App Review: TapNote 8

webOS users looking for a solid note-taking app that synchronizes with Dropbox now have a solution thanks to developer One Crayon’s recently updated app, TapNote. While the App Catalog is actually actually quite crowded with highly rated note-taking apps (over fifteen apps, many with scores of 4 and above), TapNote appears to be one of the only apps which connects to Dropbox, with all the desktop + web folder syncing goodness that entails. But is that enough to earn it a place in your app tray? Read on to find out.

Compared to some of the better known heavy-hitters in this category, TapNote has a comparatively limited feature set. There’s no secure pin, date/time stamping, or image attachments, and cross app launching is limited to e-mailing notes. That said, the basics you’d expect from a note taking app are done well here. TapNote loads quickly and is lightweight enough that you can leave notes open and multitask even on older hardware. It does support multiple cards, and has some great conveniences built in like a press-and-hold context menu or meta-tap keys for quick launching or emailing. Also cool: if you don’t title a note and just start typing in the body, TapNote will start titling the note with the first line of your note as you write it (just like the old Palm OS days). Efficient.

Stylistically it does offer some nice pluses as well, including font size/style options and three color choices including an old-school green/black terminal theme called “geek.”

Dropbox synchronization from the app is automatic and works well. Text files appear in your local folder and on the web within seconds of tossing the card or backing out of the entry view. Likewise, TapNote checks for new text files every time it’s launched, making it easy to write out lists from your desktop and add them to your webOS device. If there is a conflict between versions of the note on your handset and Dropbox (i.e. you updated on both between syncs), TapNote notifies you and gives you the option of which to use.

In practice the app has had solid performance. It'd be nice to see a few more differentiating features included given how crowded this particular category of app is in the catalog, but even without them it fills a very important niche in the webOS ecosystem. So if you’re an avid Dropbox user looking for a way to add your notes to the cloud, look no further than TapNote. TapNote is available now for $4.00 in the App Catalog.