A new note taking service from Google called Google Keep briefly saw the light of day yesterday before being taken down again shortly after it was discovered. The discovery was originally made by the 1E100 and with several screenshots having surfaced thanks to Android Police.
Google Keep allows clipping of information from the Internet in much the same way as alternative services do and seems to be Google Notebook brought back from the dead. Currently it seems a much more limited service than its potential rivals, only allowing notes and lists to be saved and colour-coded. To get to the service the URL http://drive.google.com/keep/ was used, but this now gives a 404. What this does show, however, is that it will integrate with Google Drive for its storage.
Along with the normal web view a mobile version was available when browsed from a mobile web browser
Google Keep viewed from a mobile browser
Evidence of an Android app for the new service has also been discovered by going to the short url http://g.co/keep which redirects to a non-existing app on the Google Play store.
This also isn’t the first time Google Keep has been seen either. Who remembers this Google+ post from Google Search where an ‘Add to Google Keep’ link can be seen at the bottom of the right image? https://plus.google.com/u/0/+google/posts/Hd2UvuoUHb3
Its likely this will be hugely developed before it officially gets released and I’d expect Chrome extensions and maybe even integration with ChromeOS at that time.
With the recent demise of the Google Reader service, you have to ask if its worth using a new service from Google. As an Android user I certainly like the ease of using Google services, but do I want to start using a service that might one day be culled requiring me to find an alternative? Or is it simpler to just start with the alternative now?
Granted the alternative service might go out of service one day too, but I have been burned a couple of times already when it comes to Google services I used.
Source: Android Police & 1E100
Now back on the play store, just downloaded