Simplenote — note taking app that works for me

My biggest requirement in a note taking app is accessibility. And hence Google Docs used to be my favorite until I discovered Simplenote. I think it is a well polished note taking app with excellent featureset which I am going to talk below.

Accessibility

It is available on Android, iOS, Kindle, Mac and Web. I have used Web, Mac & Android personally and the interface is identical. Everything is synced. I have a pinned note called “Clipboard” which I use whenever I need to copy paste long text from one device to another. Simplenote also features a nice search box using which one can quickly find what they are looking for.

Sharing & Collaborating

Sharing a note is dead simple. In a note tag if you enter an email address it autotically share the note with that email. Recepeint has an option to view the note without signing up, but one needs to register to edit and collaborate.

Versioning and backup

All the notes are backed up and have timely versions. This is a great feature especially when collaborating with others. If something goes wrong just switch back to older version of the note.

Publishing

Notes can also be published to web for public access. Anyone with the link will be able to access the note. Simplenote also supports “markdown” which makes writing experience better (for people who are used to markdown).

P.S: Simplenote was aquired by Automattic, makers of Wordpress, the most popular blogging platform.

Android — Play Store
iOS — App Store
Web — simplenote.com
Mac — App Store

Alternatives

I am slowly switching over to Evernote whenever there is more research involved and collaboration is involved. Some of my colleagues use Google Keep also, but somehow I couldn’t get used to it. So basically Simplenote for quick note taking and Evernote for more research oriented notes.