Evernote Promises Its Own 'New, Magical' Hardware Gadgets Are Coming
"We won't actually do the manufacturing, but we'll do the co-design together," CEO Phil Libin, told Network World's IDG News Service at the New Economy Summit, on Tuesday in Tokyo. "Eventually, in a few years -- three, four, five -- I think we'll be ready to do something ourselves."
Libin said that these devices will be completely "new and magical," rather than me-too entries in existing categories, so we're probably not talking an Evernote smartphone or tablet. But he wasn't specific. We've reached out to Evernote asking for more details.
Evernote has been steadily moving in this direction. Its apps already work with scanners, cameras, and even blood pressure monitors, Libin said. Plus it has a handwriting app for the iPad, Penultimate. Evernote jumped on Google Glass, too. It's annotation/drawing Skitch app was one of the first apps for Google's wearable computer.
Another part of Libin's ambitious plan is to turn Evernote into a platform for other app developers.
Evernote yesterday announced the Evernote Accelerator. It has partnered with Honda and Japanese carrier Docomo for the program, which is a month-long residency for up to six developers/startups at Evernote’s headquarters in Redwood City. Residents will launch new products built on top of Evernote's products.