Best iPad Note Taking app !!

richimages said:

Kewl! Never saw that before! Thanks! It does seem kindof hidden though, wonder how many others have not seen this before either. (Hey, did you actually read the manual or something?)

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LOL, but seriously - yep, I did read the manual. Although, I found out about the colour picker in a review on Youtube, I think.

richimages said:

I would think those are some of the apps you might start to check out! Let me know what you decide!

good luck

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Thanks for your suggestions, bud! I've done lots of research and definitely have decided to use Noteshelf. I know that the developers are working on PDF import and other such options, and I'm willing to give them some time. I might get Goodreader to annotate PDFs and PPTs and such until then, but I have never found the need to do so, now that I think about it.

Thanks again! I can't wait to drive down home to get my iPad tomorrow and try it out!

byalican said:

Noteshelf is the best for me.

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Agreed!

Yet Another NoteShelf Sample

NoteShelf ... which didn't seem to be too popular in this thread earlier ... has come to enjoy some favorable comments as of late. As a fan of Noteshelf, I'm going to ride this wave a bit with yet another sample page.

sk1wbw said:

You might want to check out Remarks. It has very very fluid handwriting on there. It lets you simply make notebooks for notetaking, plus you can edit PDF files. One feature I do like with Remarks is that you can autosync a folder full of files with DropBox.

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Thanks for suggestion. Remarks is good with its WebDAV autosynchronization.

Ghostwriter Notes app is also good for notetaking.

I have tested countless apps for notetaking and I always seem to find my way back to noteshelf. Very clean looking organization of notes, looks like the iBooks shelf. You have the ability to group together notebooks for more depth to organization. Obviously wrist guard, and zoom in writing are a huge factor. The handwriting is very smooth and can even make bad handwriting look good on the screen. The only reason I even attempt to test new apps is because of the lack of pdf annotation. Once this is implemented, my search for the perfect notetaking app will cease, and I can finally live in peace.

I've posted several snapshots of Noteshelf at this location:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16351794/


Seems appropriate to include that link in THIS thread.

richimages said:

I've posted several snapshots of Noteshelf at this location:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16351794/


Seems appropriate to include that link in THIS thread.

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what stylus are you using? thanks for the screenshots!

vito said:

what stylus are you using? thanks for the screenshots!

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I would also be intrigued at what stylus as I am looking at purchasing one.

I'm surprised Evernote is not in the poll selection. It's the best note taking app if I feel like typing, but if I'm using my stylus then I would go for Penultimate. Well organized notes and syncs to Dropbox!

vito said:

what stylus are you using? thanks for the screenshots!

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I have gone through three different styluses ... each switch being a vast improvement from the previous.

I currently use a mesh tipped stylus from Boxwave (right in image below) - as opposed to a rubber tipped stylus (left).




A mesh tipped stylus glides accross the screen with effortless resistance. If you get a rubber tip - and especially if your screen is clean, then it will grip the screen - you'll find yourself trying to push the tip across the glass display with much resistance. A mesh type is a VAST improvement ... it glides across the screen very easy. It flexes a bit. Don't worry - it will not scratch your screen at all.

I feel that I could take notes all day long just as good as with a pen and paper - no more fatigue.

From Amazon, the Boxwave that I have cost around $12.00 ( going from memory there ). There are many styles.

Good Luck with your decision, let me know what you decide.

someone28624 said:

Can anyone write even half-way legibly with their finger? That alone makes note taking apps just not work for me, which is too bad, because I would love so much for it to work. Maybe if I could find a stylus that works well.

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I can write in a readable manner with my finger ... but it is a pain ... take a look here for a great stylus: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16363795/

everyone seems to love Noteshelf but it doesn't have the one thing I'm looking for which is conversion to text. is there a "second place" that has that feature? Notes Plus seems buggy from the reviews, which would be fine to test if it was a dollar or two but for $10 (including the conversion add-on) it's a "major" purchase.

davideotape said:

everyone seems to love Noteshelf but it doesn't have the one thing I'm looking for which is conversion to text. is there a "second place" that has that feature? Notes Plus seems buggy from the reviews, which would be fine to test if it was a dollar or two but for $10 (including the conversion add-on) it's a "major" purchase.

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Hummm .... Notes Plus has certainly gone up in price from when I purchased it! ( I think I got it on sale for $2.99 when it was regular $4.99 ... I might be wrong - it's been a while ago ...)

However, I thought it worked really well for converting to text. Perhaps some people were not writing very neatly.

$10.00 is a lot for an app, comparatively ... but it is a very good app nonetheless. I like Noteshelf ... but I used Notes Plus for a long time before I found Noteshelf's simplicity and excellent GUI. I'm still very fond of Notes Plus. Let me know if you decide to break down and give it a try.

I purchased it even lower at $0,99 (I believe), but handwriting recognition is an in-app purchase to be added. I never got that far because I simply don't like the Notes+ interface.

richimages said:

A mesh tipped stylus glides accross the screen with effortless resistance. If you get a rubber tip - and especially if your screen is clean, then it will grip the screen - you'll find yourself trying to push the tip across the glass display with much resistance. A mesh type is a VAST improvement ... it glides across the screen very easy.

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Remarkable! Same conclusion here when I compare my Architect stylus with the Bamboo. Both rubber tips, but the Architect sticks to the glass.

Which ones are free or at least provide a Lite version to test out? I'm playing with the Bamboo Notebook app lite version and it works pretty well with the cheap stylus I have. I'm testing to see if I'd ever use a stylus and if I did, what for?

Do you know if Noteshelf has the ability to import PDF files from sites and take notes on the slides themselves?

Also, does it have Google Drive/Docs support?

dinggus said:

Which ones are free or at least provide a Lite version to test out? I'm playing with the Bamboo Notebook app lite version and it works pretty well with the cheap stylus I have. I'm testing to see if I'd ever use a stylus and if I did, what for?

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A few I downloaded and tested: uPad, QEver, Paperdesk LT, 7Notes HD, DocAS lite, aNote HD, Goodnotes, Moleskine. Of course, each has it's own limitations - but lets you in on a general feel of the app.
Bamboo Paper isn't the baddest you'll get. In fact I still use itnnow and then for strictly sketching.

For notetaking, a good stylus is a nice thing to have.

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GrandPhrase said:

Do you know if Noteshelf has the ability to import PDF files from sites and take notes on the slides themselves?

Also, does it have Google Drive/Docs support?

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No direct pdf import/annotating in Noteshelf. You'd have to make them into images and add them to your Photo Library.
Not sure about Google Drive/Docs compatibility.

someone28624 said:

Can anyone write even half-way legibly with their finger? That alone makes note taking apps just not work for me, which is too bad, because I would love so much for it to work. Maybe if I could find a stylus that works well.

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My new Samsung Note II came with a Stylus, a great App & all.

I take lots of notes, this smartphone was designed for me.

GrandPhrase said:

Do you know if Noteshelf has the ability to import PDF files from sites and take notes on the slides themselves?

Also, does it have Google Drive/Docs support?

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The currently do not. But this is on their "to-do" list. Not sure how long that will be in coming, but it wouldn't surprise me if it appears within a few releases from now.

richimages said:

I've posted several snapshots of Noteshelf at this location:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16351794/


Seems appropriate to include that link in THIS thread.

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I just found out about this app a few days ago. Went home and purchased it and have not looked back. This is pretty cool app, granted I have only used it a couple of times to get familiar with it, but man I am liking it!

I've spent the past few days on a a series of events we organised for our clients. I used Noteshelf to take notes, adding sketches and ocasionally a picture. Either way, I had to work fast at times. A small part of handwriting was done with the zoombox, the majority was done without - to have more feel with the page layout. Overall, I made good use of the Scissors tool, what a life saver that proves to be!

rhett7660 said:

I just found out about this app a few days ago. Went home and purchased it and have not looked back. This is pretty cool app, granted I have only used it a couple of times to get familiar with it, but man I am liking it!

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Good to hear ...
Yep ... there's something to be said about a good GUI design ... which should be simple enough for immediate use of the app!

That being said, if you read the manual, you may become aware of additional features that you did not notice. For example, it was only recently that I discovered there are actually infinite colors than the standard default colors for pens, calligraphy pens, and colored pencils ... that helped tremendously.

Okay ... I'm rambling ... at any rate, glad you like the app.

Here's another trick I discovered a few days ago: tapping on the binocular at the top right of the screen gets you to an overview of all the pages in the notebook. So, the alternative: when wrist protection is activated, tap the page navigation tab right in the middle on the page numbering - and you get a list of all pages in the notebook.