If there’s one thing that archaeologists have done since Thomas Jefferson put a test trench in the Rapidan mound, it’s note-taking. The fact of the matter is archaeologists take notes and a lot of them. Whether it be in the field, in the lab, in class, or at a lecture, archaeologists enjoy the security of having notes on paper … invincible and everlasting paper… right?
Archaeology is getting to the point where paper is becoming more and more obsolete (eyes role ….). But despite the track record of the poor attempts of paperless archaeology in the past 5 years, as of now, technology in the past year has made rolling eyes focus on mobile technology. Highlighted in Apple’s Pompeii case study in which “piles of paper were replaced with a single 1.5-pound device,” quite possibly the greatest value mobile technology has to the archaeologist is its revolutionary note-taking capabilities.
When I first purchased my iPad, this was the first thing I had to try out. And to my disappointment, the preloaded “Notes” app was without a doubt the worst app Apple has ever made. But that’s where our third-party developers come in…
After doing a little research, I quickly turned to Evernote. Evernote is a free cloud-based note-taking app in which the user can take text, audio (limited to 20 min.), and picture (iPhone/iPod touch 4th gen only) notes. Although typical of your standard note-taking app, the beauty of Evernote comes with its cloud-syncing capabilities/accessibility. Yet if you’re an archaeologist the beauty comes with this, coupled with the fact that all of your notes are geo-reference to the spot in which the note was taken. What more could you ask? So far I have used this in the field, in the lab, and in lectures flawlessly. I now have the capability to search for those notes in lists, in assigned notebooks, or even as points on a map. Did I mention the desktop version (Mac and PC) is free as well? What this means is that you can access/take all of your notes on any device with Evernote anywhere and anytime. Your notes are always with you (if you have a smartphone or carry around your iPad). The only limitation thus far, which one MUST know before using, is that because this is all cloud-based, you must have a WiFi or 3G connection to access the service and your notes. But hey, type your notes in another app (even the crappy preloaded Notes app) and copy/past when you have service. And to you skeptics, I can assure you … the cloud is a much safer place for your notes than papers in a cabinet. 
The next note-taking app that I have been using for a while now is SoundNote (formerly SoundPaper). Have you ever been to a lecture and stopped paying attention, dozed off, or just completely missed a key point? Soundnote is for you. SoundNote is a different type of note taking app, a type that would be very popular in the classroom, the lecture hall, and for oral histories. Soundnote records an audio file (no length limitations) through the built-in mic, while you take notes, and in turn, references the point in which you type each individual word to the audio file at the time in which the word was typed. What this allows the user to do, is go back to your text notes, touch a word, which starts the audio file 5 seconds before that word was typed. Pretty incredible right? One also has the option to export both the audio and text either via email or from itunes. Sounds great for lectures and conferences, right? I recently used this at a lecture, coming out with great notes referenced into a recording of the talk. I would highly recommend both of these apps. I am currently testing out Field Assets, TerraGo, and several other apps in the field. Look out for more field-testing reviews soon.
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