Google’s Recently Launched ‘Keep’ Service vs Evernote

The modern-day technology realm is a veritable jungle – numerous entities compete amongst themselves but only a lion can dethrone another. That’s precisely the challenge Google have thrown with the release of their “Keep” application that seeks to topple current market favorite “Evernote” from its throne.

So how do the two note-taking programs stack up against each other? And which should finally you opt for? The answers are below.

Compatibility:

Google’s Keep, at the moment, is only compatible with the Android operating system and that too only iteration 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and higher. Users habituated to other platforms will definitely consider this as a limitation.

Evernote, meanwhile, is a fully functional annotation software that conveniently works with all popular mobile operating systems be it Android, iOS, or Windows.

Look and Interface:

Keep has a refreshing interface that looks nice and is easy to operate. The interface neatly arranges your various annotations in both list and grid modes making navigation and execution simple. What’s more, one can change the background color of one’s annotations just like conventional sticky notes.

Evernote’s interface does not appear as prepossessing as Keep’s but this can be attributed to the slew of on-screen and other features that the program offers (described later).

Features:

At the outset, both Keep and Evernote embed some common facets such as the abilities to compose notes, record sound, facilitate dictation, use Android widgets, and take photographs.
Apart from the facets stated above and the design features mentioned earlier, Keep offers:

• An Android lock-screen widget to help formulate notes and render dictation.
• Compatibility with Google’s “Drive” online service. You can use Drive’s desktop facilities as also its competency to format text via Google documents.
• The capacity to transfer notes on to emails and social media posts such as Facebook or Twitter.

Conversely, with Evernote, you get a slew of additional attributes:

• Evernote incorporates plug-ins that can be used with all reputable browsers; these plug-ins handily allow you to grab web page content and transfer the same on to your annotations.
• Evernote facilitates social sharing in the real sense – it enables you to post a distinct link easily for the online community to share.
• Through the Evernote web browser extension, you can effortlessly (via the “copy” command) engender a note containing your favorite link – text and all.
• You can make folders thus making note-taking orderly and uncomplicated.
• You can format your text and even font in a number of ways.
• Unlike Keep, images can be directly downloaded from the internet via their unique URLs.
• You have the prerogative to configure tags.
• Sorting and listing your annotations by name and date is easily accomplished.
• You can view data pertaining to geographical location.
• Evernote also importantly entrenches a desktop application that promotes offline use. With it, working with and transferring content from your personal computer is a breeze – even without the internet.

External Support:

As Keep is a new service, third-party support is not built in.
On the other hand, Evernote is armed with potent external assistance in the form of:

• Applications such as Skitch (lets you capture screen content across multiple operating systems), Kustom Note, and Penultimate (an iPad annotation application).
• Plug-ins.
• Other online tools and services.

The aforementioned third-party add-ons decidedly increase Evernote’s overall resourcefulness and worth.

Conclusion: Google’s Keep is admittedly a welcome inclusion with a cheery interface and fuss-free executing being its universal selling points. But it is ultimately Evernote that still rules over the note-taking world with its gamut of features and all-embracing versatility.