We are launching Notebook today and we would love your feedback.
We designed Notebook to make it a fun-to-use app. Significant work went into keeping the design clean, get the gestures right and to keep it intuitive.
Note-taking is a commodity market. One way to differentiate is to offer significantly better user experience. That is what we tried to achieve with Notebook.
Of course, the heart of a note-taking is, well, note-taking. To make it easy, we created what we call Note Cards. These are built-in templates for commonly used note types. Like a text card that can contain anything or a checklist card for quick lists. Audio card for voice notes etc.
We make note-taking fun by providing an interactive experience between these note cards. You can group note cards by pinching them together, then flick a group to view them. Similarly, in landscape view, if you observe carefully, note cards behave like magnets when you group/ungroup them; you can even collapse your notes like an accordion.
We even went to the extent of having the Notebook covers hand-drawn by our in-house artists. You can find more about these artists and the artwork at https://www.zoho.com/arts/
Like any good note-taking app, the data is synched to the cloud. Works with iOS and Android, smartphones and tablets. Obviously, we are missing few things like the web, desktop apps, browser plugins etc. We are working on them.
We are just getting started and we want to hear feedback from the PH community.
@rajuv Congratulations, it looks like a great app. Maybe it's my reserved Britishness, but I found the "we do this, Evernote doesn't" a bit unnecessary. Your product's features stand out well on its own, and Evernote users already know what it does (and doesn't do!), so I don't think you need to lay this out so bluntly.
@rajuv I agree that note-taking is a commodity market, but desktop apps are table stakes. Will evaluate your product when you offer macOS and windows apps. (P.S., not chrome add-ons, please.)
@rajuv Wow, finally a notes app that can take whatever I want it to. Design seems great and I like the fact that you can stack as well as create notebooks. Nice work. :)
@rajuv The app is very well designed. Its very cool and fresh. Probably the best notes app I have seen in a while. It's interesting how so many new note-taking apps are popping up after evernote changed its pricing policy.
@hashim@superpencil_ To be fair, Zoho has been around for over a decade so it's not surprising that their logo seems a bit... dated. Remember when everyone was trying to come up with nonsense words for their brand?
@superpencil_ I’m curious, yes the logo is outdated but I didn’t think a logo that offends no one, would put someone off. (I’m not being sarcastic). Can you please explain how exactly a logo makes you dislike the product? I want to understand the psychology behind it.
@ddraze What @hashim said is the same idea in my mind, it doesn't convey trust and quality.
The site for this product is very well done, and that contrast with the ZOHO brand makes ZOHO's lack of quality branding stand out more than usual, in my opinion
I likes consistency throughout a company's products, this includes in quality...
Does that make sense?
Visually pleasing and functionality is also superb.
Just missing the Desktop version :)
Was looking for an Evernote alternative and I think I just found it :D
@fxcutz To set the premise, the entire business is not built on this single app (we have 30 other apps). Notebook is part of the suite. Individually, we may not charge, but as a suite, we could price it.
Specifically on Notebook, here is one we might consider…
The clear separation of a ‘Note Card’ presents us with some interesting options. By default, we plan to include commonly used note cards (like text, checklists, audio, photo, sketch etc). There could be specialized premium note card types that could be available for purchase.
I can see a ton of note card types - like maps card, recipe card, password card etc - make it to the note card repository, free and paid. The ‘Note Card’ itself is architected to be extensible. This means, we could open it up and let the ecosystem build their own note card types.
Looks nice. I'm a happy, paying customer of Evernote, but the recent changes and announcements concern me - not because the free features are being limited. It's because of the model Evernote chose to use, and now they are paying the price for it. I hope the recent changes aren't the beginning of a death spiral for them. I have so much tied up in Evernote, and it will be extremely painful to move away from it.
I don't understand why companies adopt the freemium model for getting customers. Those customers add to your costs and infrastructure. You take a huge gamble to offer a service for free in hopes that they will convert to a paid subscription, and then carry the load for everyone. Why not just offer a 30-day trial and then require a subscription after that? If you do that, you'll only keep the customers that really want and use the service, and the chaff users will be eliminated that could be weighing you down.
I'm leery to see someone offering a service for free. Very rarely will I use a service for free, because support is usually lacking, and I know at some point, the service agreement will change and everntually require payment (or higher subscription fees), the company will decide that the service isn't a revenue generator and kill it, or they will sell it off or let themselves be acquired by a company that may not have the best interests of the users in mind. I've been burned too many times this way.
This service does look nice, though, but it needs a desktop or web client to be a viable alternative to Evernote. Make that happen, and offer a premium level with great features, and I think you might be able to bring over a lot of Evernote folks.
@grberk Back in 2006, I remember there were 43(!) online word processors. Around 2007, there were 15+ online spreadsheets and similar number of presentation apps. If we look now, how many of tem are still around? We can think of apps from Google, Microsoft, Apple (both MS & Apple joined the party late) & may be Zoho.
What happened?
The ever-active innovation-consolidation cycle of tech happened (I call this the heart-beat cycle of tech industry). Consolidation happened because it is extremely difficult to build a business around these independent productivity apps. They may survive in the short-term. But in the long run, it is different for companies with single products to thrive - specially with competition offering free productivity suites.
Note-taking is no different. There were several note-taking apps today. But as innovation-consolidation cycle hits again, survival becomes tough for single product companies - Evernote is no exception. With Microsoft OneNote, Google Keep, Apple Notes - all available for free with complementing office suites, in the long run, it is difficult for players with single product companies to thrive with hundreds of millions of users.
From my point of view, that is the reason you are seeing the changes you see no with Evernote and others.
@rajuv I would agree that single-product companies have a difficult time making it. Evernote has weathered the storm for over 8 years now, and they are still here. They tried to diversify by creating that awful Evernote market, and the customers (including me) thought that was a bad idea because it took their focus away from the core product. Thankfully, the abandoned it. But have they damaged themselves with that freemium model? I worry about their longevity. If they were to be acquired by a bigger entity, like Google, I would feel a little better, but then I still have that nagging doubt about whether the service will live on as it has been, or if the acquiring company just wants them for their technology or intellectual property. 200 million users is nothing to play around with. I like that Evernote has re-focused their attention and efforts to the core service and app. I just hope it wasn't too little, too late. I'm always open to trying other apps and services out, though. It's just that in my case, I have my workflow and Evernote tweaked so specifically, that there is literally nothing out there that I can find that work like it. I don't want to re-tool my workflow. It took me a long time to get here, and I don't want to change it again. Best of luck with Notebook!
Thanks @grberk
I truly admire what Evernote has built. They have excellent presence on every platform and are deeply entrenched in workflows and the ecosystem they built is nothing but amazing.
That is the technology part.
Then there is the other side. The money they raised from VCs, the returns VCs expect from them, the growth a company has to show to keep investors happy etc. These pressures force companies make uncomfortable decisions.
A note-taking unicorn is a difficult position to maintain.
@grberk I totally understand. Unfortunately, that is the state of most startups these days. They are built to flip. Founders and investors make it big while users (the ones that made these companies successful) loose.
I personally don’t agree with the so called ‘exit strategy’. If you really like what you do and build a real business, why ‘exit’? Most of the companies are ‘exit focused’ instead of building a real business.
All I can say is, we are not going anywhere. This is our 20th year in business. Completely Bootstrapped and we love what we do and we are not looking for an ‘Exit’ (and we had 20 years of history to prove it)
Liking the product, well done!
Quick things:
1. Will it be possible to upload our personal covers for each notebook?
2. When the autocorrect suggests a word, the letters I started with don't get replaced
Example: If I type 'prod' and I tap on 'Product Hunt' on the autocorrect suggestion, the text stays 'prodProductHunt' instead of only 'Product Hunt'
I'm on a Samsung Galaxy S6 - Android 6.0.1
Maybe something to look into.
@thiagoafram Yes, you can upload your personal covers for each notebook. To do this, swipe a notebook cover. This will reveal additional options (Info and delete). Go to info section to change covers or upload your own.
Regarding #2, we will fix it. Thank you for your feedback.
IMO, don't suggest the app be used while driving: "Audio Note: Don't get thumb tied. Record your ideas while driving..."
People are bad enough drivers as is 😄
Overall looks great though, congrats.
Everything is very well organized, but the core function that you want a user to complete - creating notes - is a little buried behind choosing the notebook you want to write in and choosing the type of note you want to record. When I'm writing notes (which I do a lot) I often prefer handwriting over Notes-apping simply because I can just start writing notes - I don't have to get out my phone, fumble with unlocking, find the Notes app, select my note to write in and then activate the cursor before typing. I just open the notebook and write.
Keep up the great work, but if I could offer any feedback it's that I want to start writing notes as soon as I open the app - kind of like how Snapchat opens right to the camera, I'd to open write to a blinking cursor with a keyboard (and maybe a microphone/camera shutter release button).
@jasonwhyre Appreciate your feedback. Very useful. Few tips on Notebook...
1) On iOS, the app supports 3D Touch. Right from the app icon, you can choose to create a note. You don't even have to open the app or choose the notebook. You can organize your notes later.
2) We added a notification bar widget. Once you add the widget, you'll be able to pull the notification bar (even from the lock screen) and create a quick note. You don't even have to find the Notebook icon with this approach.
3) You can also add Notebook to the share dialog. This way, your text selections from Safari to iBooks can directly make it to Notebook without even opening the app.
4) On Android, we added an option to create a shortcut for every notebook. This will let you get into a particular notebook directly and start creating notes.
Hopefully, these will be useful.
@rajuv App looks great and useful. Covers will look great if one chooses pics with Prisma filters. Pls don't promote recording audio cards while driving.
I was a bit skeptical when I saw the gestures being used, but after using the app a bit, it's great! Do you have an estimated time of release for the macOS app (assuming that it's coming)?
Love the grouping and just basically the whole notebook app itself! I feel like the iPhone app icon needs a slightly more elegant notebook look because this is by far the best app of its kind in my opinion. I have been looking for a notebook style app for over a year or two and no one had the actual concept of a notebook. It was just a notes app. This is finally a notebook app! 🚀
@rajuv thanks for the reassurance. I read your site and it's quite clear about security, I moved from Evernote to iOS Notes, not good, sluggish, back to Evernote, now searching for an alternative which is better. Notebook certainly looks much better.
@rajuv the site emphasizes that it's free and won't contain ads, but how will you make money with it?
I noticed Glenn Berkshier asked about it, but I didn't see the answer in your response.
I'm only asking because the app looks gorgeous (as someone else said, it looks better than Zoho's usual design) and I don't see how you have the financial incentive to improve the app.
The problem with a lot of note apps is that we add our data to them. Then they stop improving and we're stuck because all our stuff is in there already.
@andrewwarner I briefly talked about it in my comment here.
https://www.producthunt.com/tech...
In summary, we may not charge for the app individually, but may charge for the suite. We do offer word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, email and others. Note-taking is another important piece of the package. Just like we have been improving these other apps for the last decade, we plan to continue to invest in Notebook.
I love this app! The interface is really clean, and I love the design choices. Audio notes are also great. Versioning is really useful too. Some areas for improvement I can see is the ability to attach videos, and of course, desktop clients.
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