The long awaited iPad app from Appigo has finally been released – Todo for iPad.

Appigo Todo for iPad Takes Advantage of the iPad’s Large Screen by Presenting a Planner-like Interface for Managing To-do Lists and Tasks. Todo for iPad is Now Available on the iPad App Store at a Special Introductory Price – $4.99

Let’s face it the iPad screams productivity(to some). Persoanlly we love productivity apps – anything that makes our life a little easier to manage. Oh yes, did we forget to mention the colored paper/themes you can change in the app?

Pros:
-Unlimited sources to be checked (as many RSS feeds as you want etc.)
-Notification response time is very reasonable.
-100 free notifications (before “unlocking” the application)

Cons:
-App navigation could be better
-Notifications appear in app all bunched up, no way to mark as read.
-Must edit settings in a browser. (opens op Safari.app)
-No RSS feed search

FREE

[iTunes Link]

I’ve never regularly used an RSS reader, because I would add a lot of feeds, then when I’d open it, I had all these things to read and that little number badge would be in the hundreds staring at me from my springboard. I happen to be one of those people that if there’s a number badge on an app, then it needs to be resolved immediately. So I deleted the app. Resolved, right?!? Not exactly what should be done…

Getting back to the app- The resolution to my issue was using the Notifications app. This allowed me to set up certain RSS feeds to be checked and Push notifications to be sent to me. Notifications doesn’t only do push for RSS, but Twitter, Gmail, and if you know how to code, then these are some bits of code that you can utilize on your website. So the app applies to both beginner & advanced iPhone users.

The app itself is quite simple. The main page consists of all the notifications you have received to date & the settings page, which allows you to check latency, to test sending push notifications to yourself and to show you which services you have enabled.

My main issue with this app was determining how to enter my feeds & Twitter searches so that it would send me the notifications. I ended up doing a Google search for the company and finding a login page (that I first registered for) and logged in to be able to edit my notifications.
I really don’t understand why they couldn’t add a button in the settings pane that opens up an IN-APP BROWSER! Mind you, the website is mobile formatted; however, the blanks you type into are not, so it is a bit catty-whompus.

Right now I have about some 30 feeds that Notifications checks for me and one Twitter search. While their website states that the notification come instantly, I noticed that it can take from instantly to 15 minutes before you receive notification. A nice little feature I noticed on the web was the ability to open up a pre-selected iPhone Twitter app when you received a Twitter notification.

Overall, the service is great. If you are looking for a solid RSS application with PUSH, then this is NOT the app for you. If you don’t care much about the app itself & its UI, then you should be just fine purchasing this app. The one main thing I’d really like to see improved is the app itself – to have the capability to marked notifications as read or unread & the ability to sort into categories would be an added bonus.

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Snapdat is a creative app that allows an user to send digital business cards to people. The receiver, by email obtains a digital picture of the business card as well as a vCard attachment for importing into their address book. This is a handy application to have when you are caught off guard and don’t have a business card on hand. Using a “SnapID” you can share your cards with other Snapdat users and retain a directory of all the cards you have received. The receiver does not need an account with Snapdat in order to receive one. [Free - iTunes link]

Cons
-In doc viewer, tapping bottom of screen makes doc auto scroll, can be annoying at times
-Has trouble handling large documents (for me, some files over about 8MB crashed the app)
-Viewing *.xls (or of the like) documents doesn’t always format correctly
-Viewing *.ppt (or of the like) format into one long page

4.1/5

OVERALL

In my opinion the Pros out weigh the Cons and the price tag of $9.99 is completely worth it. To have the ability of getting my document on my hand held and having them at my finger tips is worth it. I was on a film set when I was asked to operate a Sony F900 camera. Luckily, I was able to go to a website using the browser interface and download the manual on my iPhone and had the ability to quickly skim through it and figure out how to use the camera.

ReaddleDocs is a document viewer that basically covers all the ways of getting the document onto you iPhone – so there is no way that you cannot have your documents on hand.

When you purchase ReaddleDocs, you also receive 512MB of storage space on their server. This allows you to upload any documents to the server via any browser and then sync them with you iPhone via any data connection (EDGE/3G/WIFI).
When you tap on the “Online” tab, you select the server you want to connect to and then you have the ability to sync with the server so that any new documents that you have retrieved via the web (on the server) will backup to your iPhone.

Besides using your Readdle Storage space, you can also connect to your MobileMe iDisk or connect to a WebDAV enabled server.

A second way of getting documents onto your iPhone is by forwarding your attached document in an e-mail to you ReaddleDocs e-mail address (given to you when you create your online account). Then, again, you sync you iPhone with your account.

A third way, is to use the built-in browser and navigate to a document then tap on a button to download the document to your iPhone.

A fourth and final way is to transfer the documents from your computer to your iPhone via WiFi.

When viewing your documents, you can edit them – delete, move, create folders, rename folders, rename documents, mail documents, and add a document to a zip achieve.

All documents that can normally be viewed on the iPhone can be viewed via this application as well.

I really like the icons that it uses to represent the type of file
(red icon for pdf files, blue icon to doc files, etc.)

INTERFACE

Within the app you can view all your documents, view your online documents (through whichever server,) use the browser, view recently opened files and adjust settings for the app.

I think for the most part those screen are self-explanatory.

I also like the document “reader” interface. When viewing files such as *.doc, *.rtf, the viewer is simple – you can scroll through your document like you would in the iPhone document viewer, however, you have and “add” button at the top, which allows you to insert bookmarks for that document. I find this incredibly convenient when reading a large document or e-book. The toolbar at the bottom of the screen allows you to view and edit bookmarks, e-mail the document, scroll through a document quickly using the slider and a full screen button.

If you turn the iPhone to the landscape position, it automatically goes to full-screen and rotates the document accordingly.

When viewing an *.xls document, you have all the same features as above. At the top of the document, you can change between the sheets. You might also notice that when switching between sheets, arrows will appear at the bottom of the screen. These arrows are much like the arrows you would use in the browser.

When viewing images, you can view them much like you would in your photo reel, just tap the arrows to move through the pictures within that folder. You can also mail the documents via this image viewer.

Besides viewing and retrieving documents, you can also view the device photos (which might prove a faster way of delete picture on your iPhone if you have to do it that way.)

SETTINGS

In the setting screen, you have the ability to view or hide the “device photos” folder, setup mail settings – mail from and mail signature; allow WiFi network drive and apply username and password; several different viewing options including “view HTML as book”; you can also enable a passcode lock; and setup the document encoding.

ISSUES ENCOUNTERED

• There is no way to move the images to your iPhone photo reel or set as wallpaper functions, while the picture is on my iPhone in a sense, I cannot actually do anything with it unless I email it to myself and do it that way. I don’t always have a data connection when I am traveling so it would be nice to move the images over to do what I wish with them.
• When viewing the a PowerPoint document, the slides seems to form one large “page” (see screen shot).

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Intro:
In the past few weeks I have been testing 7 ToDo applications – Things, Appigo’s ToDo, Toodledo, Done, Zenbe Lists, Ultimate ToDos, and Firetask.
I kept restrictions of the SDK in mind, meaning if the SDK doesn’t allow it and the app doesn’t have that ability, it’s not seen as a negative. For instance, people in the AppStore tend to rate negatively because some apps do not have reminders, well Apple’s SDK prevents developers from allowing this.

Note: Some of the Embedded video files are quite large and may take some time to load, use the mobile version if you want a faster loading video.

Overall I found it quite difficult to compare each of them, so rather I reviewed them on an individual bases. They all have the advantages and disadvantages and personally I don;t think there is one that has everything. Really where one app leaves something out, another app has.

Personally I wanted the following in my ToDo app:

• Sync (not at additional cost)
• Sleek/non-confusing interface
• sub-tasks
• due-date
• priority

When I first began looking at the applications, I was confused by how they operated. I come from a long line of palm devices and I was used to writing the ToDo down, categorizing it, prioritizing it, setting a due date if necessary and then checking it off when I was done with it. I wasn’t used to all the terms “Inbox” or “Hotlist.” Some of the apps follow the GTD layout (Getting Things Done layout.) Toodledo has a good write up on the topic and I recommend you take a look at it before purchasing a Todo application that uses that type of layout. Frankly, I suggest reading it in conjunction with this round robin. I will refer to it a few times, but I will write as if you know what GTD is.

Rank in AppStore (as of 2-6-08)

1. Things (Paid)
2. Todo (Paid)
3. Toodledo (Paid)
4. Zenbe (Paid)
5. Ultimate Todos (Paid/ Temp. Free)
6. Done (Paid)
7. Firetask (Paid)

Let’s get to the point. How do these rank in my opinion?

1. Todo
2. Things
3. Toodledo
4. Done
5. Ultimate ToDo
6. Firetask
7. Zenbe Lists

The one that comes closest to the above criteria is Appigo’s “ToDo”, then in second is Culture Code’s “Things” I really wish I could mix “Things” simplicity and projects with “ToDo’s” ability to have Toodledo syncing, multiple customization options and quick task inputting.

While this is my personal opinion, you might find a better app suited for you. In the following posts, I will try to describe the best ToDo application suited for certain people. I have separated each app into a different post.

Pros:
-Quick entry
-Optional sync on start-up
-Can set tasks as repeatable
-Change type of Todo to make task easier.
-Sync with Toodledo, iCal (via Appigo’s software,) or Remember the Milk.

Cons:
-Can’t add new task from any screen
-Can only filter lists by one context at a time.
-Cannot lookup email address when adding an email in the type of task
-No project type tasks/ sub-tasks
-’Feels’ cluttered when viewing tasks

Appigo’s is one of the top three Todo application at the current time of this review. The application offers numerous options to its users while offering a good solid todo application. The applications also follows the GTD concept and layout, but can be modified to your needs if you wish.

*Note: When I refer to “the main screen” I am referring to the screen titled “Lists” as that is the top most screen you can be at.

One of the first things I noticed was that when you open the application it syncs with Toodledo (if & after you set it up) I thought this was nice as it constantly keeps my ToDo’s up to date. I however, soon realized this wasn’t the greatest thing as you cannot open the application and quickly enter a new task, instead you have to wait for it to finish syncing before you can add a new task and the time span for me is about 11 seconds for it to sync over the Edge connection for about 13 tasks. Which can be a major turn off if you are in a hurry. This of course can be turned off so that you can manually sync whenever you want – there is is a sync button that can be tapped on the main screen for easily syncing when you want to (I recommend the manual sync).

From the main screen you can view “All” your tasks, your “Focus” list, and your “Inbox” list. You also have the option of viewing the tasks by the lists they are in, some examples are – Home, Personal, School, etc.

At the bottom of the main screen you have the Sync icon, the “@” icon which stands for the the Contexts screen. There you can edit and filter via the contexts. Only one context filter can be viewed at a time.
The third icon is a Tag Icon and allows you to filter your tasks by selecting one or multiple tags. There is also a text box at the top for easy addition of a new tag.

The fourth icon is a Magnifying Glass which allows you to enter keywords to search for a task. A really nice feature for someone that has a lot of Todo’s.

The last and fifth icon are a set of Gears and links to the settings screen. Here you can choose whether or not to view Completed tasks, edit the default sorting, change general settings such as the app badge, list filters, and new task defaults. You can also adjust how the focus list appears and how you wish to sync and with what service (Appigo’s software, Toodledo, or Remember the Milk.) Under the settings screen you can also view some general information about your device and the app.

On the main screen (lists) by tapping the “+” icon adds a new list not a new task. To enter a new task you have to be in one of the list views. Of you exit the application while in one of the lists, you place will be remembered. So you will not necessarily start in the same place each time.

Each of the lists looks the same as the other as far as the buttons go at the top and at the bottom of the screen as well as the format.

The tasks are automatically sorted by your predefined sorting option (as set in the app settings,) which, for me is set by Priority then Due Date. At the top right hand corner you have two buttons – the first allows you to quickly enter a new task in-line of viewing your tasks. It only allows you to enter the title and then is stored in your default list (for me, it’s my Inbox list.) the right button allows you to add a new task with more options (for when you have more time in adding a task.) You type in the title and then th change the type is you wish – Normal, Call a Contact, Email a Contact, Visit a Location, or Visit a Website.

Depending on which type of ToDo you pick, the new task input screen will change.

For a “Normal” ToDo (my default and I also don’t edit the type) I then tap done and I am taken to another screen that allows my to edit the due date, due time, whether to make it repeatable, set the priority, what list it appears in, its context, its tags, and any notes I wish to add to it. Tap save ad your done.

Now I am going to go through the other types of tasks and what their advantage of using them.

If you select “Call a Contact” you will be asked whether it is an “Existing Contact,” “New Contact,” or you can manually enter a phone number. Existing contact obviously allows you to select from your address book, new contact adds a new contact and enter a phone number…well you probably guessed it, you enter the phone number. Depending on which one you select, the app will automatically put the text into the task title for you – exe. “Call CONTACT NAME” or “Call 123-4567.” Tap save and you can edit the rest of the info as usual.

If you select “Email a Contact” you can choose whether you select an existing Contact’s email address, create a new contact, or to enter the Email address. Once you select you selection, the application will automatically place “Email EMAIL ADDRESS” or “Email CONTACT NAME.” Then you can enter the rest of the task details as normal.

If you select “Visit a Location,” again, you can choose Existing Contact, New Contact, Enter an Address or use Current Location. Again after selecting the appropriate place, the app will automatically enter the task into the box – “Visit CONTACT NAME/PLACE,” “Visit ADDRESS,” or “Visit LATITUDE, LONGITUDE.”

If you select “Visit a website” you’ll be asked to type in the URL. I was surprised that you could not lookup a URL from a contact in your address book. This would be a nice feature to have. Again the app will insert into the task title – “Visit URL.”

Each task type has it’s advantage. Using the “Call a Contact” type you have the ability to call the contact straight from the application. If you use the “Email a Contact” you will exit the app and enter the mail.app with the email automatically inserted into the “To:” blank. If you use the “Visit a Location” task type, you will leave the app and enter the map.app with the address or coordinates you entered. And lastly the “visit a website”… you probably guessed it….you leave the app to be in the Safari app with the address you entered previously. Or if you want to keep it simple, stick with the “normal” type.

After you have created the tasks, if you type on the colored icon, you will be able to – call the contact, email the contact, visit a location, or visit a website.

An issue I noticed when selecting an e-mail address in the task type – you cannot select/lookup an e-mail address from your exchange network (if you use the exchange network). You however, can choose from one of your groups, if you have created email groups.

In the settings tab, you can set the default list to where you want new tasks to be placed in. Unless you of course change it while editing the task itself.

I think that this would be a great app for anyone that relly like to customize how their app looks and doesn’t have a real need for using “projects” (while there is somewhat of a work around). The app also alows for quick entry and is highly recommended if you need an app to quickly enter a task into and add the details later.

Pros:
-Simplicity at its best
-Quick addition of tasks if in a hurry
-Sleek animations add to user experience
-Projects/sub-tasks

Cons:
-Expensive desktop client – If you want to sync with software, it’s another $50
-Does not support repeating tasks
-No option to control what the app badge stands for.
-No windows sync

Things app developed by Cultured Code is the most popular Todo application in the iTunes AppStore, at least at the time of this review. Things’ sleekness and ease of use is really what make this app popular. While this application is quite a bit higher in price ($9.99), it also has a desktop client that can be used in conjunction with it. However, you’ll have to drop another $10 and Windows users need not apply (no Windows sync client,) if you want this feature.

Things uses a very simple layout that is very easy for anybody to jump in and use.

From the home screen you have several different viewing option and at the bottom, the “+” adds a new task and the gear-icon changes the settings.

So on the main screen, you have the Inbox, this is where all you tasks go if they is no list associated with it (see GTD article for more info.) Mainly the Inbox is like the initial step in creating your tasks. They all go there “to be sorted.” If your in a hurry and you want to edit more details to it later, leave it in your Inbox until later.

Also on the home screen you can view your tasks via the lists – Today, Next, Scheduled, & Someday. All of these lists can be added to a task while editing it.
“Today,” obviously means that the task is to be done for that current day.
The “Next” view lists your tasks in the order that they are due next.
“Scheduled” lists you tasks in the order they are scheduled to appear as a “current” todo.
And “Someday” lists your tasks that you plan on completing ’someday’ or in other words, they do not have any sort of date associated with them.

Also you can view your tasks via the Projects view. The projects view is probably my favorite feature about this application. You basically have a project and several sub-tasks to complete the project. Due dates can be set for both the tasks and the project.

In viewing the “Today” list, it displays all the tasks that you have labeled “today,” the checkbox next to the task is also yellow to signify this. However, if it is overdue, it is red and this also goes for any tasks in the other lists. The tasks that aren’t due yet, list their due date next to the task (if you have set one.)
By tapping on any of the tasks, you can view any of it’s details and have the option to edit/add/remove tags, notes, and/or a due date. Again the tags basically allow you to sort certain tasks within each list by the tags you select. Another way to look at tags, is that they could be considered as sub-categories.

At the bottom of the screen, you have a toolbar. The “+” adds a new task into the current list; the star turns the check boxes into stars and when tapped on they go gray which basically means you have removed it from your “today” list and moves it to your Inbox. The arrow, when tapped turns all the check boxes to the left of the tasks to blue arrows which basically allows you to move tasks by tapping on the blue arrow. The last icon, the tag icon allows you to sort the current list by a tag you select.

The “Next” list view is quite like the “Today” list view, but displays your tasks in the order they are scheduled to appear (basically this allows you to keep out certain task that you don’t need to do right away, but have scheduled to do at a later date). The ‘next’ one due at the top and so forth. A gray header separates projects in the list. Again at the bottom of the screen you have a toolbar. The icons that are in the ‘today’ list view are the same here, with the addition of a clock icon, which allows you to sort your tasks by their next due dates.

The “scheduled” list view, lists all your tasks in the order you have them scheduled. Of course, if the tasks are in the future, you cannot check them off; however, you can move them to a different list by tapping on the arrow icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. The toolbar also contains icons to add a new task and sort by tags.

The “Someday” list, lists all your tasks that do not have a date scheduled with them. The toolbar is the same as the “scheduled” list view.

The projects list view is a completely different thing in itself. After tapping on projects, all you projects will be listed; for instance I have – “Write Review.”

This is my project, if you tap on the blue arrow next to the project title, you can edit its details including its due date. If you tap on the project tile, you can view the tasks that are needed to complete the project. By tapping on the tasks you can edit them – by tapping on the check boxes, you check the tasks off. If you tap the check box next to the project, it will clarify that you want to check-off all the tasks withing the project. The tool bar in the project list view is the same as in the Today list view. If you decide to select a project to be put in the “Today” list (by tapping on the star,) it will list all the tasks in the project in the Today list view. Or you can also select only certain tasks within the project that you want to be listed in the “Today” list. It will also show you the association with which project the task is associated with (in gray.)

Finally the logbook, logs (lists) all your completed tasks which can be logged when the app starts or at the beginning on the day when you start the app (can be configured via in-app settings.)

The number that is next to the list displays the number of tasks that need to be completed in that list. If the number is red, that means that you have one of more tasks in that list that are due today or overdue.

If you need support through the Cultured Code website, they have had a recent influx of emails so it might take up to a week for them to respond to your e-mail until they get caught up. So if you don’t get a response within about 2 business days, I would resend your support question with your original support number.

The small animations that Things utilities makes the app sleek and simple without getting in the way, but at a price of nearly $10 and the inability to sync (for the $10), I can’t say this is the greatest Todo application. I would prefer to simply have a web sync if nothing else. Secondly I’d like to see them develop a Windows client as I would assume many users do not have a Mac computer. If you don’t mind forking over the $49.95 (US) for the desktop client, (which offers many more features than the iPhone app) then, this might be a good application for you.

I think this application would be good for a business person, such as Real Estate Agent, that likes the simplicity of creating task, projects and due dates and having the ability to view their todo’s on their desktop.

Pros:
-Large amount of customization
-Uses GTD scheme
-Sync with web
-Utilizes app badge
-Internal help/documentation
-Sub-tasks
-Large number of sorting/viewing options

Cons:
-Cannot create goals during the creation of a new task
-Not able to add a list to the “home screen” for quick viewing.
-No images in documentation for guidance clarity
-Must tap “Done” on keyboard to advance to next field during new task field entry.

Toodledo was the first ToDo application I tried as it was the cheapest ($1.99). In the application, when you create a New Task, you input the Task, Priority, Star (somewhat like flagging an e-mail), Folder placement (kind of like a category,) Goal, Due date, Repeat (have the task repeat,) tags (this helps when you apply filters to sort certain tasks,) and finally you can add a note to the task.

On the main “home” screen, you can view “All Tasks,” view your “Hotlist,” and your “Starred” task lists.
Your “Hotlist” can list certain tasks that you filter into it that can be adjusted in the settings tab.
Your “Starred” list, lists tasks that you have starred.

You can also view your folder, which as I described above is somewhat like categories. For instance I have “Home,” “Important,” “Personal,” “Work.” You can also view tasks that are in any of the folders or that are in none of the folders.

On the home screen you can also view your tasks by the task goal. Basically what this is, is a way of adding a final goal that the task is associated with, such as “Sell House” and possibly one of the tasks is “Call Real Estate agent.” Another way to look at this is as a “Main Task” that contains numerous “Sub tasks.” To create a goal, you must go to the “Goal” screen and create a new goal. You cannot create a new goal while creating a new task (however, it would be nice to have this feature.)

Another way to view your tasks is by their due date – Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, Next 30 Days, Any due-date, or no due-date

How about viewing your task by their Priority? Yep, you can do that too – Top, High, Medium, Low & Negative Priority.

Remember the tags you can add to each task, yep, you can also sort by certain tags

Now within each of these viewing sections, there are multiple additional filters you can apply (by tapping the “Filter” button in the lower right corner) For instance, whether to show/hide completed tasks, show negative priorities, turn on/off subtasks. You also have the ability to sort by importance, goal, folder, priority, and tag.

As far as tagging goes, you can add several tags to a task by comma separating them, unlike some other apps in which you have to add them separately. This I found nice as I could easily search for these “keywords” in the future if need be.

Finally, (sort of) you have a Settings screen within the app and many of the features in the app are customizable including how your Hotlist will appear, default values set in fiends, fields to show/hide, what the application badge refers to and you can change your “home page.” There is also a significant amount of documentation within the app to help you with it, however, it does lack images.

Another thing that is nice about Toodledo is that it offers an online syncing solution. You have the ability to access you ToDo’s from any computer with a data connection and edit them. Toodledo online sync also integrates with a number of ToDo applications (as you will read later.)

Other than some of the minor UI issues I listed above (goals), I also did not like the fact that I had to hit “done” to go to the next blank field when entering a new task. Next/Previous buttons would be nice to have.

Toodledo Conclusion:
Overall I recommend this application for anyone that wants to “get their feet wet” with the familiarity of the GTD scheme. At only $1.99, you cannot go wrong with this application. This is an affordable application, that should suite anyones needs (once you understand what GTD is). However, if you like a plain & simple ToDo application, then this is not the application for you.

Done
$0.99


4/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-Simple interface
-Simple ToDo manager
-Create Wallpaper of tasks
-App begins with “Tip Todo’s” o how to use the app

Cons:
-No software or web backup (iTunes only)
-Cannot create a new task from the “home” screen
-No due dates

Done is one of the simpler ToDo applications and mostly reminds me of the way the palm handled ToDo’s. A unique feature that this application offers is the ability to create a Wallpaper image that lists your top 6 prioritized ToDo’s. I’ll go into this later.

Upon opening the application you are presented with Lists that you create (will create) – label & color code. You can create a new task by tapping on the “+” in the top right corner.

When you tap on one of your lists, you can view the different ToDo’s in that list. You can tap on the “+” button to create a new task.

In creating new task, you type in the Todo, set the priority (1,2, or 3,) then which list you want it under. If you create the task under the list that you are currently in, then it will default to that list.

To check off a task you simply tap on the number and it will gray-out as completed.

If you have a list that has mixed priorities (tasks not sorted), you can gently shake the device to sort them by priority.

To delete completed tasks, turn the iPhone/iTouch on its side and you can tap the orange check mark and it will delete all of them.

On the main screen where all the lists are listed, by tapping on the button at the bottom middle of the screen, the app with create a photo with your top 6 prioritized tasks. From the photo album on the iPhone, you can then make it your wallpaper, a sleek and unique idea.

In the list view, in the bottom right-hand corner is the settings button – there you can turn the sound effects on or off or turn the app badge on or off.

Done Conclusion:
This is a simple application for people that just want a “list & check off” todo list – nothing fancy. And if you come from a Palm device, you might like the simplicity of this application. (minus the due dates.) This application is $0.99 and for that, it’s quite nice, add due dates and this is a great bang for your buck!

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Ultimate Todo
$4.99

4/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-You can switch tabs to insert next tags or context without deleting partial task.
-Easily add a task from any screen
-Voice tasks
-Capable of viewing the file size of voice tasks
-Multiple tags can be selected for each task
-In app help documentation with pictures.
-Syncs with Toodledo

Cons:
-Can’t distinguish between Tags & Context icons in task view.
-Can’t edit tags or contexts in-line – must change screens.
-Does not automatically sync (this could be a pro for some)
-New Task & New voice task buttons are a little too close together.

Ultimate ToDos is much like the other todo applications, as it also follows the GTD work flow. Ultimate Todos utilizes a Dashboard “home” screen as well as a toolbar at the bottom of the screen. One of the things that is unique to this application is the ability to create Voice Tasks.

The application begins with the Dashboard screen that allows you to view “All” tasks, “Highlights”, “Flagged,” “Overdue,” “Today,” and “Scheduled” tasks. There are also a number of other viewing options, like grouping your tasks by priority, viewing tasks only in a certain priority, grouping them by status, or even viewing tasks by an individual status. (exe. Active, someday, or postponed).

When you create a new task you have the Title, Notes, Due Date, Tags, Contexts, Status, Priority, option to add a voice note, option to add a reference contact.

When viewing any of the tasks in their list view, you have the title which has the check box to the left of it (red for high priority, grey for normal, and green for low priority.) Underneath the title you have the due date, to the right of the title you have the set of icons as selected from your context and tag selections. When viewing the tasks in list view, I found it difficult to discern which icon were for context and which were for tags. It would be nice to have a separator or a different set of icons, or even better, just a color coded bubble of some kind and leave the icons for the tags.
You also have a star next to the icons to let you know whether you have it flagged or not. Tap on the stat to select or deselect it. You can tap on the title of the task to see the details in textual form including a memo if you have added one.

There is also a little gear icon to the left of the add-new-task icon that drops down an additional menu, that allows you to search your tasks, add a voice task, edit the task list, or view in-app-help.

If you decide to create a voice note/task, the add button it right next to the add new task button. While I found it nice to have the two always nearby, I didn’t like the fact that they were so close together as I found that I would sometimes tap the wrong one.
Within the edit screen of a voice task, you can set a title, then tap the record button and then press stop to stop the recording. After you have recorded, it will let you know the Duration and the file size of the recording. I thought the file size of the voice task was a nice addition as it allows you to get rid of the larger files if need be or to leave the smaller ones if warranted.

The second screen is the Tags page, here you can view tasks by their tags, edit/delete/create new tags. When creating a tag you can place an identifying icon with that tag in order to easily distinguish it while viewing the task in list view (as it is displayed.)

The next screen is the Contexts screen. This is much like the tags screen as far as viewing tasks and editing contexts. You can also have an icon for each context; however, you are using the same set of icons as you are for the tags.

The last screen, is the “Sync” screen. This is where you can sync with your Toodledo account if you wish. There are also some options that allow you to manage the way you sync with your Toodledo account. Also realize that you can only sync with your Toodledo account once every minute or you will get locked out of your account for an hour (the program states this under its “Important Notes” section.)

In the App Settings in the iPhone’s main settings screen, you can edit numerous preferences. Such as the startup screen. Whether or not you can easy edit the tasks or have extra measures taken from them being erased. You can have the tasks automatically delete after a certain period of time. And what the badge displays – what id counted in the number of tasks represented on the app badge. If you feel the dashboard is cluttered, you can “hide” certain lists as well.

During the writing of this review, the application was/is free. However its retail price is $4.99 . The more complicated the application, the more issues are possible. While I like this application, there are some things that I really dislike. Firstly, the icons that are viewable from the task list view – they are confusing. I’d like to have the choice of just having the words displayed or one of the options I have previously mentioned. However, unlike some of the other ToDo applications, this one syncs with Toodledo, which to say the least, I think is a necessity for any to do application. I think this application would be good for anyone that likes to have voice notes, or even in this case voice notes. The use of voice notes allows you to enter a lengthy task without having to spend the time typing it out on the iPhone’s keyboard.

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Firetask
$4.99


3/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-color coded priority
-Icon categories for quick visual reference.
-Sub-tasks

Cons:
-No sync (other than iTunes)
-Cannot check-off projects
-cannot check off items in Inbox

Firetask is relatively new to the iTunes AppStore, but offers some compelling features that people might find that it completes their needs. It also follows the GTD layout.

When you first begin the app, the screen opens up to the “Today” tab. While most of the other Todo applications utilize a list view of other views on the main screen, Firetask utilizes a toolbar at the bottom to select between views. While this is nice, the ability to quickly switch to list views under the “more” is a long way of going about it to find the list view you want.

In the Today list view, it displays all your tasks that are due that day or that are overdue. The icon to the left of the task denotes the task category. The blue text below the task indicates the project that the task is associated with. (you must associate the task with a project, there in no way to “un-project” a task.) The icon to the right of the task indicates the priority – the closer it is to red, the higher the priority. Also the status of the task also relates to this icon, meaning, if the status of the task is in progress, two arrows revolving around the icon will appear, if it is canceled or completed a check mark will appear in the icon (not really sure why a check mark appears when the status has been set to canceled?) If the task does not have an action set to it, then it will represent just a small orb-like icon. If this is the case, when you want to check off the task, you have to double-tap the icon to mark it as complete. I don’t really understand why this is, but it seems that when you tap it once the icon changes to the “in-progress” symbol and the second time you tap it, it checks-off.

In the toolbar at the bottom, it you tap on categories you can view, edit and add categories and pick the icon associated with that category. You can also view tasks by any category you tap on.

In the “Projects” tab, you can view/add projects, which contain sub tasks. To edit the project details you tap on the blue arrows, to view the projects tasks, you tap on the project title. I found that I could check of the tasks within the projects, but I was no able to check off the project as it would send me to the project details. This seems to be an issue that would need to be fixed as it makes no sense to not be able to “complete” your projects.

In the “Inbox” tab, it is like the GTD style Inbox. Everything that is not sorted (raw thought, etc.) go into your Inbox to be edited later. Also in the Inbox I found that I was not able to check off items.

In the “More” tab, you are given several listing choices – Someday, Completed, Canceled, Trash, Projects completed, and projects canceled.

I would like to not be able to have a project selected.
This applications seems to do well for people that like visuals – that is to say that this application uses numerous colors to categorize the tasks and prioritize. However, as many features as Firetask offers, they aren’t complete. For instance – in the Inbox you cannot check off a task nor can you check off projects in the “Projects” tab.

This is a good start for this application, but it definitely needs more work to charge for its $4.99 price tag.

Firetask’s developer says on his website that he is working on creating a web client, which is a good thing to know that it is coming as that is a much needed thing with any Todo application. There also needs to be a fix for the other issues that I have mentioned. Once that is complete, I think this application will be on a good path for keeping track of your Todo’s.

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Zenbe Lists
$2.99


2.5/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-Tasks within lists
-Remembers last screen before exiting
-Simple User Interface
-App rotates in any direction
-Ability to “share” tasks

Cons
-Lack of color coding
-No tagging
-Cannot prioritize
-No application badge
-Cannot edit list name once created.
-No way to move a task from one list to another

Zenbe Lists was the first Todo application I bought for my iPhone. It’s simple and sleek interface and the ability to sync with the web make this application a great todo app for a project oriented person.

On the main screen, are your lists. You can create or edit your lists by tapping the appropriate buttons at the top of the screen. While you could create “personal,” “business,” or “school” Lists ( aka categories,) you can also create a list as a ‘project.’

After you create your list, you can begin to create your tasks. You can create a task by tapping on the “new” button. Then you type in the title, and a due date if you wish.

You can also mark it as complete if you have already have completed the task. Once you have created a task, you will be taken back to the list’s Todo’s, from here you can once again view your tasks (due date is in gray under the task), check it off or edit it. While there is no way to prioritize the tasks, you can “edit” the list and manually rearrange the tasks.

Within one of your lists, you can share your list by tapping the “Share” button. This will take you out of the app and into the mail.app where you can send a link to anyone. The person on the receiving end will receive a link, and when they click/tap on it, they can view your list and see what you have completed and what you have not. If viewing it from an iPhone, the user can add the list to their Zenbe App( if they have it).

In viewing the lists, you can view them and the number of completed tasks within that list. For instance – “2/10” means you have completed 2 out of 10 tasks. If the numbers are red, then that means one or more of your uncompleted items are overdue. In the list view, if you tap on edit, you can re-arrange the lists or delete them as well.

Zenbe Lists Conclusion:
While this is a nice application that allows you to sync the app with a web client, it is lacking some simple necessities such as color coding, prioritizing and an app badge. At $2.99 this app seems a little high for it’s lack of features. While this app is nice, sleek and works well, it’s not exactly simple as the app seems to work against you when trying to complete simple tasks such as editing list names or with the inability to prioritize the tasks.

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