The Productive Organizer

I always advocate mind mapping as  a good way of collecting one’s thoughts and taking notes during meetings.

We have quite a fair bit of solutions for the iPhone and iPod Touch. What about Android.

Lifehacker today alerted us to this application called Thinking Space that does mind mapping pretty well and the format is compliant with Freemind, an opensource mind mapping software.

Gotta say this offering is really promising! it might be just the equivalent of all those great mind mapping software on the iPhone like iThoughts [comprehensive review of iThoughts>>]

1. Compatible with Freemind, an opensource Mind mapping software.
2. Reasonable structure to creating maps through toolbars
3. Cloud Sharing of your mindmaps! You can upload and download maps to a Thinking Space server where it keeps revision copies of your maps and you can share it with your friends or act as backups. Very good plus feature. Syncing not real time though.
4. Its FREE!

[Learn more and download Thinking Space for Android >>]

Engadget Reports that the Archos 7 and 8 home tablets will be coming to US and they look value for money:

• around USD 203 (pretty good i feel)
• 600 MHz ARM 9 (average to weak)
• weighs 350g
• WIFI
• 2GB integrated memory
• battery tout to last 7 hrs of video

The earliest we will see this is probably in April in Europe. I think the processor is weak to handle Android OS. Tell me what you think.

Productive Organizer would like to update everyone that the Official Ebay application is out in the US Android App Store.

You will now able to review and track as well as bid for items through your Android device.

To all my friends who thinks that iPhone is overtaking the world, take a look at this worksheet:

This looks good. Notice how smoooooooth this Enclair build is but the pinch and zoom function dun look that smooth.

I think pinch and zoom don’t work well. They should refining it in subsequent versions.

I was a big fan of netbooks when they first came out.  They’re cheap, provide plenty of functionality, and make great traveling companions.  Despite the booming popularity of netbooks, I believe that the iPad will create a new market for tablet-styled devices.  Whether you’re an Apple fan or not, the iPad’s perceived ease of use, design, and portability will assure it has a place.  The question some are now asking is whether they should buy a netbook, the iPad, or a similar unreleased tablet.

The core of this question ultimately relates to the device’s purpose.  What exactly do you need to accomplish?  While it seems that the iPad is primarily a consumption device, there will likely be many available applications that make it a useful tool.  The iPad’s extra accessories such as the keyboard dock highlight that it will offer an extended experience rather than simply being a large iPod Touch.

Netbook

iPad

[Read the rest of this article at GottaBeMobile >>]

This could be really exciting. Myriad Group AG, a member of the Open Handset Alliance, unveiled yesterday a brand new high performance virtual machine, named Dalvik Turbo. It would replace the standard Dalvik engine that Android uses to run applications.

One of the gripes i have about the Android is that the user interface feels so much more laggy then the iPhone unless you use something like a 1 GHZ Snapdragon. Why can’t the android respond like that of the iPhone on a weaker processor?

This Dalvik might prove to be important:

Dalvik Turbo increases application execution speed by up to three times ‐ allowing OEMs and operators to bring smoother delivery and more complex applications to Android phones, while also providing substantial battery life improvements when running resource intensive tasks. It also enables developers to take full advantage of Android, allowing them to create games boasting advanced graphics and complex models while retaining full compatibility with existing software.

A three times speed increase on Android apps would allow even the G1 to run the most complex apps. It would also improve battery life, something smartphones tend to suck at. However, the best part about this is “full compatibility with existing software”, meaning we could see the benefits of this new Dalvik virtual machine very, very soon.

Ever thought about what is the equivalent of Appigo ToDo or Things for the iPhone for Android?

Astrid is a free todo list but judging by the response it is not a shitty todo list. Here is a good review on it:

Mobile Personal Organization With Astrid

Astrid is a to-do list and “task tracking system” from the good folks at WeLoveAstrid. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Astrid completely transformed my time management style, and it dramatically improved my efficiency and the amount of work that I’m able to accomplish in less time. It does this by evaluating the information you provide and then prioritizing your work appropriately.

By inserting everything that you need to get done, when it’s due, as well as priority status and what alert settings you would like, Astrid becomes your virtual secretary that assists you with your personal organization – telling you what you need to do right now and how much time you have left to do it. This lets you focus on the most important things instead of jumping from task to task, because you can’t figure out what’s really the most important to do first.

This is the main list that you’ll review every day. These tasks include everything – the daily, weekly and monthly tasks that you schedule to repeat as well as the one-time tasks that you need to get done every now and then. The main screen provides you with a quick glance at your workload, with your most important tasks (by the priority you set and the deadline) listed at the top. On this main screen you can see the task title and when it’s due.

Adding a new task can be as quick or as detailed as you want it to be. The fastest approach, when you’re in a hurry, is to just type in the task at the bottom of the screen and then press the “+” character to the right. This immediately adds the task to your list without any deadline set. When you’re running around from place to place, but you really need to remember to do something, just type it in quickly. You can always set the deadline and priority later, but at least you know you won’t forget about it.

[Read the rest of the review @ MakeUseOf >>]

The Omni group have a really nice group of apps going to help Mac users and make Mac a really good productivity platform.

9to5mac reports that in a survey by medical lynch-pin Epocrates [Free - iTunes link], up to 60% of doctors were at least considering an iPad:

• 9 percent want it now
• 13 percent want it this year
• 38 percent were interested and wanted more info

Mac developer Omni Group, which has dipped a toe into iPhone development with Omni Focus [$19.99 - iTunes link], has decided to port than entire portfolio of apps — OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, OmniFocus, and OmniGraphSketcher — to iPad even if it delays development of the Mac version

News out is that they are likely to put their next releases on the Mac on the line so that they can port all their great Mac apps over to the iPad.

The iPad and Mac platform are great from the productivity point of view and its something that other platforms are trying to measure up.

Remember you can fight on many fronts in this tablet war: do you go for great reading experience? or great multimedia experience.

But the competitors need to know that there is a vast market for education applications and niche office productivity. if they failed to see this and tap onto this and let apple have their way then they are dead

MSI is coming up with a 10 inch Tegra based Android device priced around USD500.

We will have to see how the demo video of the product to know how well it is.

The pricing for these device in the after math of the iPad is important. The cheapest iPad cost USD 499 and MSI, you need to think carefully:

• The ability to port apps from what you buy from the App Store seemlessly to the iPad is huge. That is a 75 dollar premium in itself. Is the Android Apps worth that much? I don’t think so. Please correct me if i am wrong.
• USD499 without 3G. Do you offer 3G at that price. That could work.
• User expereience is also an important factor

Get these right and you can have a good product. MSI is not bad a manufacturer in my opinion