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Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App

Dec 19, 2014 11:05 PM
A hand holding a smartphone displaying a map application.

So you just bought a fancy new Nexus 6 complete with its gorgeous and gigantic display—now what? Unlike Samsung's TouchWiz, stock Android doesn't sport any cool split-screen features, so how do you really take advantage of all that screen real estate?

A useful multitasking tool for larger-screened Android devices has recently been published to the Play Store by developer Mike Lim. It allows you to quickly take notes while you're using any app, so you don't have to stop what you're doing to jot something down.

Installing Hovernote

Lim's multitasking app is called Hovernote, so search that very name on the Google Play Store to get it installed. Alternatively, you can use this link if you'd rather jump straight to the app's install page.

Hovernote app interface showing options to uninstall or open the application.

Using Hovernote

Hovernote presents itself as a floating widget—just tap its little icon from any screen to access the main interface.

Smartphone screen displaying a colorful abstract wallpaper with app icons.
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Smartphone screen displaying a colorful abstract wallpaper with app icons.
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App

From here, you can use the second button from the right to collapse the interface back into its floating widget state, tap the ___ button to hide the widget altogether, and pull from the bottom-right corner to resize the window.

From the three-dot menu button, tap "Settings" to access a handful of options. These include auto-saving your notes, adding bullet points or numbered-lists, and some transparency and font options.

Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App

Beyond that, just tap the floating widget button, then touch the text input area to begin typing a quick note from within any app. Notes will persist until you close Hovernote, but if you'd like to keep one for the long term, just tap the three-dot menu button and hit "Save."

Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Alternative text: "Screenshot of a mobile app with a tutorial on using the Google Keyboard"
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
Alternative text: "Screenshot of a mobile app with a tutorial on using the Google Keyboard"

What apps do you find yourself using Hovernote in the most? Let us know in the comment section below, or drop us a line on our Facebook, Google+, or Twitter feeds.

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.

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