iDo Notepad (Diary/Journal) app review: a multi-task notepad

Introduction

The iDo Notepad (Diary/Journal) app is designed to make note-taking on the fly simple and quick. It also gives you a number of extra tools, features, and functions. This app is about taking the basic idea of jotting down notes and then allowing you to customize and personalize them so they work well for you. As the name suggests you can use it as a journal, diary, or a to-do list.

A Powerful Tool

At first glance I found this app to be very basic and simple but I have since learned that this app is actually filled with all kinds of wonderful and helpful tools. I like that it’s a lot more than just a basic notepad. You can certainly use it in that basic sense but if you’d rather, you can make use of the tools and features.

You are able to make as many notes as you like and then customize them with features like giving the note a picture icon to identify its category, change the font size/type/color, change the background color, and also mark notes as low-, normal-, or high-priority.

Because there are so many added goodies in this app I recommend taking a moment to read the instructions included. I wouldn’t know about half the features otherwise because they are tucked away and out of sight.

Additional features include being able to adjust the text alignment, print your note, email your note, and view a calendar. Just don’t forget to save any edits you make to your note unless you have the auto-save feature on.

 

Protect Your Notes

If you plan to use this app as a diary or journal you’ll be happy to know that you can set a password to keep your information safe from prying eyes.

I am a bit mixed on the user interface of this app. While I appreciate how clean and uncluttered it is, at the same time, with so many of the features/tools hidden away I find I forget to use half of them. When you do click on the features tab the screen becomes extremely busy so it’s as though there is no middle ground here. I have been using the app on an iPod and it feels very cramped on the screen with almost no room to view what you’re typing in editing mode.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Easy to use
• A large number of extra tools/functions
• The ability to print your notes/entries or email them
• You can set the app to auto-save so you don’t have to remember to keep manually saving work
• The app offers optional password protection

 

Cons

• In editing mode the screen is very busy and you aren’t left with much room for typing
• It would be nice to have more sharing options
• The tools and features are hidden away

 

Final Thoughts

The iDo Notepad app has a lot going for it but at the same time I felt that there isn’t enough good to make up for the bad. I just don’t like how cluttered it all feels as you’re making edits and inputting notes.