Notes Plus – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Viet Tran
Version #: 2.3
Date Released: 2010-06-01
Developer:
Price: 5.99
User Rating:
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Notes Plus recently had a 24 hour sale for $1.99 and it was at that point I decided to pick up this almost one year old app in an effort to use less paper when I take notes at work. While not without its flaws, I’m glad I did.
The app starts out with a set of instructions, letting you know its full capabilities and how to use such (such as when you circle a section, a menu will pop up asking, among other things, if you want to delete it). The instructions are available at any time afternoon if the user chooses. Notes Plus also allows for the audio recording of any meeting or lecture that you happen to be attending.
I like how it’s possible to create a folder-based system for both notes and audio recordings. For example, you can create folders for each course and sub-folders for each class attended for that course. You can also record the full lecture for that class and keep it in the same sub-folder. Notes created can be e-mailed or saved to Google Docs.
My main problem with Notes Plus has more to do with the iPad than Notes Plus itself: it doesn’t quite emulate taking notes. You don’t quite have the level of pen control for writing when you use a stylus or your finger. In order to keep a lot of notes on a page, you have to zoom in. The app should have a setting in which one can zoom in on a section of a page to take notes and as the section gets filled, it should move more to the left and do a "carriage return" when the row is complete.
All this said, the app is still very useful for anybody who attends classes or meeting and doesn’t want to waste paper. If such a capability is worth six bucks to you, then get it today. Otherwise, it’s worth waiting until the next sale.
Quick Take
Value:Medium to High.
Would I Buy Again:If discounted, then yes.
Learning Curve:Low to Medium.
Who Is It For:Those who need to take notes and don't want to kill a tree.
What I Like:Decent interface. Incredible functionality.
What I Don't Like:Awkward to write with your finger tip (more of a problem with touch screens in general than this app).
Final Statement:It's not just notes, it's Notes Plus!
"The note-taking app you've been waiting for" - Mac|Life Magazine, January 2011
"This app brings an amazing experience to the iPad" - Appolicious.com.
"Measured against the real world of note-taking apps on the iPad, Notes Plus is a winner." - AppCraver.com, scored 9/10.
Notes Plus is a powerful note-taking tool that supports handwriting, typing and audio recording. It offers close-up writing mode for small text, stroke smoothing, vector shape auto-detection, palm handling, complete folder structure, PDF exporting, emailing, Google Docs uploading, and more.
*** IMPORTANT: This app is not for everybody. Before you buy, please visit the developer website to learn more about the app. I don't want you to make a wrong purchase decision. There are too much information about what the app can do and cannot do that I cannot put them all here. ***
*** Also IMPORTANT: If you have any question, please email support or visit the developer website. Don’t write the question in the review here because I have no way to answer them (and it bothers me). I usually answer support questions within 24 hours but mostly within 4 hours. ***
Notes Plus benefits include:
1. CLOSE-UP HANDWRITING
Hand write comfortably with your big finger, your text will show up as fine as with pen and paper. Auto-advance feature let you write even with your eyes closed. Advanced stroke smoothing algorithm makes your writing look as good as ever; the faster you write, the better it looks.
2. PALM HANDLING
Lay your palm comfortably down with Palm Pad. The pad scrolls along with your palm making it natural to write on a touch screen.
3. TYPED TEXT MIXING
Let you insert keyboard text anywhere on the page with many type faces, font sizes, and colors.
4. SHAPE AUTO-DETECT
Let you draw a basic shape (ellipse, rectangle, line, polygon, ...) with your finger, auto-detect and insert the perfect vector shape, then let you edit it.
5. VOICE RECORDING
Let you record audio while jotting down the note. Perfect for meetings, classes, or conferences. Recordings are linked with pages to provide easy playback.
6. EASY EDITING
Let you select handwriting text by just circling around it, then erase or re-arrange it. Erasing a writing is as easy as drawing a line over it. No awkward switching between erase tool, selection tool, and draw tool.
7. EASY ORGANIZING
Provide a complete folder structure. Private folders can be password-protected. A folder can have many notebooks; a notebook can have many pages. Pages are listing with thumbnails. Provide ability to move, copy, duplicate and delete notebooks or individual pages.
8. RECOVERING FROM YOUR MISTAKES
Full undo/redo support. Yes, it does have REDO function; touch and hold undo button to reveal the undo/redo action sheet. Also let you recover your deleted notebooks or pages.
9. CUSTOMIZING TO YOUR TASTE
Many options are provided including: stroke color, thickness, transparency; text font, size, color; paper background, etc.
10. (LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT) CLEAN & NATURAL USER INTERFACE
As you can see from the screenshots below, this app stands out for its clean interface. A great effort was put in to hide controls so that it would not cluster the interface. You should be able to start without a tutorial. However, if you need one, there is one QuickStart guide when the app is first loaded.
*** Again, please visit https://notesplusapp.com ***
What's new
- Eraser feature
- Adjustable close-up box
- Minor enhancements and bug fixes (please refer to Notes Plus' Development Progress: https://notesplusapp.com/versions/development-progress)
