Do you think Drafts is just too complicated? Do you feel Evernote has way too many options? Are you not completely happy with Simplenote? If any of these questions is making you nod your head, Fetchnotes might just be the app for you.
Mobile phones are constant companions, and whenever there is any quick jotting down to be done, an app that puts text first is your best friend. Fetchnotes is a minimalist note-taking app with tagging and minor collaboration features, wrapped up in an iOS7 compliant interface. The light fonts and ultra-smooth blue bars and green highlights make this a beautiful place to jot down those fleeting thoughts you might have over the course of the day.
I really like the minimalism on display. Opening the app presents you with four things — your notes; a hamburger icon for settings and a timeline of the notes you've made as well as a section for notes you've archived; a search box and a compose button for new notes. Fetchnotes allows you to tag your notes by using hashtags such as Shopping or Groceries. Continuing the Twitter analogy, Fetchnotes also allows you to @ mention people you'd like to share your notes with. Those already on Fetchnotes will get a Push Notification, and those who aren't using the service will receive an email. My tests with collaboration were successful, with Push Notifications and note syncing working flawlessly. Search is also implemented quite well, with searches by hashtag, user or keywords available. You can add notes via email, as well as by SMS. However, if you were under the impression that Fetchnotes could replace your GTD app of choice, you're out of luck — there's no reminder feature built in and notes are text-only.
Fetchnotes comes up against some real heavy hitters. Its most direct competitor is Simplenote. Most people I know are very happy with the service they offer, but there are those who find Simperium sync a little hit and miss. Drafts is a LOT more flexible, and allows you to quickly triage your text to other apps for suitable action. However, it doesn't have any collaboration features and is available only for the iPhone and iPad. And finally, the big mack-daddy of note-taking apps – Evernote. It has the widest feature set, is available on every conceivable platform, and has robust sync, reminders and collaboration features. The sheer amount of things you can do, however, may be overwhelming to someone who merely needs a place to store random musings.
Fetchnotes is a wonderful service and has a great design. The close approximation to Twitter also makes it easy to pick up and use. However, it is a little tricky to recommend it to someone who is already using Simplenote or Evernote, because it really doesn't offer anything more than they do, and, in fact, lags behind them quite glaringly in some areas. However, if you've never used those apps and are looking to simply put your thoughts together onto a device of your choice, Fetchnotes is a great place to start.
Fetchnotes is Free on the App Store as a Universal app, with companion apps on the Web and Android.