I reviewed the initial version of Elements late last year and found it to be functional, but a little lacking in the style department (which was ironic, since I believe the full name of the app is Elements of Style). However, the recent update to Elements 2.0 comes with a great injection of visual flair and a refinement of the entire interface, making this universal app well worth another look.
Elements was one of the first Dropbox text editors around, but it’s been a long time since its release, and there is now plenty of competition that can automatically sync with Dropbox or other cloud services. What really sets Elements apart at this point is its fantastic new interface and icon, its treatment of markdown previews, and its ability to actually publish to websites.
Elementally Stylish
I can’t overstate how much better this app looks after its makeover. The icon is simply gorgeous and almost demands to be displayed on your first home screen. The rest of the interface, from the notes list to the toolbar, is all very crisp now. Every icon is sharp and well drawn, so you’ll know exactly what you’ll be getting into you when you put your finger to the screen.
Markdown Previews
Notesy is still more robust in terms of tweaking your Markdown previews, but Elements is the only app I know that has a really beautiful preview set up right out-of-the-box. One quick tap on the star icon and your plain text peppered with hash tags and underscored words will suddenly take on new life as formatted rich text.
Publishing Power
Another unique Elements feature that is well worth mentioning is its ability to publish your words straight to services like Evernote, Facebook , and Tumblr. If the service and you’d prefer to publish. Isn’t available, you can opt to simply send your text as HTML (in-line or as an attachment).
Conclusion
This Elements 2.0 update has come on very strong and made it a worthy competitor to apps like Notesy, Writeroom, and Simplenote. I will admit that I have been very tempted to switch to Elements as my main text editor on my iPhone and iPad, but the only thing stopping me is the inability to change the root folder for syncing. Elements insists that you sync with “/Elements” folder in your Dropbox , and I much prefer to be able to choose my own folders. However, if this is not an issue for you, then there is very little stopping Elements from becoming your new favorite Dropbox text editor.
Elements 2.0 was provided by Second Gear for review on iSource. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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