- Easy Access to US, UK Streaming Services From Anywhere - August 18, 2012
- 5 Fresh Android Games Released in 2012 - July 5, 2012
- Google Chrome Explodes On To iOS, Puts Desktop Experience In Your Pocket - June 30, 2012
Less than two months after our last update on Springpad — one of our hottest topics on 40Tech — the tool to save and organize pretty much anything has sent out another press release full of updated goodness. Goodness to the tune of more than 250,000 new users in the month of January alone, 4 million new bookmarks via the Delicious bookmark importer, new saved-search filters, delete and archive support, and an overhaul to what was already one of the better Google Chrome extensions out there.
From the press release:
Faster Ways to Get Organized with Springpad on the Web
- New Filters: Springpad structures the data you save to make it easy for you to search and filter through your items. Search through your recipes or restaurants by cuisine; filter your movies by actor or genre. Once you’ve created your filters, you can easily save them to make the next search faster than ever.
- Delete and Archive Support: Springpad now has a “trash” button on the home screen so you can quickly recover an item you may have archived or inadvertently deleted.
Enhanced Springpad Extension
Springpad’s upgraded Chrome Browser Extension makes it fast and easy to add a note, create a task or look up something without leaving the site you’re browsing. When you use the extension to clip content, the new item is automatically categorized (recipe, movie, restaurant, book, etc.) and you can create or select a notebook for more efficient organization. To install the extension, click here.
Springpad has been moving in leaps and bounds lately, and its progress is impressive. If you’re looking for a tool to help you organize your life on the web, you should check it out. You can get a feel for the product here, check out their massive overhaul update here (with promo video, if you don’t feel like reading), and get all kinds of tips on how best to use Springpad from the Springpad Blog.
How are you liking the new Springpad?
Springpad Ends Record-Breaking Month with Over 250,000 New Subscribers [CEO Jeff Janer’s Springpad]
jon says:
I originally started using Springpad after 40tech mentioned it for the first time last year – April or May time frame if I remember right. It is a great web app and is very good at what it does. However, at the end of last year I switched over to Evernote because Springpad has what I consider a couple of big flaws.
The biggest one is there is no HTTPS access besides the login page. With the amount I spend connected through a wifi that is not my home I need constant a HTTPS connection, especially for a service that wants to be my memory. I do not feel comfortable putting things in SP while out and about anymore.
Another is the primitive text editor that they have. No multiple indentations and hard to get a note formatted to look nice so it is easy to read and follow.
Currently there is currently no way to get information out of Springpad, they mention that an API is in progress (been in progress for a while now) so once that is implemented maybe there will be a way.
The “New Filters” they are hyping really are nothing new. They existed before they made the change to the notebook layout, looks like they just reimplemented what was in place before. No real advance search operators.
Now I really do like the Springpad service and am watching their updates closely. Once they get a few more things fixed up I will defiantly move back from Evernote as the Notebooks and how they help organize things work great for me. With Evernote there is more work involved whereas with Springpad it just works. Hopefully in the near future we see some more updates that address a couple of more things.
February 3, 2011 — 9:28 am
Bobby Travis says:
I hear you on the lack of consistent HTTPS. For the very security conscious, that could definitely be a problem. I don’t use Springpad as my main tool, either, so there is nothing I would consider sensitive in there. For what I do use Springpad for — keeping track of things that interest me — though, I’ve found it to be quite useful.
A better test editor would be useful, as would numerous other small things, but I really do like how they are progressing.
For me, the ultimate would be some sort of bridge between Springpad and Evernote, as I believe that they can coexist quite well — and from what I gather, the folks at Springpad are working hard at differentiating themselves more and more from Evernote, so the next few months to a year may prove very interesting indeed.
February 4, 2011 — 5:13 pm
Michael Murphy says:
I use SpringPad for a LOT of stuff and find their Chrome app and extension to be great. I do agree that the editor for notes could be improved (font choice, ability to highlight text, change text color, etc.) I know the engine supports displaying that stuff because if you copy-and-paste into a SpringPad note it will display different fonts and colors just fine but then you can’t really make any edits to those things. HTTPS support would be nice, but I don’t really ever use public WiFi so that’s not a huge deal to me (and I don’t keep passwords in SpringPad!)
My biggest use for SpringPad is as a planning tool for my blog. I have a gaming blog about Diablo II & III and I use SpringPad to plan new videos I want to make, and if I’m planning a new article it begins life as a note in SpringPad which then gets subnotes as I pull everything together that I need to write the article.
Overall I really like SpringPad and am looking forward to any improvements they send our way.
March 10, 2011 — 12:01 pm
Bobby Travis says:
I agree, Michael, Springpad makes an excellent blog planner. I think the problem Springpad has is that they are becoming so popular that it has become a full time job just prioritizing user requests. Not a bad problem to have, really, especially considering that they are obviously dedicated to continued improvement, both for the users and in such a way as to improve their chances for long term success. For example, they have a new update coming in a couple weeks that will allow setting types and possibly notebooks and the like when you email items into Springpad. This small thing will make the service immensely better, as we all still tend to live in our inboxes and will be able to export things to a tool that will attempt to enhance the information while providing an organizational platform. Good times!
March 10, 2011 — 1:07 pm