Jot is a Simple Whiteboard App for iPad – UPDATED PRICE

Jot is a simple whiteboard app that makes it easy for users to sketch, organize thoughts and even present to a group via video out on the iPad. The app is good for drawing with various colored pens, and an eraser. Through the share menu you can export your drawings to various places. And on the iPad itself it would be useful for sharing ideas and sketchs with one or two other people.

As you can see from the screen shot above the inking in Jot is fairly smooth, although not as smooth as some of the more advanced handwritten note taking apps. It could be smoother, and on occasion, the app stalls. That may be an issue of memory lag due to tasks running in the background. For presentations or important drawing sessions, make sure there are no other apps running.

Along the left is a toolbar. At the very bottom there is an arrow that hides the toolbar. This is nice for drawing in full screen mode. The colored rounded boxes are to change the color of the drawing pen. There is also an eraser that works well.

From top to bottom there are two arrow buttons for undo/redo which perform as their names suggest. Draw something you want to quickly erase? Just hit the undo. Want it back, hit redo. Hit the trash can icon and the app will offer to delete the Jot. A Jot is a single screen of drawings.

Below the trash can is the share menu button. From here you can send your Jot either as an image (JPG file), a Jot file (the app’s proprietary format), and a PDF file. The other options are saving it to the iPad’s Photos app, to the clipboard, or to Print it using the new built-in AirPrint feature in iOS 4.2.

There are two file management buttons below the share button. One will save and close the current Jot. The other shows all saved Jots and lets you delete saved ones. The little info button shows the tutorial screen. Be sure to read through this to familiarize yourself with the app.

With drawings on the screen the user can tap and hold them to select them. Then you can move them around, cut or copy them, and a trash can icon shows up in the upper right where you can drag the item to delete it. Tap and whole black space and you can paste items.

When the iPad is hooked up to an external projector via the VGA adapter, the content in the white drawing area is displayed. We like how the tool bar does not show up on the external display. This is great for a classroom or lecture setting.

We like Jot but wish it had a few things. First we wish the inking was as smooth as Penultimate, one of our favorite drawing apps. Also, we’d like to be able to adjust the size of the pen tips. Also more colors and a highlighter pen would be nice.

For $7.99 it is a little pricey for what it does. But if you need a good and simple whiteboard app, it might be worth it to you.

UPDATE: After reading our review they have dropped the price to $4.99.

Pros:

  • Easy to learn
  • Simple interface
  • Exports image to external display via VGA adapter

Cons:

  • Drawing needs to be smoother
  • Some stuttering while drawing
  • Limited number of pens and colors

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