Note Taker HD 4+

Summary:
Only app so far that lets you 'finger write' without your notes becoming huge or ugly. Ideal for taking notes at meetings where notebooks are inappropriate. Two cleverly implemented edit modes allow you to take normal notes (small) and also make flowcharts / graphs.

I was looking forward to using the iPad as a replacement for paper based notes in contexts where notebooks are inappropriate i.e. staff meetings / discussions with patients. I knew that given the capacitive screen of the iPad this was going to be difficult since one cannot use a 'precise' stylus for writing. The app of my dreams should therefore allow for efficient (and still readable) finger writing:

In detail my criteria for a truly useful app were therefore the following:
- responsiveness (general)
- ease of use (finger writing)
- readability of end product
- transferability
- extra features

My impressions:

- Responsiveness: +++++
the responsiveness when writing directly with your finger is very good, you can write pretty fast, there isn't any lag; however given the capacitive screen it takes some exercise not to create accidental lines and dots (it must be said that I always write in block letters and never put my palm down when writing)

- Ease of use (finger writing) +++++
The two different edit modes allow you to sketch graphs / flowcharts as well as take finger-written notes. Edit mode 1 allows you to zoom in and out using the normal iPad gestures and move the canvas with two-finger strokes. This is ideal to 'draw' flow- or orgcharts or to annotate a pre-existing text. Edit mode 2 divides the screen into two parts. You can finger write on one part, the input of which is then 'shrunk' to the other part. The great feature here is the autoscrolling mechanism, so that you don't have to manually move forward all the time. Think of it as a magnified input area with autoscrolling capability. A video illustrates this feature (to see it, use the 'support' link in the app store)

- readability of end product: +++++
The result are very readable even though you are still pretty far away from your original handwriting. What matters is that you can decipher it and you can put approximately the same amount of text on a page as with handwritten notes.

- transferability: ++++
you can export your pages as pdfs via email. While not exactly very imaginative it does the job with a minimum of clicks (actually 'taps'). There is room for improvement here, i.e. adding wifi support.

- extra features: ++
Clearly the Achilles heel of the app compared with other contenders. No notebook feature (Grouping of pages in a virtual notebook), no simultaneous voice recording (would be great for meetings), no possibility to write on pre-existing PDFs or images (great for annotations), no stamps (predefined placeable images) or drawing features (different colors and thickness for pens assortment of straight and wiggly lines); both would be great for flowcharting. The smoothing algorithm could also do with an upgrade.

All in all a great bare knuckles finger writing app that let's you take notes during meetings.

I tested several note taking tools. This one was definitive
the best. Easy handwriting, useful shapes, useful select and easy text typing.

Thank's to Dan

I tired all notetaker applications on the appstore which are at least decent.

For taking notes in class and annotate pdfs by hand this is by far the most advanced and hassle free application out yet.

It is intuitive, fast and works perfectly without any crashes until now.

So if you want to take notes or annotate pdfs in a "printed out" fashion, this is the app to get.