Official Microsoft OneNote Mobile Client Released For Android
Today seems to be a good day for Android fans with a couple of big announcements coming from tech giants. First, it was news of the release of Google’s Chrome browser for Android, and now it’s Microsoft bringing its trusted note-taking and sharing tool, OneNote, to the Android Market. Initially released as an iOS-exclusive app, and then released for Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s official OneNote client is now available to Android users with all the note management features it is known for, including remote access to your SkyDrive account for syncing notes and notebooks in real-time (with support for offline access), enhanced text formatting (with built-in spell check tool), in-app photo capturing and attachment, option to add hyperlinks, images and bullets to notes and plenty more.
To access all aforementioned features, you must log in to the app using your Windows Live ID. New users can easily sign up for a fresh account from within the app for free.
OneNote Mobile for Android focuses on keeping things simple; a feature that is translated not just throughout its interface, but also in the manner in which it goes about its job. Your personal OneNote Notebooks are presented on the app’s homescreen. Tapping the clock icon at the top of this screen reveals your Recent notes whereas doing the notes and camera buttons let you start editing a blank note, or one that has a freshly captured image inserted in it respectively.
Multiple notes can be added to a notebook, multiple images can be added to each note, and each note can be edited using any of the aforementioned tools, including checkboxes, checklists and numbered list. The camera button at the top-left of the note editor can be tapped to capture a new photo, or import existing ones from local storage. As soon as you finish editing a note, it automatically gets saved to your SkyDrive cloud. The app keeps you apprised of sync progress through status bar notifications.
The Settings screen of the app (Menu > Settings) lets you enable/disable the Sync on Wi-Fi only option, and manage your Windows Live account.
It must be mentioned here that OneNote for Android only lets you create a maximum of 500 notes, after which the app can be used only for viewing, deleting and syncing them. To lift this restriction, you may purchase the upgrade from within the app for $4.99.
Also, currently, there is no support for adding audio, videos or doodles, and apparently, no support for creating a new notebook. It would be safe to assume that, in its current form, Microsoft OneNote Mobile for Android isn’t as big a threat to Evernote and other popular note-taking Android apps as one would think. Still, if you prefer sticking with your Windows Live ID to access and sync your notes/notebooks, and are content with whatever editing tools OneNote Mobile has on offer, grab the app via the Market link or QR code provided below. OneNote Mobile for Android requires Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread) or higher to run.
Download Microsoft OneNote Mobile for Android
Is there a way to sync onenote directly via usb cable between pc and mobile without SkyDrive?
Of course…..it’s not available in my country yet ! Evernote once again wins here. Although would be more than happy to switch once they make it available here.