Microsoft brings OneNote to iPhone

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 08:14

Your IT - Mobility

As much as Microsoft would like everyone to have a Windows Phone 7 handset, it realises a lot of people have chosen the iPhone. The company's latest app for Apple's mobile devices is a mobile version of OneNote.

OneNote isn't the most widely used component of Microsoft Office even though it is part of all three versions of Office 2010. But by and large, those who do use it seem to love the program for taking and organising notes, lists and other types of unstructured data.



One of the important features of OneNote 2010 is its ability to synchronise via Windows Live SkyDrive with copies running on other computers, the OneNote Web App, or OneNote Mobile on Windows Mobile smartphones (including Windows Phone 7).

What's been missing is an iPhone/iPad version. Microsoft has this week plugged that gap with the (initially) free OneNote app. It also runs on the iPod touch, but at this stage appears to be available only in the US App Store.

Features include creating lists with bullets or checkboxes, adding photos directly from the iPhone camera or from the album, and synchronisation via Windows Live.

There are some limitations. According to Microsoft officials, creation of new notebooks and the reorganisation of a notebook's contents must be done in OneNote 2010 or the Web App. And judging by early comments from users, OneNote hasn't been optimised for use on the iPad.

There's an initial fly in the ointment - see page two.