Did you know that your smart phone is one of the best notebooks ever invented? Just like a traditional notebook, it allows you to take notes and list items on the go. All you need to do is download some free apps and start taking quick notes.
Are you a student who is always on the go? Do you have a number of tasks that require your attention, but can’t have a full-scale notebook with you at all time? Well, lucky for you, smart phones have come a long way. In this blog, we will give tips on how to use your phone effectively as a mobile tool. You can save notes from other websites using apps such as Evernote or Google Keep. If you have an Android, this task
Google Keep
Cost: Free
Platforms: Web, Browser extensions, Android, iOS
Google Keep resembles Post-It notes and the utility is almost the same for your digital note-taking needs. It is barebones and cross-platform as it is a cloud app.
Its simplicity makes it the perfect choice for those who need a basic and quick tool to capture inspiration in an instant.
Google Keep is part of the Google ecosystem. It offers great features for the minimalist and it is free.
Key features:
- Use on all platforms via your Google account.
- Dictate notes and automatically transcribe them.
- Draw and sketch ideas on notes and share it with others.
- Keep on the web can transcribe text from inserted images.
- Color code notes to find them faster with a glance.
- Drag and drop notes from Keep to Google Docs.
- Use a single level of labels to organize notes.
- Collaborate and share notes with others.
- Set time and location reminders.
Cons:
- There is no complex organizational feature.
- There is no option to format the notes.
- It may not be the first choice if absolute privacy is a must.
OneNote
Cost: Free, Premium features with Microsoft 365 subscription
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Web
Microsoft OneNote is organized like a digital three-ring binder with notebook, sections, and pages. It is available for macOS, Android, iOS, and in the cloud. OneNote is available in two flavors and it is important to understand their differences.
OneNote 2016 is free and is available from the Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store. OneNote for Windows 10 is a universal app that comes with every Windows install.
A Microsoft 365 subscription opens up more advanced features like the Math Assistant. OneNote is one of the best note taking apps for students because of its focus on educational features.
Key features:
- OneNote supports freeform text — enter and position it anywhere.
- Collaborate and share your notes with a team or family members.
- Use optical character recognition to import images and make the text searchable.
- Automatically insert source links for anything copied and pasted from the web.
- Create richer notes by adding audio and video to your notes.
- Draw with a Surface pen, an Apple Pencil, or a mouse.
- Sync your notes to the cloud.
Cons:
- OneNote on the web and the macOS do not have all the features of the Windows version.
- The differences in features on OneNote 2016 and OneNote for Windows 10 confuse users.
Bear
Cost: Free, Monthly and Annual Subscriptions
Platforms: macOS, iOS
Bear gives you a gorgeous interface and beautiful typography. Behind it are some powerful note taking features designed exclusively for the Apple ecosystem.
Bear is also a suitable app if you want to use one single program for both impromptu notes, to-dos, blog posts, and even code. It is a serious recommendation for the best note taking app for Mac.
Key features:
- Write and format in Markdown format with syntax highlighting.
- Encrypt individual notes and lock the entire app with Face ID or Touch ID.
- Use the Focus mode and word count feedback for a distraction-free writing experience.
- Advanced Markup Editor supports and highlights over 150 programming languages.
- Organize all your notes with hashtags and use cross-note links to connect one note to others.
- Enjoy your writing with beautiful themes, typography, and a dark mode.
- Export your notes in HTML, PDF, DOCX, MD, JPG, and more formats.
Cons:
- Only subscription based.
- Not available on Windows or the web.
Evernote
Cost: Free, Premium, and Business Subscription Plans
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Evernote built its reputation across all platforms as your all-in-one digital filing cabinet. Start with Evernote Basic if you are a casual note taker.
The Basic plan comes with monthly limits and there is no scope for collaboration. The Premium plan is a good choice for those who like to use a single place as a brain dump. You can manage your entire life with the premium features.
Key features:
- Clip web pages, PDFs, images to your notes.
- Access your notebooks offline on any synced device.
- Forward important emails to your custom Evernote account.
- Search for text inside attached images, PDFs, and Office documents.
- All notes support rich formatting, tables, attachments, and audio notes.
- All notes are searchable and can be organized with tags for easier discovery.
- Scan and digitize documents like business cards and create contact notes.
- Evernote’s OCR can identify 28 typewritten and 11 handwritten languages.
- Highlight and annotate your PDF or image files for improved research.
- Share notes with anyone.
Cons:
- No support for Markdown.
- Offline access is limited to Evernote Desktop in the free tier.
Microsoft OneNote (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web)
Microsoft OneNote is a free and full-featured note-taking app. It’s Microsoft’s answer to Evernote, though without the need for a monthly subscription. Though, of course, there are other differences.
One big one is that OneNote is a lot more freeform. Each Notebook is modeled off a ringbinder, so it’s divided into Sections with subsections called Pages. And each Page is basically a freeform canvas where you can add any kind of note you like, anywhere you want. This means you can drag and drop in an image, click anywhere to add some text notes beside it, and if your computer supports a stylus, scribble a mustache on everyone in the photo. (Otherwise you can draw one on with your trackpad, but it’ll be less stylish.) It feels like a solution purpose-built for students and anyone else who has to take long, discursive notes about something, rather than people looking for a digital notebook to collect short snippets and random ideas.
I’d struggle to call any of Microsoft’s apps intuitive, but OneNote is familiar. The ribbon at the top of the app has five tabs: Home, which has all the basic formatting tools; Insert, which lets you attach files, images, audio recordings, and everything else; Draw, which gives you all the free drawing and highlighting tools; View, which lets you navigate the document and change how things look; and, finally, Tell Me, which is the help function. If you’ve used any version of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint in the last decade, you’ll be right at home.
In terms of pricing, although OneNote is free, it uses your OneDrive storage. You get 5GB included, which is more than enough for most people. But if you use OneDrive to store your photos, or save a lot of image and audio notes over a four-year university degree, you might hit against that limit. If you do, you can increase it to 100GB for $1.99/month.
With OneNote’s Zapier integration, you can automate OneNote to eliminate the hassle of moving information between apps. For example, Zapier can automatically create new notes in OneNote whenever you have a new task, note, or calendar event in another app.
OneNote Price: Free for up to 5GB of notes; $1.99/month for 100GB.
Notion (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web)
Note taking can be something you do for yourself, or something you do with and for others. All the apps we’ve looked at so far are mostly for taking notes for yourself. Sure, you can share and collaborate on notes and even notebooks, but their main features lie elsewhere. With Notion, collaboration on all aspects is built in from the start.
Notion is the only app on this list that skirts the provision of it being a note-taking app. It is, but because of its collaborative features, it can be so much more. It’s basically three tools in one: a powerful notes app (which is why it’s on this list), a task and project manager, and a reference wiki. How you combine those three things is up to you.
Each new document or note is called a page, and everything in Notion is referred to as a block. Blocks include basic elements like text, checklists, and headings, as well as media types like images, web bookmarks, video, audio, code snippets, and files. You can use as many blocks you want, in whatever combination, on every page. They’re super quick to insert: just type / and scroll through the list. There are lots of templates built in too, so don’t feel you have to customize absolutely everything when you’re starting out. Just click on Templates in the sidebar, look through the options, and, when you find one you like, click Use This Template.
The sidebar is also how you browse all your pages. It’s split into two sections: Workspace, which is all the pages you share with the rest of your team, and Private, where you can have your own notes. While collaboration is a big part of Notion, it’s not forced on you. Everyone has their own section where they can work on things—and then move them out to the public areas for feedback and revision. It’s a great way for an entire team to work together without getting in each other’s way.
One thing to note: Notion bills itself as an Evernote competitor for personal users. It can be—but it’s too much for most people. If you love the idea of Notion, go right ahead and try the free Personal Plan, but to us, it’s really best as a team notes app.
Notion Price: Free for personal users; free trial for team users with a 1,000 block limit; from $10/month/user for teams with unlimited blocks.
BlackNote
Price: Free / $2.99
BlackNote is a simple, minimal note taking app. It works like most note apps with a host of standard features like organization, the ability to take list notes, widget options, and stuff like that. However, this one packages all of it up in a sleek, easy-to-read UI. You can also search notes, favorite notes for easier recall later, and lock the app to keep prying eyes away. The free version contains ads and the $2.99 in-app purchase removes them. This is a solid overall note taker.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY!
FairNote
Price: Free / $0.99
FairNote is one of the newer note taking apps. It features a simple interface, Material Design, and a tag system for easier organization. The app tries to focus a bit more on security. Note encryption is optional and it uses AES-256 encryption. Additionally, pro users can set up their fingerprint to encrypt and decrypt notes as needed. Other than that, it has most of the features you’ll need. The free version comes with most of the features. You can unlock everything with the premium version. Thankfully, it’s reasonably priced.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY!
Conclusion
If you want to be more organized, you can even use your phone to create errands, grocery lists, or build an app to help you remember important items! Your smart phone is your 24/7 assistant. Don’t forget to use it!