Taking handwritten notes on the iPad
I purchased the iPad mostly to replace my hundred paper pads, i.e. to take notes in seminars and later be able to find and improve them. After my initial disappointment, I decided that in 2011 I'll make an attempt on realizing that dream. So I got a Pogo stylus and 3 note taking apps, Penultimate, Notes Plus and Note Taker HD that had been reviewed most positively in 2010.
Let me start with where these apps agree: They all allow notes to be e-mailed as pdf and transferred back and forth through iTunes, so are very basic in terms of organizational tools. One can't improve the notes on the computer, no dropbox compatibility or a computer app that goes along, I hope this will change in the future.
If the name of Penultimate was Penbasic, I'd give it 5 stars, because what the app does well is to allow occasional handwritten notes, with a fairly smooth feel to the pen strokes, six colors, 3 thicknesses and an eraser tool. Nothing else.
Notes Plus and Note Taker HD have a tool that make note taking in seminars realistic: Close-up write (called edit2 mode in Note Taker HD) lets you write in a large rectangle with the text appearing in a much smaller rectangle. As you keep writing the smaller rectangle automatically advances from left to right (and down in Notes Plus) and a note arises that is both readable and close to the size of a letter, hurra! This mode has also built-in wrist protection that works well.
Notes Plus and Note Taker HD both have strengths and weaknesses and my verdict is still not out, you should try them yourself. Let me just list those aspects that are unique to them:
Notes Plus let's you select/drag parts of the note and type in it. It has only an awkward eraser tool where you strike-out or encircle what you want erased but it doesn't always work and you keep having to deal with useless lines and circles. You can also record while taking notes and it recognizes basic geometric shapes that can be filled with color.
Note Taker HD lets you resize the small rectangle in which the text appears, so in fact you have precise control over the letter size. It has a straightforward eraser and many preferences that can be set. You can import pdf-files and annotate them by hand which is useful for forms but otherwise iAnnotate is preferable for this purpose.
It would be great to have ONE app that can do all those things, together with organizational tools, any ideas? Finally, we're all waiting for a pressure sensitive pen, when will it arrive?
Let me start with where these apps agree: They all allow notes to be e-mailed as pdf and transferred back and forth through iTunes, so are very basic in terms of organizational tools. One can't improve the notes on the computer, no dropbox compatibility or a computer app that goes along, I hope this will change in the future.
If the name of Penultimate was Penbasic, I'd give it 5 stars, because what the app does well is to allow occasional handwritten notes, with a fairly smooth feel to the pen strokes, six colors, 3 thicknesses and an eraser tool. Nothing else.
Notes Plus and Note Taker HD have a tool that make note taking in seminars realistic: Close-up write (called edit2 mode in Note Taker HD) lets you write in a large rectangle with the text appearing in a much smaller rectangle. As you keep writing the smaller rectangle automatically advances from left to right (and down in Notes Plus) and a note arises that is both readable and close to the size of a letter, hurra! This mode has also built-in wrist protection that works well.
Notes Plus and Note Taker HD both have strengths and weaknesses and my verdict is still not out, you should try them yourself. Let me just list those aspects that are unique to them:
Notes Plus let's you select/drag parts of the note and type in it. It has only an awkward eraser tool where you strike-out or encircle what you want erased but it doesn't always work and you keep having to deal with useless lines and circles. You can also record while taking notes and it recognizes basic geometric shapes that can be filled with color.
Note Taker HD lets you resize the small rectangle in which the text appears, so in fact you have precise control over the letter size. It has a straightforward eraser and many preferences that can be set. You can import pdf-files and annotate them by hand which is useful for forms but otherwise iAnnotate is preferable for this purpose.
It would be great to have ONE app that can do all those things, together with organizational tools, any ideas? Finally, we're all waiting for a pressure sensitive pen, when will it arrive?
G5 and Powerbook17, Mac OS X (10.6.5)
