In the past, Microsoft only had a couple apps for the iPhone – Bing and Windows Live Messenger. A couple days ago, Microsoft announced the release of the iPhone version of their note-syncing program OneNote called OneNote Mobile, which will available for FREE from the App Store for a limited time. I know some of you folks use or have used OneNote in the past but for those who don’t know what it is or what it is for, OneNote is a program that’s similar to Evernote. It allows users to sync their notes on a server (cloud) and access it on any device or computer (OneNote users use a Windows Live Skydrive account).
The release of the OneNote iPhone app could mean that other Microsoft Office programs and productivity apps will also make it to the App Store in the near future as hinted by Takeshi Numoto – Corporate VP for Microsoft Office on a blog post on the Microsoft Office blog.
We know people care more about what they do than where they do it. They expect technology to make that easier. They want familiarity and for things to just work. As new pieces of technology – new browsers, mobile hardware, smart phones and social networks – become bigger parts of their lives, they expect familiar technology, like Office, to help them access their ideas wherever they are. Today’s release is another step in Office evolving to serve our 750 million customers worldwide. Whether it’s on a PC or Mac, a mobile phone, or online through the Office Web Apps on multiple browsers, we continue to bring Office to the devices, platforms, and operating systems our customers are using. It should be about the ideas and information, not the device, right?
Screenshots:
OneNote Mobile Features:
- Create flexible notes that can include text, pictures, bullets, and checkboxes
- Check To Do items off on the go
- Save time with quick access to your most recent notes
- Work with confidence–OneNote Mobile automatically syncs your notes with Windows Live in the background
- Organize your notes into sections or create new notebooks using OneNote 2010 or OneNote Web App and access them from your iPhone
Requirements:
- iPhone or iPod touch must have iOS 4.2 or higher
- A free Windows Live ID is required to use OneNote Mobile –use an existing one or let OneNote Mobile help you sign up
- Web functionality uses the free OneNote Web App available on Windows Live, which requires a supported web browser
- OneNote Mobile opens notebooks created in Microsoft OneNote 2010 or the OneNote Web App
- Customizing section colors requires Microsoft OneNote 2010
The move to create an iPhone app version of OneNote and possibly other Microsoft Office programs/productivity apps makes sense. Instead of keeping their products off from competitor’s products, embracing iOS and creating apps for it is a good way to keep clients using Microsoft products on their mobile devices than for them to start using other alternatives like iWork or Google Docs. Competitors such as Google are working hard to make their products better – enabling Google Docs editing on iOS and Android devices.
Download Microsoft OneNote Mobile from the App Store.
Anyone tried or are using the Microsoft OneNote Mobile app on their iPhone or any iOS device? If you’re not using Microsoft OneNote, what note-syncing program/app do you use?
@deuts – The iTunes page doesn’t mention it being exclusive to the US and I’m not in the Philippines so I had no way of knowing. Thanks for letting us know. ;)
This ain’t available in the Philippines iTunes, so why should I bother. hehe