I recall that since March 2013, I refused to use desktop systems and completely switched to tablets . The first experimental was the iPad 4 (other devices and platforms are waiting for their turn), which solves the journalist's daily tasks no worse than a large computer. Unfortunately, cords, adapters and other accessories (supposed to test the iPad's interaction with peripheral devices, as well as export and import of data) have not reached me yet, so I’ll have to digress a little. Today we will look for a worthy alternative to the Evernote digital notebook, if one exists.

Qualifying round

I will try to briefly formulate what does not suit me in a popular service. The Evernote client interface is intuitive, and most importantly - the program has all the necessary functions for the digital notebook user. This is the problem: the product becomes redundant and begins to turn into some incredible combine. On the other hand, iOS staffing “Notes” are not functional enough.
')


Last weekend, I tested about three dozen applications and recognized some of them as conditionally valid. Qualifying round of the contest passed the following programs: Journals , Catch , OneNote , Outline + , Awesome Note HD , Springpad , Note Taker HD , Notability , NotesPlus , Noteshelf , GoodNotes , Moleskine Journal , NoteMaster for iPad and TopNotes Pro . Google Keep was dropped after a brief thought, because there is no regular client for it in the AppStore, and the third-party App for Google Keep HD + (there is also a free version with ads) is terrible and is a specialized browser of incorrect orientation (the application’s screen is rotated vertically regardless of position tablet). Notability, NotesPlus, Noteshelf, GoodNotes and TopNotes Pro were cut off due to the lack of support for the iPhone / iPod Touch, and Note Taker HD fizzled out due to the inability to sync notes via cloud services (only iTunes Sharing is supported) and a poor interface.



The other listed programs (their technical characteristics can be easily found on the network ) can be called the best digital notebooks for iOS and the choice between them is due only to the user's subjective preferences. I liked Journals, OneNote and Catch, who were among the top three finalists (Evernote stands out for obvious reasons).

Awesome Note HD nearly got into the list of possible candidates, but at the last moment he was disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior. The program is available to users of the iPhone / iPod Touch and iPad, as well as Galaxy Note 8 . In other words, the assembly of Awesome Note for Android exists, but it is not distributed through Google Play and is delivered only with devices of a specific model. Vileness, of course, but from a commercial point of view, this is justified: cases where it was possible to earn decent money on selling software for Android, can be counted on the fingers, - fans of a green robot actively put pirated software and here other monetization schemes are in progress (paid service subscription, advertising, etc.).

The final

Journals

This application does not appear in ratings and reviews: it was discovered by me during the next search for freebies through AppZapp .





It is worth Journals from 0 to 169 rubles (I would not advise paying for it more than 66 rubles), but the developers made an IPA universal package for iPad / iPhone. The program allows you to create chapters-separated text notebooks, into the pages of which you can include photos, sound clips and video recordings, as well as drawings made on the touch screen.



There are no lists, tags or, say, no reminders here - the application is very simple, but beautiful. It works quickly and allows you to synchronize data through Dropbox (you do not need to pay for the service of digital notebooks). The Journals program is available only for iOS and, unfortunately, there is no search in it - you will have to forget about large amounts of data. In addition, photos linked to a page are displayed in a vertical (portrait) orientation, regardless of the position of the tablet. This does not apply to the drawings made in the notebook, and I hope the developer will solve the problem with time.

Microsoft OneNote

The OneNote client for iOS works with the SkyDrive service and differs from the previous version in the presence of the usual and checklist lists, as well as the complete Russification of the interface. There are drawbacks: the absence (at least in the iOS version I did not find it) the possibility to make audio recordings - only photographs are included in the note (pictures and video clips, alas, are not supported either). The application is free and allows you to create up to 500 notes: upon reaching this limit, they can only be viewed, deleted and synchronized. Upgrading to the unlimited version costs 479 rubles.



There are OneNote assemblies for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7. Microsoft Office even has a desktop program (it is more functional than an iOS client), and in addition, a web application is available to users. In it, by the way, you can assign tags to notes, open access to notebooks to other users and work with objects that are not supported in the mobile program, such as tables (iPad displays them, but does not edit them).



There are other limitations: in OneNote for iOS, I could not create new notebooks and even sections within existing ones; I had to do it through OneNote Web App. In general, the product is still damp, but anyone can buy an alternative Outline + application for 479 rubles (iPad only, a free test version is available). It allows you to edit notebooks in the OneNote 2010 format and synchronizes records via SkyDrive, Dropbox, Box or iTunes.

Catch

The last of the finalists in functionality is very similar to Evernote and allows you to include photographs in your notes (videos are not supported, as in Evernote itself), audio recordings and reminders, as well as assigning tags and geotags to them. For synchronization, a proprietary service is used (Catch does not work with public clouds): the user can create only five notebooks (Spaces) for free, besides the default My Ideas, and 250 MB are allocated for storing data.

For one additional "space" you need to pay 33 rubles at a time, a package of four will cost 99 rubles. There are premium rate plans. Catch Pro costs $ 4.99 per month or $ 44.99 per year: for this money, the user receives 50 notebooks, 2.5 GB for attachments and the ability to include office documents in notes. The Premier option costs $ 15.99 per month (if you pay $ 144.99 for the year) and allows you to create 200 notebooks, and the available disk space increases to 10 GB.



There are checklists here, but they are created only as separate objects — you cannot insert them into a regular note.



There are also opportunities for teamwork in Catch: you can share notes from additional “spaces” (the “My Ideas” notebook is always private). Client programs are available for iOS and Android, users of other operating systems will have to work through the web interface .

Offline mode

Since for me the ability to work with a notebook without an internet connection is crucial, I will write about it separately. The products that have reached the final synchronize the content created or changed on another device through the cloud and allow you to edit it even without connecting to the network. These Journals, OneNote and Catch compare favorably with Evernote, in which a full-fledged offline mode (more precisely, the ability to download the contents of notes from the server without opening them on the tablet) is available only on the terms of a premium subscription. Unfortunately, synchronization problems are still observed on slow mobile channels, especially in OneNote.

Results

It remains for us to place the finalists on the podium and decide whether there is an adequate substitute for Evernote in nature. The bronze medal for third place gets Journals due to lack of search - otherwise the program is excellent and if you do not need a lot of notes, it will be a great alternative to the regular iOS application. The second place goes to Microsoft OneNote: the product is still damp (I don’t have enough tags and the ability to make audio recordings). He won the competition Catch, which is an almost complete functional analogue of Evernote with a simpler interface. I also want to note the high quality of the disqualified Awesome Note application: I refused it for ideological reasons, but many users of the iPhone / iPod Touch, iPad and Galaxy Note 8 (other Android tablets are not supported) will like the product.

findings

Is it possible to replace Evernote? Yes and no. Any application that is on the list of conditionally suitable is suitable - it all depends on your preferences. I haven’t yet found an alternative for myself: except Catch, but with similar opportunities and the same pricing policy ($ 45 per year for the Pro account), I see no point in changing the flea mark. Moreover, the application with an elephant is available for more platforms.