[Open Beta] SpeedNotes - A fast and convenient note taking application
SpeedNotes by Gray Matter Apps
SpeedNotes began as an app that addressed a need I had personally, I've always detested paper and like the idea of using the convenience of my BlackBerry for taking and storing notes of all kinds. MemoPad gets the job done, but always seemed inconvenient in as much as having to create a new empty note and name it each time I wanted to record something. Often, I find myself wanting to record something quickly and then return to whatever I'm doing and be able to come back to it later without a) remembering to save and b) having to leave an application open. Sometimes I would also want to take notes that I didn't need to keep permanently either.
SpeedNotes addresses this need by providing an instant and persistent note taking environment where immediately upon launching the app you are presented with a note area, ready for typing into. SpeedNotes takes care of ensuring your notes are saved to your BB's storage as you are working on them and loading the current note into the note area as soon as SpeedNotes is launched. Effectively, you can launch SpeedNotes, enter some information, then just press ESC to close the application. Later, you can launch SpeedNotes again and your note will be automatically loaded back into the application.
When your note is complete, you have several choices:
- Clear the note and start again.
- Save or send the note to a variety of different destinations, such as MemoPad, email, SMS, PIN message, Calendar, Tasks.
- Copy the note to your BlackBerry's clipboard.
The purpose of this open beta is to gather opinions on the usability of the app and to collect feedback reference it's further development before submitting it for sale. At the close of the beta, I will gratefully provide free copies of the app to anyone that provides useful input or feedback.
** Updated 9/5/2011 **
You can download SpeedNotes OTA 0.3.1 beta OTA at the below link:
SpeedNotes 0.3.1 beta OTA
If you are feeling brave, you can also download the current volatile build at the following location, although you should be aware that this build represents the current status of my progress towards the next version and may be in any state from completely broken to working, you can view the changelog entries below for the current volatile build to understand the approximate state of the volatile build, however, just because a change is listed under the current volatile's progress doesn't necessarily mean that it's available in the OTA yet. I will also post when a new volatile is uploaded. In shorter words, use at your own risk!:
Current SpeedNotes 1.0.0 volatile OTA
Minimum OS level is 5.0. The beta downloads will time out on September 15th 2011.
Russ.
ToDo List
- Investigate multi-language support for saving files.
Back Burner List
- Research color possibilities.
- Notes on the home screen.
- Investigate cloud integration.
Changelog
Version 1.0.0 volatile - In progress towards Gold release version! (bug fixes only)
- Fixed SMS numbers containing (,),- or a space causing invalid argument exceptions.
- Added support for custom encoding when saving to / loading from a file.
- Altered file save / load dialog layout to place toolbar buttons at the top for easier access for non-touch users. File list now scrolls within itself instead of the whole dialog scrolling.
Version 0.3.1 beta - Released 9/4/11
- Update file load/save dialog to be more consistent with standard BlackBerry dialogs.
- Added 'Load old note area' menu option to retrieve note from pre-0.2.3 beta versions (will remove this option when out of beta).
- Fixed 'none' reminder time on calendar entries, defaults to 0 minute reminder.
- Added an option to automatically add a .txt extension to saved files (defaults to yes).
- Implemented alternate SMS code to workaround RIM bug on some OS versions.
- Added 'Contact Support' menu option.
- Re-worked help screen.
- Added hotkeys to Save/Send popup.
- Added support for selecting encodings for file save/load.
- Fixed bug where .txt extension would cause it to be added to the filename again when selecting an existing file to overwrite.
Version 0.3.0 beta - Released 8/30/11
- Cleaned up screens to provide a consistent interface.
- Choice of fields for send as email (option screen).
- Automatic time stamp on new memo (option screen).
- Load from memopad.
- Load from file (SDCard, Store etc) with progress display and cancel options.
- Cleaned up startup code.
- Added save prompt to options screen when cancelling or pressing escape.
- Save to file and allow folder creation.
- Cursor at end of note or last cursor position on open.
- Extended beta timeout to September 15th 2011.
Version 0.2.4 beta - Released 8/12/11
- Fixed ExtraKeys "index out of bounds" exception when launching.
- Fixed duplicate SpeedNotes BlackBerry menu entries.
Version 0.2.3 beta - Released 8/11/11
- Added Send as SMS option.
- Added Save as Calendar entry with configurable destination field.
- Added Save as Task entry with configurable destination field.
- Added Insert Date Stamp with configurable date/time format.
- Added option to add SpeedNotes to the system BB menu.
[Open Beta] SpeedNotes - A fast and convenient note taking application
I have to say...sometimes simple really is better!!!
One idea which would be helpful to me would be the option to pin the note to the homescreen. That would work well for to do lists and grocery lists, reminders, etc.
Sent from my BlackBerry 9650 using Tapatalk