Mobile Version Of OneNote Finally Arrives For Android Users

Today saw the release of Microsoft’s digital scrapbook app OneNote on Android devices. The application lets users collect, organise and share various bits of information, and is designed for collaborative projects.

It took Microsoft a while to get to the Google operating system. Windows Phone 7 naturally was first in line to get this useful piece of software, and OneNote for iOS has been around for about a year. However, there is a catch: to synchronise OneNote data with a PC, it has to be running Windows.

Better late than never

OneNote Mobile lets you capture and access all of your notes and ideas on the go. It has a variety of features from simple lists and pages to fully-fledged notebooks that can be shared. But notes are not limited to just text: they can also contain pictures, or record video or sound clips. If OneNote is already in use on field worker’s PC, the mobile version allows the notes to go with them.

Other useful features include the ability to insert images and bulleted lists into any note, a built-in spell checker, and support for external hyperlinks.

The app also allows a data sync into a SkyDrive account. SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud service which allows users to keep their notes always up-to-date and accessible from their mobile devices, Web browsers, or computers.

With this release, the OneNote mobile apps are now available on all major mobile platforms, with the exception of BlackBerry.

OneNote is available on the Android Market app store. It is free to download and use for up to 500 notes. When users have reached this limit, they can upgrade OneNote for Android for a one-time fee of £2.99 for unlimited use. Microsoft is offering free support to answer any questions from registered OneNote users.

People who choose not to upgrade to the unlimited version, can still view, sync, and delete any of their existing notes, even after they have reached the 500 notes limit. However, they will no longer be able to edit their notes or create new ones on their Android phone.