I recently purchased an iPad 2, my first since iPad, but have been on the prowl for the best note-taking app. There are so many variations as to why you are needing to take notes, but for me the requirements were simple:
- I wanted to be able to type and also use handwriting for marking up as I’m a doodler.
- I wanted to have access to my dropbox folder so I can read PDF’s that I’ve saved there, mark them up, highlight, etc.
- I wanted to be able to share the final notes easily.
- I wanted to have a great way of keeping my notes organized as what I have been using before this was 3 or 4 different notebooks spread around 3 different desks. Not optimal.
Many people swear by Evernote, I haven’t really gotten into it and I’m not sure why, even before getting an iPad. My main hang-up for using Evernote as a note-taking app is that you can’t use handwriting. I moved on.
I tried GoodNotes and really liked almost everything about it, except that it didn’t let me type – though to their credit it isn’t supposed to and I knew that before purchasing. Once I started using it “for real” I realized that was something that I was going to value.
I gave Notes Plus, Note Take HD and Notability a look, but didn’t really feel like paying so much.
Along came a review on appadvice.com and whamo! Lead me to Notarize. This app did the trick. And best of all, FREE. Highly recommend for any iPad users out there looking to take notes on an iPad 2.
My day is spent in the web technology space, my evenings are spent with my wife and kids, cooking and enjoying some craft brew along the way. This site sort of brings all that together.