SoundPaper by Richard Gayle
I’ve been getting a little more comfortable with where my iPad comes in really useful and where I still need my laptop. I’ve found one place where it makes a big difference – in meetings. And with the right apps, the meeting completely changes.
Meetings are now a place where I can place my iPad anywhere at the table, tae up little room and do a better job of taking notes and participating than with a large laptop, tethered to the nearest plug.
I normally sit in many meetings, taking notes with my laptop, and using my iPhone to record the meeting. Now iTalk is a fine app for the iPhone or iPad but I always had a little bit of a problem finding the sound bites that connected to my notes, especially after a few weeks.
No such problem with SoundPaper. This iPad app not only records the meeting but also uses typed notes in the app to bookmark the recording. So you can jump to any part of the spoken record simply by tapping the notes you took at the same time.
It is now incredibly easy to find specific parts in the voice record. In fact, all I have to type is a few words when something really interesting comes up. Then later, I can hear exactly what was said. I can spend more time actively listening and participating, without having to worry about keeping my notes complete.
But where SoundPaper really excels is moving my notes and recording off of the iPad. I may lose the synchronization of sound with text but the app makes it so easy to archive and rework this material on a laptop or desktop computer.
I can email myself the notes and sound. But this app has an even better way to get the notes and sound over to my laptop or desktop – through direct Wifi Transfer!
Tap my iPad and it creates a local web page that I can access using any browser. I get a page that permits me to download either the sound, which ends up in iTunes, or the notes. All without making any sort of hard connection between the iPad and the computer.
Yes, I lose the sync, but I can transfer files via WiFi! No USB connection!
I wish every app could do this. Why don’t the iWork apps? This seems like a really great way to get around one of the few problems with the iPad – moving files between the iPad and another computer.
Anyway, now I can use a single device to take notes and to record the meetings I am in. No more lugging around a laptop to meetings. There are a few things that could make this a better tool:
1) Multitasking (Come on iPhone OS 4). If I have to grab a document in another app, SoundPaper pauses the recording. I’d love it to remain recording while I am looking for another bit of information during the meeting.
2) Rich Text formatting. It would be great to be able to add bold, or italics.
3) Outlining formats – being able to organize the notes as one goes (say for different speakers) could make it a little easier.
So, using an app like SoundPaper helps the iPad become a wonderful meeting tool. Much easier to work with than a large laptop and I do not need to worry about the battery giving out during a meeting, or sitting near the plug!
A Man With A Ph.D. 
Well, i found one honest review from people that actually use it for their own life!
Not an “ordinary” guy, a scientist like me that loves technology and uses it in everyday work.
Congrats Richard.