Note taking has never been easier. There are plenty of apps allowing you to jot down thoughts, sync them across devices and share with friends or colleagues.
Evernote and OneNote are two of the most popular apps rendering pen and paper redundant. Both can be used to create, store and share notes for personal and work purposes. But which is better?
Availability
Evernote This is accessible through all mainstream browsers plus apps for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry. There are also dedicated client applications for Windows and Mac.
OneNote Also available via web access through all web browsers as well as apps for mobile devices including iOS, Android and Windows Phone, Symbian. BlackBerry is the one omission, but this is usage of this platform is on the downward spiral. Microsoft also provides client software for Mac and Windows, but you'll need an Office 365 subscription to get all the features.
Interface and organisation
Evernote Each notebook has individual pages but there's no real structure so the neatness will depend on how organised you are. The look of Evernote is consistent across web and desktop platforms with the exception of the the Windows client. It's a stripped down and has been criticised on forums.
OneNote The notebooks within are highly organised with tabs for subjects and the ability to have as manay pages as you under individual tabs. You can place text and images anywhere you want on the page.
Multimedia
Evernote It's easy to add audio notes and images to Evernote by tapping the relevant icon. The app also enables you to annotate images.
We did have a little problem with some audio files playing back audio when accessing Evernote through a browser on Windows (but not a browser on a Mac). But a Quicktime update appeared to fix this.
Embedding video recordings is possible, but you'll need the premium version to do this.
OneNote In comparison, OneNote's media handling abilities are limited. You can add pictures from the gallery or by snapping a photo but you can't annotate them directly. It is possible to take audio notes but these are limited to three minutes.
