Once upon a time there was a magic notebook. This magic notebook was very smart and helpful, like a personal assistant. It would do things like instantly find the lowest price and coupon for an item you added to a shopping list on your mobile phone.

There was one problem, though. The magic notebook didn’t always work right because of a gremlin.

Now, then. This digital notebook had been around since 2008, but it didn’t become magic until the recent Version 3 upgrade. And that’s when the gremlin appeared.

There are many happy people who love the magic notebook, but some people are unhappy because of that darn gremlin.

It seems that most of the problems are happening for people who are upgrading from an earlier version. If you start a new account, you won’t have to worry about the biggest complaint in the forums: older data disappearing.

The notebook is called Springpad, and most reviewers are describing it as a combination of Pinterest and Evernote. But it goes into another realm beyond that.

What if …

… you could save a note or task by simply typing it in and Springpad would instantly figure out the category and include relevant info? Here are some examples:

• Products: Springpad includes description, best price, reviews, links to buy, notifications of price drops and relevant coupons or deals
• Restaurants and Businesses: includes address, phone number, map, reviews, menus, Yelp rating and notifications of daily deals
• Movies and TV Shows: includes plot, rating, actors and directors, local showtimes, reviews, trailers, links to buy tickets and notifications of Netflix availability
• Recipes: incudes photos, ingredient list, instructions and link to original source
• Books: includes author, plot, best price, reviews, links to buy, notifications of price drops and relevant coupons or deals
• Albums: includes musician, best price, links to buy, notifications of price drops and relevant coupons or deals
• Wines: includes description, best local price, links to buy and relevant coupons or deals

And when …

… you save something to Springpad, each thing gets quick links to help you get things done. Later, you receive alerts of relevant news and offers to help you remember the things you’ve previously saved.

• Save a book or product – get links to reviews, receive an alert when the price drops
• Save a restaurant – get the address, phone number, menus and links to Yelp
• Save a movie – receive an alert when it’s in the theaters, on DVD and on Netflix (or Hulu or whatever you use).

The rest of the story …

Of course, there are tools in Springpad that aren’t considered magic, but they make it easier to organize and remember things:

Notes, Tasks, and Checklists

Jot down a note, set a task and create reusable shopping and packing lists.  It’s especially cool that you can create your own reusable list templates. But what if you can’t get online when you need the list? Will there be an offline version available?

Save While You Surf

Look up stuff worth remembering: products, places, recipes, movies, your contacts from Facebook and Google. Save it without leaving the site you’re browsing.

The Board

Create your own design for your digital cork-board to visually organize ideas and information. Add labels, notes, lists, places and contacts to the Board to help you plan your projects. Add a map to automatically pinpoint everything in your notebook with an address.

Notebooks

Notebooks are added to the Board for a focused way to organize your stuff. Notebooks are great for organizing special projects, daily tasks, holiday recipes, vacation trips or just for separating your work stuff from your home stuff. (This is a great way to keep track of a fairy-themed collection).

Tags

Tags help you search, sort, and organize.

Public and Private Pages

Make anything you save in Springpad public to share with others, or keep it private.

• Follow Notebooks from Your Friends – Follow specific notebooks from people you trust. When you see something you like, “spring it” onto your notebook.
• Explore Springpad for new ideas – Check out public notebooks from the Springpad community in the Explore section.

Social Notebook

Share your knowledge with friends and family by posting things you find interesting to Facebook, Twitter or Email. Discover and save recommendations from your social networks.

Redesign of the Mobile App

• Navigation Improvements - The interface of the mobile app is completely redesigned, making it easier to create new items, filter your stuff, and get to what you need when you need it. 
• Save photos, audio notes, barcodes, and nearby businesses 
• With the latest version of the mobile app, you can explore public notebooks without registering for an account.  springpad.com

Have you been using Springpad? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Thanks!