Note taking – and keeping – is a massive part of my life as a student. It’s been like that for many years, which is why I’ve had an Evernote account since 2008. For four and a half years I’ve had that account, and for four and a half years I’ve tried to find an actual use for the app/service that everyone on the internet is going nuts for. And, for four and a half years, I’ve completely failed to do so.
Evernote has built a huge name for itself as the go-to note service. That has lead to support for it being integrated in all sorts of apps, along with other big names like Dropbox. Evernote has apps on most mobile devices – several apps even – and has its own Moleskine physical paper notebook line that works with it. Livescribe even went as far as making the new Sky WiFi-enabled smartpen more or less an Evernote accessory. So many people can’t be wrong about how great the service is, so since notes are such a major part of my life, I occasionally get the urge to sit down and force myself to get into using it. Like I said, this has been going on for four and half years, and I’ve failed every time.
What strikes me the most about Evernote is that every time it’s mentioned in an “essential apps” list, the same list completely ignores the apps that I personally find essential (e.g., Goodnotes or Goodreader on the iPad, two apps I’ve produced or annotated literally thousands of pages worth of notes with). Perhaps that’s why I always find myself looking for the features I’m used to from those apps when I use Evernote. Instead of getting that though, I get what’s essentially a word processor, and not at all what I’d call a note taking app. There’s no shape creation, handwriting, document annotation features, or anything like that. It is for all intents and purposes a cloud connected word processor, and that’s not something I personally consider a note taking app, but rather…well, a cloud connected word processor!
It’s not note creation that most people talk about with Evernote, however; it’s storage. The ability to sync between the devices and tie in with other apps seems to be very popular, and I get that. Heck, I’d even consider using it for that myself, if it wasn’t for the ridiculous pricing scheme!
Instead of operating with online storage, it operates with an upload limit each month. Even if you pay for the “premium” service, this limit is set at 1GB. To me, that is perhaps one of the biggest jokes I’ve ever heard. Just to put things in perspective, the file I worked with before my exam a couple of weeks ago was 696MB. It consisted of 1100 pages worth of highlighted text and text annotations, and I synced it from Goodreader on my iPad to Dropbox up to a couple of times a day in order to have it updated. That’s the sort of documents I work with and annotate.
Even if I paid for Evernote, I would break that upload limit by uploading a single file one and a half times. Not that I would get that far, because the upload limit for a single note is 25MB. Dropbox doesn’t complain how I upload my files, or how often, as long as I keep within the 100GB limit I have for actual storage. Given that, I’m very happy to pay Dropbox more than I would Evernote, as even though Dropbox isn’t really designed for notes, it’s capable of handling mine, which Evernote isn’t.
At this point I’m sure it sounds like I’m against Evernote, but not really. I get that for many people, Evernote is an amazing service that allows you to remember tiny tidbits of information. All I’m saying is that it’s definitely not for me. After having had an account for four and a half year, I think I’m entitled to point out to anyone who does use Evernote that you should give the alternatives a chance. Evernote might be perfect for you, or you might not even know that there are other options out there. All I know is that after all this time, I’m done trying to find a use for it for me personally.
I’m not an Evernote fan myself, probably because I used OneNote first, and it provides a lot of those capabilities you mentioned. The handwriting recognition is great. I first started using it on my TabletPC when I was a student.
I tried Evernote when I started using cross-platform devices (iPad, Android phone), bit just couldn’t get any value out of it.
Fortunately OneNote has improved – SkyDrive integration, cross platform (if limited) apps. Its still my go to, especially given its great Office integration, and inclusion on my Surface ( in two flavors). I just wish Microsoft didn’t insist on keeping its existence a secret.
I used to use OneNote back in the days before iPads. I had a wacom tablet connected to a laptop, worked great even if it was a huge setup. OneNote on the iPad is unfortunately useless. I guess MS thinks that keeping the real version exclusive is a good idea, but it really only makes people not use it at all
I completely agree. I too prefer OneNote over Evernote. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that OneNote is my #1 program/app on any platform, aside from a browser. I use it for everything!
I’ve actually had a similar experience with Evernote and a similar service, Springpad. I always hear and read about how great both services are, but I agree that Evernote is simply a cloud connected word processor, and an ugly one at that. It may have some search features, but I currently fluctuate between Dropbox and Google Drive for notes, and use either Google Tasks or Any.Do, which takes advantage of a text file synced with Dropbox. I’ve tried to use Evernote and Springpad, but every time I always feel like I’m missing the point.
Hmm, I’ve been using Evernote for while now and, although I only use it for minor things, I’ve been forcing myself to use it because it’s the ” best ” note-taking app. I do find the syncing aspect useful but that’s about it.
Can anyone recommend a better android note-taking atop app?
Unfortunately there’s very little on Android. That’s part of the reason I sold my Android tablet and stopped kidding myself about getting rid of my iPad, as I simply couldn’t do on it what I can on my iPad.
I find AK Notepad pretty decent. It’s free and very basic, which I like. Good to take down a name & #, or jot a few notes. If you sign up with a Catch account, it will sync to their servers for auto-backups.
One of the challenges with Evernote is that you need to figure out how you want to use it, and then set up notebooks, tags and saved searches to fit that purpose. It’s not a good word processor, but it’s a great custom organization system. I use it for my GTD-based task list and my digital library. I’m finding the Clever HD app a better iPad interface for task management, though.
I personally finally found my use for Evernote just a few months ago after having an account for years. I started using the program back when it was starting out. I wasn’t happy when it went cloud based because of the size of my database. I quit using it and didn’t pick it back up until I installed the Clearly add-on to Firefox. Then suddenly I realized what a wonderful reader it could be, and installed the apps on every device I have. It works great to save things to read later when I’m away from my computer because I hate reading at the computer.
It does a great job of creating easy to read pages and I love using it for this.
This is what I like about this blog, people, especially Andreas, tells the truth about things. The tech industry tends to exaggerate so much that they literally make people into drones following like sheep. Thank you for being honest. Evernote is an idea that although may be plausible in theory, just does not have any practical use. Andreas stop wasting your time on this and give us more tasker ideas! Great job!
Haha, thank you! I know I haven’t written much about Tasker lately; the dev decided to leave Gingerbread devices behind in an upcoming major overhaul of the UI, and since I’m never upgrading to the shitpile that is ICS and above, that means I’m dealing with a situation where I’m essentially writing about an older version of the app. Not quite sure I want the problems that come with that. Every time someone would have a problem, I wouldn’t know if it’s just a version difference or not. Heck, I’m already using an older version of Tasker, as the latest one broke so much of my todo list system that I eventually gave up trying to fix it and just reverted to the last working version.
Have you tried Evernote’s Penultimate app or Skitch for annotations? If so what do you think?
I used Penultimate before it was bought by Evernote. It hasn’t been updated in 8 months, and it used to get very regular updates. Penultimate is also not an annotation app, it lacks everything from document import to proper tools for efficient writing. I haven’t tried Skitch, but I am aware of it. When I’ve looked at it, the screenshots on their own have made it very clear that it’s infinitely inferior to the note taking apps I already use. It’s like looking at a screenshot of Microsoft Paint, you can tell right away that it’s not Photoshop
I think Evernote is a well-designed, versatile, stable, and good-looking application, but I have also struggled to build it into my workflow.
I do use a notes app on my phone (NoteEverything), but I prefer to keep this offline as I keep passwords in it too.
Then, I was looking for a tool to share various lists and other info with my wife, but I was disappointed to see that sharing is only supported in the paid version. And since the prices are quite steep, I decided to go with Springpad, which offers this feature for free and does pretty much the same.
Finally, I use an Asus EeeNote EA-800 for handwritten notes at the office. This has a built-in Evernote client for wireless backups, but this stopped working a few months ago, removing my last reason for ever logging into my Evernote account.
Thank you! I have always considered Evernote in the Emperor wears no clothes category. I wanted to like it, I tried to like it, but it just didn’t work for me. What I use the most is the Elements app from Dropbox. I can have a long list of separate files available to me on any device or computer. I make good use of GoodReader as well.
I use Evernote frequently for my classwork, though my research has a workflow more similar to yours (but with Evernote worked in). I prefer outlining my class texts instead of highlighting them, a task Evernote facilitates very nicely. If I have an assignment, regardless of whether it will be turned in, I type it up on Evernote. If its calculation heavy (I’m a chemist), I write it out and use Camscanner to save a pdf both for my records and as a way to reference it later. What I like most about this setup is that I can attach a pdf inside of a note alongside whatever work I do with it. This makes it nice for dealing with assignments from professors.
All my research articles are saved as pdfs in my Dropbox which I can read and highlight in Goodreader. If I highlight something, I’ll typically make a note to myself in Evernote in order to condense my information.
Its worked really well for me so far, but it seems as though our needs are rather different. I could probably do without it and just use Google Docs or something, but doing that wouldn’t trim the number of programs I have to use and it would lose out on the organization Evernote allows.
Evernote is a multi-purpose tool that can simplify your life once you learn how to use it. After you learn how to use it, you have to figure out how it can benefit you.
We are all wired differently, therefore, what’s important to one person is not important to the next. But once you figure it out, you will start to appreciate the thought and brilliance that went into creating such a wonderful application.
When I first started using Evernote, I was frustrated because it seemed so confusing at first. Once I learned how to navigate the program on my iphone, ipad, and desktop, I had to figure out if the program was for me. I said to myself, I have dropbox and other apps to keep me organized; is this overkill if I keep this app?
People, I’m telling you, if you don’t believe in this app, keep using it and google how other people use it, it’s an incredible app. I do homework on it, I keep the menus of my favorite restaurants on it, its OCR recognition is invaluable, and I can go on and on and on…… but I didn’t like it at first…..
Thanks for your review. It is very useful as it is based on your experience. I use Evernote mainly for ToDo lists that I can sync across my PC and iPad. However, efforts to use it beyond that are an exercise in frustration. I noticed that you recommended both Goodnotes and Goodreader as more desireable options. Which do you prefer?
Goodreader, Goodnotes, and Evernote aren’t erfect substitutes for one another. I use both Goodnotes and Goodreader, and not for the same things. I create notes from scratch in Goodnotes, annotate existing documents and read in Goodreader. I also send all finished notes into Goodreader as then they get sent to Dropbox in the next sync.