(Archived) (Archived) Some Android Frustrations

[ObviousBob 140]

I'm something of a newbie, but I use Evernote on a Mac, an iPad and a Nexus 4 Android phone.

 

Evernote on OS X works great - editing notes works as expected, I seemingly can even make things "plain text", which is what I prefer. The IOS Evernote also works well - though I don't care for the recent UI changes.

 

But Android - lots of issues. First of all, unlike the other platforms, you have to first select the little pencil icon to start editing - a step not necessary on IOS or OS X. When you do enter editing mode, the font changes - gets bigger - a bit disconcerting. Many notes with more complicated formatting, like check boxes, can exhibit various problems. This is very un-predictable, sometimes things are fine, other times I get a message about the file being "un-editable".

 

Mostly I'm just venting. I just wish the developers would concentrate on making existing features work perfectly before adding any more new ones.

[gazumped 11,652]

Vent noted,  but Evernote get complained at when features you can get in iOS don't appear on Android;  when they appear but don't work as well;  and when they appear but work better than iOS - so broadly speaking they're on a no-win scenario.  Some of the reasons why stuff doesn't work is also because the OS won't support that operation - so 'working perfectly' might mean waiting for Android Snickers (or whatever v6.0.1 is going to be called..)

[ObviousBob 140]

I realize you can't please everyone all the time 

 

But there are plenty of Android apps that don't have these problems - take a look at Simplenote, for example - no changing fonts, you just tap where you want to enter text and start typing.. so I don't think Android is the limiting factor.

 

There are plenty of new features I'd like, too - say, making the first line in a note the title, or being able to drag list items to rearrange them - but rather than work on enhancements, I would rather see the developers make the current features work correctly.

[gazumped 11,652]

Kinda hard to defend a 'it should be better' generic thing,  or even a comparison with a totally different app that does different stuff.  I guess you gets what you pays for..

[atangel 33]

Bob in NV makes some really valid points. And as a premium subscriber on Android (OK, former, waiting for the annual term to expire) I hope to get what I paid for. The editing comment is a function of the OS (the UI controls available) and if some other app can implement it properly, then it would be expected that EN should be able to as well. While we are on the subject, some of those other platforms can use their cameras for post-it notes while the Android version *still* cannot. On the other hand, 100% platform consistency might be impossible, but could be much better.

[jefito 5,589]

Bob in NV makes some really valid points. And as a premium subscriber on Android (OK, former, waiting for the annual term to expire) I hope to get what I paid for. The editing comment is a function of the OS (the UI controls available) and if some other app can implement it properly, then it would be expected that EN should be able to as well. While we are on the subject, some of those other platforms can use their cameras for post-it notes while the Android version *still* cannot. On the other hand, 100% platform consistency might be impossible, but could be much better.

Just a general comment on "what you're paying for". With Evernote, a premium account gets you:

* Higher upload capacity

* Larger note size allowed

* Offline notebooks for mobile devices

* Better sharing functionality

* Better search functionality

* Passcode locking on mobile devices

* Better support: higher priority, chat support

(see http://evernote.com/premium/)

Generally speaking, the various clients have the same underlying abilities, so if Evernote were to improve their editing capabilities on Android, then all users, and not just premium users, would benefit. So while we all want better editing, we premium users are not really paying for that per se.

 

But Android - lots of issues. First of all, unlike the other platforms, you have to first select the little pencil icon to start editing - a step not necessary on IOS or OS X. When you do enter editing mode, the font changes - gets bigger - a bit disconcerting. Many notes with more complicated formatting, like check boxes, can exhibit various problems. This is very un-predictable, sometimes things are fine, other times I get a message about the file being "un-editable".

The ability to directly edit a note came recently to the web version. Caused a number of people to complain, e.g., "I modified a note by mistake. Bring back the Edit icon.". Evernote can truly not win this one. (I prefer the ability to directly edit, myself). The note editor can obviously be improved, not only on Android, but also on all of the other platforms.

[tunit 7]

I experienced some unpredictable 'check box disappearing acts' tonight too. Very frustrating. Don't really want to find this problem happening again but I have a bad feeling it won't be the last time that I see it.

[Emax123 2]

I'm also encountering the disappearing check boxes issue when editing a note on android. Lost a several-hundred line checklist which cost me a lot of time and frustration.  Before editing, some items were checked and some not.  When I closed the note and then reopened it to make additional edits all the checkboxes were gone. So all the status information was lost.  Looked for an undo or revert command but didn't see anything.

 

I can replicate it every time.  Create a new note on windows version, add several checkboxed lines, sync to android and edit the note there -- after reopening the checkboxes are gone.  Tried various android keyboards, same problem.  

 

I'm not sure why the evangelists keep defending Evernote on this. It's not just about differences between platforms, which are understandable.  It's not that the feature behaves or appears different, it's that the android app occasionally kills user data.  That's a bug, and a pretty bad one at that.   And it's been buggy ever since I started using the android version, well over a year ago. If a feature isn't reliable, REMOVE IT FROM THE PRODUCT!  Or at least put a big disclaimer somewhere telling users they might lose data if they edit their note in the android app.

[tunit 7]

Although I've experienced this once, I'm not able to replicate it by making a note in the Windows client with check boxes, syncing the note to my Android phone and then editing the note. Seems to preserve the formatting this time. 

 

Perhaps you should open a support ticket. Being able to replicate it might be helpful for finding the source of the problem?

[Emax123 2]

Opened support ticket 258384 complete with before-and-after screenshots showing note formatting getting munged.