This article was published on October 22, 2010

notepiler 9. A visual note taking delight and so much more


notepiler 9.  A visual note taking delight and so much more

TNW Quick Hit

notepiler 9 is a tremendous iPad app for capturing and managing notes, media and more.

Why to get it: Beautiful user interface, the ability to record audio, sketch full-screen mnemonics, annotate photographs, color code priorities and map points of interest.

Needs Improvement : Dropbox integration is needed.  Dropbox is one of the apps most  frequently used across all of my devices and notepiler 9’s lack of Dropbox integration keeps this app from being truly great.

Overall: 4/5

The Details:

As one who never leaves home without an iPad in tow and as one with what can be described as a slight case of OCD, task management and note taking apps are some of my favorite items to use on the iPad.

For task management I now use ToDo ($4.99), and for note taking I use Evernote (free, or $4.99 per month/$44.99 for premium features) sporadically, and I suspect many of you with an iPad do likewise.  That has now changed.

notepiler 9 ($4.99) is an app that trumps ToDo and Evernote  in both design and functionality.

With notepiler 9 one can view creations featuring text, maps, photos, sketches and/or audio integrated into a single, amazing looking, app. All of one’s notepiler 9 creations stays consistently organized into a tidy, single, scrollable page. You don’t even need to open individual panes to see and search their media.

In speaking with the creator, O Williams of Onomaly Extraterrestrial Software, notepiler 9 follows the company’s vision for each app they develop:

“Our apps are all about fun, form and function.  Our goal with “n9” was to create a quick, light-duty tool to allow users to capture and revisit notes with accompanying images, sketches, maps and sound clips.  We wanted this new tool to be powerful and scalable, but utterly simple to use — with absolutely no need for a user manual ( the Apple way btw).  n9 would also have “presence” to appeal to our core creative audience.  notepiler 9, we think, provides a unique, consistent means to manage media-rich notes.  Nearly every feature or piece of data is accessible in just a few button clicks.  Attachments can be previewed with ease and efficiency.   This app is a bit of a peacock as note apps go, but it forces no fluffy, confusing, or seldom-used features on the user.”

Having used the app for some time, I concur with the statement above and have come to truly appreciate the following features:

  • Lightning fast data input and extraction.
  • Dead simple to use
  • Attach a map to one’s notes, be it street, satellite, or hybrid

  • The ability to record and playback voice memos and audio with your notes with ease

  • The ability to attach full-screen sketches and handwritten notes through smooth, fast, sketcher line generation
  • Embedding of multiple photographs
  • Draw on photographs and edit saved sketches
  • 1-Touch email your notes with all attachments – including audio, sketches, photos and map links
  • 1-Touch email your notes as a PDF file with attachments
  • Password protect your sensitive information!
  • Easily scan & preview All your media or a specific note’s media

The features mentioned are but a few of the complete suite of functions notepiler 9 offers.  Believe me or see for yourself here.

Further, thanks to information from Williams, version 1.5 is set to launch soon with more features including: handwriting enhancements — even smoother and faster, file sharing, actual maps for thumb images and the ability to preview audio clips from start screen page cells.

notepiler 9 is a tremendous app and combines task management and note taking together, with a grand user interface.  If you seek a full-featured note taking and task management app for your iPad, notepiler 9 is without a doubt, worth your consideration.

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