For the record, we use a variety of note taking apps here at The Flickcast. The most popular, though, is Evernote.

It works well and offers a lot of features. It does cost money, however. Now Google has released its new note taking app and its simplicity (and the fact that it’s free) has piqued our curiosity, to say the least.

The new app is called Google Keep and it looks very promising. It allows you to make notes, add pictures, checklists and even take notes by voice, and all of it is securetly synched to your Google Drive in the cloud.

At the moment, you can access the notes, pictures, and more with the new app or on any computer from the webpage they have set up. Full integration with Google Drive is expected shortly.

Sadly, this new app does have one big drawback, at least for some: It’s currently Android only. We can only hope an iOS version is forthcoming. . . soon. Until then, it can’t really be a viable alternive to a lot of users.

More on Google Keep from the official video after the break.

Even though Apple’s iPad won’t officially be available until Saturday, April 3rd, that doesn’t mean you can’t stock up on all those cool iPad application right now. Plus, the iBooks appication is available now as well. You can go to iTunes and browse hundreds of Apps designed specifically for the iPad, buy them, download them and have them ready and waiting  for your iPad’s arrival on Saturday.

Some of the coolest Apps I’ve seen so far include a few we already mentioned yesterday such as the ones from Netflix and ABC. Plus, here’s a list of a few more that I’ve already downloaded and have at the ready for tomorrow.

• The USA Today, New York Times Editors Choice, NPR and AP News applications. Each of these allows you to browse news and videos on the iPad. Free.

• Marvel Comics. Hey, who wants to read your favorite Marvel titles on the iPad? Who doesn’t? Free. Comics cost $1.99.

• StumbleUpon. Share links to your favorite sites using your StumbleUpon account. Free.

• NetNewsWire. The best RSS reader for the Mac is now on the iPad. $10.00.