Several months ago, Phil and I were sitting in a plane playing around with the just-released iPad 2. Of all its features, the thing that floored us was the ingenious Smart Cover. It didn’t seem like an accessory so much as an extension of the device. As we sat there opening and closing the cover, a question struck us: could we use the cover to control an app that would make Evernote even more useful?

Turns out, the answer is yes. We give you Evernote Peek, the world’s first Smart Cover app. Available now.

What is Evernote Peek?

Evernote Peek is a free app designed to help you study, learn and strengthen your memory. Interacting with Peek is pretty intuitive. Once you’ve connected Peek to your Evernote account and selected your study materials, you simply close the Smart Cover and peek under it to see a clue. Raise the cover further to reveal the answer. To advance to the next clue, just close the cover and repeat.

It’s totally new, and yet feels as familiar as lifting a page.

Study your own notes and more

Peek turns your Evernote notebooks into instant study materials. When you launch the app, tap the Add button and sign into Evernote. The app will then display two tabs of notebooks. The first tab contains published notebooks provided by Evernote and StudyBlue. The second tab contains your personal Evernote notebooks. Select the notebook to add it to Peek. Once the notebook has been downloaded, tap on it, close the Smart Cover, and peek to start.

Creating great learning materials
Creating quizzes and study guides for Peek is simple. Go to Evernote and make a new notebook. Then, make some notes. The note titles will become the clues and the note bodies will be the answers. For best results, keep your title to around 50 characters and the body to 250.

Keeping score
Whenever you get a question wrong, tap the checkbox labeled Incorrect. You’ll be able to retest those questions later.

Quick iPad adjustments
There are two quick iPad adjustments that we recommend. First, turn up your iPad brightness to about 75%. Second, turn off your iPad’s auto-lock. Now, start studying.

Peek is perfect for…

Use Peek to brush up on a language, prepare for a test or remember a recipe. Want to keep track of people you met at a conference? Put their names into the note title and company into the note body in Evernote, then quiz yourself in Peek. Going on a trip? Make a notebook of the places you’re visiting with some information about each location, then go through it in Peek. The possibilities for this app are endless.

What do you think?

Building Peek was a fun project for us. We’re very curious to hear what you think. Let us know in the comments.

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