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Evernote 4 iPhone / iPod touch app starts with a clean slate

by Steven Sande Mar 1st 2011 at 9:00AM

With most of the iOS app updates that we see here at TUAW, UI changes are minor, and the feature changes are usually evolutionary in nature. That's why we were sort of surprised with the changes in the iPhone / iPod touch client for Evernote that were just announced.

Evernote 4 started with a clean slate and totally changes the way the program looks and operates. The original app was launched on the same day as the App Store itself, making Evernote one of the oldest iPhone apps around. According to a blog post on the Evernote site, which details the changes that were made to the app, the team learned over the years that users wanted several things: faster access, easier creation of notes, better browsing and more ways of finding what they've stored in Evernote.

The new app appears to fit all of these user requirements. To start with, Evernote 4 opens by displaying your notes list in Snippet View (at right); if a note is text-only, you just see the title and a bit of the text. If it contains an image, you'll get a slice of the image to view. Not surprisingly, if it contains a mix of text and images, you'll see the title, some text and a thumbnail image.

One of the huge changes is in how you can create a new note. When you tap the big plus button in the center of the Evernote 4 button bar (below),a split screen appears. The top is where you will enter text, while the bottom includes buttons for attaching images, recording up to 90 minutes of audio, assigning notebooks or tags and setting your location. Multiple items can be attached to one note, so if I were car shopping (for example), I could have notes about the features of the car, add snapshots of the interior, exterior and sales tag, and I could record my conversation with the car dealer, then tag it at the car dealer's location.

Adding an audio recording is now as simple as tapping once to start a recording, then tapping again to stop and attach it to the note. Tapping a third time starts another recording that is saved as a second attachment.

You can now browse by notebook or tag, and there are also Resource Views (below) that relate to images, attachments or maps and will help you remember what the heck you're looking for. The app, as usual, is free. An iPad version with many of the same UI improvements is in the works.



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With most of the iOS app updates that we see here at TUAW, UI changes are minor, and the feature changes are usually evolutionary in...
 

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14 Comments

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Voodoodoc

an...jeez

Somehow, or for good reason, this is not going well...

Oh, I know why, I have opposed thumbs and onl...

March 01 2011 at 10:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Voodoodoc

Sorry, my ultimate input device drop-kicked my fingerability....so TABLET is the slow and careful - if not made-up and phonetic - attempt at a apology...

March 01 2011 at 10:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Vodoodoc

Why not something more useful like MyBase but certainly improved? I don't ever want to brain-dump on my phone or table, but getting to it later via that would be a truly great reference.

March 01 2011 at 10:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tico24

What's more interesting is that Evernote is basicall SaaS (Software as a Service) with an optional subscription model and Apple have let them through the iOS approval gate without them having to use their subscription system.

March 01 2011 at 4:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nick (xbl: andsoitgoes42)

I LOVED Evernote.

Until I realized that the important notes I had, ones that were stupid vital and that I REALLY needed access to, are not available without network connection. Unless you spend $60/year for their premium service, which I'm not willing to do.

They need a mid ground option so that I can store my notes off network without being fleeced for a yearly fee.

I keep text notes. I want to sync text notes. But I don't want to dump that much money into an app.

As much as I dislike the UI for SimpleNote, I have offline access at the big ol' cost of free.

Evernote, please?

March 01 2011 at 4:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Nick (xbl: andsoitgoes42)'s comment
homan2

Simplenote (iOS, Web) and Notational Velocity (OSX) are a great combination for text notes.

Another option is dropbox (iOS, Web, OSX, Linux, Windows) with text files in folders. I used this method before migrating over to Simplenote.

HTH :)

March 01 2011 at 5:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
misterlevitan

I've been looking forward to this update for months. I hope it's as good as it sounds! I have to admit that my best experience w EN is on my PC at work, which I use daily. The iOS version has been so-so, and the native app on my MB runs quite slow.

March 01 2011 at 3:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JP Gagnon

I still have a problem with NO Rich Text Support for the iOS versions. I take notes on my macbook using evernote. It's just annoying that I lose the formatting on iOS versions when I edit those notes. They say it's coming, but seems to be something they are not too concerned with.

March 01 2011 at 10:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
king_james

I use evernote every day on my MB Pro but did not really like the interface on the iPhone. This is a major improvement, the look and navigation now are the way I thought that it should be! Its like they were reading my mind. :)

March 01 2011 at 10:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
marc

iPad shows the 4.0 update but iPhone literally appeared in the last few minutes.

March 01 2011 at 10:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeff Edsell

I've always wanted to love Evernote. I've tried it several times, but it's never really clicked with me. But it has legions of fans, and lots of ways to get content into it. Maybe this will make the difference.

March 01 2011 at 9:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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