Microsoft launched on Friday a beta tool that allows Evernote users migrate their information from the note-taking service to OneNote, its primary competitor. Users can now simply install the tool and select which Evernote files they want to migrate, then in few minutes, the transfer to OneNote will be done.
The two apps with similar services but different approaches may expose their differences in the importation, in which the main one is the design. OneNote looks like a physical notebook with tabbed sections, while Evernote files can be contained in different notebooks in a more playful way.
“OneNote and Evernote have a lot in common,” Microsoft admitted. “But we think you are going to love OneNote’s standout features,” the company added in PCMag.
Another big difference among the apps is that in Evernote there is the option of putting notes under multiple tags, while OneNote only allows them to live under one tab, the notebook, according to Computerworld.
Some users like the current structure of OneNote because it is a notebook-tab-page design convention which they can easily grasp and are able to adapt quickly, said Darren Austin, OneNote’s director of product management.
But even though many current users like the structure, it is also one of their limitations. Because while some people gravitate to it naturally, others do not, Austin added. For that reason, as Microsoft app tries to approach Evernote users, OneNote’s design might see some tweaks in the future, he said.
The importer is currently available for Windows, but once users have moved their files over to OneNote, their notes will be available from any OneNote’s client, whether it is on the web. iOS, Android, or others.
A rough time for Evernote
The new OneNote’s tool may come at a hard time for Evernote, or just at the right time for the technology giant. Evernote has faced some major challenges in recent months, which started with the departure of CEO Phil Libin in July.
Microsoft’s competitor recently laid off 13 percent of its workforce, or 47 employees, and closed three international offices. Evernote has also been paring down its services of late, recently shutting down its market for physical goods and letting go three other products to refocus on its core app.
Source: PC Mag