Episode 186: Note Everything Pro vs. Evernote Android! [Discussion]

[jackierulesall]

Any Android users out there need some help getting organized? Today we compare two well-known note-taking applications - Note Everything (the Pro version) and Evernote.

Watch or download now!

[whiskers]

Seems like I have seen this EP before. Was this shown before like a few months ago?

[comeoneileen]

We covered Evernote for the iPhone some episodes back. It was a part of a bigger episode for To-Do apps.

We haven't covered Evernote for the Droid till now.

[sembazuru]

Nice episode. I think another comparison would be due. Evernote vs 3Bananas (uses synaptic.com for sync). While all three programs (Note Everything, Evernote, & 3Bananas) are all note-taking applications, only Evernote and 3Bananas are specifically designed to auto-sync with a web-based service.

For the whole apples vs. oranges comparison, they are all apples. I just feel that Note Everything is more of a cooking apple, and Evernote and 3Bananas are both eating apples. (Nothing wrong with eating cooking apples, my favorite apple is an cooking apple: Granny Smith.)

I currently use 3Bananas, but find the image handling sub-par. (With my limited, non-scientific, tests, on the Android side it scales images taken with my Droid's camera down. And, on the web-end it converts png to jpg.) I haven't checked out Evernote yet, so I would like to see what you guys and gals think of it.

Keep up the good reviews. :-D

[sjbjava]

The evaluation and recommendation should be revisited. Evernote was found to disclose confidential information in the report "TaintDroid: An Information-Flow Tracking System for Realtime Privacy Monitoring on Smartphones". Somewhat less damning is that Evernote for Android is missing features present on other mobile platforms. For instance local document syncing is not implemented.

If Evernote is found to not disclose confidential information then they would still have to support local documents (cached) as well as checklist, durable lists, paint, etc just to catch up to Note Everything. However a feature implemented by Evernote that I would like to see in Note Everything is browser integration (web clipping) which would make Note Everything a more well rounded product.

The evaluation of Note Everything was shallow. For instance it failed to examine the folder options closely. The default options allow you to dive in and use Note Everything immediately without forcing folders on the user. However once you explore the preferences and decide what works for you there are many options for customization in preferences. There are several options for using folders and for viewing folders. Depending on how you choose to work notes can be created directly in preferred and/or default folders.

Also the evaluation of Note Everything failed to mention how comprehensive the options are in the preferences. In Evernote these are altogether absent. Evernote is a one size fits all solution which might be fine for some folks but I found the experience flat and lacking.

Finally I have exchanged a few emails with someone from both products. Evernote took days to reply and seemed a bit indifferent. Contrasted with Note Everything who were prompt and courteous and interested. That to me is a massive selling point in favor of Note Everything.

[shotwell]

I agree on all the points with SJBJava. I am using Note Everything Pro myself, and have tried not only Evernote but also SimpleNote, Catch, and 3Bananas (as well as some other minor apps that have similar features). I find Note Everything to be much more usable than Evernote, especially with:

1. The ability to add shortcuts to new note types on the home screens (for example, I have a shortcut to a new Photo Note on my Droid's home screen and can create a new photo note with a couple of taps).

2. The reliability of the photo feature in Note Everything. No matter how much I have tried on my Droid (rooted with Froyo 2.2/Cyanogenmod) I cannot get Evernote to successfully save a picture note. I have emailed the developer and posted comments in their forums, yet have had no successful resolution of this.

3. Integration of Google Docs in Note Everything Pro, via a free (ad-supported) add-on. It effectively brings synchronization of documents to the cloud, and negates Evernote's advantage in this area. Haven't tried it yet with a photo note, but it works flawlessly for text documents.

4. Durable checklists -- my original reason for downloading the free Note Everything, and for supporting them by paying for the app. I wanted something like the old "ListPro" from Ilium Software for the Droid, and this comes closest.

5. Responsive developer. I've emailed the Note Everything developer more than once, and got a response back within hours in all cases.

6. Cost of ownership for the "full" versions. While the reviewer argued that Note Everything wasn't worth the $4.50 (US) price, Evernote is *much* more expensive, and uses an annual license model. Plus, Evernote limits the amount of data you can synchronize each month. She should have compared the FREE version of Note Everything to the free version of Evernote, to compare the two fairly.

To me, Evernote just isn't up to the standard set by Note Everything.