Evernote has so many potential uses that it is difficult to know where to begin. Since this post focuses on Evernote’s apps, perhaps its most relevant feature is the way that it allows you to save almost anything, no matter where you encounter it, and share saved items across all of your devices. Probably best known as a note-taking app, Evernote is a great option for taking notes on virtually any device. It offers apps for a wide range of mobile devices, including Android devices, Blackberries, iOS Devices and Windows phones. Once you have taken notes on any of your devices, you can share that note across all of your devices by syncing to your Evernote account.
You can probably already see how useful this would be just as a note-taking tool, but Evernote goes far beyond this with how it works with other types of saved materials. Perhaps the most impressive is its ability to save images of virtually anything and then detect any words in those images, making the images full-text searchable. This means that you can take pictures of every business card you receive to create a fully searchable database of your network of contacts or you can take pictures of the blackboard in your classes to create searchable class notes. While this is clearly a great feature, it is not Evernote’s only feature. You can also save maps, audio files or entire web pages to your account for later use. And, everything you save can be tagged and organized into notebooks, making you more efficient and better organized.
Beyond the main Evernote application, the company also offers a wide range of apps that supplement the functionality of your Evernote account, such as Penultimate, a handwriting recognition app that lets you write on your touchscreen device with a stylus and converts your handwriting into a searchable note, and Evernote Peek, a flashcard app for iPad. In addition, Evernote maintains “The Trunk,” which is a collection of third-party apps that work with Evernote to extend its functionality in a number of ways.
If you think Evernote sounds interesting, check out our guide to Getting Started with Evernote. If you are interested in more apps for research, productivity or just plain fun, check out our guide to mobile apps.