We were mentioned in PC World, but…
notespark by sho
While we weren’t mentioned by name, there is a screenshot of our app in a PC World article called iPhone Apps that will soon be obsolete.
Hooray! We’re famous! Uh…
To be honest, we knew that Apple would introduce note synchronization at some point. It would have been stupid for us not to anticipate it, right? The big question was what form the note synchronization would take.
We had four basic guesses as to how Apple’s note sync would work:
1) Cloud sync to MobileMe
2) IMAP sync to Mail.app / Outlook
3) Wireless sync through Bonjour
4) Wired sync through iTunes -> Mail.app, or possibly Dashboard notes app
As far as I can tell, it looks like Apple chose option 4. That’s not to say that they won’t also add 1-3. Also, I’m not real clear on how their solution will work for Windows.
While we recognize that Apple’s sync solution will be good enough for many, we’re betting that cloud sync + sharing will be attractive in its own right. Sales so far have not slowed down, although we expect them to temporarily slow down once iPhone 3.0 ships.
Meanwhile, we have a few tricks up our sleeves for Notespark, and we’re also busy working on something else… Stay tuned.
i also knew apple would come up with something like this, and that didn’t stop me trying most of the note-taking apps on app store. after spending some money and deciding notespark was perfect for my needs, i somehow even managed to ‘loose’ the official notes app, with some jailbreaking magic powder..
no matter how many times i restore, notes (and stocks) will not come back.
my point (if there’s one) is that i don’t miss it, and plan to keep on using notespark even after apple releases the final 3.0. it’s perfect for my needs, and it works just fine.
i’ll be waiting for those updates, for as long as you want to release them. when you decide it’s enough and time to move on, i’m sure i’ll be happier than now, and i’m totally sold already.
I also will continue to use notespark after note sync becomes a reality. I use notespark for writing longer, essay-length pieces and love the fact that the app auto-syncs every time I am done with a bit of editing. I don’t want my work to be lost and it gives me ease of mind to know that I don’t have to wait till a tethered sync to be assured my efforts are safely tucked away somewhere. I tap the screen and I’m instantly editing. I close the edit screen and I instantly sync. Every gesture seems to do double duty, supporting me in my efforts.
(Please add cut and paste when it becomes available…)
The web based auto-sync of Notespark is the best solution for us all. Don’t worry about iPhone 3.
Apple also has provided a calendar and contact list, but a lot of folks seem to prefer apps designed by others to provide more and better functionality. I think the same will apply to this app and it’s ever growing usefulness will speak for itself.
I’m way way too happy with Notespark. iTunes can’t even sync my podcasts correctly, so screw that.
Notespark can live forever, especially if it evolves into something like Evernote (NOT the iPhone version), Eagle Filter, or Together. Even in its current form, categories, tags, and web sync + free web app are enough to keep me happy.
Cloud sync is where it’s at. I almost never wire sync my phone. And I like that Notespark is not bloated with features. It has too many features for me already. :-)
I think NoteSpark is really cool. But I think the iPhone app is still expensive. Maybe the price should be lowered so that it is able to compete with Apple’s Notes when iPhone 3.0 is released.
I just saw this:
http://www.chapura.com/keytasksiphone.php
So, I have been usign this workaround solution for awhile, since I dumped my various Palm Pilots from the last 10 years:
1. Notespark for my notes that I used to sync Palm = Outlook
2. Keytasks for tasks I used to sync Palm = Outlook
3. Foxmarks with the desktop IE sync from Firefox so I could Palm = Firefox
All iTunes does is sync contacts and calendars and it does it poorly. the feature set is still smaller than what Palm offered like 5 years ago! So notes sync just started but come on really..it’s like notes syncing for a 3rd grader. They STILL can’t sync outlook tasks.
So, PLEASE consdier to develop and app just like Notespark but call it Taskspark or something.. copy the basic technology but add things that tasks users need. I would pay $30 for that app.
Thanks
Notespark is has some good features, much better that the native iphone notes app. The ability to format the notes with at least the basic Bold, Italic and Underline would make the app perfect for me. Hope to see this soon.
I agree with others. I much prefer Notespark over the Notes in the Mail. Being able to sync to a cloud, using tags, etc. I have 3.0 software but continue to use NoteSpark. Hope you don’t “go away.”
Great app! Cleaner web app than Notebook and I like that the whole package is cohesive and integrated. This is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. It would be nice if a link added on the web app could be clickable in the iPhone app (like the Apple Notes is able to do in 3.0). Looking forward to updates!
Regards,
Scott
As far as I can tell from a couple of days of Snow Leopard experience on my MacBook Pro, the much ballyhooed note sync through mail to the iPhone DOESN’T WORK AT ALL, despite the seemingly correct iPhone and MobileMe settings (and the fact that address book contacts and iCal calendars have synced flawlessly and magically for months — it’s awesome for a contact entered in the field and on the fly with a head shot photo shows up moments later in the cloud and on your desktop.
Speaking of which, if you guys really want a niche that works, PLEASE build a desktop app for the Macintosh that will fetch the notes from the cloud and display them on a desktop program, complete with growl integration or some other alarm/notification bell and whistle.
PLEASE. Apple will probably get its act together soon and this notes -> mail integration will work as its supposed to, but notes and to dos are still a pretty uncomfortable and clumsy fit for the mail UI, IMHO, uncharacteristically mediocre and microsoft like “feature shoehorn” for Apple, but an opportunity for a good notes app to work out for ya’ll.
But, to sum up, PLEASE don’t make me go to the web to retrieve the notes. Gimme a sync to the desktop with push technology.
I’m way way too happy with Notespark. iTunes can’t even sync my podcasts correctly, so screw that.