Note-taking app Google Keep launched one week after Google Reader axe
Google has launched Android and web app Google Keep to much dismay, just one week after Google Reader was axed.
The note-taking app has allowed users to keep checklists and voice notes and annotate photos, competing directly with similar apps such as Evernote, which has 15 million users, and Microsoft’s OneNote.
Announcing the new product on its company blog, Google said: “Every day we all see, hear or think of things we need to remember. Usually we grab a pad of sticky-notes, scribble a reminder and put it on the desk, the fridge or the relevant page of a magazine.
“Unfortunately, if you’re like me you probably often discover that the desk, fridge or magazine wasn’t such a clever place to leave the note after all... it’s rarely where you need it when you need it. To solve this problem we’ve created Google Keep.”
Across the internet many have been critical of Google’s latest launch. Silicone Valley news site Pandodaily.com said in an article entitled “Google dances on Reader’s grave with Google Keep” that “from a purely technical perspective Keep seems to be a promising alternative to services like Evernote and Simplenote”.
However: “The problem isn’t really technical… Google has lost the trust of Reader users who depended on the service for years, investing their time and attention… in Google’s product only to have it “killed” once the company decided to move on.”
Meanwhile Yahoo!'s Rebecca Greenfield said that "there is a lingering worry that like other beloved products (ahem: Reader) Google might go ahead and kill this one off someday, too."