Today is a big day for Evernote. Today is the day that Evernote becomes more useful, more powerful and more exciting for every user. Every partner. Everyone.
For the past two years, Evernote has been focused on one goal: helping the world remember everything. All of the decisions we’ve made have been in support of that vision. Along the way, we realized that to make it happen we’d need a little help from our friends, so we released the Evernote API. While we were busy expanding and improving Evernote, developers across the world were building applications that added features and functionality to our young platform, expanding into areas we never imagined. That was then.
Today, there are more than 2000 developers building hardware and software application that hook into the Evernote memory platform. Products that, thanks to Evernote, become accessible from everywhere, sync between devices and have powerful search capabilities. For developers, Evernote has become a way to gain useful functionality. For users, every integration adds layers of usefulness to their Evernote experiences.
Which brings us to the big announcement: Welcome to the Evernote Trunk.
The Evernote Trunk: Discovery and Exposure
The Trunk is a showcase of great apps and products that makes your Evernote experience more awesome.
To access it, click on the new “Trunk” icon in today’s update to Evernote for Windows and Evernote for Mac (Evernote Web later today, iPad next week). Clicking it opens a window full of amazing intergrations. Today, there are nearly 100 items listed across five categories: Mobile, Desktop & Web, Hardware, Gear, and Notebooks (this one is really cool, more on that later).
Of the nearly 100 launch items, around a third are completely new products and integrations. Importantly, new or old, every single integration is in the spotlight. Wondering which scanner works with Evernote? You should check the Trunk. Want to know which Twitter clients sends tweets into Evernote? Look in the Trunk. Which devices come pre-installed with Evernote? You know where to go. Now, every product developer gets exposed to millions of Evernote users, and millions of Evernote user see how to get more out of Evernote. Pretty great!
Fantastic new integrations
We’re excited not only by the potential of the Trunk, but also by the amazing new integrations that we’re launching today. Some represent highly-requested functionality, such as voice transcription, PDF annotation, mind mapping, sharing, contact management, and more. Here are some highlights:
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Voice transcription: Voice2Note, pliq.me, Quicktate
Today we’re launching with three great voice transcription services. Let’s focus on the Voice2Note integration by Dial2Do. Once you link your Evernote and Voice2Note accounts, Voice2Note will automatically go through your Evernote account, find any new voice notes, transcribe them, then insert the transcribed text into the note. They also have a phone number that you can call, and your voice recording will be transcribed and added to your Evernote account. Voice2Note has a free and paid version. -
PDF annotation: PDFpen (Mac), Nitro PDF Reader (Windows)
Evernote now has PDF annotation. PDFpen by SmileOnMyMac and Nitro PDF Reader allow you to annotate your PDF and then send them into Evernote for safekeeping. This is particularly great for signing and saving digital contracts. -
Mind mapping: Zeptopad Planner Note
Create mind maps on your iPad using this incredibly intuitive application, then save it all into Evernote - So much more: Read It Later, Lil’grams, ScanBizCards, Receipts, and many more.
Unexpected connections
What makes the Evernote memory platform so interesting is the way that it connects seemingly unrelated products and applications. Now, a notable Twitter message sent to Evernote from Seesmic can be pulled into SAP StreamWork to help with a group project. Or, a child’s scribble sent to Evernote from EverPaint can be instantly shared with family and friends on Lil’grams. Or, a photo of a wine label snapped by an Eye-Fi Card-equipped camera can help generate a meaningful reminder in reQall. All of these connections would have been unlikely, but now with Evernote they’re seamless. Explore the Trunk to find ways to use applications together in ways you never thought possible.
Exclusive Notebook partners
And now for something completely different…With the Trunk, Evernote becomes a powerful content distribution platform. In the run-up to the launch we worked closely with some of our favorite blogs and publications to launch the new Notebooks category. In this section, you will find exclusive content created for Evernote by Make Magazine, Cool Hunting, California Home and Design, and BlackBook. We also have a great collection of puzzles and games from Puzzazz.com and dozens of Evernote Tips.
Importing Notebooks in your account
The Trunk allows users to select the branded Notebooks that they like, and have the notebooks imported directly into their Evernote accounts. Like adding a new book to your shelf, once you choose a notebook from one of our partners, it will instantly appear in your account. But that’s only the beginning. If for example, you choose the Make:Projects Home and Garden notebook, Evernote will add a notebook full of great do-it-yourself projects into your account. In Evernote that notebook is more than a piece of static content, it’s a starting point for all of the other DIY projects you come across. The same is true for the Cool Hunting Travel Notebook. The editors of Cool Hunting have collected lots of useful travel tips into the notebook, and that same notebook is also where you can place your own travel ideas and related research. What makes these branded Notebooks so intriguing is that all of the content represents the jumping off point for your creativity and exploration.
Much more to come
You will be hearing a lot more about the Evernote Trunk in the next weeks and months. First, we’ll be adding it to more Evernote platforms. Later this year, we’ll be adding in-Trunk purchasing and other revenue opportunities for products and Notebooks. But most importantly, we will be constantly adding new integrations and new notebooks to the Trunk. Make sure to check back often. In fact, it should become the first place you look when you’re thinking about getting something new. With so many great products, why invest your time and money in something that doesn’t hook into Evernote?
Join the Trunk
If you’re interested in having your product or Notebook listed in the Trunk, then send us a request here.
157 Comments
Mike
Confused? So this is an app store or an ad… Should change the title… Looks like a feature at first but not… Also, took me awhile to understand what it is.
Stan
Love my Evernote but as far as the “Trunk” is concerned, I can’t comment because all I get is a blank window…
David
This update may represent a good business plan (or may not), but I see no clear advantages for me. Maybe I would be more enthused if EN interacted in new, clever ways with apps that are already big hits and widely used. But I’ve never even heard of most of the apps mentioned in the trunk.
Another change that might interest me would be if EN took over functions from lots of existing apps I already use. I’d rather use EN with lots of new features than EN plus a dozen tiny apps like full-featured screen grabbers, powerful clipboard substitutes, encryption apps, and compression apps. Wouldn’t it be cool if EN could do all of that, so I could make life simpler by removing a bunch of other apps.
Dan
My god, what a bunch of whiners. Personally, I’m happy you’ve chosen to add more features via 3rd parties. If it’s something that I want and have to pay more for it – so big freaking deal. EVERNOTE IS FREE PEOPLE!!! (well, I bought a subscription but until that time…)
Frederick
I think a lot of people have missed the point here. The more 3rd party apps, the more functionality of the software and the more customization for the individual person. Also I feel the company is smart for building an accessible piece of software and leaving functionality expansion to companies with expertise in their particular field. Great Job! Keep adding partners!
Jeffrey Hardy
I am a very dedicated user of Evernote, and though every system requires we think more like it than like ourselves, EN is an important part of everyday. I use it to collect intelligence on key topics and to track the progress of projects I am working on. That said, this Trunk thing is like the ad button that is not a feature for us Pro users. I don’t need you cramming other people’s crap in my face and calling it a feature. I need the interface I am working on to be constantly improving in very useful ways. How about the near-crap help arena, that, everytime I go there I am reminded of just how paltry the offerings were all the other times I went there. No real effort to cross-reference topics, etc., but more like a discussion board, like an open-source project. Not much help, really. Get into the center of the thing and get off the damn edges. We all lover Evernote, and want to continue to do so, not be a crowd you shill other people’s crap to. To be precise about it. Get the trunk off my desktop!
Don Walters
“Trunk” may be amazing to you but when I click on the icon, nothing happens – a blank screen.
Steve Gronek
So much whining! Great work, Evernote! You are being dynamic and working toward something….and beyond! So, maybe these people don’t find all the extras in the Trunk useful… they can choose not to use them! I know you will take some of the constructive suggestions and incorporate them if it benefits everyone.
Keep up the good work! You folks are great!
Tryll
Lots and lots of great ways to put things into Evernote… where it then becomes locked into a proprietary format, and in order to use it in further applications, it must be exported. How about allowing links or aliases to evernote stored content? I’ve tried to go Premium, but found that the data lock-in is way too impractical for actually using the content you capture. Why does Evernote seem to consider itself the “last stop” for all of your data? I find it really disappointing that it just isn’t as useful as EN thinks it is. GREAT. Another one-way data storage solution… and hundreds of ways to put your stuff into it.
Curio, for example, went to great lengths to integrate Evernote, but it is now the least flexible component in Curio (a GREAT Mac-app.) Sure you can search and drag stuff into Curio, but at that point it is a separate copy of the data, and unlinked from Evernote – so why bother with the Evernote part? Curio can do all that, and better, without Evernote being involved.
Make the stored data more useful, rather than finding hundreds of ways to lock it into your system.
Steve
Guys–Some of us are eagerly awaiting mind mapping app integration BEYOND the iPad. Some of us are word people, some of us are visual/systems people, and some of us are both. As Snoop Dogg says, mind mapping is the real fashizzy. Thank you.
Colin
Word and Mindmapping… two things from two mentalities that don’t go together
Karen
I agree; at least integrate with FreeMind. I’m Google-centric so would never buy an iPad or iPhone.
Robert
I don’t think people are whining. They just don’t get what it is and how it impacts them today. I am a pretty technical guy and it took two reads from me to get what I think it is, etc. I really think the intro and what it is from EN need a little tweaking. JMO
Bruce
Trunk does not work. As several others mentioned, when I click on it a blank box is shown.
Hansdotcom
Well I’d love to see the Trunk, but don’t have it? Is there something I need to do? When I check for updates it tells me that I’m up to date, but there’s no Trunk icon next to my Sync icon?
Mike Stanger
I’m like Hansdotcom–I can’t find the Trunk button on my Windows version, and checking updates tells me there are no new updates, although my install is 3.5.4.2343.
JoeTaxpayer
I like it. The notebooks to import are pretty cool.
I don’t really get the “Most premium notepad”. It’s just a little paper notebook you fill with your own paper? Fold a piece of copier paper and write on it? Right?
But it comes with a year of premium. So when my year is over, I can cancel, and then use that coupon? So the $69 notebook is really $24? Or $9 if I pretend I paid monthly.
I saw Wacom listed as a vendor. Is there a special link between EN and the tablet? Or do I save and import to integrate the two?
Again, thanks for a great product. I’ve been scanning and throwing out reems of paper for months now.
Dave
All these upgrades and new features aren’t really addressing the thing that I think many people have asked for and have waited for a long time: being able to use EN for both work and personal. Namely, the ability to support multiple databases, or run multiple instances of EN, or something…anything. There is a Mac “plug-in” that allows the switching of EN accounts but nothing for Windows and other Iphone/iPad.. When can we get this feature? I am a paid subscriber.
Charles Brown
will this work on my LG chocolate phone
Andrew Sinkov
The Trunk is accessible from Evernote versions for Mac, Windows, Web, and iPad. You can also view it by going to Evernote.com and clicking on the Trunk link at the top of the page.
Peter Moseley
I can’t find the trunk either. I have the latest version and there is no Trunk button. I went to evernote.com as Andrew suggested above, clicked the Trunk icon and it brought me back to this page.
ThierryA
At first I was VERY pleased to hear about this.
And guess what ? I’m totally pissed off…
What is this ? Itunes ? Apple Appstore ?
For those who don’t see the trunk, don’t worry: nothing to see anyway… I mean, there is nothing in there for me: only apple, apple, apple…
Where are android and winmo versions ?
What are you doing exactly, offering only apps for devices that don’t support stylus sketching ???
Andrew Sinkov
Thierry the Trunk is a showcase of third party applications that have integrated Evernote. You’re right, there are currently more iPhone app integrations than Android and Windows Mobile. There’s no technical reason why developers on those platforms couldn’t integrate with Evernote. If you have specific apps that you would like to see integrated, I recommend contacting the app developer and making the recommendation. If they build that integration, we will list it in the Trunk.
Will
Think of “Trunk” as the elephants “extension(s)” (Going with the “elephants never forget” concept) The “Trunk” helps the elephant.
Uonji
You are including too much, actually,if there is such thing as too much. Too many superficial functions. Let the user give you feedback which are really essential or suddenly it will be used by 15-19 boys and girls to share gossip and nonsense chat. I like to think of this application as a serious one, useful for business and serious discussion meetings and shared work.
Julez
Great Ideas & Functions – keep up the good work !
markC
So, since I stumbled across the Trunk, I’ve added FastEver to my iPhone, I’ve started to use Awesome Note as I need a 2 Do app that syncs with EN (I prefer to have both for different things). So, functionality has suddenly improved. Lots of it I won’t use BUT some of it I have and so, great work from the EN team. Keep it up.
Marc S.
It would helpful if there was an indication with each App whether it was free or, if not, how much it costs. It’s a bit tedious to check them out one by one.
Andrew Sinkov
Thanks for the suggestion.
Pedr
Please put something in the preferences (at least for pro users) so we can remove the Trunk Button
Russell
I’m with a lot of other users who want a good Evernote that additional applicatications. Concentrate on getting the bugs out and producing a good user manual.
Darnell Clayton
As much as I love Evernote (and the new trunk) what frustrates me more than anything is the lack of rich text editing for the iPhone.
Even if you displayed it in bare code (exposing the guts) and allowed us to edit the formatting via code, I would take that over the “text or nothing” approach.
Although I love being a premium member (and recommend others pay for it instead of being a free loader), this is my one major gripe about the service (for iPhone only though, as everything else rocks!!!).
bohomoto
Wish I could subscribe to a trunk rss feed…
Richard
It took me a long time to understand why “trunk”. The first image that came to mind was a tree, of course. As a developer, “trunk” suggests the main branch of a source control tree, and that seemed like an awkward and confusing name for what seems a messy mix of an app store and RSS feed (notebooks). But then maybe I thought “trunk” referred to a storage box in which one packs away things not needed; again, a poor image. Only after a few hours did I realize that “trunk” probably referred to the part of the elephant. You seriously need a better name.
Since I use Evernote to keep things temporarily, such as an item to pick up at the store or things on a to-do list, I tend to want to minimize what I put there. Having apps goes against that. Evernote’s strength is its use as short-term memory, and I would not want to fill it with long-term clutter.
Elizabeth
What I’m looking for is a pen that will allow me to edit a Word document using Track Changes. I’d like to be able to edit a document using my handwriting, and have that handwriting turned into type within the Word document, such that the recipient of the document can accept changes or not.
Does this do that? Seems like it does everything else. . .
Matt
I’m confused. Evernote is a great app but you seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room (which must be difficult).
I want to love it, I have a premium subscription but its just not very good as a note editor. If you come from Onenote (which I have) it’s like going back to a late 80′s word processor.
So guys. Stop messing about with stuff like the Trunk, if you get the editor right you’ll win way more customers. I am hanging on in there but I know loads of people who’ve given up and/or refuse to pay for a subscription because of the text editor.
Steve
This actually got me to download Awesome Note and it works, I can now manage tasks with EN. Happy Days!
Michel
When will there be an Evernote application for Symbian OS?
It is true that Symbian is not that big in the US but it is by far the biggest mobile operating system in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system
Since Evernote is asking people to translate its content into other languages one would presume that you are aiming for a global market.
It is therefore strange to see how you only focus on US Operating Systems eg MAC, Android, Windows, Palm.
As you can see from the link above Symbian has bigger share of the world market that all the others put together.
So, if you want it to be a BIG day for Evernote then you should add an application for Symbian OS.
Just a thought.
carls
One more voice to remove the Trunk – especially for Premium users who have already expressed that they are paying to avoid ads. Moreover the Trunk takes up useful and usable space on my Netbook. Please.
Laurie
I am pretty new to Evernote. I cannot find the “notebook” tab in The Trunk. Am i missing something? Was it ever there, was it removed? Thanks