Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Goodbye Evernote

U

username:

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 16, 2013
707
365
Evernote exemplifies everything wrong with the freemium model.

Where to start.

- constantly increasing prices
- constantly removing features and making them more expensive
- no consistency
- destroying the trust of customers


I paid for Evernote premium for about a year. Then the price went up. Then the features kept changing. I'm too scared now to stay invested in an app that seems to have no clear path or plan for the future.

How do I know it will be around next year? How do I know that one day I might be paying £200 a year to use this app? After all it's just a note taking app!! There are millions of those already doing just the same thing! It's got to the point the ONLY reason I still use Evernote is because my notes are there! I don't even like it anymore!

While I used to think OneNote was not as good, now it looks like the app to use. Because it is created by a trustworthy company that I know will be around for many more years to come and their product will stay consistent. I am quite sure that OneNote will stay free for many years to come. And if there is a paid version coming out, Microsoft will announce that and be transparent about that.

Bye Evernote.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Abazigal
I like Evernote. It's a great tool that meets my needs ideally. I use the paid version across the various platforms like Android, iOS, Windows and Mac. Years of reliable service make it worth the cost. I don't work for free and I don't expect developers to either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FrisbeeK9
maxsix said:
I like Evernote. It's a great tool that meets my needs ideally. I use the paid version across the various platforms like Android, iOS, Windows and Mac. Years of reliable service make it worth the cost. I don't work for free and I don't expect developers to either.
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem with paying. But how do I know what they are going to do next? I just don't trust them anymore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sfwalter
username: said:
Evernote exemplifies everything wrong with the freemium model.

Where to start.

- constantly increasing prices
- constantly removing features and making them more expensive
- no consistency
- destroying the trust of customers


I paid for Evernote premium for about a year. Then the price went up. Then the features kept changing. I'm too scared now to stay invested in an app that seems to have no clear path or plan for the future.

How do I know it will be around next year? How do I know that one day I might be paying £200 a year to use this app? After all it's just a note taking app!! There are millions of those already doing just the same thing! It's got to the point the ONLY reason I still use Evernote is because my notes are there! I don't even like it anymore!

While I used to think OneNote was not as good, now it looks like the app to use. Because it is created by a trustworthy company that I know will be around for many more years to come and their product will stay consistent. I am quite sure that OneNote will stay free for many years to come. And if there is a paid version coming out, Microsoft will announce that and be transparent about that.

Bye Evernote.
Click to expand...
I really love evernote. And it took me a while to love them. I never really recommended it until I actually was using it daily. Then they started changing things, CLEARLY changing things. And I shook my head, and learned to stop using it. Over time it got worse and I have walked away from it. It's just not worth the trust - in any sense. I agree with you.

Goodbye evernote. It's a shame you didn't feel like a superhero. You could have been.
 
  • Like
Reactions: username:
I was a premium customer of Evernote's higher paid plans from late 2010 to 2013 before I gave it up. I too experienced constant structural changes and other issues. If something is changing often for the worse, it spells trouble. I can't think of anyone who used it then who still uses it now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: username:
Yup. I got rid of Evernote earlier this year. I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft, but OneNote is fantastic. I actually have a 1 year sub with the Office plan because it just seems worth it to me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: username:
I just wish OneNote would integrate with Spotlight search. Also being able to drag pdf or images right onto the app would be great as well. Its almost a direct Evernote replacement.
 
That was why I never subscribed to Evernote either. I didn't use the added functionality enough to ever make it more than a glorified note taking app. Once iOS 9 released and updated the notes app, I knew there was no going back to Evernote.
 
I haven't found a comparable alternative that I like so I'm sticking with it. But I agree, there's been some troubling goings-on at Evernote over the past year or so which make me doubt the longevity of the service. I've got a good workflow happening with it so until that day comes I'm happy.
 
maxsix said:
I like Evernote. It's a great tool that meets my needs ideally. I use the paid version across the various platforms like Android, iOS, Windows and Mac. Years of reliable service make it worth the cost. I don't work for free and I don't expect developers to either.
Click to expand...
I completely agree.
 
Floris said:
I really love evernote. And it took me a while to love them. I never really recommended it until I actually was using it daily. Then they started changing things, CLEARLY changing things. And I shook my head, and learned to stop using it. Over time it got worse and I have walked away from it. It's just not worth the trust - in any sense. I agree with you.

Goodbye evernote. It's a shame you didn't feel like a superhero. You could have been.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, ended up with OneNote and its deficiencies but at least it works. I just wish, Apple had a native app like that and not something as weird as "Notes" that just stopped making sense when they added "add graphics" in the weirdest way. :( Oh well, Microsaft it is.
 
Steeley said:
I haven't found a comparable alternative that I like so I'm sticking with it. But I agree, there's been some troubling goings-on at Evernote over the past year or so which make me doubt the longevity of the service. I've got a good workflow happening with it so until that day comes I'm happy.
Click to expand...

What are you using?

Edit: I think I am going blind. I read that as "I HAVE found a comparable alternative..." sorry
 
Last edited:
username: said:
What are you using?
Click to expand...

I use Scanner Pro by Readdle which adds the OCR to the scan and lets me create a one press button that tags and files it in Evernote. I have a few of those buttons set up. I don't use Evernote for notes, just filing. I use tags in lieu of separate notebooks in Evernote.
 
username: said:
Evernote exemplifies everything wrong with the freemium model.

Where to start.

- constantly increasing prices
- constantly removing features and making them more expensive
- no consistency
- destroying the trust of customers


I paid for Evernote premium for about a year. Then the price went up. Then the features kept changing. I'm too scared now to stay invested in an app that seems to have no clear path or plan for the future.

How do I know it will be around next year? How do I know that one day I might be paying £200 a year to use this app? After all it's just a note taking app!! There are millions of those already doing just the same thing! It's got to the point the ONLY reason I still use Evernote is because my notes are there! I don't even like it anymore!

While I used to think OneNote was not as good, now it looks like the app to use. Because it is created by a trustworthy company that I know will be around for many more years to come and their product will stay consistent. I am quite sure that OneNote will stay free for many years to come. And if there is a paid version coming out, Microsoft will announce that and be transparent about that.

Bye Evernote.
Click to expand...
What Evernote is doing is NOT caused by their implementation of a freemium model. I know that it is popular to complain about the freemium model but it isn't what caused Evernote to turn out as it did.

I suggest this:

"Evernote exemplifies everything wrong with software that relies on their own proprietary storage".

Even that rewording isn't quite right, but gets a bit closer.

I tried out Evernote early on, back when it was lean and mean and free functions were more useful than the for-pay alternatives. As soon as they started creeping up the price and features that were only available for-pay, I ditched it.

OneNote has been around for a long time. It has improved dramatically over the years. I use it fairly regularly but am very aware of Microsoft business models and the probable move to bring it back (or functions of it back) for-pay. Which in the end could be just like what happened to Evernote.

That is possibility is far-off and not something that should prevent someone from making full use of it now, but keep in mind that the proprietary nature of the OneNote file formats mean it may be difficult, impossible, or costly to get your data out should the time arrive.

For simple notes, I recommend using a structured-notes app that has the options to store data on 3rd party cloud storage (like dropbox) and has the option for plain-text or markdown. Although there is the restriction of no embedded graphics in the notes, there is basic formatting and the flexibility to use different software running on different operating systems to access the data.

I have used this approach for years with great success. On OSX, I access my notes via nvAlt (Notational Velocity successor), on Windows via ResophNotes, on iOS (Notesy, nvAlt, and dozen other options), on Android (dozen different aps).

Personal digital notebooks are a very personal and subjective thing. We all have our own way of working with our information. There is no universally "best" option. We all have to explore the options and see which one (or ones) work for us.

For me:
Notes.app (iOS/OSX) : Notes that contain drawings and that benefit from the native aspect of the apps within iOS/OSX.
nvAlt via dropBox: fast, quick notes... more of a repository of raw copy-n-pasted text to be used elsewhere.
OneNote: For those things that benefit from a visual presentation of the structure (notebooks, sections, pages).
 
sracer said:
What Evernote is doing is NOT caused by their implementation of a freemium model. I know that it is popular to complain about the freemium model but it isn't what caused Evernote to turn out as it did.

I suggest this:

"Evernote exemplifies everything wrong with software that relies on their own proprietary storage".

Even that rewording isn't quite right, but gets a bit closer.

I tried out Evernote early on, back when it was lean and mean and free functions were more useful than the for-pay alternatives. As soon as they started creeping up the price and features that were only available for-pay, I ditched it.

OneNote has been around for a long time. It has improved dramatically over the years. I use it fairly regularly but am very aware of Microsoft business models and the probable move to bring it back (or functions of it back) for-pay. Which in the end could be just like what happened to Evernote.

That is possibility is far-off and not something that should prevent someone from making full use of it now, but keep in mind that the proprietary nature of the OneNote file formats mean it may be difficult, impossible, or costly to get your data out should the time arrive.

For simple notes, I recommend using a structured-notes app that has the options to store data on 3rd party cloud storage (like dropbox) and has the option for plain-text or markdown. Although there is the restriction of no embedded graphics in the notes, there is basic formatting and the flexibility to use different software running on different operating systems to access the data.

I have used this approach for years with great success. On OSX, I access my notes via nvAlt (Notational Velocity successor), on Windows via ResophNotes, on iOS (Notesy, nvAlt, and dozen other options), on Android (dozen different aps).

Personal digital notebooks are a very personal and subjective thing. We all have our own way of working with our information. There is no universally "best" option. We all have to explore the options and see which one (or ones) work for us.

For me:
Notes.app (iOS/OSX) : Notes that contain drawings and that benefit from the native aspect of the apps within iOS/OSX.
nvAlt via dropBox: fast, quick notes... more of a repository of raw copy-n-pasted text to be used elsewhere.
OneNote: For those things that benefit from a visual presentation of the structure (notebooks, sections, pages).
Click to expand...

You are totally right. I need to move to an option that does not lock me in.

Evernote has always quite good as a place to dump everything, and sort it later.

I need a new "dumping" app
 
  • Like
Reactions: sracer
Ugh. I am in the same boat. I love Evernote but I was really dismayed with the change in their price structure months ago. I just haven't figured out how to get Onenote to work the way I use Evernote, nor how to transfer everything over.
 
Sukach said:
Ugh. I am in the same boat. I love Evernote but I was really dismayed with the change in their price structure months ago. I just haven't figured out how to get Onenote to work the way I use Evernote, nor how to transfer everything over.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Privacy issues & uncertainty over Evernote's future have me questioning whether to subscribe for another year. As someone said earlier, I haven't figured out how to get OneNote to work like Evernote
[doublepost=1540677373][/doublepost]
Steeley said:
I use Scanner Pro by Readdle which adds the OCR to the scan and lets me create a one press button that tags and files it in Evernote. I have a few of those buttons set up. I don't use Evernote for notes, just filing. I use tags in lieu of separate notebooks in Evernote.
Click to expand...

How do you use SCANNER PRO to OCR PDFs and documents you clip from a website?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back