note-taking apps

Almost any writer or content creator can benefit from using a minimal Markdown editor like Typora. It’s a simple app that you can configure in many different ways to suit the formatting you need for your document, whether you’re writing a book, building a website, crafting a business report or simply blogging or penning an essay for school.

You might be a meticulous planner, but keeping everything in order can still be tricky when bouncing from project to project and meeting to meeting. Hard-copy planners and filled-up calendars are great, but they may not be doing you any favors when connecting the work you have to do with the time you have to do it.

Agenda Premium 14 is the bridge between your calendar and your notes in the form of a date-focused note-taking app. And right now, it costs just $9.99 (regularly $34) from Cult of Mac Deals.

For some things, computers can feel more like an obstacle than a productivity tool. Taking notes is one such task. Competing tabs, interruptive apps, embarrassing typos and pokey internet connections can make a good old pen and paper feel like the absolute best tools for taking notes.

Not so with this powerful app, which harnesses your Mac’s power to make paperless note-taking a breeze.

Paper’s great for some things, but when it comes to reading and taking notes, the traditional medium is mediocre at best. And when iPad apps try to replicate paper, things get even worse.

“It doesn’t work,” said Craig Tashman, developer of the LiquidText PDF Reader app, which Apple showcased in an iPad ad this week. “They end up inheriting the deficiencies of paper without really inheriting the things that make it work.”

Tashman talked with Cult of Mac about his quest to reinvent paper, and the massive benefit of having a $945 billion tech giant giving an indie developer some props.

While there are dozens of note-taking and writing apps available on iOS, few strike the balance of rich features and simple design the way Drafts does. Whether you’re looking for a quick way to digitally jot down a passing thought, take notes in a meeting, or store an address or phone number, the Drafts app makes it easy to quickly capture text before taking action.

Our devices are just as powerful as tools of distraction as they are for productivity. One way to return your devices to helpful status is to stuff them with apps like MarginNotes, a handy mind-mapping app that comes with a suite of tools that make it easier to organize and retain information while reading or studying.

It’s amazing the insights that emerge when you can see your thoughts and information laid out visually and interactively. MarginNotes is ideal for students, teachers, researchers, lawyers or anybody curious — no wonder it was named a Top 10 iOS app for 2016 by AppSo, and got 4 out of 5 stars from App Review Central. And right now you can get MarginNotes Pro for just $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Agile Tortoise’s Drafts is, without a doubt, the single best note-taking app on the iOS App Store. It’s not only the easiest app to jump right into and start typing before you lose your train of thought, it’s the easiest app to export your notes from: It plugs into pretty much everything, from Dropbox to Evernote.

And coming soon? Drafts will plug into the Apple Watch, too.

Grid is a pretty cool new app which brings a new approach to note taking. It uses a flat grid metaphor and some very easy-to-use gestures to add contacts, photos, notes and places.

During its education event in January, Apple unveiled its plans to revolutionize the K-12 classroom with the iPad, electronic textbooks, a revamped version of iTunes U that supports content for K-12 schools as well as higher education, and tools for educators to create their own digital content using iBooks Author and iTunes U.

In the intervening months, schools and districts around the country have made significant investments in iPads, including the San Diego Unified School District, which invested $15 million in 26,000 iPads for its students. Those sales created a record quarter for Apple in the K-12 education market.

With the back to school season upon us, it’s clear that the massive iPad deployments will give Apple the opportunity to disrupt the classroom in the ways it has whole industries and, in many ways, that’s a good thing.

Ever been in a note-taking situation where you didn’t write everything down? How about paying so much attention to your notes that you miss what’s actually being said? I think it happens to all of us. Whether you’re a student, journalist, or just at the doctor’s office trying to remember all the instructions she’s telling you, AudioNote may be just what you need to help you keep track of what’s being said.

One of the first things about the iPad that caught people’s attention was the touch screen, and it goes without saying that some of the first apps to start taking advantage of that touch screen were handwriting/note taking apps. Apps that let you write, draw, sketch—-and sometimes type–notes on your iPad. Something that combined technology with the age-old practice of scribbling notes on paper.

Since there are so many apps to choose from, and I’ve tried virtually all of them over the past couple years, I thought I’d give you a jump start on switching to virtual paper with my top 5 favourite note taking apps.

Penultimate, one of the two best pen-and-paper apps for the iPad, has gotten a Retina upgrade. This is a pretty big deal, as the feel and look of the ink, plus the responsiveness of the app, are what make it so great. Now, with super-smooth, hi-res graphics, can it keep its crown?