Interesting, I never came across this one in my search. I'm gonna give it a try, I'm curious to see how it compares.
I did try out a couple other editors that leaned on markdown though with mixed results.
One thing that stands out to me in particular with iA is the way they've implemented (at least based on the homepage video) note linking. That click-through implementation forces you to leave your document, which is something we explicitly didn't want, since typically what you're doing is scanning through your notes and your document simultaneously while you work out how everything fits together.
As someone who writes daily (primarily novels), I can’t say this has been an issue for me but I may not yet understand your approach. The site does not make it clear what would be different about note taking in your system.
Things I like about iA Writer and are holding me back from your approach is
- don’t quite understand the differentiation you’re describing here, not in the web copy either
- where do my files live? Unclear with your solution, and I need full ownership of my data to feel comfortable
- business model: iA is a one-time payment for cloud syncing out of the box, this looks like you’re angling for a subscription but what justifies that value?
I don’t like to criticize prematurely, but from someone who’s looked at a ton of tools in this space it’s not yet clear to me what you’re delivering that would get me to switch. Hopefully this is helpful criticism. Good luck!
One huge downside of iA Writer (at least on Android) is the inability to change the font. It's permanently set to a rather ugly and completely unsuitable monospaced font that resembles Courier New. This among all other features is what prevents me from using it.
I find that one of its strengths. I can’t be tempted to waste time fiddling with the content’s appearance when it’s going to be rendered later in a separate step anyway.
On Apple devices, you can choose from 3 fonts from the same family, and that’s it. After a short while they tend to disappear into the background while I focus on making words good.
I did try out a couple other editors that leaned on markdown though with mixed results.
One thing that stands out to me in particular with iA is the way they've implemented (at least based on the homepage video) note linking. That click-through implementation forces you to leave your document, which is something we explicitly didn't want, since typically what you're doing is scanning through your notes and your document simultaneously while you work out how everything fits together.