[tweetmeme]You might have been waiting for it, but I have been WAITING FOR IT! Notational Velocity, my current favourite writing application for the Mac now seamlessly syncs with Simplenote!

What exactly is Notational Velocity all about? In a sentence it’s the fastest, simplest, and most unobtrusive notes app on the Mac. There’s no two panes in the user interface—you can see everything all at once. There’s no UI-clutter, so you can concentrate on writing. There’s a simple and fast search, along with a quick launch-time. And lastly, you never have to hit ‘save’, for Notational Velocity manages data, not files. Here’s my review on why Notational Velocity makes sense.

I don’t have to explain what it means to have Notational sync with Simplenote. The iPhone client is built along the lines of Notational, offering the simplest of user interfaces, search, and seamless integration with its web service. I downloaded the Notational update, entered my account credentials, and Notational merged my documents with the Simplenote server. Zachary Schneirov, the developer of Notational, has done an awesome job with the synchronisation, making sure you, not the cloud, own the notes. So if Simplenote decides to shut down or change their API one day, your notes will always be accessible to you. Even if notes are deleted from the server, you can restore notes from Notational. Schneirov has detailed the entire syncing process to clear any doubts.

Among the other changes, Notational Velocity has got UI polish, along with a new icon drawn by Colin Cody. I’m still not completely sold on the icon, but it’s definitely better than what it was before. Notational is a free and open source application, and Simplenote [iTunes] is a free (but ad-supported) application.

I hadn’t yet set on an notes app for my iPhone—what with conflicting opinions right here on SA—but I was dead set on what I wanted on the Mac. With this pairing, it’s settled for me[1. For users of Writeroom, the Notational release notes also mention syncing with SimpleText.ws, the syncing service by Hog Bay Soft. I just can't figure out how exactly it works with Notational.]. It offers me quick, simple, efficient notes, along with seamless syncing on the desktop, iPhone, web, and when the time comes, iPad. And that’s all I need in a writing workflow.

Update: I’ve been informed by Preshit of Nottingham ($15), a writing application inspired by Notational Velocity, that has been syncing with Simplenote for a while now . I personally won’t be switching, but imagine how simple it would be for me to do so, with my data synced across in an instant!