Google Keep - Notes and Lists for Android
Editors' Review
by
Clifford Colby
/ May 15, 2018
Android's Google Keep lets you take notes, create lists, make drawings, create voice recordings, and store images. You may then access everything across Android and iPhone as well as through Gmail, Keep's webpage, and an extension for Chrome.
Pros
Create and edit notes: With the Google Keep app, you can create notes, assign a title, and add images. If you are creating a list, you can include checkboxes. To edit a note or list, just tap the item and start typing. And you can use the search field to hunt for items in Keep.
Keep more than text: You can add photos or voice recordings (and dictate a note), capture Web content and URLs, and create a drawing using Keep's drawing tools, which include a pen, marker, highlighter, and eraser. You can also change the size and color of a drawing tool by double-tapping it.
Access Keep across platforms and share with others: Along with the Android version, Keep is available on iOS, through its webpage, in the Gmail side panel (along with Calendar and Tasks), and as a Chrome extension. From Keep, you can copy a note or list to Google Docs. You can also share a note with a collaborator.
Create labels, change note colors, and set reminders: The app does a nice job of displaying and organizing your notes on your phone's screen in either a single-column or multi-column view. To edit a note or mark something as done on a list, tap the note. You can add labels to your notes to group your ideas, and assign colors to visually organize notes. You can also create reminders for notes based on time and location, so that Keep will show your reminder when you are near that location.
SEE: Best to-do list apps of 2018 for managing tasks on any platform
Cons
Can get a bit disorderly: If you keep just a handful of notes, Keep does a nice job of displaying them, almost like notes on a corkboard. But with lots of note cards, it can feel overwhelming.
Lacks richer formatting tools: You can't change fonts or change text styles.
Bottom Line
For an easy way to keep notes and lists, Google Keep for Android is up to the task. While it lacks some of the powerful organizational and formatting tools found in other note-taking apps, it is perfect for making note of your ideas.
