AppleInsider Staff
In an effort to directly take on popular cross-platform note taking application Evernote, Microsoft will finally be bringing its OneNote service to the Mac later this month in the form of a free app, according to a new report.
For years, OneNote has been tied to Microsoft's Office suite and has been focused on the Windows platform. But according to The Verge, the Redmond, Wash., company is now focused on making it a free service for all users, whether they are on Windows or Mac.
The news comes just after it was also revealed that Microsoft is planning to release an update to Office for Mac this year. That expected launch would mark the first major update to the productivity suite in nearly four years.
Microsoft has offered an official OneNote app for iOS since early 2011, and an Android application has also been available. However, until now, OneNote has not seen its own dedicated application for Apple's OS X platform.
The upcoming cross-platform update to OneNote is expected to include support for web clipper plugins in popular browsers. This will allow users to quickly save content from the Web and sync it across devices with OneNote.
Microsoft's anticipated efforts are said to be a response to free competing services such as Evernote, which already has a strong presence on Apple's devices with free applications for both iOS and OS X. Evernote has offered its own web clipper browser plugins for sometime, including support for Apple's Safari, and most recently revamped that software last November.
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
24 Comments
Predatory policy. MS uses its deep pockets to kill competitors.
Thats great for all the people who don't use OneNote. I mean seriously, who actually uses this???
Office for the Mac still sucks, so thanks but no thanks.
[quote name="macxpress" url="/t/163616/microsoft-to-release-free-version-of-onenote-for-mac-later-this-month-report#post_2485634"]Thats great for all the people who don't use OneNote. I mean seriously, who actually uses this??? [/quote] I love the app. Have a Fluid app to the Web version.
Curious as to the timing. It really does appear that MS is targetting to 'Get back the Mac' for one reason or another: One Reason:to try to get people to move back to Windows by making all their software 'pretty good' on non MS OS systems, and GREAT on MS OSes and HW (the WinPhone/Surface/Windows triad... vs the iPhone/iPad/Mac)... hook them on the function... reel them back in with advanced capabilities only available on the whole MS stack (Azure, Office365, Windows, WinPhone), and regain some semblance of control over the retail SW industry. Another: MS realizes the OS wars are over, and the new battle ground is to control the 'connected self' suite. Apple focuses on Content (ITMS), Amazon on buying, Google on, well, they have no focus, and MS... well their strength can and should be on personal productivity (The Office core). OneNote on the Mac pretty much assumes that an iPad/iPhone/Mac user ain't gonna switch... but they are quite capable of buying SW if it fits their life needs, and not be biased against any particular vendor. The combo platter... deploy now... and decide later, as the marketplace has spoken about what the entry level computer is now... it's the phone, and MS has lost that battle for the moment. Either way, people who have got Macs in their compute model look at OneNote and see a hole in coverage, and end up with Evernote or the similar ilk, that covers all the bases. That locks out MS in this market (17-25 year olds buying phones and laptops... choosing iOS/Mac), which is the growth market for SW sales.