Review: Notes 25

The default memos application in webOS is sufficient for the more basic of tasks such as quick reminders, but sometimes we need a little more functionality. Enter Notes (currently going for $2.50 In the App Catalog) by Inglorious Apps which offers a laundry list of features, including Evernote-like media functionality without the need for an account, to help you remember what you need to remember more effectively. 

 Features 

Notes allows you to attach media – songs, pictures, and links to websites – directly to the note itself. Tapping on any of the inline media opens the corresponding program so you can play/view the media. 

Sorting notes is made easy.  In addition to the 4 default categories, you can create an unlimited amount of categories (trust me, I’ve tried) with which you can easily filter notes by.

Another big thing setting Notes apart is its Google Docs integration, which worked well in my testing. After entering my account credentials I was able to easily import and export my list of notes. Unfortunately, you can’t upload individual notes – you have to do the whole shebang. If you’re looking for a more elegant Google Docs solution, you should check out the excellent word processor Scratch. 

If you’re concerned about security, Notes gives you the option to lock your memos with a simple 4 digit PIN. It would be nice to see the ability to lock individual notes while leaving others unlocked, but this solution will do, though I suspect that folks concerned enough about security to lock notes probably use a simple PIN or a password to unlock their devices in general, making this somewhat redundant.  

Use 

In practice, Notes was exceedingly straightforward to use. I was able to easily create notes, sort notes by category, reorganize notes by dragging and dropping, and quickly attach media to my note thanks to a minimalistic and well thought out user interface. The one I found myself longing for as I used the app was the ability to introduce rich text markup to my notes - it'd be great to be able to format text in a more usable way.  Hopefully Inglorious Apps intends on adding that feature in the future.

Summary

For most, Notes offers a best-of-breed feature set, including the ability to quickly and easily add media - including audio, video and web URLs - directly into notes, and Google Docs integration that while being somewhat less robust than other similar applications, is certainly there in usable form.  

But to be quite honest I usually find myself opening up Scratch if I want to jot down some ideas if only for the superior text markup capabilities.  Well, that and the fact that I rarely feel the urge to attach media to my notes.