Agree 100%. I use the built-in Notes app on iOS with no problem. And it has a macOS app. Gruber is overthinking it -- his app simply wasn't compelling.
Re:Vesper, Adieu
by ghshephard on Wednesday August 24, 2016 @01:24AM
(#12349854)
Keeping in mind, when Vesper was originally released, Notes was pretty kludgey, but it was dramatically improved. So, I halfways agree with you - Vesper became less compelling after Notes got it's major rework.
I still use Vesper as my preferred "really quick" note/scratchpad taking client, even though I'm an Evernote Plus subscriber, and basically run my entire life off that App.
I think that's the major problem for Vesper - the top end of note-taking is owned by tools like OneNote/Evernote, and Vesper was never going to be able to compete in that market. People are happy to pay $30-$60/year for a world class, secure, multi-platform note taking app, but probably not willing to pay that much for a scratch-pad note taking app, when the built in one is free, and syncs well across platforms.
Aren't better design and better UX a compelling value differentiator? Of all people, Apple users would have appreciated design more.
As per some other comments, I think the problem with Vesper is that it is too niche in a very well served market. The design is fantastic, but that doesn't matter if you can get more (functional) value elsewhere.
But reading contemporary accounts of what Vesper was [1][2], it sounds a lot like yet-another-notetaking app, like Evernote, and lately, Google Keep, albeit one with nice typography and pleasant UX. I sympathize that the price pressure on mobile apps is intense, but could it be that it just didn't offer a compelling enough value, or differentiation from better-known competitors? Perhaps the question is, is there truly space for a dozen different apps that on the surface appear to do the same thing?
[1] https://www.macstories.net/reviews/vesper-review-collect-you...
[2] http://drippler.com/drip/best-note-taking-apps-iphone-and-ip...