The popular myNotebook in Red, Green or Blue is a cheap and useful application that gives DSi owners another reason to carry the machine wherever they go. So how does the new myNotebook: Carbon, Pearl and Tan – reviewed here in Carbon – improve on the original?
While the original versions had 32 pages, the new version has 128. There is a new blank page type for users who want to draw and not have lines or squares behind their images; a clock; and a battery meter. You can also unlock three new lined and squared paper themes, bringing the total to 12 of each. The most notable new feature is the ability to export each page to the DSi photo album and subsequently to an SD card.
Other than the additional content, myNotebook: Carbon, Pearl and Tan are essentially the same as the previous versions. You still hold the DSi sideways like a book, and use the Up/Down or Y/A buttons to flip pages until the one you want is on the touchscreen. You can write with thin or thick lines and on lined, blank or grid paper, and erase things manually or by choosing to clear an entire page. Owning other Nnooo products unlocks additional paper styles instantly, but even if you don't own another of their games, you can unlock them by simply using the notebook often.
The new exporting feature defines this new version, so owners of the previous versions must ask themselves: is having your writing or drawings set free from the DSi worth another 500 Points? Exporting your work is simple, with one slight drawback: if you are writing on lined paper, when you export the page it will be flipped on to its side, making uploading it directly to Facebook somewhat awkward. This can be easily fixed with any image editing software on your computer if you're exporting to an SD card, but the DSi itself has no feature to rotate images back to how you you originally intended.
As before, myNotebook is being released three times, as myNotebook: Carbon, myNotebook: Pearl and myNotebook: Tan. Each version is exactly the same, so you may want to wait until your favourite colour is released. With 128 pages available to write and draw on, you'll likely only need one colour of the improved virtual notebook.
Conclusion
If you found some uses for the first myNotebook, or passed altogether the first time around, picking up this new version is a safe bet. It's a nice app that should've been included with the DSi in the first place. You get four times the amount of pages for just over twice the price of the orginal, so bargain hunters should steer clear of the original versions now that the new version is available.
Comments 38
Ooh, maybe I'll get one this time around!
I will never see the appeal to this...
Did you say you can unlock themes? Seriously?
Oh, cool, looks like this one's more fleshed out than the earlier entries.
I can get Flipnote Hatena for free .-.
I will never see the appeal to this either, ReZon
neat. wait what does the arrow at the top do?is it a undo arrow
may get this, when i get more points. saving up for rytmik!
Wow, nice. I'm still waiting until pearl before I buy one.
yea me to
This is what the first release should have been. 500 points is utterly rediculous for a notebook. I can't help but feel like Nintendo Life is overly leanient to Nnooo's games/apps.
I'm with ReZon and y2josh I can get 8 real notebooks and a box of markers for 1/2 the price of this game ;_;
sounds good, but not my app that id want
I don't see why I should upgrade when I already have my notebook red. I only use my notebook if I don't have a notebook handy (which I often don't) and I just copy it down on paper later.
I am loving this, but how do you expand to the extra pages? It is just showing the usual 2-3 on mine... Is there a setting you select somewhere?
@NGpenguin: That's to save it to your Photo Album.
Facebook has the ability to flip the image in the gallery without downloading it into an application on your PC.
@grumblegrumble use the dpad to change pages. Tap A,B.X or Y to change orientation and the use those buttons change page. Tap the dpad to change back.
Sounds really good! Will get!
128 pages sounds WAY more reasonable than the original 32 pages. This is awesome, I'm gonna go with the carbon version
Gotta love working within the limitations of Nintendo's crappy digital services. lol
I mean if only Nnooo was allowed to let you email the pictures on MyPostcards, or tweet them, or FB them...If only..
I also find 500 points for a notebook too high.
oh thanks @KnucklesSonic8
500 points is a steal for a notebook that is digital, backlit, infinitely reusable, and fits in your pocket, along with other games and applications.
I've been using myNotebook to plan out short films for months, now, and the upgrade to Carbon was a no-brainer.
Also, as has already been mentioned, Facebook does have the ability to rotate images, without the PC middleman.
Uh oh, I've discovered a glitch with this app: Let's say you have something written on page 7 and something different written on page 9. Ok now, let's say you have your DSi in the orientation with the A, B, X, and Y buttons at the bottom and you go back to the page where the "Inside Cover" is on the left screen and page 1 on the right. If you press Y to jump up 10 pages, you'll jump to page 11. Now here comes the glitch: if you press B and flip back one page to 9, you will notice that page 9's notes are identical to page 7 one more page before it! Fear not though, your original page 9 notes are not gone, just flip back one MORE page to page 5, then flip back to 7 then 9 and voila, your original page 9 notes are there. Anyone else having this issue? Nnooo, I don't know if you're listening, but mine is doing this, let me know if you guys can duplicate my error and let me know if there'll be a patch (hopefully). It's not THAT big of a deal, but it might seriously throw some people for a loop if they get it too.
Oh, and it only happens when you jump up 10 pages in the "opposite" orentation... flipping through the pages 1 by 1 doesn't seem to cause this glitch.
I see from the video that gray box is still there. Why cover the whole screen with it? Can I hide the box and see the page? Is there an option to just go to the next page WITHOUT FLIPPING THE DEVICE? Also, the on the original, there was a bug that does not allow the music to be turned off. I hope you fixed it on this version.
I think all these are easily implemented. Putting an option on the configuration screen isn't that hard, right? It's just a question of design?
@ramstrong you can turn the hints box off in the options And in both the new and original ones you can turn the music and/or sound effects off in the options, there are volume sliders for each
Ah, that means there's still flipping the device over to turn the pages. I'll download the new version, then, and check it out. Yes, there are volume sliders for each on the old version, but when I turned it all the way to off, the music still plays. It didn't take. There's a bug in there.
I did an extended review on my ramstong blogspot Nov 26 2009, if you're interested. I'll review the new version as well. Thank you for replying.
Just a quick 15 min impression:
1. Toolbar does not stay hidden when flipping pages
2. This makes turning pages slower than necessary
3. No double tap on next page, like there is on skip 10 pages.
4. No multiple page turning when holding down button.
5. Did fix the music bug. Thanks!
6. Saved page when exiting via pressing the power button. Great!
7. Don't know why only one shoulder button will hide/show toolbar. No reason why both can't be active? Only one function, right?
8. Still have to turn device over to write alternate page.
9. Like the extra pages. That means skipping pages is fine, with so much capacity.
10. The loading/saving on every page turning does make it slow.
11. Vertical line on the side is too close to the edge to be useful. Maybe skipping it altogether is better. Is that one of the unlockable design?
12. I wish there is an option to skip 40 pages w/ double tap, though. It is a chore to get to the later pages.
13. Love the new export command. Thanks. JPEG artifact is there, but not a problem.
14. No tapping to quickly clear the "new unlockable" notice screen.
15. Last page location is accessible via the START button. Nice.
16. I wonder what would happen if I press the power button when data is loading at the start? It isn't doing any saving, right? So, should be no problem?
17. Did fix the perpetual gray box. Thanks.
18. Toolbar options are not saved. Pen/color settings are reset upon exit.
Bottom line: Much better than the original. Still too slow in turning the pages, even with double tap skip 10 option. Good effort, but can be better. Skip the near unusable original, and go with the new one instead.
I think I'll get this. An 8/10 plus the fact that I don't have the original equals an instant download.
I still don't get this: I use flipnote hatena and it has unlimited pages for free or a real notebook. Try to convince me I should get this.
LOL, I won't try to sell you piguy101, but I will say that FlipNote Studio was EXACTLY what I used before MyNotebook, and from a functionality standpoint, you're absolutely correct in what you've said, you "can" use it that way. I can't explain it... for some reason even though at it's core flipnote studio is essentially a series of "note pages", something about it to me felt like I should be using for it's greatest feature, animation and sound. MyNotebook's overall WAY simpler than flipnote in that sense, but that also seems to be it's strength-- it's none-cumbersome, intuitive, simplistic style. It was nice have the lines and grids to write stuff on besides just blank pages, and as minor as that sounds, I do like that over Flipnote... and now MyNotebook added blank pages as well this go around which also comes in handy at times. Flipping and seeing the pages "like" a notebook feels much more intuitive to me than the "sticky loose notes" of Flipnote. I guess it's what MyNotebook "doesn't do special" that makes me like it better for straight notetaking and leaves Flipnote to do what it does better, but that's just my 2 cents.
Does anyone know how to unlock the different paper styles? I haven't gotten Carbon yet, but I want to know which of nnooo's DSiWare games will unlock new ones, like Pop Plus Solo and the other colors of myNotebook did in the original ones.
Here's what Nnooo told us: Owning myNotebook: Blue, Red, Green, Carbon, Tan or Pearl
each opens a theme. Carbon does not open a bonus theme in Carbon and so on (you get the idea).
Use the application (write a lot, start the app up a lot)
Own Pop+ Solo
myDiary and myPostcards don't unlock anything for the notebooks, but themes in myDiary will be unlocked by ALL prior Nnooo products and by using the app. I hope that answers your question, sorry for the late response!
Dunno about this.... I can just get REAL notebooks. :I
Well, I carry around my 3DS more than anything else...getting this will just make it...AWESOME. I'll save up $20 to get a card and then this (along with that Undead Storm game coming out) are on my list!
I got Red and the cover hurts my eyes XD So I colored it blue...I should've just got blue...but I like red too...
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