Developer:
Virtual Spaghetti
Program:
VS Notepad Classic 1.5
Price: $14.95
At first glance, VS Notepad has a striking similarity to MS Paint. Color palette, spray paint cans, lines, boxes, and circles comprise your drawing options. Functionally, the program is a cross between the built-in Notes program, the built-in calculator, and the desktop version of MS Paint. You can create many notes and flip between them using the bottom page corners. Optional page flip animation would have been a nice touch from the developers.
VS Notepad.JPG
The program is quite simple, lacking a menu bar or tap-and-hold functionality. Just sketch or freehand write your notes and when you exit the program (using what appears to be a back or refresh icon) your notes are saved. It includes a calculator and clock to boot. Available in 5 different background colors, VS Notepad is compatible with VGA and QVGA screens. It runs in full screen mode, which is nice because you don't lose valuable real estate to the start button/task bar.
This program could be useful for creating grocery lists and calculating the total cost as you (albeit geekily) navigate the supermarket. Another application for VS Notepad is making visual diagrams for people on the fly.
That said, the program is missing one key feature, handwriting recognition. If handwriting recognition was implemented, a host of other possibilities would surface including exporting to Notes, Tasks, or Pocket Word. Handwriting recognition would also enable the user to fit more text on a single note page using small fonts. Exporting the notes page to an image file would be useful for sharing the notes with others.
Another function VS Notepad lacks is landscape view. If you are using landscape view when VS Notepad is launched, it switches to portrait view. After the program exits landscape view resumes.
My conclusion: If you are a common user of the built-in Notes program but find its lack of functions stifling, VS Notepad is for you. Otherwise, save that $14.95 (pricey for this app in my opinion). Notes, Calculator, and
third party freeware drawing programs are better function-specific solutions. A trial of VS Notepad can be obtained
here.
--Mahstah
Note: Virtual Spaghetti is not related to the
Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Linear Mode
