HelvetiNote For iPad Hopes To Annihilate Marker Felt Forever
by Joe White
July 13, 2010
If you're an iPad user, one of the things you probably love most about your "magical" device is the almost-notebook-sized keyboard, which (when in landscape) makes typing on the iPad much easier than you'd expect.
I had my reservations about touchscreen typing when I purchased my iPad. On my iPhone, I found it manageable but not always easy - and I was worried that, even when sitting at a desk, typing out an email on my iPad would make me want to scream. And it did, for the first five minutes.
Once I came to grips with the keyboard, I soon found typing on the iPad as easy as Apple said it would be, and I was emailing and browsing the web on my iPad like a pro.
However, when it came to note taking I had reservations for far different reasons - reasons that surrounded the appearance of Apple's Notes app. Reasons that couldn't be removed by developing dexterity. In short, I hated (and still hate) the Notes app on iPad and iPhone. Partly due to the font, and partly due to the grotesque yellow background. Instead, I'd launch Pages, or maybe save an email draft instead of writing out a note in Notes.
But, now another app has come along that aims to fix this issue. And with a domain like DeathToMarkerFelt.com, how could a Notes-hater such as myself not get jittery with excitement?
The app is as simple in its functionality as it is in its aim: to replace the Notes app on your iPad with its own smart, elegant, Helvetica-font-oriented interface. The application is called HelvetiNote, and it's available in the App Store now for $2.99.
As mentioned, the app uses the Helvetica font, the Arial of Macs, against a light gray background. You can rotate the screen, and when in landscape a toolbar appears at the top which allows for searching and new-note-adding. The app is beautiful, and works very well as a note taker. But HelvetiNote does a little more...
In addition to basic note taking; the application also has a sketch feature, you can alternate between text and sketch by pressing a button on the top right hand corner of the screen. However, it should be noted that the text and sketches don't interact well together. Text overlaps sketches, and you can draw over text. Sadly, the app doesn't do the formatting for you.
All in all HelvetiNote is a great app for note takers. It's elegant and easy to use, and with an update the formatting issue will most probably be fixed.
So, if you're sick and tired of the Notes app on your iPad, be sure to take a look at HelvetiNote. It's $2.99 in the App Store, and well worth the purchase!
