First thoughts on Google Keep Google Keep makes a good first impression. But I have several reasons ...

First thoughts on Google KeepGoogle Keep makes a good first impression. But I have several reasons to hold back before committing to it, even apart from the fact that I'm already using satisfactory alternatives. 1. For me, the killer PIM combines free-form text, tags, boolean searching, and mobile access. I used to love Info Select, but it fails on the last criterion. I like Evernote, but it's weaker than it could be on tags and boolean searching. (It supports both but clumsily.) GK is a real contender here. Even the first launch version covers all four bases pretty well.I can easily add hashtags within my GK notes. So far, so good. But I must be able to search for them. Here's where GK needs a tweak. I want searches for #string and string to differ. This is crucial. If a search engine doesn't distinguish #string from string and let me search for the former without grabbing the latter, then it doesn't really support tags. The web version of GK clears this hurdle, but the mobile versions don't. Or, the web version makes tag searches easy, and the mobile versions make them hard by requiring quotation marks around search strings with hashtags. (Adding quotation marks slows down power users even on a full-size keyboard; it's a flow killer on a mobile keyboard.)   First, this is just plain odd. Why don't the different platforms use the same search syntax and functionality? Second, it's irksome. I can use GK at full-strength through my browser, but not at full-strength from my phone or tablet. Third, it's ominous. Google is likely to make the GK search syntax and functionality uniform across platforms in due time. But will it raise up the search power of the mobile apps, or drag down the power of the web app? Until I know, I can't think about committing.2. For me, committing to a PIM means committing hundreds or thousands of notes. So far, GK doesn't have the interface to support that kind of abundance. I can view my notes in list mode or tile mode. But even in list mode, each note is full size. GK distinguishes note titles from note bodies, but doesn't offer list mode for titles alone. It may be coming soon, but it's not here yet, and until it arrives there's no telling whether GK will scale.3. I love the manual reordering feature in the mobile apps (long press, then drag-and-drop). Not even Evernote has that. But there's no equivalent on the browser version of GK. What gives?4. URLs in GK notes do not become active links. WTF? This is so elementary that Google will probably fix it soon. But how could Google launch a note app that doesn't treat URLs as links? [See the update in the comment section below.]5. Finally, unfortunately, I agree with +Om Malik, +James Fallows, +Ezra Klein and others. Even if I like GK, can I trust it? If I can't trust it, can I commit to it?http://gigaom.com/2013/03/22/more-on-why-i-wont-use-google-keep-its-not-personal-its-business/http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/print/2013/03/a-problem-google-has-created-for-itself/274232/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/21/googles-trust-problem/Will Google make a public statement to address these concerns?#googlekeep #pim  

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. Unf...