Narrato Journal Review

Back when I was a child, writing a diary was all the rage. I've still got many of them, cataloging my life and teenage thoughts. I feel kind of bad that I let the habit slide as it makes for interesting if sometimes cringe-worthy reading. Either way, apps like Narrato Journal make it a little easier to track one's life.

Simple to set up, Narrato Journal draws in quite a few relevant elements of one's life. There's Foursquare connectivity allowing the user to place their location quite exactly, proving particularly useful when visiting a certain establishment. Temperatures and weather information are also offered. It's possible to simply highlight one's mood via a selection of different emoticons, as well as expand further through entering as much text as one likes.

The real strength, however, comes in the way in which Narrato Journal uses various different social networks. While users can opt to include photos already contained on their iOS device, they can also include tweets and photos from Instagram. Unlike apps such as Momento, it's not possible to automatically import all these entries for each day of the year, but on the plus side, it does mean that users can choose what they want to store.

In each case, it's simple to add pertinent information with a LifeStream section of the app offering everything in one place and at the tap of the screen. Further functionality comes from the ability to create multiple journals, thereby enabling the user to separate their content according to theme or relevance. It's a shame, though, that the app lacks the ability to change colors or backgrounds depending on the type of journal.

Despite such minor gripes, Narrato Journal remains consistently efficient and easy to use, with everything synced elsewhere for maximum safety. That syncing comes at a price of $4.99 per year, but a year's subscription is included in the initial price.

Combined, Narrato Journal is a pretty attractive solution, although the addition of automation and Facebook connectivity does mean that my beloved Momento pips it to the post (just barely edges it out).