Easy Widget for recording Audio Notes

[José Adriano 18]

HI !

It's very common for me to dictate notes "on-the-go". Say I'm walking or driving etc and I remember something and want to drop a note into EN by saying it (and not typing it).

Currently that's very cumbersome to do that on Evernote. There's a microphone widget but it opens the editor and so forth. It's not specialized for that. I need several steps to have the note saved. It's almost impossible to do it one-handed.

 

What I have done so far here is to use a good Android Voice Recorder, which is Easy Voice Recorder App (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digipom.easyvoicerecorder.pro&hl=en&gl=US).

This App has a very nice widget, that I put on the top left corner of my Android device. To record an audio, I just press the widget (a red ball) and it turns into a white block. Then I know it's recording already. I say what I need to say, that is "dictate" my note and then press the white block again. It goes back to the red ball. 

IOW it's a "switchable" (on/off) widget for recording audios. Very practical, very easy to use.

See the images :

 

 

 

What happens on the background ? 

This App (Easy Voice Recorder) has Google Drive integration. The recordings are uploaded as backup onto a folder on my Google Drive.

On my Windows I have a made a script on my own that periodically copies (moves as a matter of fact) those recordings into an Evernote Import Folder.

This Folder is my Recordings Folder on Evernote.

 

But all of this could happen automatically by Evernote. All the Google Drive integration wouldn't be needed of course. The audio would drop directly into Evernote itself.

What I also miss *A LOT* is a dictation service for those audio files , that is : voice into text (audio transcription). Then I cold have inside my note my original audio AND the corresponding text, generated automatically. I could edit/repair this text of course and save the note again, keeping the original audio.

There are several audio transcription services out there but most are expensive and I would also have to integrate to Evernote. That could be an Evernote Service as well, for premium users.

 

Anyway, hope to have been able to expose my idea (feature request) and or course, that it could be implemented.

Thanks in advance !

 

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

Audio is available in EN directly.

However everybody be warned: It syncs directly into a note. If it fails, or exceeds the Note or upload limit, on mobile clients the recording is completely lost ! 

Personally I use JustPressRecord on iOS and Mac.

[José Adriano 18]

Of course I know that. 

But as I explained, it is not as practical as the widget I mentioned. 

You have to click on the Mic, then you have to stop the recording and also save the note.

All that done while you're on-the-go.

 

By using the widget as I mentioned, there are just two clicks : start recording and save recording. 

Simple, fast, easy, reliable.

Anyway let's keep on listening to other ideas.

 

 

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

From my point of view a solution for a non existing problem.

In iOS getting at Speech Memos is one swipe and one tap, or a Siri command. Just Press Record is 2 taps. However for a fast idea in between I rather use the Apple Watch, where I can place the memo as an application on the watch face. One tap ...

All that while on the go, it really is nothing I even think about. I just do it.

 

[José Adriano 18]

Lucky you that is on iPhone.

I'm on Android though.

[Boot17 1,449]

Let me see if I have this right...

José's point is that recording audio on Evernote could be better. And I agree.

Pink's point is that using an external tool for recording and then importing the audio into Evernote after the fact is a better way to go with the current functionality of audio recording in Evernote. I also agree.

Evernote definitely have the best productivity/document-storage/note-taking app for my personal use, but it's hard to be the best at all features that they try and implement. (For example, another audio thing that would be nice is to be able to pause/resume audio playback from ear buds on iOS, but you can't -- you have to use the buttons in the note editor in Evernote.) Here is to hoping that improvements like the one José' has mentioned can be made in the future...

[José Adriano 18]

Here's a dream made true.

See Siri Integration at minute 6:20 at the video below.

Also looooooooooooong waited Locked Notes on Evernote. It's not the same as encryption. It locks the Whole Note.

But let's keep on dictating the note. He does that "on-the-fly" as he says.

 

 

 

 

[Boot17 1,449]

2 hours ago, José Adriano said:

See Siri Integration at minute 6:20 at the video below.

Also looooooooooooong waited Locked Notes on Evernote. It's not the same as encryption. It locks the Whole Note.

Neither of these has anything to do with the original post... and you are the one that made the post! 😃 

I watched the part at 6:20 and he uses Siri to dictate an eight word long "note". Also, that was a speech to text function -- not an audio recording. You don't use Siri to record audio and the max length of how long Siri is going to transcribe what you say to text has got to be pretty short.

[José Adriano 18]

End of the story is that I want to take audio notes into text and into Evernote.

Best of the worlds would be like this : very easy Evernote widget that I press to Record/Stop and what I say during the recording becomes a text note on Evernote. Simple as that.

This is my original post. 

Currently there are many ways to get close to that. I have done something that is very cumbersome and doesn't solve the issue. It doesn't transcribe the audio. But we can see that Apple Notes allow you to get closer to the idea.
 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

JustPressRecord transcribes, and the content is send into a new note by sharing. Simple & straightforward.

One can even decide to send the audio file and the transcript together, creating a note with text and reference recording.

P.S. Apple Notes will not run on Android either.

[Boot17 1,449]

6 minutes ago, José Adriano said:

End of the story is that I want to take audio notes into text and into Evernote.

Best of the worlds would be like this : very easy Evernote widget that I press to Record/Stop and what I say during the recording becomes a text note on Evernote. Simple as that.

This is my original post. 

Currently there are many ways to get close to that. I have done something that is very cumbersome and doesn't solve the issue. It doesn't transcribe the audio. But we can see that Apple Notes allow you to get closer to the idea.

Ah - got it. And I missed that last part of you original post about the transcription.

[ghon 78]

You can open a note and tap to the microphone in Iphone. What you speak is automatically transcribed to the note. The quality of the transcription is very good, so I would say - imthe feature is aleeady there!

[José Adriano 18]

Two points :

1. The World is not "IOS". I'm on Android. I'm a poor guy from Brazil.
2. Opening a note, finding the microphone Icon, speaking and then having to click on "save" the note, while you walk is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more complicated as I said on my original post : press the widget to start the recording, speak and press the SAME button again to stop. Very simple. You can do it all only with your left thumb. Thumb down, speak, thumb up and you're done.

 

[Boot17 1,449]

58 minutes ago, José Adriano said:

Two points :

1. The World is not "IOS". I'm on Android. I'm a poor guy from Brazil.
2. Opening a note, finding the microphone Icon, speaking and then having to click on "save" the note, while you walk is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more complicated as I said on my original post : press the widget to start the recording, speak and press the SAME button again to stop. Very simple. You can do it all only with your left thumb. Thumb down, speak, thumb up and you're done.

I think it's a great feature request and would make Evernote more appealing if it could do something like you suggest.

But Evernote also can't implement every conceivable feature that it could possibly do. Sometimes it's better to find an alternative app that can tie in nicely with Evernote to augment it and implement the said functionality better than Evernote could do it themselves. Whether that augmentation be audio recording and transcription, PDF markup, Image markup, etc.. These forums are filled with feature requests that will never see the light of day, but often there is a great work-around or companion app that is recommended in the discussion.

In the case of audio and transcription, it sounds like Just Press Record app is a great way to go for iOS. Perhaps in Android there is a better app than what you are using now. Perhaps not. I don't know.

[Paul A. 620]

I like the OP's suggestions. The audio capabilities in Evernote have taken a step back in v10 and could use some improvement. Even a minor change to make saving of audio files more reliable and less likely to result in a total loss would be very welcome.

A few (maybe 3-4) years ago, Evernote acquihired someone who was working on a voice to text transcription service that could support  and recognize multiple speakers, and I was excited about the possibility of integrating this technology into Evernote. There was even an Evernote technical blog post [Edit: found the link!] that hinted about a vision of supporting business meetings (e.g. recording, auto-transcribing, and making searchable team meetings, perhaps with the audio synced to shared notes being made collaboratively by the team). But then the Evernote leadership changed, a new direction was set, and none of that came to pass.

Just in case it is helpful @José Adriano, I will say that the Google Recorder app (which, as far as I know, is restricted to Pixel 3 and above phones) provides excellent on-device audio recording and transcription. It even supports multiple speaker transcription in the latest version (possibly limited to Pixel 7), which is a pretty advanced feature that until now requires expensive third-party apps.

Optionally, you can backup your recordings in Google Drive, as you currently do with your app. It also allows sharing the transcription, the audio file, or simply a link to the audio and transcription into other apps including Evernote. Importantly, the audio format is a format that can be played directly within Evernote both on desktop and on Android.

It's not as slick as if Evernote did this all natively, but in the meantime, if you have or one day consider switching to a Pixel phone, I would check out the Recorder app.

[José Adriano 18]

Hello Paul !

Thank U so much for such a detailed and comprehensive answer. You indeed understood my point !

Voice to text transcription service embeded on Evernote would make such a difference : they already have large scale (great base of customers) and could negotiate a good deal with some voice 2 text transcription service out there. There are plenty of them as I've seen. But they're not affordable, as you probably know, for us final customers. EN could even create (offer) a new subscription plan that would incorporate this Voice to Text service. 

I researched several Voice to Text services out there. But I'm a single user, retired, at home. I don't have such a budget. And this feature is not a "live or die" situation of course. It's an accessorie. Through this researched I had seen Google Recorder App too. Seems very nice and I guess it works pretty well. Hope Google may release this to all of Android users anytime soon.

Google Cloud also offers Speech To  Txt Transcription...

As for playing the audio directly inside EN, again, this is clumsy. There are some audio transcription softwares more useful for me to play and type simultaneously what I listen. I can play, stop, back 10 seconds or so, repeat, etc etc. All of that is very useful while I type what I listen. They have even Global Shortcut Keys. So I can type inside EN directly while I press say F12 to play/pause the audio at the other App (the Audio Transcription Software).

EN embeded player is soooo pooor, unfortunately.

Anyway, let's keep on listening what EN has to offer.

Thanks again !