Evernote has been the dominating Note-taking application for a few years now as it is simple to use, synchronsies across everything quickly and has some nice features to make organising, finding and taking notes better. However, Google recently released a Note-taking application which could really knock Evernote off it’s throne. But is Evernote the service that Google Keep is trying to knock off their throne or are they aiming for simpler note taking applications such as SimpleNote and other quick note taking services?
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I don’t believe Google were trying to beat Evernote when they thought of making Keep, one reason is that Evernote has created such a vast business and mastered the Note-taking genre so well that Google Keep wouldn’t even be in contention, the other reason is that I don’t believe that’s been Google’s flow lately. Lately, Google have been working hard to make every application they bring out to be simple, but work the way you want it work. They don’t overflow you with information anymore, all their apps work and look relatively the same and they just do what people expect them to do. Keep is to quickly jot a note, quickly take a picture or to quickly make a checklist, it is for nothing else and despite this, I still believe it has a place along side Evernote on my phone and in my life.
I will be talking about both the Android Application and the Online Browser service at www.drive.com/keep. I want to talk about both as this is what makes Keep a little better than if it were just a simple application or a simple Online programme.
Google have obviously stuck to their Holo Design ethic with this application and have gone with what appears to be their new design style which is the Google Now cards look which is a look I find is probably the most beautiful style out there in terms of mobile applications right now. Keep, Currents and Google Now all use this style and I can see this being a big thing at Google I/O 13 with “Key Lime Pie” Android. The application scrolls smoothly as you’d expect from a native Google application. The app is very simple with a search option and your three-dotted menu button at the top, your option of note style in the next row and then the notes themselves in the final row.
In terms of functionality within Google Keep, you can either bash out a quick note, which has no title and is usually meant for some small and sweet; you can start a proper note that can have a title and the note itself, you can create a checklist which which you can also format if you begin to write a listing another note by hitting options and then hitting ‘Show Checkboxes’ and it’ll automatically add checkboxes for each paragraph, you can make a note using the voice dictation and finally you can take a picture and save that with a note. These are four very simple tools and there’s nothing especially great about these options, but as I mentioned earlier, I don’t think Google wanted or needed to do anything with this application. What makes this application good is that they all work SO quickly, you can get into the app (via the widget) take a note and leave the note (excluding typing time) in around 5 seconds which is JUST what people want for quick-notes.
Other functionality you get with Google Keep as a service is the option to colour-code your notes which is something I wouldn’t usually use, but seeing as I’m just beginning, I think it’s something I’ll try. My current colour code is: YouTube-related notes are Red, Blog related notes are Blue and that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far as the app hasn’t been out long enough for me to have added many different notes.
Now, there are a couple of things I think that Google Keep could do with including just to round off the application to make it an application a lot more people would appreciate. My first suggestion would be to include a Notebook-type system similar to what Evernote have in place where you have your different Categories of notes. I, for example, have Notebooks for College, YouTube, Blogs, General, Quotes and memorable moments, Football Manager specific things (not too sure which I have this) and then Pub Ratings as I like to review stuff and we visit quite a few restaurant pubs in Norfolk so I thought I’d review them. A system like this for Google Keep would make notes easier to manage. My second suggestion would make the application almost two applications in one, but it would be nice if it could incorporate Google tasks as well. I currently have a Google Tasks application that I use for quick reminders of TV Shows I wanna watch, homework I need to do, reminders to pick up birthday presents and other general reminders. I believe if Google Keep could include this within it’s Checklist system or could add in a “Due By” to each note then this would increase my use of the app as a productivity utility. Then these reminders could synchronise with your Google Calendar also so that they appeared on your calendar. Think I’m onto something here!
Despite the aforementioned suggestions, there are a few things I especially love about the application and the service itself. A little feature I like within the app is that to archive an application (not delete, archive) you just swipe the note off to the left or the right. Another feature I like is that you don’t have to worry about hitting synchronise or save and you just have to leave the note and it will automatically synchronise up with the web client.
Overall, the application is beautiful and works fast and quickly but will never be able to replace Evernote on someone’s phone or as a person’s Note-taking service unless that person only wishes to jot basic notes and is fed up of Evernote’s many options to perform this. If you’re someone who wishes to simple write something down or something who like to make Lists, then this is the application for you as it is already synchronised across the web and your mobile device so there’s no need to worry about any of that and also IT JUST WORKS.
Will Google Keep replace Evernote for you? Which do you prefer? Are you even going to give Keep a try or stick with Evernote?
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| Download Google Keep Here |
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