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March 20, 2013

Google Keep, Now Available

Google Keep has been launched: it's Google's latest attempt to create a service for taking notes. Unlike Google Notebook, Keep is a Google Drive app (the Drive integration is not yet ready for public release), it doesn't have a rich-text editor and it's optimized for mobile.

There's an Android app and a desktop site. Both use the sticky notes metaphor and you can choose the color for each note, add text, images, lists and voice recordings that are automatically converted to text in the mobile app. Both interfaces let you choose between the grid view and the list view.



Google Keep lacks many of the features that were available in Google Notebook: labels, sorting, comments, multiple notebooks, rich-text editor, sharing. It looks like a lightweight Google Notebook for mobile devices.

"With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what's important to you. Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand," informs Google.

It's likely that each Google Keep note will be a file in Google Drive, so you'll be able to share it with other people, add it to a folder, download it etc.

For now, Google Keep is the only Google Drive service that has more features in the Android app than in the desktop interface.


{ Thanks, Sterling. }

33 comments:

  1. "Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive" as long as we decide to shut it down :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More :( for me.

      The LAST THING I would do is start using another Google cool-but-probably-not-profitable service.

      I've got too much data at Google, and my trust is gone.

      Delete
    2. And they are gonna shut down Picasa soon.

      Delete
    3. BTW now I'm feeling happy because now I'm free form Google Reader's grips and happy with FeedDemon. The author or FeedDemon is going to release a last version of the software near the end of Google Reader.

      Delete
    4. no, thanks, I don't want a PDF with all my notes in 4 years time or some other great Google Checkout

      at least this time they've called it Keep, making it trivial to make jokes when the service is cancelled

      Delete
    5. Google Drive isn't going anywhere. It's based on Google Docs, which has developed a very large and active user base.

      Delete
  2. Needs more contrast between some of the background colors and the text

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  3. The "Desktop" site is actually a responsive site that works well on mobiles

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  4. Soooo..... does that mean that Google Tasks will eventually go the way of Reader?

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  5. I, with countless others, used to be a big fan of Google Notebook, but no number of angry or wailing posts could reverse Google short-sighted decision to kill it in 2009 (http://googlenotebookblog.blogspot.be/2009/01/stopping-development-on-google-notebook.html). So now they are starting with Google Keep? Good luck to them. I won't be fooled to feed my data to yet another of their system once again just to have it migrate away in a hurry a few years later. I am also stopping to use the excellent but dormant Google Tasks... I am sure it will be executed soon as well. No more trust in Google services.

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    Replies
    1. As much as it pains me to admit, but I agree...

      Delete
    2. I saw the post on Google Keep on my feed on Reader, so I posted it over on G+ with about the same thought. What did it take the success of Evernote for Google to realize - Gee... maybe people want to take notes after all? I'm still using Google Tasks, but it also has crossed my mind that they'll probably deep-six it also... especially the cool create a task from email function. At least when Google got rid of Notebook they pointed folks to Docs... but with Reader, they're just kicking people completely out of the Google-Sphere. I think G+ is great, but it doesn't replace the functionality of a RSS reader. Why doesn't Google just save everybody the unnecessary angst and keep Reader around until they figure out the solution that fits into their grand vision. All they are doing now is pissing off their most ardent customers...

      Delete
    3. "All they are doing now is pissing off their most ardent customers..." Google can ask HTC how this same strategy worked for them

      Delete
    4. I agree...never again will i trust this company with my crap.

      Delete
  6. why bother. just give me #Reader, i will be happy again.

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  7. "This app is incompatible with your phone" >_>

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  8. Won't use this service, Google turned into an unreliable company with the reader fiasco...

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  9. Did anybody found it in Chrome Web-store?

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  10. ooookay. so i'm staying at evernote. nothing beats it.

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    Replies
    1. Evernote - millions of features than 90% don't use. Why we to know a tons of stuff just to take notes?

      Delete
  11. I will not use it. I have lost trust in Google with anything other than their core business, i.e. search as for the rest it is questionable. Evernote works and of course notes is that companies core business.

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  12. No thank you: I used google notes, google marks, igoole, google reader... and lost my time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I think soon Google Bookmarks, Picasa, Calendar will also go. Just my prediction.

      Delete
  13. Google let me down with notebook and now the appalling decision with with reader. Their fickleness is causing trust to waver. One has to conclude that this is just a short term app and will be killed off down the road.

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  14. Yes, Keep is so far an online notepad. Nothing close to our dear Notebook, which I used as knowledge base.

    Nevertheless, why shouldn't I just use Doc then?

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  15. +1 for not trusting Google to actually, er, retain the Keep service.

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  16. Do you remember Google NoteBook ? -> http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/09/02/google-notebook-to-be-shut-down-all-existing-notebooks-to-be-moved-to-google-docs/ #2010 !

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  17. This can be a really great App except that since the launch, I have lost two most recent notes. One was last Tuesday 26 Mar when I was taking a lot of notes on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. When I came home and wanted to read it, most of what I had written down was missing.

    Today, 3 days later, I was pasting a few items into a new note and a few minutes later, as I was going to review what I had pasted, the entire note was missing ?

    Is there some history file somewhere, where I can retrieve such lost notes.

    If this goes on, the Google Keep is not a Keeper.

    I may have to revert back to Gnotes.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sticky Notes is currently not available to you Sticky Notes is at display not open to you – What to do if Sticky Notes application would reestablish a slip-up like "Check your record, Sticky Notes is starting at now not available to you". The notice showing check your record suggested somethings else. Here you need to take after advances irregular with checking our record.

    ReplyDelete

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