Evernote for Android Update: Speech-to-text and Big Widget Enhancements
Today, we have an exciting update to Evernote for Android (3.6). We've added a great speech-to-text capability that makes dictating notes in Evernote really easy, plus we have a bunch of new features for the Evernote Widget app.
Context & Ripple Effects
Evernote has been building its case as the answer to information overload since at least March 2011, when GigaOM framed its updates around the problem of too much data and how a better Evernote could help. Version 3.6 for Android extends that pitch from storage to capture friction: instead of typing notes, users dictate them via built-in speech-to-text, and a refreshed Evernote Widget app pushes capture onto the home screen itself.
The Android-first emphasis lands on favorable ground: by February 2012 Android had overtaken Apple as the most-used smartphone OS in the UK installed base, following a holiday season that saw 3.7 million device activations on December 24–25 alone. The story also travelled unusually widely for an app point release — The Verge, Between the Lines, Gotta Be Mobile, IntoMobile, MobileSyrup and others all picked it up the same day.
First-order effects
- Android users of Evernote can now dictate notes directly rather than typing them, lowering the effort of capture at the moment ideas occur.
- The enhanced Evernote Widget keeps note-taking one tap from the home screen, increasing daily touchpoints without opening the app.
Second-order effects
- Rival note-taking and capture apps face pressure to match voice dictation and widget-level access on Android, where the installed base now rewards whichever tool captures fastest.
- Home-screen widgets become contested real estate among productivity apps, each vying for the permanent slot on a user's most-viewed screen.
Third-order effects
- Voice input shifts from novelty to expected capture method in mobile productivity software, with input friction rather than storage capacity becoming the competitive axis.
- Platform-specific release cadences let apps like Evernote differentiate per OS, tying product roadmaps to wherever each platform's installed base grows.
The trend: Mobile note-capture tools are competing on input friction — voice dictation and home-screen widgets — riding Android's expanding installed base toward capture-anywhere productivity.