Evernote is best known today as a cross-platform note-taking service, but someday it could branch out into making devices of its own. In an interview published today at PC World, Evernote founder and CEO Phil Libin says hardware is on its way — beginning with Evernote-branded devices the company will develop with partners, and later with gadgets built by the company itself.
"Eventually, in a few years — three, four, five — I think we’ll be ready to do something ourselves,” Libin was quoted as saying.
Evernote has previously partnered with companies to integrate its service into a variety of consumer products. Camera and scanner manufacturers have integrated Evernote into their products. Evernote released a co-branded notebook with Moleskine last year designed to make it easier for Evernote users to scan their paper notes into the service. More recently, Samsung made a splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show by building an Evernote client into its T9000 refrigerator.
Libin told PC World that the company would attempt to create devices that are "new and magical," rather than enter an existing market like tablets or smartphones. The move would give users more reasons to subscribe to Evernote's premium service, which offers additional storage and other features.
Evernote declined to elaborate on Libin's statements.