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!
[Video note: Interesting to see the Google iPhone in the video above is missing the iTunes and App Store icons... and the YouTube App (YouTube being, you know, owned by Google). Google Mobile App got a prime spot though!]
Still catching up on the Google news, and this one is more confusing to us then most. A while back we mentioned — regretfully — that Google had stopped offering their iPhone optimized version of iGoogle because, to be blunt, they wanted to offer every handset a similar experience and few other handsets could match the quality of the iPhone version.
Now, however, Google has announced that while they aren’t bringing the iGoogle page back, they are adding an iPhone optimized version of their bare-bones Gmail Tasks WebApp:
starting today, you can manage your task list from your iPhone or Android device, and access it from any xhtml enabled phone. (Mine’s always with me, in whichever jeans I’m wearing.) Just go to gmail.com/tasks from your phone’s browser and log in. If you already use the version of Tasks in Gmail Labs, you’ll see the same task list that’s always in sync. We focused on making it super easy and fast to update your Gmail task list — you can add new tasks and check off completed ones, no matter where you are (like in a meeting or at the grocery store) even when you’re in the bathroom.
Inconsistent but potentially appreciated. But will Tasks on the iPhone be the glory of Gmail email, or the fail of Gmail contacts? Anyone tried this out yet? Let us know how it works for you!
[This is a TiPb AT WORK App vs. App Review! Last week, it was the Instant Messenger Showdown, with BeeJiveIM squeaking out the victory. But which blog commenter won a copy of the winning IM App? mr. Hi-Definition Congratulations!
This week, the TiPb iPhone Forums voted on their favorite Task/To Do Apps, we took the top two, and now they're going head-to-head. But wait -- there's more! One of the forum voters has already won a copy of the winning App... Congrats coreymol! Want another chance to win? COMMENT BELOW! and make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment form -- it won't be made public, but it will be used to contact you if you win! Check out the full contest details, then grab your iPhone and get ready to get things done -- the TiPb AT WORK Task/Do To Showdown is on!]
I use my iPhone all the time. At work or play, it completes me. I have a few gripes (no sense beating the cut/copy/paste dead horse) – there are some glaring omissions that make it difficult for people to take the iPhone seriously for business or just everyday productivity.
Some kind of sync-able task or to-do list is such a basic feature, and fortunately, the advent of 3rd party apps have made it possible for developers to provide a plethora of apps to remedy this deficiency. The two apps that you folks in the forum picked for this TiPb AT WORK smackdown is Things and Appigo’s Todo. Users have given them both a 4-star rating in the App Store and, quite honestly, it’s a VERY close call to me.
Which of these two get-er-done apps are the best? How do they stack up? Read on!
Although the current iPhone does many things, it does fall short in some glaring ways. Managing tasks, for example, has been discussed both in forums and in TiPB podcasts. Perhaps Apple refuses to provide a means of managing tasks because they believe an iPhone user will have little time left for anything else in life other than surfing the web on Safari, watching movies and listening to tunes in iPod, Google Mapping, etc.? Speculation for this exclusion may abound, but fortunately, we’ve got you covered with this week’s Tip.
If you haven’t been checking out the new Web Apps lately, then you may have missed a little gem called Getting Tasks Done!, available here! Read more about managing your tasks on the iPhone following the break!
Full support for Tasks/ToDos is a basic feature and one that may be holding back many business users from fully embracing the iPhone. Here’s to hoping that we’ll see a 1.2 update very soon with full support not only for native apps, but a brand new ToDo app as well. Viva la February!
