OneNote 2010 is to Evernote as the Zune is to the iPod: Too Little, Too Late

I stopped using Microsoft Outlook after I discovered Evernote had moved to the web back in 2008. Microsoft must have noticed other people doing the same thing because they announced…

OneNote 2010 will Sync to Mobile and Cloud

OneNote was a very cool concept when it was first released. It could clip information of all kinds into its virtual note pages. It presented a big problem for me though. Carrying those virtual notes from computer to computer was a giant pain. And, its Windows Mobile client can best be described as quaint. Its dependence on ActiveSync proved its undoing for me when it destroyed all the synced OneNote notes on my desktop. I had it backed up. But, that was the last straw for me… I had deemed it unrealiable and never used it again.

Evernote’s web-based note clipping service and various client-side apps for desktops and phones completely replaced OneNote for me. Microsoft On10.net says that OneNote 2010 will be able to sync with Windows Live, have a OneNote Web App, and sync with an improved version of OneNote Mobile for Windows Mobile phones (they probably mean Windows Phones, since the rebranding should be in effect when OneNote 2010 is released).

I took a look at the OneNote 2010 technical preview release I’m running on my Windows 7 powered netbook and found some README type notes about this syncing. However, I didn’t see any menu options to indicate how it will work.

At this point, I think OneNote 2010 will have a relationship to Evernote that is similar to the Zune to iPod one: Too little, too late. It is already crippled by having only a client for Windows Mobile smartphones while Evernote has apps for the iPhone, Palm Pre and BlackBerry as well as Windows Mobile.

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