By Nathan Olivarez-Giles, Wired
March 21, 2013 -- Updated 1507 GMT (2307 HKT) | Filed under: Mobile
(Wired) -- Android users, take note: Google Keep — a long-overdue app for creating lists and reminders — has arrived.
Keep is essentially Google's answer to Evernote and the Post-It. Believe it or not, while Apple's iOS has had a Notes app and a Reminders app baked in for some time now, Keep is Google's first mobile app focused on solving either of these problems.
As you'd expect, Keep is integrated with Google Drive, the cloud storage service Google wants anyone who uses anything it makes to use. You can type out a reminder or list using the Keep Android app, which landed in Google Play on Wednesday (after leaking for a bit Monday), or on the web at drive.google.com/keep.
Aside from tapping out a note, you can also store photos in the app, and you can record voice notes, which Keep then transcribes into text, so you can read or listen to them later.
If you snap a photo in the app, you can then edit it using all of Android's built-in camera features (cropping, color balancing, photo filters and borders). Using Android's sharing features, you share a photo by e-mail, text messaging, Picasa, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Path, Dropbox and even Amazon's Send to Kindle feature.
This being a Google product, there's also a search function, so you can find the Keeps you kept, and you can color code what you've got in a variety of hues. The app sorts everything in a style that is reminiscent of Pinterest or Pocket. It looks great and it's super easy to use.
Want to move a reminder to the top of your mosaic? Just drag and drop, and tap to get in and edit. You can also archive or delete any reminder once you're done with it. It's all pretty painless and feels like something Google should have offered up years ago.
Keep is only compatible with phones and tablets running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or newer, and as of now, there are no Keep apps for iOS, Windows Phone or any other mobile operating systems. If the app takes off (and it should, because it works well and looks fantastic), then we'd guess that a Keep app on iOS is only a matter of time.
After all, Gmail, Drive, Maps, Translate, Earth, YouTube, Field Trip and even Currents can all be found on iOS.
For those using Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, Google has also built a Keep widget, which can be placed on your Android homescreen, or on your phone or tablet's lock screen, which would enable users to add a reminder without even having to unlock their device.
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