More Text Apps For iPad: Nebulous Notes, 1A Easy Writer, and Schreibkraft – ‘Book Mystique Review [UPDATED]

We’re in the Post-PC era, whether we like it or not. I’m certainly not entirely happy about it, but I’m doing my best to adjust in an orderly fashion, rather than being obliged to go cold-turkey, and for me a big part of that is finding text tools to replace my OS X standbys. Text handling is not the iOS’s long suit by any measure. Touchscreens just don’t lend themselves to efficient text selection, navigation, and manipulation, but using the right software can significantly mitigate some of the shortcomings. Serious writers in particular, who mainly want to edit text, complain about the iOS user interface’s indifferent and inaccurate cursor navigation, complicated ans clumsy selection of words and phrases, missing tabs, no forward delete no em-dashes, and other issues.

I’m probably in better shape than many computer users in this context, in that I haven’t included full-featured word processors in my production toolbox since the mid/late ’90s, so I haven’t had to cast about for a viable substitute for Microsoft Word. It dawned on me back in the day that I very rarely required formatted documents, and that leaner, nimbler, faster, and a lot cheaper text editor software was a much better fit for my needs. I switched from the word processors I’d been theretofore using to mostly Tom Bender’s Tex-Edit Plus — AppleScript-tweaked to handle and automate my HTML markup needs. I’ve never looked back, but sadly, there’s no iOS version of TE+ and no AppleScript Support in the iOS. Tom Bender tells me that since automation of repetitive tasks is TE+’s forte, He’s not sure if there would be a niche for an iOS port of the application.

However, there is a growing selection of text applications available for the iOS, most including either Dropbox or iCloud synchronization, in some instances both. Personally, I’m partial to Dropbox. Because I haven’t upgraded to OS X 10.7 Lion for a variety of reasons, only one of my production machines — my iPad — is supported by iCloud, while Dropbox conveniently supports even my two 12-year-old Pismo PowerBooks running OS X 10.4. Dropbox offers free accounts with with 2GB of space expandable to 8GB if you configure “Refer Friends To Dropbox” links. Note that the basic 2 GB is enough capacity to store 500 copies of Leo Tolstoy’s formidable novel War and Peace. Dropbox lets me keep current projects synched automatically and accessible among my Macs and the iPad, which allows me to easily switch to working on a Mac when the iOS proves inadequate.

Another way that using a good text editor app (or apps) can make text crunching on the iPad less of a pain (in some contexts, literally), is with smartly-conceived keyboard/text selection enhancements, as well as proofing tools, document data information, and even dictionary/thesaurus/reference tools.

Several months ago, I chronicled my adventures in iPad text editing here with a focus on the Hog Bay Software PlainText and Infovole Textkraft apps, the latter which has all the goodies cited in the previous paragraph. Rather than re-plowing recently-turned ground, I’ll refer you to that review for my take on those two programs. I’m still using both apps regularly, but have added several more, including a couple of new Textkraft derivatives from Infovole, which I’ll get to in a moment.

I still haven’t become a convert to the iPad as my favored content creation platform, but I’m using it a lot more than I had been, the tipping points for me being iOS 5’s enhanced so-called “multitasking” app-switching and the selection of helpful text processing software tools.

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Nebulous Notes

The latest iOS text editor app I’ve been checking out is Nebulous Notes, which is available for $4.99 or in an ad-supported free version, the latter which as far as I can tell is pretty much identical features-wise with the paid version. The ad isn’t quite as unobtrusive as it is with, say, the free version of PlainText, but it’s not a big problem, and if you don’t like it, you can always pay the five bucks and banish it.

One of Infovole TextKraft’s marquee features is a substantially enhanced and much more useful virtual keyboard, with added navigation and function shortcuts and character keys that go a long way toward making composition on the tablet quicker, slicker, and more efficient.

Nebulous Notes has what its developers call a “Utility Bar,” which has a similar mission, but only a single row of keys as opposed to TextKraft’s two or several rows (depending on what you configure), and sadly no n-dash key in the main keyboard view that is one of my favorite TextKraft features. I also miss Textkraft’s capitalization/lower case keys, but then Textkraft sells for twice the price of the paid version of Nebulous Notes.

On the other hand, Nebulous Notes’ cool interface options include a brightness slider, a WYSIWYG font menu and font size preferences (you can also adjust font size quickly with two-finger gestures, and choice of text colors and background themes. There are also preferences for line-spacing, word-wrap cut-off, TextExpander integration if you have the TextExpander app installed, Notepad CRLF lines, automatic encoding, and Auto-sync.

Like the Infovole apps and PlainText, Nebulous Notes supports Dropbox integration, with a particularly slick and flexible implementation. As noted above, I agree with Nebulous Notes’ developers that Dropbox is the the best back-up and Cloud sync. service in the world. A convenient flie selection drawer on the left of the Nebulous Notes interface allows you to switch back and forth between locally-stored and Dropbox-stored lists with a tap. Nice.

Also very cool are a markup preview and HTML export features — the latter not up to my AppleScript-enhanced Tex-Edit Plus in OS X, but still nice to have. Email export is also supported, as is a simple word count monitor, and there is a search engine for searching local files.

If you like a full screen text field, that is supported as well (with the ad if you’re using the ad-supported version). Not my cup of tea. I prefer immediate access to the toolbar and documents menu, and don’t find a relatively busy screen ‘distracting,’ but you have a choice.

I really like this little app. The easy customization and wide range of interface features are unmatched in any other iOS text editor I’ve found so far, and the Dropbox integration is also the best I’ve encountered.

Nebulous Notes Features:
• Open and edit all plain-text files (.txt, .md, .c, etc.)
• Preview files in HTML, MarkDown
• Supports saving and opening in all file encodings (useful for international users)
• VoiceOver hints
• Print documents using AirPrint
• Supports TextExpander touch snippet expansion

Features Lacking In Competing Apps:
• Open files from ANY Dropbox folder
• Customizable themes
• Macro system lets you add frequently used keys to a toolbar (like { } [ ] = %, etc.).
• Macro system also has basic text-substitutions for convenient HTML tags
• Protect the app with a PIN
• Search for text with a document
• Customizable themes
• Full-screen support for “Writeroom”-style editing
• “Insert Tab” key (multi-line tabbing and un-tabbing supported)
• Turn off word-wrapping

NOTE: Nebulous Notes is only for plain text editing, and can not open or edit Word documents or PDFs.

New in Version 5.1:

Major Updates:
Change line spacing
Sort local files

Minor Updates:
– Added Gentium Plus (Full Unicode) Font
– Added Inconsolata Font
– All connections use HTTPS
– Tapping the line number in the pop-up selects the line
– Added $line macro to select the line

Updates To Preview Markup:
– Now you can use custom css for Markdown Previews
– Preview Markup now clears its cache before loading
– Addresses and links are automatically detected in Preview Markup

System Requirements:
• Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
• Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Nebulous Notes sells for $3.99.

The ad-supported “Lite” version is also available here:
http://bit.ly/z2jIC1

Click here to download Nebulous Notes:
http://nebulousapps.net/

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Update: Infovole Begins March Update Marathon For Textkraft, Schreibkraft, and Easy Writer Text Processors For iPad

In addition Infovole’s media relations spokesperson Kathrin Sauerwien tells us that there are many detail enhancements and optimizations for already existing features, as well as a better performance in “extreme situations.”

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1a Easy Writer

Infovole’s latest addition to its suite of iPad text apps is called 1a Easy Writer, selling for a friendly $.99.

With Easy Writer, Infovole has slimmed down their extensive Textkraft user interface to leave the standard keyboard and just one row of special text-selection, navigation, and “missing-character”-buttons. The spell-check feature highlights unknown words and a jump-back button allows users to return to their point of interest instantly. Easy Writer also supports doing research on Wikipedia and Wiktionary without leaving the App. iOS standard touch editing is supported, but augmented by the selection of editing and navigation buttons in Easy Writer’s button bar, making things a more convenient and efficient.

Like its more powerful siblings, Easy Writer features an editing scratch pad and spaces for several works-in progress that can be switched among with a couple of taps — in this instance three to Textkraft’s five. You can import and export files directly from/to iTunes, File Sharing, Dropbox and iCloud, as with Textkraft. In addition to support for saving to a folder or device, you can also Tweet, email, or printing using AirPrint directly from Easy Writer.

In summary, Easy Writer’s main attributes are:
– Quick text selection tools.
– Rapid memory.
– The magic “EU”-button sets all diacritical marks and accents.
– Font size pinching.
– Fast navigation with 10 cursor keys.
– Upper-/lowercase by keystroke.
– Typographical quotes and other special chars.
– Undo/Redo.
– Support for onscreen & Bluetooth keyboards.
– Wikipedia full-text search and online dictionary – all languages supported.
– Locked reading mode.
– Import & export with Dropbox, iCloud and iTunes file sharing.
– Sharing text as attachment, email or Twitter message.
– Direct communication with Pages, Evernote and other Apps.
– AirPrint support.

Easy Writer’s interface isn’t nearly as powerful as Textkraft’s but it’s still out in front of the default iOS text interface in terms of power and convenience, and Textkraft costs eight times as much as Easy Writer.

I do wish Infovole hadn’t decided to require the Shift key to access the n-dash button on Easy Writer, unlike the quick access you get in TextKraft.

System requirements:
• Supports iOS 3.2, 4.x, 5.0 and newer

Product page (App Store):
http://itunes.apple.com/app/1a-easy-writer/id495631561?mt=8

For more information or to download the Apps, visit:
http://www.infovole.de/en

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Schreibkraft for iPad

The third member of Infovole’s troika of iPad text apps is iPadSchreibkraft , pitched as the first multilingual iOS text processor. Schreibkraft speaks 10 languages in 14 country-specific flavors. There is no need to switch regions or keyboards. The App supports the user in all needed tongues at the same time.

“Schreibkraft speaks 10 languages in 14 country-specific flavors, says Kathrin Sauerwein, who has a B.A. in Linguistics and is head of Infovole’s QA department. “There is no need to switch regions or keyboards on your iPad. The App supports you in all needed languages at the same time. No more wrong correction bubbles, useless suggestions and rewriting procedures, just because the auto-correction chose the wrong words. We have some real innovations, like the magic -button, which is delivering all diacritical marks at a tap, or the quick selection and navigation tools. You must try it!”

“Since we founded Infovole we learned a lot about how our customers handle text on their tablets. Schreibkraft is the result of our vision to deliver the best tool for professional writers,” says Pierre Marcel Uetzels, Infovole CEO and fan of Douglas Adams. “We merged the sophisticated import, editing and export modules of our top-rated Textkraft App with new intelligent correction features. The result is very unique, because it is the first real multilingual text processor. Try the Babel Fish 1.0, try Schreibkraft.”

Schreibkraft’s keyboard and text tools enhancement user interface is more like 1a Easy Writer’s than Textkraft’s, but so is its price at $2.99. There’s a single row of tools, and yes, you need a modifier key for that pesky n-dash.

Features:

• 14 dictionaries.
• The magic- button: it sets all diacritical indications with a push of a button. German umlauts, French of accents, Danish letters‚Ķ all no problem.
• No annoying forcing of the iPad
• On-line Wikipedia full text search, dictionaries and translation possibilities.
• Cursor keys better than on a genuine keyboard! 8 keys with 10 functions.
• Tabulator, genuine hyphen and copyright key.
• Change from large and lower case on depressing the key.
• Undo/Redo and process function for trying out formulations.
• 5 quick-access storages.
• Extensive textual information, among other things number, number of words and file size.
• Read mode prevents inadvertent keyboard entries.
• Dropbox binding and further exchange possibilities.
• Support for Bluetooth keyboards

Schreibkraft works fine, but unless you have a particular need for its multilingual dictionary support, my advice is to either go with 99-cent 1A Easy Writer and save yourself a couple of bucks, or even better, pony up an extra five bucks and get Textkraft, or two dollars for Nebulous Notes.

For more information about Schreibkraft and the other Infovole apps, visit:
http://www.infovole.de

For more information or to download the Apps, visit
http://www.infovole.de/en

App Store
http://bit.ly/A1al6b