Productive Organizer

I still have a love hate relationship with Evernote, mainly because I still have not really make sense of it yet.

But while I complain about it, what you like is to subscribe to a cloud app that is continuously value adding. And this update is rather small but provide something that many would appreciate.

I compose some of my notes on the go and before I actually save and upload the notes, I may stop halfway and get on the bus and my accidentally close the Evernote Android app.

This version of Android Evernote provide a feature to manually save when you are composing really lengthy note.

Small but really helpful.

I tell my readers that my favorite ubiquous note taking application is Evernote.

Here is why I like about it

1. It is ubiquitous. Its found on the desktop, Chrome browswer, firefox, safari and IE. Its found on iPhone, IPad, Blackberry, WP7, Android. I don’t have to worry which device I own because I know I can have access to my notes.
2. Taking notes is easy. I can clip notes on my desktop. I can take voice and picture notes from my smartphone. I can now sketch on my picture notes.
3. Its got rich text input on desktop client. Its got rich text input on its iPhone and Android app! how cool is that. The key to being able to take notes effectively is to be able to come up with bullet points and I Can do that with Evernote.
4. The guys at Evernote are trying to build Evernote into a platform. They are opening up the API so that third party apps can interface to Evernote.
5. The network is getting bigger and bigger. The more people in the network the greater the value.

How did Evernote come about? Read their story here

[The evernote story >>]

I came across a blog post from Rob Bushway on his experience with the webOS powered HP Touchpad and it has been surprisingly positive.

He finds that this is a better experience then the Android tablets when it comes to productivity:

• Full Browser support – I’m typing this in the web-based WordPress tool and have full access to the editing toolbar. The same experience is available via Google Docs. For me, this is a huge improvement over Safari in iOS and Android’s browser. I can’t upload photos using the wp-admin image uploader which wasn’t too surprising – disappointing, but not surprising. The experience isn’t perfect, but much better than Safari on iOS.
• Application switching using Card View feels faster and more natural than iOS and Android Honeycomb.
• Photos has a seamless hook in to my Facebook photo library.
• Just Type allows me to begin creating a Memo, tweet, facebook status, calendar event, or Email without launching the application first.
• Bluetooth keyboard is very, very nice with built-in keys to launch the Card View, notifications, and spacebar to instantly wake the TouchPad from sleep. There is a slight lag from typing before the text appears on the screen, but am hopeful that this will get addressed in future updates
• The on-screen keyboard is also nice, with a row dedicated to numbers, as well as an option to make the keyboard different sizes. I have found the large size works best for me. While I’m getting used to the on-screen keyboard, I am noticing more accidental spelling errors due to pressing the wrong key.
• There is a little bit of lag in application loading and a general sluggishness to the OS that doesn’t quite line up with the expectations of the processor. HP needs to fix this on their next system software update.
• I like the ability to make panes within an application full-screen. For example, I can view an email with a list of other emails on the left, or type the slider icon and make the email full-screen, and then easiliy switch back. The Facebook application makes full use of this capability and is a great UI improvement over iOS and Android Honeycomb.
• The definite downfall right now is the lack of TouchPad specific applications. I installed Evernote, but  running that in a Pre-type screen is not even worth it.

This is very promising for consumers as I feel what we need are 3-4 very competitive operating system that is always improving.

The key to webOS’s growth is to embrace the third party development community. The one reason I will not switch over to Android or webOS is that iPad universe have all the applications I need.

As of now what you will need for productivity on a 7-10 inch tablet is found in iOS not anywhere else.

If you asked me what is the one function that I like about Remember The Milk it is not the great javascript UI or its everywhere but it Is the saved search function.

Recently, I realize that Evernote, my main note taking application was able to do that as well.

What you can do is

1. Do an advanced search by trying to find specific text in title, in specific tags, in specific notebook, with to do (checkboxes) at a certain longitude and latitude. (for more info on how specific or flexible you can search, refer to this guide)
2. Review the search result to see if it is showing what you want and save the search.
3. When reviewing at your iPad, iPhone, Android Device or Desktop, Click on these saved search list to review them.

Evernote highlights a few saved search ideas:

• created:[datetime] – Search for notes by date of creation using the format YYYYMMDD. You can also search by time period (for example, day-30 will pull up all notes created in the last 30 days).
• intitle:”name” – Search within the title of the note (ie: intitle:”restaurant” will pull up a note titled “French restaurant”).
• resource:image/* – Search only for notes that contain images.

You can always use the global “find in Evernote” desktop hotkey. On Mac, the default hotkey isCtrl+Cmd+F. On Windows, the default hotkey is Win+Shift+F .

I realise that for a lot of old books and documents, its not worth to keep around.

1. The chances of you reading them is very low
2. They take up so much space and clutter your room or house
3. Its difficult to make a decision whether you will need them in the future

I find the best way is to digitize this information and make it easy for searching. This saves space and at the same time you have one last contingency plan should you require the information.

Brando’s scanner here for USD 120 looks good. Scan and if you can attach them to a note syncing application like Evernote for the ultimate productivity.

Evernote and Dropbox have become 2 defacto standards for cloud note-taking and file storage.

I enjoyed both so much on PC and now with the smartphone revolution I enjoy using them even more. Take a look here at how Dropbox works. its free! [Link here>>]

Evernote and Dropbox allows you to access your files from any computer. Now you can even access them on your WebOS, Blackberry, iPhone, iPad and Android phones.

For most people, what they are looking for is taking notes on their tablets like iPad and Galaxy Tab and then being able to view them on the desktop MAC or Windows.

NoteShelf for the iPAD looks to be the solution. It allows you to export to Evernote and Dropbox.

This will likely work much better than Evernote’s iPad or iPhone’s solutions. In fact NoteShelf is part of Evernote Trunk Program.

As one of the editor on GottaBeMobile notes, actual use of it lives up to expectations:

Noteshelf recently added the ability to export documents to both Evernote and Dropbox. This is huge in my work flow. I’m able to choose whether to export a page or an entire notebook to either Evernote or Dropbox. I can send the document as an image or a PDF. All of my notes for productions eventually make it into Evernote anyway. You can also export your notes to iTunes or via email. But what has me excited about this functionality is that Noteshelf is now essentially extensible in ways that it wasn’t before. By the way, other Digital Inking Apps use the Dropbox APIs as well, but Noteshelf is my choice of the moment.

Last night after a long day of rehearsal I needed to gather up my thoughts from my notes to prepare the agenda for our production staff today prior to the next dress rehearsal. I could have just opened up the notes on my iPad and sat that device adjacent to me while working on my MacBook Pro. Instead I just opened up the PDF file on the MacBook, and used that to create today’s agenda.

This functionality in Noteshelf makes this App really shine on top of its already excellent Digital Inking experience. Hopefully the next update will allow for Fast App Switching now that iOS 4.2 is out. I would have probably been able to eliminate the MacBook from the process I just described if that had been available.

Interested to know more about Getting Things Done with mobile applications on the iPhone and Android? Take a look at our Getting Things Done series on step by step guides to apply GTD in everyday life.

Readers that have been to my blog @ Investment Moats will know that I talk a lot about investing in telecom stocks.

Singtel in Singapore is actively pushing towards cloud computing and have their own package for small businesses.

But we haven’t heard a lot from Starhub. What I feel is that Starhub should actively pursue local partnership with establish international players.

One good example is to incorporate Evernote, the great note taking cloud app into their service. NTT Docomo tied up such a partnership with Evernote and I think services like this and Dropbox is a huge value add.

Evernote is now bundled on every single Android device available through DOCOMO. What’s more, every DOCOMO Android customer that purchases their device before May of 2011 can upgrade to Evernote Premium for free–this also includes all Android phones purchased before this week’s announcement. The partnership covers both mobile phones and tablets that are available through DOCOMO.

Great opportunity for carriers

These days, we’re all mobile customers on some carrier somewhere in the world, yet few of us would claim to have much affection for our carrier. It’s forward-thinking companies like DOCOMO that are in a position to change that. By offering subscribers value in new and unexpected ways, carriers are able to differentiate themselves from the competition while building a positive relationship with subscribers. We’d love to see more of it.

If a small telco like Starhub or M1 wants competitive edge, yet do not want to hold too much project risks, this is the way forward I feel.

So this update is getting to what Android is good at. If I am in Safari or Mail, I want the option to open this attachment or file with Documents to Go, Quick Office, Good Reader.

Evernote and Dropbox will get really huge. Imagine a lot of third party apps allow sending notes and texts to these 2 cloud app and making them the defacto cloud storage and cloud note storage.

The more iOS implments these enhancements the more it moves closer to Android platform. It looks like this strategy is working out well. Close and control their OS and then slowly open it up in a control manner.

Easily send files into Evernote from other apps- iOS 4.2 allows apps to register themselves as destinations for certain file types. Evernote is now registered for PDF, TXT, WAV, MP3, HTML, and several others. This means that you’ll be able to send files into Evernote directly from other applications.

In Safari and Mail- Certain file types (PDF, TXT, HTML) now have an Open in button at the top right corner when they’re viewed. Tapping on the button will show Evernote as an option. Opening the file in Evernote will create a new note in Evernote with that file as an attachment. To send an audio file into Evernote, tap and hold on the file.

Third party apps- Developers can now enable the same functionality in their applications. There are already many applications that can send files into Evernote. Look for many more to add the Open in feature, which will allow you send files into Evernote from anywhere.

And more… No Evernote release is complete with a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes bug fixes that make using Evernote all the more enjoyable. This one’s no different. And there’s lots more to come. Stay tuned.

Here is a good screencast review of how evernote’s functionality, how it looks like on the blackberry:

I came across MakeUseOf and they have recommended 4 applications that will prove to be indispensable for students.

Ubiquitous Note Taking – EVERNOTE

Free HP or Texas Calculator – RealCalc

Flash Cards App – StudyDroid

Mind Mapping App – Thinking Space

These looks like very good applications and i will hope that they can throw in some voice recording applications to go with these apps as voice recording is hugely underestimated.

[Read the full article @ MakeUseOf >>]