12 Tools to Replace Google Notebook and Make You More Productive
This is a guest post written by Laurie Mapp. Laurie operates a virtual assistant business, Halo Secretarial Services, which specializes in offering paralegal and legal assistant services to solo lawyers and small firms. When she’s not busy with her business or her three boys, she also blogs and is a writer/editor at Type-A Mom.
It’s now a well known fact that Google is discontinuing development of Google Notebook. In searching for a replacement for Google Notebook for a client, I looked not only at notebook alternatives, but also at project management systems that could do double duty by providing a place to manage projects and teams, as well as providing a repository for notes, to-do lists and documents.
Evaluating project management systems is an arduous task. There are literally dozens upon dozens of applications, and there are pros and cons to each system. For my client’s needs I had some specific criteria that I was focusing on:
- Ability to manage multiple teams and projects
- Ability to share notebooks and documents easily
- System to have security standards to protect information
- Pleasant user interface
As I began my research I realized that the majority of the systems had pricing based on three main factors — the number of users, the amount of storage space and the number of active projects. It would have been incredibly time intensive to evaluate every available project management system, so I evaluated several of the top contenders as well as basic notebook replacements and below are my general assessments in relation to each of these.
Notebook-ish Replacements
1. Evernote
Strictly a notebook replacement with a huge plus of having an auto-syncing desktop application. But with the limitation of not being able to share notebooks with other users, aside from as a PDF file, this was not an option for my client.
2. Springnote
This one is a notebook in wiki format. It’s free and definitely a good replacement for Google Notebook and offers more flexibility, but doesn’t offer the project management features my client was looking for.
For more details about Evernote and Springnote, read: Google Notebook Replacement Update.
3. Stixy
This is a very pleasant-looking notebook replacement. It’s a free service that allows you to share notes and files (PDFs, images, etc.). Ir doesn’t provide much formatting ability, but they do have a calendar that can sync with others currently in beta.
4. UberNote
This one takes notes from just about anywhere with access and allows sharing of notes. Also provides mobile access and an import from Google Notebook feature. Worth a look.
Notebook + Project Management Replacements
5. Zoho Suite
This is absolutely the most-inclusive set of applications I could find. There is a notebook system that easily rivals, if not betters, Google Notebook. And if you are a Google Notebook refugee you can import your information, a huge plus for sure! The project management system always allows unlimited users and pricing is based on number of projects and necessary storage space (from free to $80 per month). Zoho also offers an email system, word processor, planner and invoice system, among their large selection of applications. There is a free personal version of each application and additional fee-based versions of select applications. Whatever your needs, Zoho will have a solution. There are some drawbacks though, including a lack of ability to sync to desktop and that most applications are not mobile-friendly.
6. Teamwork Project Manager
While Zoho is more inclusive, as far as interface goes I must say that I feel Teamwork offered the best options. I simply liked the setup of their dashboard better, but it’s really an aesthetic thing, not a functional issue. Teamwork doesn’t offer a separate notebook feature, in fact all of their offerings are contained directly within the project management
system. This can be a positive or a negative depending on your needs. Each project has tabs for the notebook, tasks, milestones, timekeeping, files and messages. A minimal free version is available and paid versions, based on storage space and number of projects, range from $12/month to $149/month. The biggest disadvantage is that they do not offer SSL encryption until you pay for the $49/month plan. CORRECTION: See comments below.
7. OnStage
Many of the project management systems have a very similar feel. OnStage has little of note to distinguish it from its competitors, other than that it does allow for mobile access. OnStage doesn’t offer a notebook feature at all though, which was a negative in my search. The pricing is similar, and again based on storage space and number of projects, ranging from $10/month to $135/month. The free version is fairly ad-intensive, which was quite distracting, and I don’t recommend using the free version for anything more than a quick trial of the program.
8. Basecamp
Basecamp is a very well known and seemingly popular project management system. I actually work in Basecamp with one of my clients and it is fairly easy to work in. The interface is attractive (I found Basecamp and Teamwork to be very similar looking). Unfortunately, I found the writeboard feature (for notes and such) to be quite limiting, requiring you to use textile formatting which is not likely going to be familiar to your clients or team members. Basecamp also does not include enhanced security until you pay a monthly fee of $49 or more (fees range from $24 to $149 per month, based on number of projects and storage space). Basecamp is a member of the 37Signals family of products, which does offer some other options for collaboration, but at an additional monthly fee. For example, a good to-do list is available in Backpack.
9. Smartsheet
Smartsheet was recommended to me by a couple of virtual assistant colleagues, but I personally didn’t like the interface at all. It seems very basic and lacks both notebook and separate task lists. The pricing is based solely on number of projects, with unlimited storage space and collaborators allowed, which is one huge benefit of the application. The pricing ranges from $10 to $60 per month.
10. Clientspot
Clientspot is actually a very prettily set up project management system. It has a somewhat different interface, as the navigation tabs refer to Overview, Projects, People, Time and Calendar, and then within the Project view you have easy access to tasks, files and comments. I liked the setup a lot, but Clientspot’s main drawbacks are that they have somewhat more limited space per plan, compared to some of their competitors, and no notebook feature at all. The pricing ranges from $29 to $99 per month.
11. Wrike
Wrike falls into another category of project management system that bases their fees on a per user basis, as well as file space. If you have few team members or do not plan to allow clients access to the system, it is a great way to have inexpensive access to unlimited projects. The amount of storage space is fairly low though, at 250mb per user on the highest paid plan (plans range from $4.99 per user to $15.99 per user, per month). Wrike offers hourly backup as well, which may help them score higher in your evaluation of the application. Also of note, Wrike integrates with several email systems and allows you to add tasks easily without logging into the site.
12. Projjex
I’m including a brief summary here of the Projjex project management system, but I personally didn’t even try it out. Simply looking at the screenshots on their site and taking into consideration their fees ($15 per user unless you have at least 6 users and then only dropping by $1 per user) and features, I knew this system wouldn’t work for my client at all. Also, the interface was nowhere near as attractive as many of the competitors.
If you are searching for simply a replacement for Google Notebook, I definitely recommend you check out Zoho Notebook, but if you realize that this is the time to make the jump to an inclusive project management system, then hopefully this will shorten your research time and help you get more organized so you can accomplish more each day!
Loading ...
18 Comments