A nice update to Penultimate has been released today. This is the first major update to hit the App Store since I first reviewed the (re)launch of Penultimate with version 4.0.

Penultimate 4.1 lets Premium Evernote users to access every item in the Paper Shop for free (which is a nice and welcome extra) and to set a passcode lock for enhanced security. There are new options to pause syncing with Evernote (good when traveling or if you simply lack an always-on Internet connection), sign out and switch users, and have the app suggest notebook titles based on location and calendar events (a feature also shared with Evernote). My favorite subtle improvement, however, is that Penultimate now shows the last page you were editing directly in a notebook’s cover.

Penultimate 4.1 is available on the App Store.

Colin Donnell:

Besides Finder, Evernote is the only app I know of that you can really just throw anything at — PDFs, images, text notes — everything. And it’s not just that you can put everything into it, it’s that it treats most of those things the same way (through OCR), so that doing a text search is going to bring up results from all of the above.

That is indeed one of my favorite aspects of Evernote (which, last month, was also updated to support search inside iWork and Office documents). The other, as Sean said, is saved searches.

Jay Alabaster for PCWorld:

The CEO of archiving service Evernote said his company will soon release branded hardware with partners, as it moves toward creating its own devices.

“We won’t actually do the manufacturing, but we’ll do the co-design together,” said Phil Libin, who spoke to IDG News Service on the sidelines of the New Economy Summit, a technology conference held Tuesday in Tokyo.

After 6 apps, 2 web tools (Clearly and Web Clipper), a Business service, and expansion on 3 major platforms (OS X, Windows, Android) it makes sense for Evernote to consider more collaborations on the hardware side. Some facts worth keeping in mind: Evernote has its own developer platform and ecosystem for both apps and compatible hardware; the company signed a partnership with Moleskine to enable automatic tagging of notebook pages using stickers; they have a Chinese version of the service; and, they’re not new to other kinds of collaborations such as carrier deals and smart fridges. Evernote wants to grow.

Tighter integration with hardware would, in theory, allow Evernote to create apps that have a more direct connection with the OS. I don’t think it’d be absurd to guess Evernote is considering a Home-like approach: Evernote’s tools span note-taking, document management, photos, location, contact management, and even digital handwriting. Why wouldn’t Evernote want deeper access to mobile OSes for phones and tablets?

Again, from PCWorld:

Libin emphasized that the company aims to make devices that are “new and magical,” rather than entering an existing product category.

We’ll see in a few years.