iPad 2 + Smart Cover = study aid with Evernote Peek

We tend to kvell about Evernote quite a bit around here, it's true; we've even interviewed CEO Phil Libin on at least four separate occasions. If only the company would stop doing cool things so we could quit harping on them!

No luck on that score, at least not today. Evernote claims to have introduced the "first iPad Smart Cover app" with Evernote Peek, a study aid and test prep app. It's a fantastically simple idea, so much so that it's surprising nobody has done it until now.

Here's the deal: populate an Evernote notebook with your clues/questions (in the note subject) and brief answers (the note body, including pictures if you want), or use one of the preformatted notebooks from Evernote and StudyBlue. Then, run Peek and peek under the first flap of the Smart Cover to expose the question; unfold the rest of the way to see if you got the answer right. Check off correct/incorrect so you can retest yourself on the ones you got wrong.

It's ingenious, and it works -- although the app instructions suggest turning off Auto-Lock for the Smart Cover, on my iPad that actually prevented the peeks from registering; it worked better with Auto-Lock left active. I can't think of an easier (or cheaper) way to build out quick, effective iPad flash cards for any topic under the sun. Since Evernote supports shared notebooks, it's simple for teachers or tutors to give students access to class-specific materials.

Prepare yourself for libraries and classrooms filled with the distinctive 'kerp' sound of Smart Cover front edges hitting iPad screens. You'll be hearing it a lot.