Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best iPad Note Taking app !!

The best app for note taking in iPad is:

  • Notebooks for iPad

    Votes: 17 4.6%

  • UPAD

    Votes: 28 7.5%

  • neu.Notes

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • Penultimate

    Votes: 65 17.5%

  • FastFinga

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • Noterize

    Votes: 7 1.9%

  • Noteshelf

    Votes: 49 13.2%

  • Note Taker HD

    Votes: 43 11.6%

  • CourseNotes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • PhatPad

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Notebooks for iPad

    Votes: 8 2.2%

  • WritePad for iPad

    Votes: 4 1.1%

  • Other (Please mention)

    Votes: 147 39.5%
  • Total voters
    372
F

fhd4

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
57
4
Hi,

I have done an extensive search everywhere trying to find at least a real comparison between note taking apps for iPad but nothing helpful...

So I thought that the best way is to collect as much information as possible from the real people ...

I need an app that will help me in my Master studies, so it should replace the normal notebook, somehow...

also I need to be able to download pdf for mark up, export pdf, take pictures, type, handwriting using stylus, multipages, creating folders folders, wifi transfer, etc...

I have listed most of the known apps ... Please select the app you think that it is the best (not the app you use)

I listed some of the features for the sake of comparison (not in any particular order) ... please write about the app you use (you can add as you wish) ... and compare it to others if you have tried them ...

I think this thread will be very useful for those who are looking for such apps...


- Multiple pages
- Folders
- Keyboard typing
- Hand writing
- Hand writing recognition
- Audio recorder
- Text formating (Fonts, colors)
- Palm protection
- pdf export
- pdf notes
- powerpoint notes
- Image insert and taking photos
- Image resize and crop
- Writing resizer (zoom)
- Dropbox
- Universal (iPad & iPhone)
- WiFi files transfer
- Account Required?
- Shapes insert
- Paper templates
- Multitasking
- Password protection
- TV out
- Price


(I have duplicated "Notebooks for iPad" by mistake... until it's solved by moderators please select the first ...)
 
Last edited:
R

rdstoll

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2008
273
2
Yes! Let's fill this up. I've already blown $10 on apps for taking notes that all have nice features but don't have all of them.

Notetaker HD is great but I can't use any keyboard? Bad idea.

Penultimate is good for taking handwritten notes but frankly my writing is bad enough on paper, let alone trying to write on the screen.
 
L

lrowland

macrumors newbie
Mar 11, 2011
7
0
Maryland
Haven't tried all the ones on the list so I'm looking forward to the replies and feedback also.
The tool I use almost every meeting is Evernote. I like that it syncs with my online storage automatically and has some built-in OCR. Also, it is the only one I have found that has a decent PC based client also so things can be transferred to my Work PC.

Great Poll - I hope you get some good responses.
 
C

crispy12

Suspended
Oct 6, 2010
46
0
Penultimate has the nicest handwriting but can't type

Notes plus is good but I once accidentally deleted 30mins of typed writing and couldn't get it back, put me off a bit...

I've been trying out mobile noter which syncs with onenote (which I run through vm fusion on my mac), but it is a little lackluster ...
 
E

El3ctronics

macrumors 65816
Mar 30, 2011
1,017
40
NYC
I posted this question in the iPad Applications forum but it's probably appropriate here too. Can anyone who has used UPad & NoteShelf comment on the two apps and how they compare? Which would you recommend and why? Thanks.
 
physicsguy13

physicsguy13

Contributor
Oct 5, 2010
365
93
Huntiingon Beach, CA
El3ctronics said:
I posted this question in the iPad Applications forum but it's probably appropriate here too. Can anyone who has used UPad & NoteShelf comment on the two apps and how they compare? Which would you recommend and why? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have both of them and Noteshelf wins for me. UPad and Noteshelf are about the same with handwriting and UPad has more background options that you can use. I just like that I can upload my documents straight to Dropbox or Evernote from Noteshelf. That is what puts it over the top for me.

UPad does allow typing and can mark up PDFs but I use iAnnotate or ReadleDocs for that. If UPad allowed for dropbox connection I might use it more.
 
R

rdstoll

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2008
273
2
What I'd really like is a note taker that types, either using the virtual keyboard on the ipad or a bluetooth keyboard - and the ability to tag, folder and otherwise organize various notes being taken.

Too often I've found the best apps for organization don't support typing. Note Taker HD comes to mind here and I can't figure out why they wouldn't support it.
 
E

El3ctronics

macrumors 65816
Mar 30, 2011
1,017
40
NYC
I don't understand the obsession that people have with Penultimate. It's a small page with very few features and very few input methods. Importing/exporting options are bare-bones as well. The actual writing looks good but there are many other apps that produce good results with many more features.
 
G

Gav$ter

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2010
17
0
NotesPlus works for me. I would recommend you try it and also add it to your poll.
 
Treebark

Treebark

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2010
306
167
Is it just Penultimate's nice ink that has people liking it? I have it but never use it. Any note app that doesn't have a zoom feature is like writing with a crayon since the screen is so small and the iPad lacks an active digitizer that allows for smaller writing.

Do all you penultimate users just accept the relatively limited (compared to NotesPlus, Note Taker HD, uPad, etc apps with zoom writing) amount of notes you can take per page or do you have penmanship that allows you to write small?
 
F

fhd4

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
57
4

I would really appreciate if you all who used certain apps to fill up this list of features, so we can have some factual information for comparison:

- Multiple pages
- Folders
- Keyboard typing
- Hand writing
- Hand writing recognition
- Audio recorder
- Text formating (Fonts, colors)
- Palm protection
- PDF export
- PDF notes
- powerpoint notes
- Image insert and taking photos
- Image resize and crop
- Writing resizer (zoom)
- Dropbox
- Universal (iPad & iPhone)
- WiFi files transfer
- Account Required?
- Shapes insert
- Paper templates
- Multitasking
- Password protection
- TV out
- Price

you can add other features to this list as applicable.

 
S

someone28624

macrumors 6502a
Aug 15, 2007
849
11
Buffalo
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.
 
Xultar

Xultar

macrumors 6502a
Dec 4, 2010
742
34
physicsguy13 said:
I have both of them and Noteshelf wins for me. UPad and Noteshelf are about the same with handwriting and UPad has more background options that you can use. I just like that I can upload my documents straight to Dropbox or Evernote from Noteshelf. That is what puts it over the top for me.

UPad does allow typing and can mark up PDFs but I use iAnnotate or ReadleDocs for that. If UPad allowed for dropbox connection I might use it more.
Click to expand...

UPad seems so complicated. I've been trying the free version and I don't get the need for so much complexity.
 
R

reputationZed

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2011
1,038
0
34°55′42″N 80°44′41″W (34.
rdstoll said:
What I'd really like is a note taker that types, either using the virtual keyboard on the ipad or a bluetooth keyboard - and the ability to tag, folder and otherwise organize various notes being taken.

Too often I've found the best apps for organization don't support typing. Note Taker HD comes to mind here and I can't figure out why they wouldn't support it.
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge NT HD is a one man band. Dan Bricklin seems to be more focused on stability and performance than he is on features.
 
J

jeffkempster

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2008
94
3
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.
Click to expand...

I have been using the targus and boxwave stylus over the last 3 months. They work great.
 
J

jeffkempster

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2008
94
3
I have been using Notetaker HD everyday (school day that is) for the last 3 months. It is awesome. I'm sure some of the others like UPAD and Notes plus are also great.

I am really shocked that penultimate is so high on the list. For me, I can't get anything accomplished with that app. I am taking real notes, like 15 pages a day. I bought penultimate, but it is not in the same league as Notetaker HD.
 
G

gwynevans

macrumors newbie
Jul 29, 2009
7
0
rdstoll said:
What I'd really like is a note taker that types, either using the virtual keyboard on the ipad or a bluetooth keyboard - and the ability to tag, folder and otherwise organize various notes being taken.
Click to expand...

I think you should have a look at Notes + (currently on sale) or at least the YouTube videos of it's features. Having said that, NTHD does now also support typing.
 
C

caubeck

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2007
417
4
Penultimate is brown and featureless. I don't need to count sheep to fall asleep, just use Penultimate in my mind for a few minutes. It was one of the first note-taking apps so it has a following but compared to newer apps it's amazingly dull.
 
R

Rx3alpha

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2011
9
0
Noteability

You guys should consider noteability.
It has folders and you can export via dropbox in pdf format and also export recordings as well. It supports keyboard typing but it doesn't have handwriting recognition. You could also insert photos and shapes (which can be handdrawn). A cool thing you could do is record while you're typing. When you're listening to your recording, you can click on a word and it'll jump to that spot in the audio. I haven't tried out the other notes apps but noteability does it for me.
 
W

whiskeyred

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2009
159
2
I find Upad very simple to use, not sure why it's coming off complex. I think Note Taker HD is more complex.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom