Android App of the Day: Evernote

Posted by Amy Eichelberg

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Sometimes life gets so hectic that using a simple notepad to remember things is simply not enough. I know I’m always in desperate need of organizational help, and I was relieved to discover the Evernote app for Android. Evernote allows you to maintain and manage your ideas, things to-do, and anything you want to remember with the help of multimedia notes. Users can create notes using any combination of text, voice clips, pictures, attached files, and location stamps.The best part is that the app automatically backs up your data to your cloud-based Evernote account. This makes it super easy to access your notes from any data-connected device.

Pros:

Sync all of your notes across the computers and devices you use
Create and edit text notes, to-dos and task lists
Save, sync and share files
Search for text inside images
Organize notes by notebooks and tags
Email notes and save tweets to your Evernote account
Connect Evernote to other apps and products you use
Share notes with friends and colleagues via Facebook and Twitter
Premium feature: take notebooks offline to access them anytime
Premium feature: allow others to edit your notebooks
Premium feature: add a PIN lock to your Evernote app

How it works:

Upon downloading the app, you will have to create an Evernote account to get started. This requires an email address, username and password. After setting up an account you can dive right into the app. With one tap on the home screen your note options appear. You have the option to use your location settings with this app, which will save your location with each note. On the top of the note, you can enter in text and use the Evernote text editor. This was a pleasant surprise from the basic notepad option on my smartphone, which doesn’t have a text editor. After you have entered in the text portion of the note you can click on the paper clip icon to attach a picture either from your camera roll or you can take a snapshot directly from the app. If your note doesn’t require a photo attachment you also have the option of attaching an audio clip. From there you can add the note to a “notebook”, add tags, or add your location (if you haven’t done so already). Once you hit save, the note appears back in the app’s dashboard for easy access.

Conclusion: This app is a dream come true for anyone looking for a multifaceted way to save ideas, things they like, or just memos directly from their Android device. Evernote’s interface is a breeze to navigate through and the way it handles multi-media notes is really impressive. With this app you can browse your Android’s file system to attach a file, snap a photo instantly, or add a voice memo. The location stamp option is great for when you need to remember exactly where you were when inspiration hit. Overall, I truly enjoyed all of the flexibility Evernote provided to me. I have used it for everything including: trip planning, grocery shopping, work research, bill management, retail shopping, and even remembering recipes. You name it I’ve probably created an Evernote for it. With Evernote organizing all of your to-dos becomes less and less like a chore and more and more like an enjoyable part of the day.