ZoomNotes vs Penultimate

I've used a lot of iOS notetaking apps. Most of them do well with emulating a traditional paper notebook (Goodnotes, Notability, OneNote, NoteShelf). ZoomNotes is completely unique. There is really nothing else like it. Pros: - feature-rich hypertext, outline and cross-reference workflow for handwritten documents - You can link pages together with custom buttons, pictures, or text. These links export to PDF so you can make interactive documents. - Pages can have sub-pages, to any level of hierarchy. So you can use one document as a dashboard for a bunch of notes, or store a book and its notes together as one file. - You can open multiple views of the same file. - Make custom animated slideshows from your handwritten documents(!) - Export to many formats. Cons: - The learning curve is STEEP but the payoff is enormous. - Syncing across multiple devices can occasionally produce conflicts that have to be reconciled by the user. - The UI is less "Apple-like" and more like a full desktop app. The features in the UI can be cluttered and overwhelming. However, you can make your own custom workspace with fewer tools and options if you prefer. Verdict: - Make a pot of coffee, settle in with the ZoomNotes manual, and put in the time to learn all the features. If you want power and flexibility with your handwritten documents in iOS, nothing else comes close.

- forums poster

This is the most versatile note taking app I have found. I use it for all my note taking. I really like the ability to insert handwritten notes with pdf files, including adding pages etc. It takes a bit to get used to all the features but it is well worth the effort. The ease of zooming in and out and writing in the margins of PDF files is also very handy. Still very happy with it. I love the infinite whiteboard option. It really feels like having a large whiteboard where you can write anywhere. It’s also great for annotating a pdf file when you need to write more than just minor comments. This continuous to be my favorite note taking app. One of the features of traditional writing and note taking is that you can spread out multiple sheets of paper in front of you. This allows you to keep a good overview of what you are working on. I really missed this aspect of physical notes when I switched to my iPad. However, the whiteboard mode with infinite zoom of ZoomNotes allows me to effectively have a virtual desk with many sheets of handwritten notes. (Tip: lay out a grid of letter size boundaries on your whiteboard before starting to take notes. You can easily fit 25 pages that way. Well, of course you could do millions but you want to mimic a physical desk.)

- John25642

So I tried ZoomNotes a while back and gave up on it pretty quickly. I began using NoteShelf. However, I started a new job (so now I work 3 jobs). The other apps worked okay for the journal and the different notes, folders, etc. I had to keep for each job, but they were lacking in some areas. I needed an app to fill all my needs. I came back to ZoomNotes and spent a little time learning. ZoomNotes has the fill feature, so I can easily fill in a bubble or a cell on a “spreadsheet”. Just to make me happy while I’m doing my work, ZoomNotes has different types of pens that no one else does (I love calligraphy and lettering). I can pull images from my photos or from the web, and I can make stickers on the fly to reuse again & again. I don’t have to switch between writing and pointer in order to go to a linked page, which I hated with GoodNotes. There is an endless whiteboard. I have rulers and protractors. I have to admit that I am still learning, so I occasionally hit a hiccup. However, I also know there are features I haven’t even tapped into. ZoomNotes is currently meeting all my needs and then some.

- Miami Xami

Penultimate, used in conjunction with Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro 9.7, is hard to beat. It literally looks like i am using a sheet of paper and a pen to take notes in a notebook. I wish that it had sub folders for the notebooks as this would greatly help organize my thoughts when writing novels. Right now, I am using penultimate to create a children's book for my son. Using Procreate, Pencil, and the Smart Keyboard, it is the most seamless creating tool i have ever used. Granted, I haven't used this app with any other stylus. I have used other note taking apps with other styli and I have to say that Apple Pencil is the best ever. So maybe it is the pencil that makes this app so great. I have not yet felt the need to try any other note taking app because Penultimate satisfies most of my needs. Four stars because it meets those needs. I'm not feeling pressed to buy anything. Highly recommend in conjunction with pencil.

- rmo5008

I use this app every morning for journaling and note taking for 4 months now. As a whole The app works pretty well, especially with the Apple Pen. There are a couple very annoying features though that brought me to write this review. 1. When I pop between apps by swiping up in the iPad (like readings I am going through), when I come back to this app it will sometimes put me back 2-3 pages in my notes from where I left off. This happens about 60% of the time and really gets annoying when you have to keep popping back and forth. 2. You can’t rearrange anything for better organization. Or at least I haven’t found a way and have looked for a long while. What I mean is, you can create folders to house similar documents but you can’t rearrange the order of the folders so that the most commonly used or similar topics would be grouped by each other. They just become scattered without any rhyme or reason. Also heaven forbid you spend an hour taking notes on something in the wrong folder/location, which I have done a couple times now. And that is unfortunately now where those documents live. There is no way of moving it to the correct folder, which in my opinion is almost a deal breaker for a note taking app. If this is possible it is not easily found in the app.

- Billy76856

It's good but I keep finding things I wish it did I use penultimate to take notes for my classes on my iPad Pro. It's nice to just be able to write, not type notes. But it's not perfect. The two major things I wish it did was zoom in on pictures. I often times insert screen shots from PowerPoint or online and when I go back to review my notes I am always trying to use two fingers to zoom in on the picture which is just a feature the app does not do. I also wish it allowed me to arrange my notes in whatever order I want. I have my app organized so that each class gets its own 'noteboook' but when I open the notebook I don't get organize the 'sub notebooks' in my own order, the app automatically organizes them in order of most recently opened. My other big compliment and this one is really annoying! When I double tap my home button to switch between apps to say take a screen shot and then go back to penultimate the app opens at a page 2-3 pages above where I left it. This is probably the most disruptive feature the app is lacking to note taking in class. Maybe Evernote can make this happen in the next update. I really hope so! This app has so much potential and with a little more care it could be perfect

- kbearOSU