Getting to know Ginger Labs, the creators of Notability

Welcome to the Ginger Labs team! We are dedicated to making apps that improve productivity in daily lives and we’re excited that you found us. Here we’ll share insights about Notability, development updates, and more about the company. We hope that you enjoy this and future posts.

With the advent of iPhone in 2007 and the App Store in 2008, we started Ginger Labs with the goal to improve the lives of people with sensory deprivation. We delivered our first app, soundAMP, in 2009, which turned iPhone into a hearing device for people with moderate hearing loss. soundAMP utilized the microphone to pickup local sound, then processed and amplified that sound, and sent it to the earbuds. Features like instant replay and audio recording ensured users would never miss what was said during a conversation or lecture. soundAMP also included our proprietary 5-band dynamic equalizer so users could tune the sound to suit their needs. For iPhone users, soundAMP offered an economical alternative to expensive hearing aids.

When Apple launched iPad in 2010, we were excited to see how we could leverage the audio technologies we developed for soundAMP into a solution for a wider audience. With iPad’s larger display, we thought people would use the device for taking notes in class, in labs, and in meetings. So, we created Notability, an app that would combine our audio technologies with several note taking tools in a very novel way. Since 2010, we have updated the app over 50 times, including new features and improvements. Notability has proven useful for all types of learners, of all ages!

Here are some of the ways Notability is currently being used by its incredibly diverse user base:

• First grade teachers are helping students learn to read in Notability. A student first imports a PDF and records themselves reading a passage from it. Then the student listens to the audio of themselves reading while actively highlighting areas for improvement. By creating these audio visual connections, students are given the unique opportunity to not only hear themselves reading out loud, but visually align that with the reading material.
• High school and college students are going paperless by importing and completing assignments in Notability.
• Medical and veterinary students are importing entire textbooks to markup with detailed notes.
• Contractors capture a photo of a worksite, draw on the photo, then share it to give their work teams more context for changes.
• Sales teams track client logs and utilize a template to fill out forms on a regular basis.

These are just a few of the ways that Notability is being used. And we are amazingly lucky to be able to help our users and interact with them on a regular basis.

We’re very excited about the future and the opportunities to continue improving Notability and creating products that help make life more productive for people. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and be sure to check back for more news!