(Archived) Please Copy Dropbox

[sterlingz 7]

Dear Evernote,

I think you would do well to copy some of the best features from your colleagues over at Dropbox. They have an amazing product as you are probably well aware, and some of their features would really benefit Evernote.

1. Votebox. This is a fantastic idea for prioritizing feature requests. For example, Sync on LAN and PIN code for iPhone app scored high among users and were implemented in Dropbox 0.7 and Dropbox iPhone 1.1 respectively. There are tons of users demanding subfolders in Evernote. Are they a vocal minority, or should this be a high priority to retain paying customers? Having some sort of voting mechanism would help you determine which features should be fast-tracked.

2. LAN sync. This is a great feature for users with multiple computers on the same network. It just doesn't make sense to have to re-download heavy data files (especially for Premium users) more than once. Dropbox implemented this brilliantly. Copy them please. Make it a Premium feature.

3. Passcode for iPhone (and for every other platform). We need our data secured. OS level security is not enough as I've posted again and again on these forums. We may loan our phone or computer to someone else to make a call or send an e-mail, so the OS level security is absolutely useless at that point. It's not feasible to claim that Evernote is the container for all the bits of information in our life if it's absolutely wide open. This will be a big issue with the iPad as well. Evernote's stance on this strikes me as very strange. Even WriteRoom for iPhone, a simple text editor, has a password option. I just don't get the resistance to adding a passcode to client software.

4. Sharing/Collaboration. Evernote falls down in this area; why is it that shared notebooks don't show up in client software? I just completed a project using shared Dropbox folders and it worked so well because each user had the same view without having to visit a website. Evernote really needs to improve this aspect of the platform; right now it seems half-baked.

5. Total storage limit vs. Monthly upload. There are some times when I need to upload lots of stuff to Evernote, and then months where I don't need to upload much at all. I would much rather Premium offer an annual storage limit (for those users paying up front), rather than a monthly limit. That would give more flexibility to annual subscribers (and encourage them to buy that rather than month-to-month). I understand that it would be different than Dropbox in that once something is uploaded to Evernote, deleting it would not reduce the upload total. But even so, not being limited would help.

Dropbox is an incredible product, at a very good price for what it does. I'm reviewing all of my online storage accounts, and I have to say that I feel Evernote falls a little short for the price I'm paying as a Premium customer. I became a premium customer mainly because I wanted to support development. But the advancement of core functionality has been slow, and I'm not sure it's worth it. The lack of sub-notebooks, bad tag management, and marginal security are all things that are making me rethink whether to keep buying Premium. You have a great product, with great synchronization. But I'm afraid that perhaps developing so many different versions for all these new platforms has perhaps hurt the functionality of each app. I hope you'll consider these suggestions for improving your platform, and look forward to seeing what develops in 2010.

[fallenbastion 0]

I agree wholeheartedly regarding the need for pin protection on the iPhone. It's a common feature in so many apps so presumably can't be difficult to achieve. I can understand the argument that the application is protected by an OS level security but I do lend out my phone occupationally to other people. This is, I guess, an emotional need as much as anything else. I want to feel that the personal info I put into EN is completely secure and an app level passcode would achieve this. Having listened to the podcasts and seen other posts by Phil Libin I can't understand why Evernote is being so dogmatic. It's very frustrating.

[h-dog 12]

Adding passcode functionality to Evernote is a NO BRAINER. Period.

[katahdin 8]

+1

[h2orocks4001 0]

yes, Drop box functionality