: For those who love using their iPad Stylus to take down notes and scribbles, Penultimate is the answer to their requirements. You can do everything from diagrams to handwritten notes with your stylus, letting you categorise your notes for easier manageability. Free.
There’s so many more apps for taking notes. What is your favorite go-to app for jotting down notes and reminders? Sound off below.
I use Simplenote on my iPhone and Mac. It really is very simple, but also great for a quick note.
i use google keep.
No mention of OneNote, the most popular note taking app in the world and which is available on any platform imaginable, even Android wear? Sigh. Typical Propakistani.
I use onenote. It’s very simple and good enough for standard users.
using Evernote !!
I use normal pad with pen, this is most simplest way to write the notes.