Once upon a time, all of the basic features that we use a smartphone for were previously handled by the standard PDA, and before that, pen and paper. I used to carry the FranklinCovey planner system with me, where I faithfully checked off my task list as I completed them. FranklinCovey has done well to embrace the digital age, and now they have a Task app in Apple’s App Store – FCmobilelife can be found here for $5.99.

Given there seems to be as many task and to-do apps as there are fart apps, how well does FranklinCovey’s FCmobilelife Tasks hold up? Will it help you prioritize and get things done? Read on for a quick review!

Under The Hood

FCmobilelife uses the proven FranklinCovey methodology for creating tasks and prioritizing them in a way that will increase efficiency in getting things done. It takes advantage of the easy-to-use iPhone interface by delivering an attractive interface for managing your personal and business tasks.

Like the FranklinCovey paper version before it, FCmobilelife allows you to input a task and rank it using the ABC-123 system of prioritization, but this is just scratching the surface of it’s capability. You can also add notes to your tasks to really flesh them out and give them more detail, if needed. The app provides a means of tracking due dates of tasks, assigning categories, and create recurring tasks using the Complete-and-Forward feature.

The use of spoken tasks and managing attachments really beef up this app, and to make things easier, you can simply drag and drop a task to instantly reposition it for a higher or lower priority based on your changing priorities. The beauty of this app is that it’s as powerful or simple as you want it to be. If you want to simply create a to-do list each day and check them off as you go, then it’s easy as pie to set up your tasks. If, on the other hand, you want to add attachments (photos), voice record your task, add due dates and categorize your tasks, you have everything you need in this app to be a power user.

FCmobilelife is quite polished and easy to use, but there are a couple minor problems I have with this app. First, it can be a bit sluggish when changing to different views and, most notably, when scrolling through a list. The animated transitions are nice from screen to screen, but I’d like to see it happen with a bit more speed. Also, if you want a simple to-do app without the prioritization, this app is not the best for that kind of simplicity. It would be nice if there were either a 4th view for a bare-bones to-do list, or an option to disable the minimum two-step process of entering tasks when using the Master list view.

A Quick Run-Through

Before dropping down your $5.99 for this app, take a look at the demo video that FranklinCovey has put together on YouTube. It gives you a nice walk-through of this app so you can get a good sense of it’s capabilities.

To summarize the video, FCmobilelife has several views to choose from: Today, Plan, and Master views. The Today view gives you a look at current due tasks in order of priority – A (vital), B (important), and C (optional) tasks. Under each priority, the tasks are further prioritized by numbering 1, 2, 3 and so on. The Plan view presents a list of tasks also sorted by priority, but condenses your task list into an easier view for all your items. The Master list view are tasks that have not been designated a due date or priority. This view is great for entering tasks on the fly that you want to return to and prioritize later.

All past due items can be moved forward to the next day with the press of a button. If you wish to sort your tasks differently, then just press the “Sort” button at the top left and then drag items to a higher or lower priority, or even delete them. When creating a task, you can name it and assign a priority and due date. Spoken tasks are also great when you don’t have the means or time for entering text. Completed tasks are automatically archived for you by date, so you can always go back and view your accomplishments.

Conclusion

FCmobilelife is a great app for those looking for a fairly simple way of managing tasks or the power user who is steeped in FranklinCovey’s culture and methodology for prioritization. The interface is polished and the features are powerful. The need for a little more snappiness and the lack of a bare-bones task creation option is just enough to prevent me from awarding a 5-star rating, but I can definitely recommend 4 stars. Give the demo video a look – if you want a solid task manager, then $5.99 isn’t much to pay for a winner like FCmobilelife.

Pros

• Packed with features
• Simple, polished user interface
• Voice tasks
• Filtering mechanism and recurring tasks
• Photo attachments

Cons

• Sluggish list scrolling and transitions
• No “bare-bones” way to create simple to-do’s

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App Review: FCmobilelife Tasks by FranklinCovey for iPhone

Do you want an option for carrying your Bluetooth headset without having to wear it in your ear all day, hanging it around your neck, or risk breaking it in your pocket? When you are driving and your Bluetooth headset isn’t in use, do you place it in one of your cup holders like I do? The Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth Headsets is available here in the TiPb iPhone Store for $14.95 and it just might be the answer for your Bluetooth headset-carrying needs. Read further for the full review!

Case Design

The Speck Clip Pod case is triangular in shape with rounded corners, a metal belt clip with the “Speck” logo on back and an elastic mesh pocket in the front to store your Bluetooth headset. The pod is a hardened shell with a soft cloth interior to protect your Bluetooth headset. The Clip Pod can accommodate most Bluetooth headsets, up to 2 inches wide and 3.25 inches long. Included is a Velcro-secured Nylon strap for attaching the Clip Pod to the visor in your car.

Performance

I haven’t used a Bluetooth headset very often in the past due to the hassle of not having a convenient way of carrying one around with me. Wearing a headset in my ear constantly is not comfortable and I don’t care for that look. I don’t wear a headset on a lanyard around my neck and I don’t want to risk breaking my headset by carrying it in my pocket. Having the Clip Pod for carrying my Bluetooth headset is the answer to my headset-carrying challenges.

The Clip Pod is slightly cup-shaped, providing a recessed area for your BT headset to be safely tucked away. When placed in the pocket, the Nylon mesh/Vinyl combo with a sewn-in elastic band keeps your headset firmly in place with the hardened protective shell around it. Protection in the front of the Clip Pod is compromised in order to allow easy access to your BT headset. This compromise is both a pro and a con, in my opinion. When your iPhone rings, you want to be able to access your headset quickly.

When strapped to your visor, the less-protected open front is not really an issue, but if you are wearing the Clip Pod on your waist, you will want to be careful to avoid crushing your headset against hard objects. The metal belt clip is very robust and should provide lots of wear without failure.

Verdict

The Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth headsets is a nice little accessory to have if you tote a Bluetooth headset. I think it is especially useful in the car – strapped neatly to your visor, it’s a great place to tuck away your BT headset when not in use. In my case, it keeps my cup holders free and substantially reduces the risk of loss or damage.

Wearing the Clip Pod on your belt or waist is a handy way to carry your BT headset on your person, but protection of your headset is compromised by easy accessibility. Personally, I have not used a BT headset carrying case before and I’m glad to have found such an accessory. It isn’t perfect – although the pocket keeps your headset firmly in place, it is vulnerable to bumping against hard objects, like counters – but the pros outweigh the cons.

Pros

• Strong metal belt clip
• Protective recessed hardened shell
• Included strap for securing to car visor
• Elastic mesh pocket for secure storage and easy access

Cons

• Storage pocket provides little protection against hard objects, like counters

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Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth Headsets

Case Design

The OtterBox Impact case offers a slim, form-fitting Silicone layer of protection for your iPhone 3G while still providing impact-absorbing features. The back of the case and the corners are impact-absorbing and dissipate impact away from your iPhone 3G. Additionally, the sides of the case are textured for a more secure grip. All ports, buttons, and functions are accessible through the thin Silicone layer, including an opening for the headphone jack, the mute switch, and even a cutout on the back of the case to display the shiny Apple logo proudly. Having the option of purchasing the case in black or white is also nice – if you have a white iPhone, then switch things up with the black case, and vice versa.

Performance

One of my main concerns about skin cases is that, historically, I’ve had poor luck with them. Why? Usually they stretch a bit over time and start slipping around my smartphone like a cheap oversized suit. I’m very encouraged by the OtterBox case design because although the Silicone is thin and flexible, it wraps completely around each end of the iPhone and resists unwanted stretching and shifting.

The feel and grip of the case is comfortable, particularly with the textured sides. The screen is fully accessible, as well as all of the functions, ports and buttons. The additional thickness of the Silicone along the back and corners provide additional impact from impacts and scratching. The case has a stylish look and the open round window on the back for the Apple logo is a nice touch.

Conclusion

The OtterBox Impact Series Case for the iPhone 3G is hard to beat for the price. The Silicone skin is protective and comfortably grippy, all ports and controls are accessible, and you have a choice of black or white, depending on your taste. The case is stylish and seems to resist the stretching and slipping that can occur over time with other skin cases. I’m happy to report that there are many positives and nothing negative to report. Especially for the price of $12.95, I can give this case a big thumbs up.

Pros

Cons

TiPb Review Rating

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Review: OtterBox Impact Case for iPhone 3G

Do you ever do any price comparison in the grocery store? Gallons vs. liters? Ounces vs. milligrams? Fifty feet of Scotch tape vs. 15 meters? What’s the best deal? Apples2Oranges is a $2.99 app from Ilium Software and can be downloaded to your iPhone from the App Store. It employs a simple touch interface where you can compare two kinds of modes: Ingredients Mode and Price Mode. Ingredients Mode lets you compare nutritional content for food you are eating or buying. Price Mode lets you compare two products side-by-side for the best price considering different measurements for volume, length, or area.

Just enter the numerical amount of the item on the left side of the “size” window, then select the type of measurement you are comparing in the right side of the “size” window, then press “compare” for the “price.” Or, if in Ingredient Mode, you can compare different measurements and even calories. This can be a very handy app if you are trying to save money at the store or trying to watch your calorie intake. Take a look in the App Store and get it if you like what you see.  

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Quick App: Apples2Oranges

When Trillion-dollar stimulus packages are being passed and spent and the dollar seems to buy less and less, it’s nice to find some real values in the App Store, like Touchmaster Volume 1 from Midway. At only $3.99, you get 5 games for your entertainment – that’s only about $.80 cents per game (before tax, of course).

Included with this bundle are the following: 1) Spellwinder – a word search game using adjacent letters in any direction to score points; 2) Dice King – a dice puzzle game where points are scored for swapping adjacent dice to form matching combinations of three or more dice; 3) Prismatix – a hexagonal matching game requiring linking gems in color combinations displayed by a wheel at the top of your screen; 4) Combo 11 – form combinations of cards equaling 11 in value, eliminating cards as you go; 5) Carpet – similar to Solitaire, the object of the game is to discard all cards in their respective suits in sequences of Ace to King, using your deck and “carpet” of cards.

In addition to trying to get the highest score you can, you can also complete challenges and earn trophies along the way. The graphics are decent and the gameplay is easy with the touch interface. For $3.99, this 5-game package will provide hours of entertainment.

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Quick App: Midway’s Touchmaster Volume 1 for iPhone

Long before I had my iPhone 3G, I had the good fortune of watching a college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Having never attended an event there, I was a bit fascinated how the golf course adjacent to the stadium is literally used as a parking lot for event attendees. Yes, that’s right. The entire golf course is one ginormous parking lot and one lost car fiasco waiting to happen.

After the game, it was dark and disorienting. Even though there were large balloon markers spaced avery 100 yards or so, it was nearly impossible to find my car and almost an hour was spent tracking it down. If only I had my iPhone 3G! If only it had been conceived!

Why, you ask? GPS. Fast forward a couple years to CES in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. Driving down the strip in the heart of Vegas on a Saturday night is NOT for the patient. I was meeting up with Dieter Bohn and several others bloggers for a fancy-pants dinner and quickly realized that I would reach my location much faster if I abandoned my ride and hoofed it – the good old “ankle express.”

I found a massive parking garage that barely accommodated the height of my truck, parked, and then froze. I knew I had a good jaunt in front of me and I wanted to be sure I could easily and quickly locate my truck again. I’m easily disoriented and have a poor sense of direction – when people call me “Magellan”, it’s NOT a compliment. My iPhone 3G to the rescue! I simply opened up my Maps app, tapped the “target” in the bottom left of the screen, and dropped a pin for my current location and bookmarked it (just tap the pin after you drop it and then “Add to Bookmarks” in the bottom right of the following page).

Is the iPhone 3G’s GPS precise to the foot? Not exactly, but I was able to easily return to my truck because I could rely on my iPhone’s GPS to point the way and return me to the parking garage, even in the busy hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas strip. So if you need to leave a trail of virtual breadcrumbs the next time you park your car or plan on wandering far and wide from your base camp, give your iPhone 3G’s Maps app a try, drop a pin, and have fun!

[Note: Above photoshops are for comedic value, no actual trucks were impaled on giant map pins in production of this how-to]

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How-To: Find Your Car with iPhone 3G

Two game modes are available – Classic and Progressive modes. Classic mode is a single game of nine laser balls. Just roll them with the swish of your fingertip and score as many points as you can in the single game. Or, if raising the stakes each round is more appealing to you, then play Progressive mode. As you achieve the points goal in each round, the goal is raised in the next the round.

In addition to needing a touch of finesse when “swiping” the ball down the ramp, Arcade Bowling takes advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer, enabling you to add a bit of guidance to the ball in mid-flight. Did I say this game is addicting? Well, it is!

A final note: when I first installed the game and started playing, it would crash with some frequency. The way to resolve this is to reset your iPhone after installation. Once I did that, problem solved. No more crashing. Relive the good ‘ol days of Skeeball with this 21st century virtual version that you can carry in your pocket!

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Quick App: Arcade Bowling

Why is this useful? If you are at work and want to take some files home with you or on the road to view and read, just use the handy desktop app to wirelessly transfer the files to your iPhone or iPod Touch, where they are automatically categorized. Transferring the files couldn’t be easier – just use the drag-and-drop interface on the File Magic Desktop app and the files will “magically” appear on your iPhone File Magic app via your WiFi connection.

Check out the app in the App Store to learn more about it’s features. Whether it’s a matter of taking files with you to review on the road, using your iPhone or iPod Touch to move files from office to home, or even using the app to backup important documents, File Magic handles it well.

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Quick App: File Magic for the iPhone

The Griffin California Roll for iPhone 2G and 3G is in stock and ready to ship from the iPhone Blog Store for $19.95. Personally, I’m not much for sushi, but this is a California Roll I can sink my teeth into. If you want something to carry your iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and other small accessories and to organize them into one case, Griffin’s California Roll could be what you are looking for. Follow me after the break to get to know this case a little better!

Overview and Design

Made of durable high-tech synthetic materials, the Griffin California Roll has a stylish design with built-in elastic band for securing your valuable items. The exterior of the case is glossy with an interesting visual design. It’s a bit difficult to describe, but there appears to be a dark green textured material just under the glossy exterior material, making the outside of the case interesting to look at.

Opening the case reveals a tri-fold configuration with a Velcro-secured middle compartment with similar Velcro-secured compartments on either side. The side compartments are constructed with a mesh material so you can get a better idea what’s in the pockets without having to remove the item. Each of the compartments are about the same size and the interior of the Roll is a soft suede-like material to gently cushion your valuables and protect from scratches and impacts.

Usability

I was able to fit my iPhone 3G in the left pocket, my big fat iPod 160GB Classic in the middle, and a set of earphones in the right pocket. I then folded up the case and secured it with the built-in elastic band and was ready to roll (no pun intended). The case folds up reasonably well, even with all that stuff packed inside of it. The whole point of this case is that it’s soft and flexible, allowing you the most flexibility with different kinds of devices and accessories. The stitching around the case seems top-notch and the elastic band for securing the case is sewn into the case well and stretches just enough to secure the case but is tight enough to stay in place.

Conclusion

The Griffin California Roll case is one of those cases that will meet certain needs. It may not be a case that you use for everyday use, but then again, if you are “gadgety” and carry a phone, iPod, earphones, and other stuff around with you on a regular basis, this is a great case for securing everything in one place and it offers some protection against the cold, cruel world that would be harsh and unkind to your expensive tech gear. I think it makes an excellent travel case, perfect for keeping everything together for use on the airplane, then easily taken with you to your rental car, and finally resting at your side by the swimming pool while you sip a drink.

But why limit yourself to traveling? This is a good case for just carrying all your stuff around with you, secured in one place inside the Roll. As you can see in this picture, I successfully crammed my iPhone 3G, my iPod, and not seen are the earphones stuffed in there as well. Even if you aren’t a fan of sushi, for $19.95, you may want to give this California Roll a try.

Pros

• Flexible case to accommodate many types and sizes of devices
• Built-in elastic to secure items
• Three storage compartments

Cons

• A little big to carry around as your regular case

TiPb Rating:

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Review: Griffin California Roll for iPhone 2G/3G

Headphone Design

The v-moda vibe duo has an in-ear design with a selection of two earbud colors, black and clear (frosted), and three sizes in each color: small, medium and large. The headphone driver housings are black with an etched chrome-like band around the housing, giving the headphones both a stylish look and providing a textured surface for a more sure grip between your thumb and index finger when putting the headphones in your ears. Another nice addition is the small black carrying case that will accommodate the headphones and extra ear tips, if needed.

The fabric cable is an excellent upgrade from lesser headphones. I’m a big fan of fabric cables because they are both more durable and less inclined to tangle. The v-moda vibe duo sports an adjustable/removable plastic clip for securing the headphones to your clothing, thus supporting the weight of the cable at the point of the clip rather than having the weight pull the earphones from your ears.

About six inches down from the right earphone is the mic and call control button housing. The “duo” in this product’s namesake is the ability to listen to audio but also take a call. The call control button can be depressed to answer or cancel a call. In addition to simple call handling, the call control button is compatible with the iPod features of one click for pause, two clicks to forward to the next song, and three clocks to listen to the previous song. My only gripe with this setup is the size of the mic/call control button housing. It seems a bit large and hefty and it would be nice to see it trimmed down in size and weight.

Performance

The v-moda vibe duo In-Ear Headphones w/ Mic deliver a clean, crisp sound with punchy bass and clear high-end levels. The volume range is just about right and if you use the right size of ear tip (requires a bit of experimentation), you will be rewarded with a firm fit in your ear delivering superior sound quality and impressive noise-isolation.

Making and receiving calls with these headphones is impressive. The sound quality during calls is more than adequate, with stereo sound during the call. The people I spoke to while using the headphones could hear me just fine and I could hear them without difficulty. Using the “clicker”, or call control button, to answer and end a call is convenient, as well as using it for one, two, or three clicks while listening to music for pausing, skipping ahead, or listening to previous songs.

The plastic clip is a great feature to have. I really like being able to clip the headphones to my clothing so as to support the weight of the fabric cable, which in turn allows the headphones to remain securely in my ears without the nuisance of the weight of the cable pulling the ear tips from my ears. This can be more of a problem when you are doing something active, so the clip solves the problem. The fabric cable performs very well, giving these headphones a durable build quality and a greater resistance to tangling. 

Conclusion

For $99.95, the v-moda vibe duo In-Ear Headphones w/ Mic deliver quite a bit of bang for the buck. You can certainly spend much more for headphones, particularly if you are a serious audiophile, but these could be the earphones you use on a regular basis for a long time due to their quality. The sound is better than average, the inclusion of a call control button and microphone for calls is great, and the plastic clip and fabric cable are wonderful upgrades to justify the additional expense. Having two sets of ear tips in two colors and three different sizes is very convenient, especially given that losing an ear tip is a possibility during your time of ownership. I dislike the size of the call control button/mic housing. I wish it were smaller. Other than this small little gripe, the overall design, quality and performance of these headphones make them easy to recommend.

Pros

• Fabric cable is durable and tangle-resistant
• Punchy bass, clear highs and good noise-isolation = great sound quality
• Includes clip, two sets of ear tips in 3 different sizes, and carrying case
• Answer and end calls with call control button

Cons

• Call control button/mic housing is a little large

TiPb Rating:

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Review: v-moda vibe duo In-Ear Headphones w/ Mic