I have been an Evernote user since back around 2008 when it was in open beta. Things were a bit different back then. There were not hard limits on how many devices you could sync between. There were no heavy handed systematic pushes to upgrade. It did not feel like ransomware. It is a good solid product, efficient, and reliable.

Recently I did a wipe and reload to a laptop. I never thought that getting Evernote reinstalled would be the least bit tedious, but looking back I suppose the two device limitation was biting me in the butt. Since I remembered back when there was no such limitation, I was not looking for that particular concern. Eventually I got past it. I felt pressured to UPGRADE, which I nether wanted nor needed. I just had the product on my phone and my laptop.

Recently I purchased an iPad. Their limitation or rather their business decision to use device limiting as leverage to get people into a subscription was pushing me away from their product. I love the product, but decided it was not worth a subscription when there are alternatives available.

After some quick research it looked like OneNote would be an easy transition. It did not beg for money when I installed on a third device. So far I have been very happy and not found OneNote lacking in any way.

I have to question a business model that pushes customers away. It is as if Microsoft was modeling OneNote after Evernote. Feature by feature they match up very closely. I prefer smaller companies, open source to proprietary software when possible. Fremium software is a wonderful thing. There is a free version, but if you want the additional features and function the pay-for version is available.