evernote

The original rectangle with rounded corners isn't the iPhone — it's the Moleskine notebook. In a definitive collection of the 1,000 most iconic products in the world, Moleskine stands at number 17 among such high-minded brands as the Rolex Oyster and Porsche 911.

At the 2013 Evernote Conference on Sept. 26, the classic writing journal was remade into a modern marvel, with the announcement of its second Evernote collaboration: a premium Sketchbook ($33) and a lined Journal in three different sizes.

Evernote, an explosive five-year-old software startup, and Moleskine, an Italian paper goods brand steeped in cultural tradition, seem more like natural rivals than successful collaborators.

After Thursday's Evernote keynote, we sat down with Moleskine CEO Arrigo Berni to get a better understanding of technology's newest odd couple. Arrigo believes there's no blood to be shed between digital and analog products, because they actually offer each other more value. "Consumers don't see a conflict between digital and paper. Rather, they use [both] paper products and digital products depending on the occasion and what they need."

Digital Versus Paper

The two are not mutually exclusive, in fact a Moleskine owner is more likely than a non-Moleskine owner to also use digital devices to take notes, according to Arrigo. When the paper goods company asked customers, "What's in your bag?," most carried a laptop, tablet, and smartphone along with their Moleskine diary or journal, and Arrigo pointed to my own set up as an example. I was recording our interview through my phone, and even though my MacBook was on my lap, I chose to jot down quotes with a traditional notebook. Paper does have infinite battery life, after all.

Moleskine's chief executive sees the prevalence of both digital and physical instruments in his own life, with his kids. "They're 11- and 12-year-olds and, to them, technology is just a fact of life. They have no judgment about the digital or physical worlds. They play their video games, they have a smartphone, and they have the same joy when they play with Lego."

The Elephant in the Room: Partnership

Evernote launched their first collaboration with Moleskine in 2012, with a notebook in the classic Moleskine style and a customized cover designed specifically for Evernote. The bound diary, which came in ruled and grid versions, was distinctive because of its "smart stickers" that, when captured via camera in the Evernote app, could be identified as certain tasks or tags.

"Our consumer is going back and forth between digital and analog all the time, so we had to start thinking outside of our box . . . We wanted to allow people to move content from paper to digital then back to paper in an easy and seamless way. This is what our consumers wanted," Arrigo explained.

Paper doesn't have rules, it doesn't need to be set up, and you don't need to control + "S" paper every five minutes. But it isn't searchable, shareable, or archivable in the digital sense, which is where Moleskine and Evernote stepped in.

"We decided to work with Evernote . . . because we were looking for a partner that would go beyond the boundaries of what they do to create more value for the customer."

But Evernote isn't Moleskine's first foray into the virtual space. The company has been flirting with digital features for some time. There's an official app for iPhone and iPad in the App Store, complete with classic ivory pages, and an online MyMoleskine community with artworks scanned from physical Moleskine pages.

"At Moleskine, we don't sell paper. It's about the heritage of creativity. Moleskine connects you with Hemingway, with Picasso, with the great creators of all time, and it's through this object that you are connected with your own creativity. So this is why Evernote chose Moleskine."

Evernote Sketchbook

The 2013 Evernote Sketchbook ($33) has thicker 120-gram paper and a new dotted grid pattern. Like the classic version, the notebook comes with smart stickers and three months of Evernote premium.

Evernote Journal

The more affordable Evernote Journal ($12 — $25) is available in three different sizes (extra large, large, and pocket) and two different page types (dot ruled and dot grid). The cardboard cover notebook includes smart stickers, complimentary Evernote premium for a limited time, and 64 pages.

"In mobile phones, in TVs, in laptops, there are new improvements every day. But in bags and wallets, there is no innovation . . . so we started thinking from scratch. If I had never seen a laptop bag [before], what would I make?"

That was the mantra going through Japanese designer Kazushige Minami's head as he began drafting Evernote's Triangle Commuter Bag ($199), the latest addition to the software company's collection of physical wares.

At the 2013 Evernote Conference in San Francisco on Thursday, CEO Phil Libin announced that the company was moving beyond its organization app, with an increasing number of partnerships that combine Evernote users' digital data with tangible products.

This Triangle Commuter Bag was developed in conjunction with the Japanese accessories company Abrasus, which Kazushige founded, and it was by far Evernote's most compelling product announcement on Thursday. We sat down with Kazu after the keynote to ask about his design process for the bag, which, unlike most other over-the-shoulder messenger cases, doesn't flop over when set down.

In 2009, Kazu quit his job as a tight-collared venture capitalist to begin devising tech accessories that put function first. "In the fashion industry, there is so much good [bag] design, but we don't want to compete with them. We only make what we want to have, and functionality is very important."

The Triangle Shape

When most messengers are dumped on a table, they swell and collapse on themselves — and Kazu wanted Evernote's laptop commuter to be the complete opposite of that. The bag's triangle shape makes it extremely stable, but it also lends itself to a slimmer, more body-hugging profile.

Kazu slid his MacBook Air into the built-in laptop sleeve, with the thickest part of the computer at the top of the bag. "This is very top heavy right now, but it will never fall down," he said.

The rigid form keeps the bag upright, and it also cuts down on space. Kazu explained how objects shift down to the bottom, and in traditional backpacks, there is lots of "air" and room at the top. The bag's wider base and tapered top eliminates this "air."

The outside pocket isn't just for looks, either. It's perforated so that a phone's rings and pings remain audible, and it also allows you to stick on buttons and pins without ruining the fabric.

Interior

Zip open the main compartment, and the flap will fall down. This is intentional, of course, and the flap's pockets have zippers that are placed accordingly. "Everything is visible," comments Kazu, who didn't want to have to fumble through the bag to find anything.

As he pulled out everything in his bag — MacBook Air, laptop charger, iPad Mini, iPhone, pens, various receipts, water bottle, passport, and about 15 other random gizmos — I was impressed by how much could fit into a such slim carrier. The Triangle Commuter Bag easily fits up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, but you'd never know it by looking at its interior.

Everything fits so snugly. Kazu apologized for his messiness, but I hardly noticed. The bag has a compartment for every type of gadget and accessory. Even when things are in disarray, the bag looks orderly.

The Strap

Take a closer look at where the crossbody strap is attached to the bag. It's sewn in at an angle to make the messenger feel as snug as possible. When a strap is attached at the top, the bag sticks out and feels heavier.

This angled strap hugs the laptop bag closer to the body and transfers the weight of the pack onto your back.

The Downsides

Evernote and Abrasus's svelte messenger bag looks and feels great, but it does have one major drawback: its price. At $200, it's more expensive than TimBuk2's and Chrome's over-the-shoulder carriers.

But it is Evernote branded, which may mean something if you're a fan of the company's products. Can an app become a lifestyle?

Your Google account's tied to email, work documents, cloud storage, and now it's putting all those would-be scraps of paper at the bottom of your bag — the deadline reminders, appointment cards, and book club reads — in one spot within your account with Google Keep.

Voice transcribe brainstorming ideas, store pictures — anything, by adding it to Keep through its web interface or as an app on devices running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and up.

Like popular note-taking service Evernote, Keep syncs content across all associated devices. Create a note on the web, and see it pop on your Android phone and tablet. The tiled interface is a style we're seeing more of in apps lately, and is a well-organized feature that may actually draw us to the service.

Will you give Keep a try? Watch Google's introductory video after the break.

Evernote Food (free), the foodie-friendly version of the popular digital note-taking app, released a new iOS update today that allows diners to reserve a table at popular restaurants and rate their meal afterwards. Evernote Food 2.1 comes with reservation system OpenTable and location discovery platform Foursquare built right into the app.

For wining and dining connoisseurs, Evernote Food is a one-stop shop for restaurant discovery and recipe archiving, which is why the app has also included integration with its flagship app Evernote in the latest update.

Recipes saved to Evernote will automatically sync to My Cookbook in Evernote Food. Chefs can also share their recipes with food-loving friends through Twitter, Facebook, or email.

Evernote found themselves in hot water earlier this month, when the company forced a service-wide password reset after their network was hacked. Before updating Evernote Food, make sure you've changed your password too.

Android users were left out of the latest Evernote Food update, unfortunately. But we'll keep you posted when the non-iOS Evernote Food 2.1 is download-ready.

Watch how Evernote works with OpenTable after the break.

Evernote calls its revamped note-taking app for iOS an "update," but we took it for a whirl and — holy app! — it's much more than that. The Evernote 5 (free) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch has an all-new home screen, navigation panel, note list . . . a new everything pretty much, and it was all redesigned to get you to where you need to go in fewer taps.

Taking notes, saving photos, creating lists, and recording voice reminders with Evernote's mobile app is faster and more efficient than before. We just wish some of these features — like managing stacks — were just as good in the desktop version too.

Evernote's new home screen was designed to make all the app's major functions accessible within two taps. In the Quick Note section, start a new text note, take a snapshot, or scan digital documents. Below, you'll find different ways to view your note library: by place, tag, notebook, or seeing all notes at once.

We couldn't think of a better way to plan Thanksgiving festivities, conquer Black Friday, or even jot down all of our holiday errands. Try it out, and let us know how you're using Evernote to organize your life.

Evernote launched its Android app nearly a year ago and now has rolled out the largest update to date for the free Android app.

Use this make-your-life-easier application to take notes and photos and record audio like before, but the latest version of the app features an updated home screen, better Google search integration, simpler sorting, and a major increase in speed. Premium users can select which notes to save and store for offline viewing, and users of the free app can update to premium status at any time from within the app. Check out all of the enhancements on the Evernote blog, and download the free app and update from the Android Market.

• Evernote now has an app in the Android Market — TechCrunch
• Starting this Saturday until Dec. 24., you can get an iPod Nano for $145 from Wal-Mart that includes a $50 iTunes gift card — Gizmodo
• The Sony PS3 is the top-selling home console in Japan — The Silicon Alley Insider
• Find out what the most watched and searched for videos were on YouTube this past year — The Official Google Blog
• Borders and Kobo are teaming up to create a new ereader — Engadget
• Here are some of the top smartphones of 2009 — CNET
• Submit your Cool Captures for your chance to win a CanvasPop print — GeekSugar

• Nintendo's new holiday commercial is cracking me up — Kotaku
• The teeny tiny cute Exemode camera from Japan captures video and photos — CrunchGear
• Now with Google Docs you can download all your files with one easy step —Download Squad
• Learn how Evernote can make your life easier this holiday season — Lifehacker
• Find out what the best camcorder is on a variety of budgets — Gizmodo
• Search for the nearest Christmas tree farm using Google Maps — Popgadget
• Submit your Cool Captures for your chance to win a CanvasPop print — GeekSugar

With all the holiday shopping you'll be doing over the next few weeks, you're bound to accumulate a ton of receipts. But instead of keeping them all in a shoebox you may forget about later, why not use this handy trick a friend of mine discovered to help her stay organized. I'm already a fan of EverNote, and although you can use its app on your Blackberry or iPhone to save notes, photos, and links you want to remember later, you can also use it to keep a digital copy of your receipts.

Just by taking a photo of your receipt and storing it in EverNote, you'll have a backup copy just in case anything happens to your original, or you just want to keep a running tally on your spending. This is also good for sending in those time-consuming expense reports — just photograph your receipts with a cell and send 'em on in! Best of all, you can access your info on your phone or home computer for later organizational reference.