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Comment by jmduke | Hacker News Reader

It appears to me by purchasing this app, you are trading the features of existing products for a slick design. I'm particularly impressed with how they have spun the lack of features as a feature ("simple and elegant", "imposes no system")

For me, inability to coexist with Notational Velocity is a dealbreaker.

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Isn't that a little bit like saying that by buying a Moleskin notebook, you're trading the features of existing products like Trapper Keepers?

This might be stretching the metaphor a little, but in college I'd take a five-section notebook over a Moleskin any day because of the nifty little pockets that I could keep problem sets and syllabi in.

Similarly, an iOS notes app that doesn't have websync just seems unhelpful for me. The only time I need to record a piece of data and I don't have access to my laptop/paper are usually when I need to remember something for later: and that "later" involves me using my laptop.

(Advantage of note apps vs. note books: the former lends themselves much more to iteration.)

So this is easy: the kind of person who prefers a five-section notebook to a Moleskine is not the target audience for this application. Just like those apps that appeal to people who track their jogging times are not targeted towards me, unless they also have pig fat and whiskey features.

Most people who don't want a "trapper keeper" probably don't want one because all of those extra features make the product literally heavy and bulky.

Now there may be something to why they choose a brand-name notepad instead of a cheaper alternative, but I don't think this analogy works for comparing software features of apps on phones.

Maybe a better example might be somebody choosing a pocket knife that was not a "swiss army" pocket knife. The nail file doesn't really get in your way, but if you don't want it, why have it?

Lack of features is a feature for some people. I really prefer when products start with a limited, polished set of features.

It's just the difference between someone who wants a swiss army knife and someone who wants a santoku knife. They're just two different philosophies of experience design. Calling it "spin" ignores the actual benefits (and tradeoffs) inherent in that design philosophy.

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