Review: MaxJournal for iPad

Overview

MaxJournal for iPad is an app that acts as a daily journal or diary to keep your daily thoughts. The app allows for a digital journal using the full ipad keyboard that is a nice alternative to handwritten. You can add up to three photos for every single day.

Features

The app allows you to customize the font, and the size. Your journal is password protected, and every time you open the app it requires you to enter the password. The app works in both portrait and landscape, and let's you maneuver through every day of the year.

The Good

The journal app simply works exactly as advertised in an efficient digital version. The app presents a journal in a much more efficient manner than having a physical journal. Rather than needing a whole separate notebook and pen it just takes up one app space on your iPad. They have created an app that will make you more prone to keeping a journal than you ever would before. It's much easier to use, and right on your iPad that your probably are using quite a lot. Also included is a handwritten type font that provides the journal feel that you don't have to handwrite. The app presents an outstanding UI to navigate through every day in the year seamlessly. There is a small scrollable side panel for every day of the month, and days you have journal entries are highlighted in blue. The app has a simple streamlined interface that is the easiest to use. Adding photos is extremely easy where you just tap add photo then your photo album appears, and tap on the photo you want, and it will always be there. You can view the photos in lightbox anytime you want. Adding photos is much easier in this digital version than having the physical photos in a journal. While typing in the journal app it seemed to have a very intelligent live spell check as I saw very few mistakes. It seemed to be more intelligent than the one in Pages. It seems you can type out much more than you would want to write down so more thoughts come flowing out which will be better to read later. I've never kept a journal before, but have just began because of the ease of this app on the iPad that I use all the time. Only an app this well made can not only replace the physical journal, but bring new people in to keeping a journal.

The Bad

The only current problem is that you can only export journal entries by going through iTunes, and downloading on to your computer. The journal entry pane is bland white, and it would be nice to see a choice of paper type. Also you can't search through your journal. An update is coming allowing you to export to text, PDF, and e-mail plus you can add keywords, and a search function.

The Verdict

MaxJournal for iPad isn't only the best journal app in the App Store but also a better way to keep a journal than the physical notebook. The app is simple by just providing a great interface to enter a daily journal. It executes the simple premise wonderfully from entering text and photos to scrolling through all the various journal entires. MaxJournal for iPad is a must buy for $1.99 for all iPad owners whether you keep a journal or not. The ipad presents a great way continue or start keeping a journal.

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