NoteLedge for iPad – App Review

Ever since the release of the iPad, the concept of drawing on a capacitive screen has been an extremely attractive idea. Tons of apps like Penultimate and Paper by 53 have taken the spotlight as one of the best. A new one, however, has entered the market – NoteLedge.

NoteLedge is exactly what you would expect from a drawing/note taking app on the iPad, and some. At first glance, it appears sleek with convenient tabs for various tools sticking out from the edges. Its not too distracting and offers quick access to the things you need most – pen and eraser. In fact, the size adjustments of both has to be one of the best implementation I’ve seen on the iPad. Simply tap and drag up to increase the size or drag down to reduce, then simply let go and you’re ready to draw. There’s movable palm support, which essentially disables that portion of the screen, allowing you to comfortably rest your palm. NoteLedge also has a fast and easy way to view in-app files that you have created. From here you could share them via email, ftp and a variety of other options including cloud services like Dropbox and Box. Of course Facebook is included as well. How could we live without Facebook.

Now, unfortunately theres always a down side. The major downfall of NoteLedge in my opinion is the render engine. The engine that is responsible to for rendering the lines and letters that you draw with your stylus or finger. If you pop into Penultimate, you’ll notice that every stroke you makes is smoothed off, tapered and filtered to look perfect. This step is sort of essential when drawing on a capacitive screen because its not able to naturally recognize the smooth gestures of your strokes. With NoteLedge, everything you draw is essentially “raw footage”. Its not processed and as a result appears pointy, full of corners in areas that are supposed to be round, and over all appears a little rough. Now, if you’re not after the perfect pencil strokes, this shouldn’t bother you all that much. Other then that, NoteLedge is an excellent note taker and is definitely worth a look.

Check out NoteLedge for iPad on the App Store!