Notes is the no-frills note-taking app that ships with the iPhone. It’s not fancy, but it does its job well. I don’t use it, because I believe I can create a note faster with an actual notebook and a pen. Tapping the voice dictation button speeds up the process, but  not enough to satisfy me. However, I found that I can create, update and list notes with Siri. In fact, Siri is even smart enough to know which note you’re talking about. Here’s how to create and maintain notes with Siri.

To create a new note, tell Siri, “Create a new note,” “Make a new note” or something similar. You can give a note a title at the same time, for instance, “Make a new note packing list” or “Create a new note places to visit.” That becomes the first line of the note.

Updating a note is easy. Simply say, for example, “Update my note toothbrush, deodorant, book, tickets, camera.” If you’ve got more than one note, Siri will ask which note you’d like updated by providing a list. Either tap the one you want to update or speak its name (the first line). If you know exactly which note you’d like updated, let Siri know. “Update my note packing list charger mouse.” Finally, get a quick look at your notes by asking Siri to list your notes.

It’s not perfect. Siri cannot delete a note or share a note via email, etc. But it’s still pretty useful, gets synced with Mail and is fast. Hitting the Home button and saying, “New note hotel room number 237″ is pretty darn quick. Try it out.