I survived college with this note-taking app, and it’s finally available on Android
6 min read
Summary
A great note-taking app improves your productivity without adding distractions or complexity, and very few apps fit the bill. There are free, paid, and open-source note-taking apps that all aim to make learning easier. I’ve tried many of them, and a handful of apps are great at one thing. There’s only one app I could trust for everything throughout my entire high school and college studies, though. It’s Notability, a singular note-taking app that handles handwriting, text, images, audio, and documents.
Notability’s versatility allows you to use the same app for note-taking, lecture recording, and textbook annotating — or even use all three features in the same notebook. As a longtime Notability Classic user that paid 10forlifetimeaccessmanyyearsago,Ionlyhadtwocomplaintsabouttheapp:thesubscriptionmodelandthelackofcross−platformsupport.Well,Notabilitylistened.Theappisfinallysoldasaone−timepurchaseonceagain,andit′snowavailableoniOS,Android,andtheweb.Ifyou′regearingupforanotheryearofstudies,here′showIusedNotabilitytoconquereverysemester,andwhyit′sthebestmoneyIeverspentonastudytool.NotabilityrecordslecturesasyouwriteortypeTheaudiorecordingsaresyncedtoyournotesforeasyrevisitingNotabilityadaptstoyourneeds.Itcanserveasabasictoolforjottingdownnotesor[afeature−richPDFeditor](https://www.makeuseof.com/switch−from−adobe−acrobat−to−ilovepdf2/),dependingonwhatthesituationrequires.Theextratoolsstayoutofthewaywhenyoudon′tneedthem,allowingyoutomaintainfocus.TheonefeaturethatsoldmeonNotabilityinthefirstplacewasaudiorecording.It′sagoodideatorecordyourclassesorlecturesforfuturereference,asyoucan′tpossiblywriteortypeeverythinginrealtime.Buthowdoyoufindtheinformationyou′relookingforattheendofthesemester,whenyouhavetensofhoursofaudiorecordings?Notabilityfiguredoutthesolutiontothisproblem:synchronization.Whenyourecordalecture,theaudioissynceduptoyournotes.Notabilityrememberswhatyouwerewritingortypingasaudioisrecorded.Allyouhavetodoistapawordinanotewhilelisteningtotherecording,andyou′lljumptotheaudioclipfromtheexactmomentthewordwasaddedtothenote.Thisishelpfulwhenreviewingoldernotes.Ifyougettoaspotandbecomeconfusedaboutwhatyouwrote,taptheplaybuttonandpressthewriting.You′llhearyourprofessorexplainingwhatyouwroteabout,andchancesare,it′llallstarttomakesenseagain.Thereare[toomanyAI−poweredvoicerecorderstocount](https://www.makeuseof.com/i−transcribed−hours−of−audio−offline−with−a−free−model−and−it−nailed−it/),andtheyusuallycomewithsummarizationandsearchtools.They′redecent,butthere′snoreplacementforavoicerecorderthatintegratesandsyncswithyourprimarynotebook.Arecorderforlecturesneedstobeoptimizedfordenserecordingsspanninghoursatatime.SomeofmyNotabilitynotesfromcollegecontainedaudiorecordingsover100hourslong,andtheywereeasytoparsesincetheyweresynceduptomywrittenandtypednotes.Therecordingsarealsoeditable,soyoucancutoutanydeadportionsofalecture.IpreferredtoleaveNotabilityrecordingwhileinclassandtrimtheaudiosnippetslater.Forthosethatliketoplaybacktheirentiresessions,theappsupportstuningandplaybackspeedadjustments.I′vefoundNotabilitytobeabetterrecordingappthansomededicatedvoicememoapps,whichishighpraiseconsideringit′sonlyasmallpartofwhatNotabilitydoes.NotabilityisbetterthanaphysicalnotebookIblendhandwriting,text,andimagesintocohesivestudymaterialsIwasneverthetypeoflearnerthatcoulduseaphysicalnotebook.Mymessyhandwritinganddisorganizedbackpackpushedmetousetabletsasnotebooksinstead.OnceIgotstartedusingNotability,Icouldn′tgoback.Ievenconvincedsomeofmyprofessorswhobannedtechnologyintheclassroomtoletmekeepusingitaftershowingthemwhattheappcoulddo.Mostofall,IlovehowNotabilityhandlestext,images,handwriting,anddocumentsallinthesamenote.I′dtypenotesinwritingandlawclasses,usingasmartpentoannotateandhighlighttheinformationlater.Formathandscience,I′dhandwritenotes,switchingbetweenpentoolsandcolorsforemphasis.Incertainclasses,Isnappedpicturesofthewhiteboardorscreenshottedaslidedeckandinsertedthemintothenote.Iftherewasakeychart,graphic,orfigureinatextbookthatIfeltcouldimprovemynotes,IdroppeditintoNotability.Theresultwasadigitalnotebookthatwasparttextbook,partlectureslides,andpartnotes—witharecordingofmyprofessor′sexplanationstoppingitalloff.Usingtheapp′sorganizationaltools,Icouldmanageanentireclasswithoneapp.Ihadrunningnotes,homeworkdocuments,andPDFversionsoftextbooksallseparatedintofoldersandsubfoldersinNotability.Beforeswitching,I′duseseparateappsforhandwrittennotes,typeddocuments,voicerecordings,andPDFannotation.Notabilityreplacedthemall.Asoftoday,Ihavemorethan500notesinNotability,andsomeofthemhavetensofpages.Finally,there′sanAndroidappandawebclientPlus,NotabilityClassichelpsyouavoidamonthlyoryearlysubscriptionWhenIattendedcollege,IappreciatedbeingabletostartanoteonmyiPad,continueitonmyMac,andreviewitonmyiPhonewhilewalkingtoclass.Thecross−platformsupportonlyworkedbecauseIlivedwithintheAppleecosystem.NotabilityremainedanAppleexclusiveforawhile,butthat′sofficiallychanged.Earlierthisyear,Notabilityaddedawebclientthatletsyouviewandeditnotesonanydevicewithabrowser.Followingabetaprogram,NotabilityisnowavailableonAndroid.ItesteditonaSamsungGalaxyTabS10PluswithanSPen,andtheappwasjustasgoodasIrememberedonmyiPadPro.Notabilitynowsupportstruecross−platformcompatibility,completewithcloudsyncingacrossallyourdevices.Thereisafreetier,butit′squitelimited.Crucially,Notabilitybroughtbacktheone−timepurchaseoptionIusedtobuytheappnearlyadecadeago.Ifyoudon′twanttopayforasubscription,youcangetNotabilityClassicfor50 (discounted to $40 currently) and use it forever. Looking back, I’d have gladly spent that money on Notability, as it proved to be an invaluable tool that helped me earn my degree.
