Evernote, the popular note-taking and archiving service, recently announced that the company is thinking about introducing its own hardware products. Company CEO Phil Libin said that Evernote will soon start releasing Evernote-branded gadgets, co-designed and manufactured by external OEM partners.
While Libin didn’t share many details about what kind of products users might see with the Evernote logo, he did say the company was aiming to create devices that are “new and magical,” instead of competing with existing devices.
This is not really the first time Evernote has talked about making hardware. Evernote partnered with Moleskin earlier this year to create the Smart Notebook.
The Smart Notebook lets users take a photo of pages using “specially formatted paper” designed to work specifically with Evernote. The book also allows users to convert their handwritten notes to a digital format.
“We won’t actually do the manufacturing, but we’ll do the co-design together,” Libin recently told IDG in an interview at the New Economy Summit held in Tokyo. “Eventually, in a few years—three, four, five—I think we’ll be ready to do something ourselves.”
Libin also confirmed that Evernote will begin initiating two-factor authentication in May, along with other “visible” security changes. More companies are instituting this to combat hacking.
So while there’s not really a probability of an Evernote Phone or Evernote Tablet, other opportunities could happen. However a hardware ecosystem would most likely not be the primary goal for Evernote as the company, according to Libin, is more focused on developing apps that work across devices.
