Evernote vs. Notability

[Lucca]

Hey SDN,

After being frustrated by the obscene quantity of papers on my desk and in my bag I've decided to try out going paperless.

Hearsay tells me that notability and Evernote are the two best apps for note-taking and bookkeeping but I'm not sure which would be best for me - or maybe even a combination of both?

I'll be using an iPad for taking notes.

So what are your thoughts? Is there an even better app I'm missing? What would be the best solution here?

Thanks

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[Boolean]

iPad Mini here I use notability. I love it! I have it synced with Box, as they were doing a free promotional deal for 50gb free space. Between the two, I have my textbook library synced up, so I can load things in Notability to annotate them if I so please (although I could use GoodNotes as well, which I found is better for larger PDFs)

 

[Lucca]

iPad Mini here I use notability. I love it! I have it synced with Box, as they were doing a free promotional deal for 50gb free space. Between the two, I have my textbook library synced up, so I can load things in Notability to annotate them if I so please (although I could use GoodNotes as well, which I found is better for larger PDFs)

The drawings on the app page seem very crisp and neat, can you attest to their quality (with a stylus)? I draw a lot in my notes, especially for chemistry and physics classes to help me visualize whatever is going on.

 

[Boolean]

The drawings on the app page seem very crisp and neat, can you attest to their quality (with a stylus)? I draw a lot in my notes, especially for chemistry and physics classes to help me visualize whatever is going on.

Highly depends on what stylus and settings you use. If you splurge on one of the higher end styli (the one with the flat end that's sorta like a pen), you'll probably get nicer quality notes. Personally, my handwriting is absolutely atrocious, so I really cannot comment on this one. I've found that I can at least use a simple gas station stylus (they're like 99 cents) and it's at least legible.

 

[ChEMD]

Check out GoodNotes too. I've found that it is much speedier when it comes to larger files. It is also automatically synced to iCloud, so you can also view everything on your iPhone (if you have one). They are also supposedly working on a GoodNotes app for Mac, which I think will be a very nice addition. I used to use Notability, but I've been much happier with GoodNotes.

 

[Lucca]

Check out GoodNotes too. I've found that it is much speedier when it comes to larger files. It is also automatically synced to iCloud, so you can also view everything on your iPhone (if you have one). They are also supposedly working on a GoodNotes app for Mac, which I think will be a very nice addition. I used to use Notability, but I've been much happier with GoodNotes.

Thanks for the heads up. You both have mentioned GoodNotes so I'll look into that as well. How does that do with in-app drawing and such?

 

[Boolean]

Check out GoodNotes too. I've found that it is much speedier when it comes to larger files. It is also automatically synced to iCloud, so you can also view everything on your iPhone (if you have one). They are also supposedly working on a GoodNotes app for Mac, which I think will be a very nice addition. I used to use Notability, but I've been much happier with GoodNotes.

As I have both, do you recommend a certain pattern of use for either or do you simply just use GoodNotes alone?

 

[ChEMD]

Thanks for the heads up. You both have mentioned GoodNotes so I'll look into that as well. How does that do with in-app drawing and such?

The drawing in GoodNotes and Notability is pretty much identical. From my experience, they both have pretty much the same features as far as actually drawing and writing notes. I would just get annoyed with the lag I would experience when flipping through pages in Notability. GoodNotes does much better with this. I also prefer the organization system in GoodNotes over Notability, but that's more personal preference.

I exclusively use GoodNotes now since it's nice to have everything in one app.

Another thing to note, GoodNotes supports some of the fancier styluses that add pressure sensitivity. I have no experience with this, so I really can't comment on how well it works, but it's something to consider if you're into that type of thing.

 

[kittykattat]

I use Notability and I love it. I have never experienced this lag time as there is a feature on the right side of the page that makes it easy to scroll through the pages quickly! You can also link Notability to Dropbox and other storage sites so that they automatically backup all your files and resavethem them every time you add more annotations or whatever

 

[Boolean]

I use Notability and I love it. I have never experienced this lag time as there is a feature on the right side of the page that makes it easy to scroll through the pages quickly! You can also link Notability to Dropbox and other storage sites so that they automatically backup all your files and resavethem them every time you add more annotations or whatever

Why Dropbox over Box / GDrive / whatever other options offered?

 

[ChEMD]

I think the bottom line is there are plenty of options, so try them out and see what you like best!

 

[kittykattat]

Why Dropbox over Box / GDrive / whatever other options offered?

Because I already had a dropbox account with a username and password from saving my schoolwork on my laptop and was too lazy to look into those other choices and create a new account haha. perhaps I will look into them before starting in August. I just got my iPad about a month ago and am not a tech saavy person whatsoever

 

[Boolean]

Because I already had a dropbox account with a username and password from saving my schoolwork on my laptop and was too lazy to look into those other choices and create a new account haha. perhaps I will look into them before starting in August. I just got my iPad about a month ago and am not a tech saavy person whatsoever

I suppose that works

 

[Lucca]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I just went ahead and bought both notability and goodnotes since they are both only a couple of dollars. I'll see which i like best, but they seem to be unanimously better than evernote. And cheaper too.

 

[Lya]

It might be a dumb question, but what are some disadvantages if I just stick to simple word doc (or other note taking apps) and type my notes without purchasing a stylus (I do have iPad, but I never used iPad and stylus together before)?

If goodnotes/notability with stylus is far more efficient and better, any advice on making a transition from typing to using stylus?

 

[ChEMD]

It might be a dumb question, but what are some disadvantages if I just stick to simple word doc (or other note taking apps) and type my notes without purchasing a stylus (I do have iPad, but I never used iPad and stylus together before)?

If goodnotes/notability with stylus is far more efficient and better, any advice on making a transition from typing to using stylus?

It's all about personal preference. I know plenty of people that still prefer to type their notes. For me, handwriting on my iPad gives me a little more freedom on how I annotate my lecture slides, since it gives you the ability to draw, point to certain parts of a figure, etc...Some things are just harder to convey with typed words. Now I will say this: writing with a stylus is much slower than typing, so I would only use the stylus for annotating in the margins and not for heavy note-taking (a stylus might hold you back if you're the type of person that needs to write everything the professor says word for word).

 

[Lya]

I just wanted to let everyone know that Notability is free for download today (May 1), so if you have an iPad and might potentially purchase Notability in the future, you might be interested. It is the app of the week, so I am uncertain whether it means it will be free throughout this week.

 

[orangeman25]

Notability is awesome. Does anyone know if you can combine two documents that you have? I know that when you import a document you can choose the "add to this note" option. But can you add notes to each other after that?

 

[feli_owl]

I use GoodReader on my iPad Mini to read multiple textbook PDFs. I really like it! I love to highlight and write little notes in my textbooks, and GoodReader has a lot of options to help me do that. I've only been using it for a few days but I've been happy with it so far

 

[Doghead]

I thought Notability was more for annotation/taking the actual notes, whereas Evernote organizes/stores the notes you take? At least, that's how my friend uses them. He says he takes them with Notability, then organizes them with Evernote into his Google Drive.

 

[Sik965]

I thought Notability was better for the when I tried an iPad.

The best option for note taking IMO is OneNote, using a device with an active digitizer. I have the Surface pro 3 and it's great! I haven't used a single piece of paper since the start of the semester.

 

[premedbrah]

Evernote if you use a laptop to take notes. Seamless synchronization across all my devices and personally I'm a huge fan of the interface. To me it's important that you are comfortable with the UI, not only based on it's functionality but also aesthetically. Easy to drag and drop PPT's into my class folder, and having a PDF editor for note-taking/highlighting has been real useful. All just from personal experience, definitely try it out first!

 

[YogaBe@r]

I absolutely LOVE Notability. I have an iPad, and I use it for everything. You can import documents, PDFs, and powerpoints into notability and then annotate right on top of them. I usually use a stylus, but you can also type directly on your notes. You can also insert pictures directly into your notes, which is what I do if a professor shows a photo in class that's not in his PPT. It's the best investment in an app that I've made. I have mine synced to Google Drive, and it automatically saves all of my notes as a PDF to my drive, which I can access on my phone and laptop. Here is a heart I was able to draw on the app with some notes:

 

[intangible]

I thought Notability was better for the when I tried an iPad.

The best option for note taking IMO is OneNote, using a device with an active digitizer. I have the Surface pro 3 and it's great! I haven't used a single piece of paper since the start of the semester.

Agreed. I sold my iPad and picked up a refurbished Surface Pro (first generation) and I haven't looked back since. Sure, it's not a "fun" tablet by any means, but the note taking on that device is unparalleled. You can rest your palm on the display and write naturally, and the stylus doesn't use any batteries or anything of the sort. Also, you can buy a power cover (which will run you about $200), but it'll keep your device running for an additional 3-4 hours over the base battery life.

 

[medicalmnt]

What's a good tablet to get?
Currently stuck between Dell Venue 8/11 Pro, SP2/3, and iPad.

SP3 is supposedly able to replace the laptop completely but Windows' claims seem to be too ambitious and its pretty expensive ($1400).
Dell Venue 8 seems like a good idea costing $230 and seems to run all the qualities but idk if spending $230 on a tablet that is very limited will be worth it, the Dell Venue 11 Pro seems to a huge improvement from the 8 but it costs the same as the iPad Air2, which doesn't make sense to me as the purpose of buying non-Apple is to find a cheaper alternative.
iPad is an iPad with applestores nearby for help. Seems durable and could be used for the next 5-6 years without any problems. Also hear alot of good reviews but.... spending $450 on a tablet seems pretty steep for me and it makes me wonder if buying a tablet is even worth it for notes.

I can definitely see the benefits but... idk i'm at a loss on this process. Hopefully get it sorted out quickly before blackfriday/cybermonday!

 

[intangible]

What's a good tablet to get?
Currently stuck between Dell Venue 8/11 Pro, SP2/3, and iPad.

SP3 is supposedly able to replace the laptop completely but Windows' claims seem to be too ambitious and its pretty expensive ($1400).
Dell Venue 8 seems like a good idea costing $230 and seems to run all the qualities but idk if spending $230 on a tablet that is very limited will be worth it, the Dell Venue 11 Pro seems to a huge improvement from the 8 but it costs the same as the iPad Air2, which doesn't make sense to me as the purpose of buying non-Apple is to find a cheaper alternative.
iPad is an iPad with applestores nearby for help. Seems durable and could be used for the next 5-6 years without any problems. Also hear alot of good reviews but.... spending $450 on a tablet seems pretty steep for me and it makes me wonder if buying a tablet is even worth it for notes.

I can definitely see the benefits but... idk i'm at a loss on this process. Hopefully get it sorted out quickly before blackfriday/cybermonday!

Depends on what you want to use it for. For a primary note-taking device, Surface Pro 2 (SP3 drops the Wacom digitizers for N-Trig, which is subpar). For an all-around easy to use device, iPad. Dell Venue shouldn't even be in the same list.

 

[Doghead]

So now that EverNote has PDF annotation, is there any reason to use Notability? Is there anything essential it does that EverNote cannot?

 

[Glandzburg]

Check out GoodNotes too. I've found that it is much speedier when it comes to larger files. It is also automatically synced to iCloud, so you can also view everything on your iPhone (if you have one). They are also supposedly working on a GoodNotes app for Mac, which I think will be a very nice addition. I used to use Notability, but I've been much happier with GoodNotes.

I know this thread has been dead for some time now, but I would like to add that the Mac version of GoodNotes was released a couple days ago. It is not fully functional yet, and right now pretty much only allows you view your files, but it sounds like they will slowly add more capabilities. I've used GoodNotes exclusively for note taking on my iPad, so I am very excited about this addition.