I have been a long-term user of Evernote, but it was only recently I signed up as a paying subscriber. The reason? Offline access to synchronized Evernote notebooks on my iPad. Here’s why …

When I travel, I have been in the habit of carrying paper records with me about airplane flights, hotel bookings, meetings to have, maps, etc. I have had all of this in a thin line plastic folder, as well as having electronic editions on my computers. But when checking in at the airport or a hotel, I have pulled out the paper editions, not the computer edition – because paper is faster.

BUT … with the instant on of the iPad, I have ditched the paper on the last few trips and had everything on the iPad. The question I faced was how to get the material from my computers to the iPad, and Evernote provided a simple answer. I created a notebook on Evernote called “Action Support,” and then created notes with PDFs of reservations, JPGs of maps or business cards, or text notes with whatever. Evernote then synchronizes to the cloud, and then back down to my iPad. BUT in order to access the material offline, you need to pay Evernote for a monthly ($5) or annual subscription ($45) – it’s pretty cheap. So I purchased the annual subscription … and the Premium account offering gives the ability to cache for offline access.

It works great. Of course, if you have the 3G version of the iPad and are willing to pay international data roaming charges, then you may not need to do purchase an Evernote Premium subscription. It comes down to who you want to give your money to – and I chose Evernote.