Taking Notes on the iPad

One of the logical tasks for the iPad would be an application which would allow you to take notes on the fly.  There is the Notes APP by Apple but for a lot of reasons there should be more than that.   I have found four applications that might qualify.   They are Notepad Pro ($1.99), Notetaker HD ($4.99), PaperDesk ($1.99 - but also comes in a lite edition - which likes notes to three pages) and Write Pad ($9.99).  Each of the apps lets you take notes in your own handwriting and to do drawings. These applications also will allow you to record audio. But in my mind the superior application by far is Write Pad.    Paperdesk syncs with Paperdesk.com although it is not intuitively obvious how to get rid of a document once you are done with it.

For those who once used a Newton Write Pad has two great features.  First, it allows you to convert your scribbles into text.   The rest capture your writing but then save it as writing.  The handwriting recognition of Write Pad is better than the Newton.  It is not perfect but like the Newton has two features to improve performance.  It allows you to do shorthand for terms of words you do a lot.  But it also has an interactive dictionary which shows you the kind of choices that the machine is working with.

The second feature allows you to translate your notes into another language.  You need a web based connection for the feature to work.   But in the two languages where I have a working knowledge, German and Spanish, the translations are passable.

I think Write Pad will be an application that I will use a lot.  The others are a lot less useful.