Penultimate
23/07/10 22:06
The day I got my iPad, I knew I'd spend a veritable fortune on apps, but I hadn't thought of the productivity apps that were available. I knew I wanted to get Pages and Keynote to do some schoolwork, but I didn't think much further than that.
Once I'd tested out the iWork apps at school, I knew they'd suffice, but some things were just too awkward to do with a virtual keyboard and a basic set of in-app tools. e.g. using superscript and subscript text, along with characters from the Greek alphabet in Engineering and Physics. I'd already run into the same issue when I began doing all my schoolwork on my laptop, so I'd reverted to using pen and paper for half my subjects. Fortunately, while browsing the app store a few days after getting my iPad, I noticed an interesting looking app called Penultimate.
Penultimate is a useful application that allows you to create notebooks in a similar fashion to documents in Pages. The major difference, however, is that you don't use a keyboard like you do in most other apps, because Penultimate is made to allow you to write and draw with your finger (or stylus, if you have one). I took a look at it and it seemed like it could be quite useful being able to write out equations and formulae without having to spend an hour selecting text and searching for the superscript function or spending hours trying to find a special character that would take you half a second to write on paper.
The app starts by giving you a sample notebook to give you a quick tutorial on how to use it. It tells you the basics and gets you familiar with the app before you jump in headfirst and have no idea what features are available to you.
When you create a new notebook, it displays a single blank page that takes up nearly the entirety of the iPad's screen. Sure enough, when you put your finger on the screen, you can start writing or drawing (as you'd expect). Once you've filled a page, you simply tap on the bottom-right corner to flip to the next page. All the pages are numbered and are added to the notebook you've already created, so you can organise your work, notes and sketches in a simple manner. For example, I create a new notebook for each subject and subsequently each topic of those subjects, making it a simple task to go over notes from a specific topic or lesson.
Some of the tools you have available include different pen colours and widths, sharing of individual pages or whole notebooks (via email) and my personal favourite feature, the ability to change the paper style between graphed, lined and plain. Each of these features can come in handy, especially the ability to email an entire notebook as a PDF, which is useful for building an archive of your work or just sending your notes to someone who missed out on class.
Other than that, Penultimate isn't exactly feature-filled, but that isn't an issue, because it does exactly what it advertises and it does it damn well. One feature it could do with, however, is the ability to bring up the keyboard and start typing on the page for those times you don't particularly need to be able to draw non-standard symbols and what not.
Overall, I'd say Penultimate deserves an 8/10. Although it isn't suited for essay writing or writing lengthy novels, it works exactly as advertised and is quite handy for taking quick notes, writing long equations or even adding some basic diagrams to your notes. I'd recommend it to anyone who feels restricted by the limited abilities of the iPad's virtual keyboard.
You can find Penultimate in the iPad app store here for A$3.99
Once I'd tested out the iWork apps at school, I knew they'd suffice, but some things were just too awkward to do with a virtual keyboard and a basic set of in-app tools. e.g. using superscript and subscript text, along with characters from the Greek alphabet in Engineering and Physics. I'd already run into the same issue when I began doing all my schoolwork on my laptop, so I'd reverted to using pen and paper for half my subjects. Fortunately, while browsing the app store a few days after getting my iPad, I noticed an interesting looking app called Penultimate.
Penultimate is a useful application that allows you to create notebooks in a similar fashion to documents in Pages. The major difference, however, is that you don't use a keyboard like you do in most other apps, because Penultimate is made to allow you to write and draw with your finger (or stylus, if you have one). I took a look at it and it seemed like it could be quite useful being able to write out equations and formulae without having to spend an hour selecting text and searching for the superscript function or spending hours trying to find a special character that would take you half a second to write on paper.
The app starts by giving you a sample notebook to give you a quick tutorial on how to use it. It tells you the basics and gets you familiar with the app before you jump in headfirst and have no idea what features are available to you.
When you create a new notebook, it displays a single blank page that takes up nearly the entirety of the iPad's screen. Sure enough, when you put your finger on the screen, you can start writing or drawing (as you'd expect). Once you've filled a page, you simply tap on the bottom-right corner to flip to the next page. All the pages are numbered and are added to the notebook you've already created, so you can organise your work, notes and sketches in a simple manner. For example, I create a new notebook for each subject and subsequently each topic of those subjects, making it a simple task to go over notes from a specific topic or lesson.
Some of the tools you have available include different pen colours and widths, sharing of individual pages or whole notebooks (via email) and my personal favourite feature, the ability to change the paper style between graphed, lined and plain. Each of these features can come in handy, especially the ability to email an entire notebook as a PDF, which is useful for building an archive of your work or just sending your notes to someone who missed out on class.
Other than that, Penultimate isn't exactly feature-filled, but that isn't an issue, because it does exactly what it advertises and it does it damn well. One feature it could do with, however, is the ability to bring up the keyboard and start typing on the page for those times you don't particularly need to be able to draw non-standard symbols and what not.
Overall, I'd say Penultimate deserves an 8/10. Although it isn't suited for essay writing or writing lengthy novels, it works exactly as advertised and is quite handy for taking quick notes, writing long equations or even adding some basic diagrams to your notes. I'd recommend it to anyone who feels restricted by the limited abilities of the iPad's virtual keyboard.
You can find Penultimate in the iPad app store here for A$3.99
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