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Google Keep briefly teases note-taking utility for Drive, vanishes soon after
Another day, another leak from Google. As The Next Web reports, a note-collecting service called Keep was accessible on Google Drive for a short period of time last night -- and if your short-term memory is a bit cloudy, Drive itself got leaked in a similarly bizarre fashion before getting official last year. 1E100 had initially found source code, images and various links that seemed to point to Keep, which apparently went live soon after. Interestingly, while all of the links point to error pages, one redirects to a specific, unresolveable app url on Google Play. Android Police was able to snag some screenshots of the web app in action -- albeit disconnected from Drive at the time -- noting that it's reminiscent of Mountain View's late Notebook service that was killed in '09. Whether the likes of Evernote will have to worry remains to be seen, but the added functionality to Drive will certainly be appreciated -- now, how about letting us get at that Now app for iOS?
Note Anytime helps make notes easy and elegant
There are quite a few note-taking apps for the iPad, but I have to say Note Anytime has features that are compelling. Notes can be as simple as writing on a legal pad, or more complex with images, hand-drawn illustrations, diagrams and documents that can be helpful in anything from project planning to creating an ad campaign. The app is free for now, although there are a host of add-ons that range from US$0.99 to $6.99. None are necessary to use the app in powerful ways, but some may want the enhancements, like different patterns for papers or more artistic calligraphic fonts. %Gallery-167922% The app includes a series of introductory videos and extensive help, which really are needed, because to get the benefits of this app, you can't just sit down and hack away. Learning the app is a small price to pay for the power it gives you. Once you have your page or background chosen, you can start to type notes using the keyboard or you can use your finger as a pen. This is very accurate compared to other apps I've tried. The text looks like my writing, which is something I haven't seen in some other similar apps. You can import many elements to your notes, even web pages or PDFs. You can get images from your camera rol, or use the iPad camera from inside the app. You can export your notes email, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, to the photo album or print directly if you have AirPrint-compatible hardware. Some negatives: The handwriting can sometimes lag a bit, while the pixels are smoothing. I'd like to see the ability to turn my handwriting into text, perhaps as an in-app purchase. I'd also like to be able to record audio from within the app, or even shoot a quick video. As mentioned above, the app takes time to learn. It is not very intuitive, and sometimes next steps are not obvious until you've used the app awhile. That said, this app is great for note-taking during a meeting. I would have loved to have it when I was in college. If all this sparks your interest, I would grab Note Anytime while it is free. There are plenty of note-taking apps out there, most are four to five dollars or more. It's hard to describe what the notes produced can look like, so check the gallery for some screen shots. Note Anytime requires an iPad and iOS 5 or greater.
IRL: Evernote, Netgear N900 and FiiO's E17 headphone amplifier
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Best of the best, best of the worst and best thing we didn't need. Those are some ringing endorsements we've got for you in this week's IRL. On the more enthusiastic end of the spectrum there's Darren, who finally found a dual-band router with strong enough range to service all three floors of his new home. Terrence is closing in on his fourth year using Evernote, the "least bad" note-taking app of the bunch. As for James, well, has he ever met a piece of audio equipment he didn't like?
