This free iOS 8 widget lets you use Notification Center as a notepad

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Photo: Neato
Photo: Neato

I love interactive Notification Center widgets. Widgets that let me use Notification Center like a quick entry form for my best used apps. Stuff like PCalc’s calculator widget that gives functionality to users that Apple seems conflicted about.

That’s why I love Neato. It’s a quick jot notepad for Notification Center that lets you speedily enter notes no matter where you are in iOS 8.

After installing the app, all you need to do is add the Notification Center extension to get up and running. Neato allows users to type quick notes just by swiping down on Notification Center, or accessing Notification Center from the lock screen. That means it effectively works as a note app no matter where you are in iOS 8.

One strange thing about Neato is it doesn’t rely upon iOS 8’s system keyboard, but rather comes with its own keyboard that sort of hovers in Notification Center, which can be disorienting. Even so, Apple doesn’t allow apps to call up the system keyboard within Notification Center, so this is as good as the interface is going to get if you want to be able to enter notes anywhere in the operating system.

Neato syncs with popular notes services like Evernote or Dropbox, so your notes aren’t stranded in limbo. You can also use it to send tweets, emails, or even text messages.

That’s pretty great funtionality for the price of free, though personally, I’d love to see a Notification Center widget like this come to Drafts 4, my favorite notes app for iOS 8.

Source: iTunes

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