AudioNote Lite is a free iPhone app that combines an audio recorder with a digital notepad. If you want to record a conversation with a client and take notes at the same time, this could be the app for you.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

AudioNote Lite records audio, while providing you with a place to take notes about the conversation, as well as tools for drawing. Each note links to a relevant point in the audio recording, making it easier to find important quotes in the recording at a later date.

In case you were wondering, the Full version of AudioNote differs from the Lite version in two main ways: unlimited recording, and the ability to share notes over WiFi and email.

Pros

• Linking each note to a timestamp on the recording makes it easy to find important info quickly
• Notes can be entered with either the keyboard or a pen tool for handwriting
• Notes are highlighted during audio playback
• Variety of “paper” choices: yellow legal, white lined, graph paper, and blank
• Interface is easy to navigate, includes handy undo buttons for notes/freehand drawing
• The latest version of the app, Version 2.08.1, lets you open files created with the Windows version of AudioNote

Cons

• Recording time is limited to 10 minutes of audio per note, and 2 hours total for all files combined.
• Want to share your notes over WiFi or email? Too bad! You have to upgrade for those features.
• iPhone version, while solid, does seem a bit cramped at times (especially when adding drawings!)

Discussion

If I had my way, there would be a new naming convention for titles on the App Store. There really needs to start being a distinction between Lite apps, and apps that are a Trial Version of the Full app in disguise. For me, a Lite app is still a functional app, while a Trial-masquerading-as-Lite app gives you a taste of the Full version, but is otherwise worthless.

In my eyes, AudioNote Lite falls into the latter category. True, it is a great idea for an app, and has some very cool features. But by only allowing users to record 10 minutes at a time and capping the total audio recording time at two hours, the app becomes useless in common situations like conference calls or classroom lectures, which almost always run longer than 10 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong: AudioNote Lite definitely wet my appetite for the Full version of the app. But honestly, I’m more likely to download a different notetaking app than the Full AudioNote app. It would be great if AudioNote Lite could stand on its own merits.

AudioNote Lite deserves serious praise for its varied set of drawing tools, which really enrich the quality of your audio recordings. It’s a great app for when you need to augment the auditory with the visual in order to jog your memory at a later date.

Conclusion and download link

AudioNote has a good array of notetaking features, but the features themselves feel a bit hamstrung by the limits of the audio recorder. For penny-pinchers who don’t want to pay $4.99 to upgrade to the full version, the ten-minute/2-hour recording limits of AudioNote Lite is a dealbreaker.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 2.08.1

Requires iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, iOS version 4.1 or later

Download size: 5.4 MB

AudioNote Lite on Apple App Store