Showing posts with label Writers' Tools On The Android. Show all posts

More Writer's Best Friends: Android Apps For The Writer


Writing is more than a career, it's a vocation. While some learn the trade of writing along the way, most writers are born that way and hewed by their jobs. That is why wherever you find a writer, you will be able to find either a collection of pens, diaries, or, in the case of techie writers, a slew of diary-keeping software and devices to journal with.

Earlier, we talked about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Blackberry and the iPod Touch and how they can be used as the writer's best friends in recording thoughts and memories. Now, we'll talk about Android Apps that are useful for the writer and other avid thought-catchers.

The diary app is not only handy, it also sets the mood for note-taking and thought-catching. Today, we'll discuss two diary apps I've grown to love: UltraMate and Memoires.

UltraMate/UM Diary



The Good:

This is the first diary app that I've downloaded and installed. It has an aesthetically pleasing look, and it does serve its intended purpose very well: entries are archived on the day, and there is even a Calendar View to the app. Each day marked on the calendar comes as a cute Android logo head. The Calendar view also shows the post counts for that day.

Categories can also be set, so if you want to use the diary app for notes other than an actual journal, you will be able to classify by Category.

A password can be set, and backups may be made and restored from. You may even create Templates as formats for specific types of entries. Neat, huh?

Photos may be embedded in entries, and there's even a "Portraits" section, which can be accessed from Menu > Toolkit. Great for taking photos and notes when you're out on town, or hiking through fields, where you're bound to see something interesting at every turn.

All of that is housed on a beautiful wood background, which makes a journaler feel journal-ish.

You know those ornate, antique backgrounds, right? They always inspire that feeling of home, that feeling of being artsy, and it never fails in causing a writer to get in the mood to grab a cup of coffee, a pen, and his journal and write. In this case, the writer-journaler only needs to grab a cup of coffee, find a good, comfy chair to sink into and type away.


The Bad:

Being a typing-intensive exercise, one may find journaling via the Android a tedious task, indeed. So I recommend using a physical keyboard-powered app to use this one.


Memoires



The Good:

Being content with UltraMate, I didn't really think about downloading another journaling app. Not yet, anyway, because I felt like UltraMate was enough.

There was a day, though, when I wanted to jot down something else, and just keep UltraMate as an app to post quotes and verses that I wanted to meditate on, for that specific day. So I downloaded Memoires and Diaro.

I kept Memoires, because Diaro wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as Memoires, or even UltraMate.

What I discovered later was how much more awesome Memoires was:

  • I could take photos and embed them on the entry
  • I could take an audio recording in lieu of an entry
  • Smileys to mark the entry's mood! Just like LiveJournal!

My first use of Memoires was to take photos of books I want to buy in the future. I went around the bookstore I used to hang out in, and snapped photo after photo. Thanks to that, I discovered that I could tag the entries and keep them separate from my journal itself.

So now, thanks to Memoires' tags, I now have book wishlists and a journal, which I can filter when I fire up the app. The user can choose which of his tags he will be able to see upon startup of Memoires. Fun function!

Memoires handles three forms of media essential for memory- and thought-capture:

  • Photos
  • Audio Recordings
  • Good Ole Text Entries

There is also the "Flow of Thoughts" function wherein you can link entries to each other. You can do this by: Go[ing] to the Entry > Click the Menu button (Top Right/Arrow pointing down) > Choose the option "Follow up..."

This links a new memory/entry to that particular memory you posted. An innovative function!

On the whole, if I had to have JUST ONE diary app on my Android, I may give that space to Memoires, because since I own a touch screen Android (for now), the audio recording function will eliminate the need for me to tap on it. Thus, since I sometimes run out of time to record my days, this function is very handy, indeed.

If you're one of those folks who doesn't have qualms about using GPS to identify his location and weather data, Memoires also has this function that allows you to add your location, and even your weather data. Not for the squeamish about GPS!


The Bad:

Nothing beats journaling by stringing written words together and fleshing them out in black and white. Thus, if you're still old skool that way, Memoires will have the same limitation I cited for UltraMate: you may want to find a QWERTY Android or a Slider Android for this.

Another downside that I see in this app is that you will need hefty storage to maximize its use. Good thing that it "lives" on the SD Card, so just get the max that your phone can handle, and record your thoughts away! (Look mom, no hands! Or, more accurately, Look mom, no touchpad-typing!)


The writer does have a whole slew of "toys" and "toys within toys" to add to his life nowadays. Thus, there's no excuse for writers or aspiring writers to beg off on journaling: your tools are all laid out for you to use!


This just discovered (after I wrote this article): Upon seeing the Developer's Page of the Ultra Mate Diary, it even tops Memoires because it can insert a video and an on-the-spot video record, a sound recording or an MP3, and even text from another app. There goes your SD Card. :p

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Android App Reviews
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A Writer's Best Friends: Gadgets For The Writer


A writer is a writer is a writer, as they say. Writers will be found carrying their favorite pens -- or a whole handful of them. They love fancy notebooks, and to be able to collect Moleskines is a treat for them. The more successful ones toted the first Macbooks in the Philippines, back in the time when Windows PC's ruled the market. And whenever they can, they will scribble their notes on anything. And I mean anything.

If caught in a coffeeshop without a laptop or even a pen and paper to capture their thoughts with, they'll resort to asking the barista for a handful of table napkins and the store's pen.

I know, because I never thought the day would come when I'd need to resort to that -- but then it did.

But these times mark the age when writing has become profitable (thank you Google and SEO!) and writers can now afford to invest in gadgets and machines that will make their lives and compulsive note-taking a whole world easier.

Writers may have said "hello" to the smartphones and helpful gadgets by now.

Here are some machines that I know would be handy for writers and other compulsive note-takers and thought-catchers:

iPod Touch -- The cheapest thing you can get to an iPhone, without the phone capabilities, the iPod Touch is the note-taker's delight. With a camera that can take pictures of handwriting pretty well, a writer and his pals will no longer need to run to the nearest photocopying shop in order to take copies of notes written. They only need to snap photos of those notes, and they will be able to share notes, and even pages off of books, on the fly.

The notes that can be taken by the iPod Touch's reportedly only 0.7MP cam.

You can even take pictures of pages off of books, which you can share with your other writer-friends.

Another method of recording one's thoughts is in the form of pictures. As they say, "A picture paints a thousand words." If the beauty of the sight that a writer is beholding is just too much for him to express in words, then a picture would surely beef up what he is meaning to write.

Lastly, voice recordings will never be able to replace the beauty, clarity and convenience of reading the written word, but it'll suffice as a way to record thoughts on the fly. With the iPod Touch's configurations starting at 8GB, a writer can certainly ramble hours of thoughts away.

Blackberry, any kind -- The Blackberry cornered the Smartphone market a few years ago, because it pioneered the handy QWERTY machine. Thanks to that, we now have Nokia's QWERTY's and even QWERTY Androids like the HTC Chacha and the Cherry Mobile Candy Chat.

But nothing really beats the Blackberry in how awesome its keys are engineered. They were built to be tapped on, for hours on end. That is why I completely understand why Blackberry users have been stereotyped as "Crackberry" addicts who tap away at their SMS or email even on dinner tables and family gatherings.

A writer can leverage a Blackberry by taking notes on the Blackberry's memo apps, or even on the Calendar. I find that it's very convenient to make notes on the Calendar, as it records the date when you had that thought. Thus, it's easier to go back to when you need to.

What is great about the Blackberry over an iPod Touch or even an iPhone or a touch-screen Android is that it is handy to type on even when you're in an uncomfortable situation. I mean, only crackpots will be writing their next articles on the commuter train while their in transit, right? But it happens, and thoughts and ideas can and will seize you, even when you're in tough spots.

Long bus rides are another thing. It would be hard to tap out a full-length essay or article on an iPod Touch on a bus ride, and it would be all the worse to start talking your thoughts into it, as other passengers may look at you funny for that. Thus, it is definitely quieter and easier to tap away a diary entry, an essay, an article, and even a short story or a novel chapter on one's Blackberry.

Samsung Galaxy Note -- Being a writer and an Android advocate, the Samsung Galaxy Note is definitely high up on my wishlist. As I said, I am attracted to the capabilities of its S-Pen, not to mention the fact that its screen is so wide, it can surely accommodate big fingers typing away.

One big irritation I have with touch screen devices is that I may get the hang of typing long messages on it when I really push myself to do it, but after a while, I find that I've gotten clumsy with typing on touch screens again.

One big promise that the Samsung Galaxy Note has for writers is that it's going to be an all-in mobile thought capture device: something to research with on the fly, something to take notes with, something to record voice messages (to oneself) with, and something that will allow for doodles, screenshots and diagram-making thanks to its S-Pen.

Check out the Samsung Galaxy Note, free on Smart's Unlimited Plan 2000.

While the writer-by-blood will always go back to his favorite tools of the trade: the trusty notebook and the ornate, colorful, or fine-writing pens, this age does favor him, with all the tools, gadgets and toys that will add to, but never replace, the writer's arsenal of pens and paper pads.

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Android
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