One common complaint about Evernote's web client is that it's cluttered, complicated and generally a pain to work on. But with a revamped web client for the popular note-taking app, Evernote hopes it can redefine the entire way we work by redesigning the workspace altogether.
At the fourth Evernote Conference in San Francisco, Evernote CEO Phil Libin introduced a newer, cleaner and distraction-free Evernote web client that allows users to get rid of the clutter and access only the most important tools to get things done. On the left, the client has links to things such as shortcuts, notes, notebooks and searches. Everywhere else, it is filled with white space that users can fill up with their work, while other tools will "melt away" into the background where they belong.
"It's built to eliminate distraction," says Libin. "It's built for focus."
Libin's efforts to take over the productivity market, which is currently dominated by Microsoft, does not end in a better-looking web client. The seven-year-old startup also introduced a host of bold new features that challenge the way we work on the Internet, which Libin says are based on metaphors that were only "good for explaining what a computer could do to someone who has never had one."
He points out to things like Windows, Word and email, which were all built to be digital versions of filing cabinets, typewriters and physical mailboxes. Libin says Evernote's new features are not based on old metaphors that are no longer working for the worker in the Internet Age.
Notable among the new features is Work Chat, a new tool that will allow users to collaborate on what they're working on and share notes with other users even when they are not online. For instance, a user can see if his co-worker is remotely working on the same note because his thumbnail appears next to the note. More users can work on the same note at one time and can send threaded messages to everyone working on the note.
Work Chat is Evernote's replacement to email, which Libin says has become nothing more than a list of tasks that "you're already behind on, sorted in the wrong order... based on not what is most important but on chronology," as well as similar competitors such as Microsoft's Yammer, VMWare's SocialCast and Jive.
"This takes us from note-taking to being the workspace," says Libin. "This makes Evernote a great place to work; we want you to do your life's work in Evernote."
Another target is PowerPoint, which Libin says "turns every meeting into a pitch." To combat PowerPoint, Evernote will come with a new presentation mode where workers can create presentations by embedding tables, images and other documents and allowing them to be able to be shown in various screen sizes.
For Business and Premium users, Evernote also added Context, which pulls out a thread of relevant news articles from websites such as The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company based on what the app gathers from the user's notes. Also introduced was Scannable, a new feature that lets users scan images directly using the ScanSnap Evernote Edition scanner.
The new web client is available for users now, but Evernote will eventually kill off the older, messier web client for an indefinite period of time.
