Comments on: The Quest for the Perfect ToDo App

By: Andy Cook

Andy Cook — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:39:58 +0000

Anyone curious about Pocket Informant may be interested to hear a free version has just been released. Search for ‘Pocket Informant LITE’ in the App Store.

By: Mr P

Mr P — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:07:43 +0000

I currently use Things for the iPhone as a ToDo Manager. It is GTD based and is OK. It does allow you to move items easily, contains a Projects option and tasks due today do get moved into the Today view. The numbers of Today tasks also shows in the menu. I do have a Mac book and use that for iTunes synch but the big drawback for me is that Things for the desktop is pricey, considering it is ONLY a GTD list.

Pocket Informant looks worth a try to me as it shows the calendar (far better the iCal) AND To Do lists in one Ap and soon it will be able to synch with Outlook (which I use at work).

By: Andy Cook

Andy Cook — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:50:50 +0000

Hhmm, it would take a great deal to convince me to buy before I try but it’s a fair point about trying the web version. I’ll look into it.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to do a full review of Pocket Informant soon after the next version is released.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:30:17 +0000

Andy,

I, too, am a big believer of trying before buying, and it is currently holding me back from a number of applications, especially Pocket Informant. But, Toodledo on the web is totally free, and it can give you a good idea of how the program works. And, there are some nice reviews of the program, which, if you combine them with the screen shots of the Aapp, can give you a good idea of how it will function. One nice feature of the App is that it allows you to control which fields will be displayed on the iPod, as well as the order of their display. Check out their web site, I learned about it before having the iPod Touch, and I prefer it to others like Remember the Milk.

–Ken

By: Andy Cook

Andy Cook — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:20:16 +0000

Hi Ken and thanks for the suggestion.

I hadn’t considered Toodledo as it’s one of the many apps that would require me to buy it before being able to try it – a practice I am not a fan of.

Shame as it looks like it might be quite interesting.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:24:21 +0000

Have you considered Toodledo? Rather than moving your tasks to a different project, which you could do, you could just star them in place. The program offers you the ability to only view the starred tasks, so you get the exact same effect with less effort. Or, the program can read start and due dates, if you assign them, and give you various views of your tasks based on those criteria, something that you mentioned above that you desired. I spent a lot of time looking at task programs, and Toodledo is among the most powerful and most customizable on the iPhone/iPod Touch. and it has a web application that it synchs to as well. Very handy for entering data. You might want to give it some consideration. It was the first app that I bought, and it was money well spent.

–Ken

By: Andy Cook

Andy Cook — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:18:15 +0000

Hi Borys,

Thanks for the suggestion.

I’d have to pay for the privilege of trying OmniFocus which I consider a big no-no. I’m also not a fan of the GTD method. I know I have the choice of not using certain aspects but you’re still left with useless buttons and icons taking up precious screen space.

Also, I don’t use a Mac so that side of it wouldn’t be of any use to me but I’m sure many others will find this app suits them perfectly. Everybody’s got a slightly different idea of what constitutes their ‘perfect’ ToDo app. As I’ve said before, it’s a very personal thing, like finding clothes that fit and suit you.

By: BDSawicki

BDSawicki — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:08:04 +0000

I forgot to add: OmniFocus allows to easily move tasks from one list to another’ part.
And if you do not like adding contexts (which I, in turn, find extremely helpful), you just don’t have to.
And you also don’t have create a “Do Today” project and manually move tasks from various projects to the latter because OmniFocus does it for you: both on Mac and on iPhone you have two lists: Overdue and Due Soon – and you know what to do…

Borys

By: BDSawicki

BDSawicki — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:01:24 +0000

You should try OmniFocus by Omni Group (www.omnigroup.com).

The app is available both for Mac and iPhone, syncs perfectly via MobileMe, Bonjour etc., allows you to create numerous projects and contexts, supports recurring tasks and – most importantly – works absolutely flawless. The concept of the app is based on the Allen’s GTD method.

Frankly speaking, the application was one of the key reasons which led me to to saying good-bye to Nokia and my e90 (and its pathetic PIM) and switching to iPhone.

I needed a good task manager not only on my Mac, but also at hand (in my pocket). OmniFocus certainly excels in this respect – apart for a few functions, the iPhone app has everything the Mac one has.

Try it

By: Andy Cook

Andy Cook — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:46:50 +0000

Thanks for the suggestion Jim.

I did look at RTM and (if memory serves) I rejected it because of a combination of the ongoing cost and, from what I could see, it didn’t really suit me anyway.

Seems to be very popular though – I keep hearing it mentioned.