The Productive Organizer

We are on a spree here when it comes to task management application. So shortly after Nubi Do here, we have taskList.

taskList in itself is a unique task management experience. It does not turn you off but you sort of have the feeling that it follows the system of how a unique individual will do things.

Price

USD 1.99. This for me is at the low range section for iOS applications and specifically as a task management application

How Many Levels of Hierarchical List/Projects

Like Nubi Do, taskList have only 1 level of Lists/Groups. They addressed it as groups which means you can group your tasks as these groups.

Can you specify GTD Contexts?

GTD folks would want to have categories to specify contexts or tags or classify them into

1. Time Specific
2. Location Specific
3. People Centric

In taskList , you can specifiy tags. Each task can have many tags. And during review you can select multiple tags to filter.

Can you specify recurring tasks?

No. This is the first task management application I reviewed in a long time that you are not able to do that. This is very disappointing.

Task Entry

In terms of task entry there is really not much that you need to key in.

You are limited to task descriptions, the group, contact who, info and notes as well as the due date

What I like as well is how easy it is to select the tags. very no bull shit and if you have drawn out a nice list of tags, you can touch them and select them and need not go to another screen.

At times we forget that we are busy people and minimizing the number of screen to traverse will help a lot.

Reviewing: A quick glance of what needs to be done

There is no Today, no Inbox, no Next Actions. But really what it excels in is being minimal and focusing on the core.

The core is that we do things based on certain contexts. And here you are able to quickly filter based on multiple tags.

You can quickly select whether if you want a union of tags or an intersection of tags.

Conclusion

I can fully understand where this application is coming from. As an individual you do not need a lot of functionality to be efficient you need to have a UI that focus on what is important.

This task manager chooses to center on the ease of reviewing by Contexts/Tags.

If you work well with Tagging things this application focus very much on that aspect. For me, I need my repeating tasks very much. Not having that is the greatest let down.

We have reviewed quite a fair bit of task management application here on Productive Organizer (Take a look at my sidebars for reference) and many of them are focused on Getting Things Done.

Nubi Do is somewhat unique in that they have been very early to this yet not used by many. We hope that this post changes your opinion about them.

Price

USD 4.99. This for me is at the mid range section for iOS applications and specifically as a task management application

Flexibility is the key here

Nubi Do prides itself to be a very flexible task management application. It is catered to not just folks who only wants a simple list app but also people who does intensive tracking and planning.

How Many Levels of Hierarchical List/Projects

The downside for Nubi Do is that it has only one level. So what this means is that you can only have lists and tasks in the lists.

Can you specify GTD Contexts?

GTD folks would want to have categories to specify contexts or tags or classify them into

1. Time Specific
2. Location Specific
3. People Centric

In Nubi Do you can make use of Contexts. Each task can only have 1 contexts.

If that is not enough, you can make use of tags. Each task can have more than 1 tags.

Can you specify recurring tasks?

Yes you can. Tasks can recur Every Day,Weeks, Months or Year or Every specific day of the week

Task Entry

Task Entry have been made very smooth as the user can always key in the description of the task and not bother about keying in everything about the task.

If you require to key in more details, you can touch the task and key in more details.

One thing that I don’t understand is the need to specifically Pin to either Today or Next. Pinning as Next I can understand, since u specify that this is next to do.

But pin it to Today? I can only guess that its to make this task something you need to do today, as a quick reference.

Reviewing: A quick glance of what needs to be done

The front page of the application presents to you what are the tasks overdue, what you need to do today and what is next upcoming.

You are then presented with an Inbox to do your processing. And should you are doing your weekly review, you have all your lists of projects here to perform your reviewing

Reviewing: Calendar due tasks

What Nubi do does that is different from competitors is that you get a calendar that you can view at quick glance what tasks are due on which date.

And this Calendar is presented even in the task entry portion when you select a due date to your task.

So you can for example see that it is suppose to be done by this date but there are too much tasks so I postpone it by one day.

I think this is an important feature that might go down very well with some people.

Reviewing:Context/Tags tasks

At every page you are able to at the touch of a button go into context and tag filtering mode.

You however, can only view tasks in one tag or context but not multiple.

Importing and Exporting

Nowadays, the default for task management apps is to sync to Toodledo or Outlook or iCal.

Nubi Do does is enable the user to Import/Export from Google Docs.

Google docs is a good medium to import and export but I think people are looking for a cloud based method of synchronization rather than a file based import and export.

Nevertheless file based import and export has its advantages. And personally for me, I do prefer file based import.

Other FEATURES:

■ Assign priorities and due dates.
■ Attach text notes.
■ Search tasks quickly with a live search.
■ Delete, move or email multiple tasks at a time.
■ Lock & passcode protect individual todo lists.
■ Full screen note viewer with data detection so you can enter linkable email addresses, web addresses and phone numbers.
■ Multiple color scheme options.

Conclusion

All in all, a very competent task management application. Would I switch over from 2Do? Probably not. The cost of switching and reseting my whole system is too much. If 2Do works for me I will stick with it.

The plus side is definitely the Calendar review and the downside, is the single level hierarchy of lists/projects

If you like it do grab it off the market place

There are a lot of supporters for the task management app called Omnifocus.

For those that are not familiar with Omnifocus, it is one of the task management application that David Allen talks a lot about to implement his Getting Things Done methodology.

The astounding thing is that, after so many good todo list applications that have come out, Omnifocus on the iPhone cost USD 19.99 which is a rather steep price.

And to top it off, this iPad app will cost USD 39.99!

No doubt, folks will need to have some understanding of Managing Tasks by projects or Getting Things done to  use applications like this.

A lot of people swear by it but I feel for most folks there are cheaper options that does the same thing.

Take a look at how it works:

Pocket Informant have been priding themselves to come up with good task management applications since Windows Mobile days.

Their iOS Software have been selling well on the App Store and here they did their changes to their iPad App and it looks great!

Calendar View

While on a 2.8 inch to 3.5 inch screen it is a struggle to present events and task in a clear manner with good space affordance, on a 10 inch display it is not a problem.

Task View

Task Lists are clear and concise as well. Do note the clear breakdown into Folders, Tasks, Perspectives and Filters.

Over the Air Synchronization

The advantage of PI over the standard iPad calendar lies in two areas: the integration of the calendar with tasks, and the ability to have PI sync those functions with outside sources. The PI calendar can be synced to desktop clients (Outlook, iCal) and to Google Calendar online. Tasks can be synced to the online service Toodledo. Development is planned to add Exchange support and full OS X support in the future.

This ability to wirelessly sync both calendars and tasks online and to the desktop is something iPad owners have longed to have since the appearance of the device. Having this powerful capability included in an app that facilitates working with the calendar and tasks is icing on the cake.

Pricing

This application is expensive at USD 12.99 (now promo at USD 6.99) but I think it is well worth the effort.

Shuffle is a task management to-do list build upon the Getting Things Done methodology that came up by David Allen

I am still having problems finding quality To Do List application that follows the GTD concept on the Android, while on the iOS platform, we have tons of competitive quality to do list softwares.

Shuffle initially look like a good software for GTD and I hope that it measures up so that it makes my switching over to Android a lot less easier.

Lets take a look how it performs.

Download it here

Pros

1. If you like a task manager that adds to your Google Calendar, this is a good one
2. Great UI
3. Can be Simple
4. Fulfills basic GTD
5. Able to switch perspectives from menu at almost all screens.
6. Shows number of un-completed tasks in the context
7. Very nice contexts

Cons

1. No notification sited.
2. Only 1 level project hierarchy
3. No synchronization to desktop or web (such as Remember the Milk or Toodledo)

Cost

Shuffle is FREE. You can download it from the Android Market.

Version Reviewed

The version reviewed is 1.6.3

Appearance

The UI looks more like a copy of the Sense UI rather than the stock Android UI, which is a complement to Shuffle because I think it generally looks very good.

All text boxes and labels are spaced out well. The color theme is done very nicely.

Projects Hierarchy

In terms of Projects Hierarchy, Shuffle only allows you to have one level. This to me is something negative.

I would prefer one which at least have 2 levels like most on the iOS such as Appigo ToDo or 2Do which have 2 levels.

It would seem that most people use GTD base on this concept

Areas of Focus (AOF) 1

—- Project A

—- Project B

AOF 2

—– Project C

—– Project D

With Shuffle, the best way is really to see projects as the lowest level group of actionable tasks you need to do

—- Project A

—- Project B

—– Project C

—– Project D

Creating a Project

Creating a task is pretty standard.  However you can assign a project to a context. This might afford you to cheat and let your context be your Area of Focus.

Another interesting thing is that you can specify if the Actions is to be completed in sequence or in parallel. Whats the difference? To be honest I can’t really tell since they are all list out in the project view, but it is highly probable that in your other views (Inbox, Contexts, Due) they will only appear after the first one is completed and hide the rest that is not suppose to be done now.

This is a good feature as if its suppose to be completed sequentially, it blocks out the tasks that you cannot do first from the user. However, there could possibly be a lot of projects where tasks are in sequence and others where they are not.

Setting up Contexts

Contexts setup is easy. There is a pre-define set of contexts created that you can use for starters. Those are locational based contexts, so you might want to add your own people based, or time based contexts.

What’s nice about Shuffle is that the user makes creating contexts fun by adding color themes that is similar to that of Google’s Gmail color tags.

You can also assign icons to your context should you be a more visual person.

Good thing i s that you can find icons for

• Leisure
• Internet
• Work or Review
• Computer
• Urgent or Next Actions
• @Home
• @Commuting
• @Boss
• Reading or review

Creating Actions

Right we are down to creating what it matters: Tasks. Or in the case of Shuffle its called Action, which is more or less what David Allen describes them as.

You can add actions in a lot of places and you can specify which project or context it belongs to.

You have the option to use scheduling. This is a concept I am not accustom to as I normally only use due date. Here you can specify start date and due date and their time.

An examination of the check box below probably shows how this is geared up to be. You have the option of adding this task to your google calendar.

Essentially, some people uses the calendar more than a task list, so they might like this.

But for me, there are tasks that takes place as soon as possible ( like the constraint in Microsoft Project and I wouldn’t want to set the start date. I only set the due date to know when this milestone have to be done.

Review and Doing: Switching Perspectives

When it comes to reviewing, Shuffle makes use of a Perspective button in the Android Menu. There it allows you to have a quick access to other perspective views. This is a good feature.

Projects Perspective

Projects perspective shows your projects and its task in a expanded view. It depends on how  you feel but I feel this is good as it shortens the time for review.

Another style common to Smartphone to do list is to bring you to a task list once you click on the project. I feel sometimes that is very crumble some.

Due Actions Perspective

Due actions are split into Today, Next Week and Next Month. Abit limited but I think for a free application I am not asking for much.

Contexts Perspective

If you are doing work, you will spend most of your time at the Contexts Perpective. The good thing is that it is very presentable and you can easily see how much actions in each contexts you have not carried out.

Inbox Perspective

Conclusion

Overall, a very competent Task Manager for a smartphone. Would it make my switch to Android easier? I think if I do not have a choice, I can live with this, but comparing this against the to do list I am using now which is 2Do on the iPod Touch 3G I think its still very far.

The biggest knock back have been the Projects Hierarchy and the form of date entry used. I would prefer something like what some to do list such as Appigo To Do implemented which is a full calendar for selection:

Introduction

I got interested in this very good looking Task Management application called 2Do for iPhone and iPod Touch and installed it to see whether it can be flexible enough to be a good app to follow David Allen’s Getting  Things Done methodology.

I never expected it to work so well that it is replacing Action List as my main task management application. This is the ultimate vote of confidence for this application as i have previously use Appigo ToDo and Action List, both very very competent applications.

Here is a walk through on how to set up 2Do in the GTD way.

Setting up your Areas of Focus/Responsibilities

This is where you plan out what are your 1 year goals that enable you to get to where you want to be in 5 years time.

Just like in Appigo ToDo and Action List, I use the main bucket list for this task

I have gotten used to seperating my work task list from my private life. and as such my area of focus are mostly found in personal goals such as blogging,business sourcing and wellness and health.

These are translated in 2Do to Calendars.

Setting up your Contexts

A tutorial on how i view contexts can be found here [tutorial >>]

My contexts have not changed much and they are based around Location, Modes/Chunks and People.

I will normally set up the location and modes/chunks as these can be pretty fixed. For people i will set up those that i interact with that recurs alot, such as bosses, common end users and family.

Contexts can be set up in 2Do using Tags. Note that you can’t prepare a list, but when you enter each individual task details, you get the opportunity to set it up. Here is an example of some of my location contexts.

The People Contexts are seperate in 2Do from the other contexts, and 2Do will look them up in your contact list in your iPhone.

Collection of Tasks

This happens anytime, anywhere. Collection is simply taking things off the brain and into 2Do. It is recommended that you spend 5 mins everyday thinking about what needs to be collected.

There are many options to filled in for each individual task but i will go through those that are more related to GTD.

You can select where the task should belong to. If it is a task that should be part of a set of actions to complete a certain objective then it should be added to an existing project (those task with a brief case icons are sub projects).

Of course, you would also need to specifiy an end date for the task. I really like this calendar layout compare to Action list

You can then tag the contexts whichever they belong to. You can tag multiple contexts and people, which is great!

You can also set certain task such as allocating your monthly paycheck or paying the utilities as recuring activites. This is a god sent feature in Task Management!

Enter notes……

And then there are really tons and tons you can link to your task! Take a look below:

What 2Do will actually do is to limit what you will view in your task entry. You can go to the Arrange ToDo properties to decide which one you want to view by default and which one to hide. Do note that Tags are by default hidden.

Managing a Sub-Project

2Do like Appigo Todo have a 2 layer hierachy. In their case its a Calendar and Sub-Project. Enter a task as per normal but change the type from ToDo to Project.

Your ToDo task will morph to become a brief case indicating a Sub-Project. You can then hit the plus image to add more tasks to this mini project of yours.

2Do gives you an option to organize your Calendars, Smart Calendars or Sub-Projects according to a few parameters. So if your sub projects need to be completed in a certain sequence and not by due date, change the option to Manually.

You can then reorder the ToDo Task as how they should be completed.

Reviewing and Doing the Tasks

In most to-do list, we filter by contexts based on the time we have, where we are and who we come into contact with. In 2Do is no different. But 2Do have a rather useful feature.

Here you can save your filters as Smart Calendars much like another todo app called Remember the milk.

You will have a default calendar “All” that you can view every task under the sky. Tap the search bar and it will bring more options.

Notice the Tag next to the bar.

You can then select specific contexts to filter to. This is up to how you work. You might want to filter by work done at home that takes a medium amount of time.

You can then filter by the duration where the task is due.

You can then save the search and then you have a Smart Calendar on the left side tab bar that you can always refer to that filter. What i do is to Edit the Smart Calendar and change its color to something uniform and rearrange all these context filters to the top.

Then I will do or execute the task by determining where i am location wise and which mode/chunk  i am in now.

I removed the check box that is common in most todo list apps to check off once you are done. If you touch the task long enough a Quick Action bar will appear. I really love the look of the quick action bar as in a glance i can know what i can do to the task.

So you can choose to set the Task as Done or Copy to make a duplicate of the task or just delete an errant task.

How much does it cost?

You can find 2Do on the App Store for USD 6.99. Not the most expensive to-do list but not the cheapest as well.

What does this To-Do list sync with?

Every advance task management to-do list will need to sync with something we were using prior to this application. For 2Do the provide:

Sync with Toodledo Web Based Task Manager [Instructions here>>]

Folks should register an account with Toodledo as it seem to have become the defactor task management backup standard.

Sync with Outlook on Windows PC [Instructions here >>]

Limitations:

• 2Do only supports recurring patterns exposed by itself and may not correctly set the kind of advanced pattern, if any, found in Outlook.
• Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly repeat patterns are supported so long as these do not use Start and End dates offered by Outlook. Also, Weekly patterns with an interval of 1 week is supported by 2Do at the moment.
• Alarms created in 2Do are not re-created in Outlook and vice versa. This will be looked at in coming updates.
• More of an outlook issue: Outlook may at times need to be relaunched after a sync session in order to refresh its list if a lot of tasks changed/updated.
• It is recommended one syncs 2Do with a single paired machine at any given time. Cross syncing across multiple machines with Outlook is experimental and may not always produce desired results.

Sync with iCal on Mac [Instructions here >>]

Limitations:

• Projects and Checklists are not natively supported by Sync Services (iCal) on the Mac, thus synced Projects and Checklists will appear as normal tasks in iCal.
• If syncing with Google or Exchange on the Mac, Sync Services will sync these subscribed calendars as Read Only with 2Do
• From 2Do v1.2 onwards, initial sync with iCal will sync calendar colors from and to iCal. Subsequent syncs will not sync iCal colors to 2Do but will sync 2Do color changes back to iCal.
• This is there to bypass a bug currently present in iCal that darkens the originally set color over a number of subsequent syncs. This happens if the color was synced from a 3rd Party app and not modified directly from iCal.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a dream of a task management app. Based on the Smart Calendar alone, i rate it higher than Appigo Todo. Do give it a try as i highly recommend it for hard core believers in Getting Things Done.

This is part of a series where i talk about my GTD experience and  my setup.

Part 1 here talks about my plan and overview of my GTD system

Part 2 here talks about why i eventually chose iPod Touch 2G as my main to do list console

Part 3 here talks about why i choose Appigo ToDo for iPhone as my main task manager

Part 4 here talks about how to plan for big projects and smaller projects

Part 5 here talks about how to make use of Contexts, Tags to Execute your tasks

Part 6 here discuss about how you can review projects better using iThoughts mind mapping software

Part 7 here talks about setting GTD on a iPhone app called 2Do

Good Friday Morning to all.

We are seeing a stream of apps listed on the App Store currently and what i observed is that there are alot of notepad or note taking apps coming in. The latest is this CourseNotes i talked about yesterday.

It is likely that the competition for iPad will be intense for note taking application like how it was for to do list on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Why is this the case?

For one thing, the iPhone and iPod don’t provide a form factor for note taking as although the iPhone have a smashing virtual keyboard, you would note expect to do heavy typing on it. There is no graffiti style of fast note taking as well.

The iPhone and iPod is such a conducive device to bring your to do list around [review of todo here >>] so that you can always have access to your task list and to collect tasks without ever forgetting them.

The bigger virtual keyboard and screen allows professionals to take notes much more comfortably then the iPhone. the iPhone almost takes notes well enough. Apps made to take notes are very responsive because of Apple’s great optimize platform.  Having a larger screen enables students to review their notes much easier and professionals to take minutes and review minutes much easier.

Firstly thank you Charles for being kind enough to extend a beta copy of Action Lists for me to do this review.

So far i have the chance to investigate 2 Task Management Software:

1. Appigo ToDo [Review Here >>]
2. eToDo [Review Here >>]

For sure, these are not the only lists around and the fact that the competition is so hot means there is only one winner here, which is you the consumer!

Action Lists is brought to you by Daze End Software, you may have come across another of its software which is ListMaker and this one is working on the same formula as List Maker.In fact you can say that action Lists is building on the same formula as List Maker.

Action Lists, like most task management applications on iPhone enables you to follow the GTD Workflow by David Allen but for me, it can be much more than that.

How much does it cost?

There is a free version for you to try that is FREE. However, it only enables you to create a limited number of tasks and projects.

The paid application cost USD9.99, which is the same cost as Appigo Todo and Things.

When you cost that much, you gotta be as competitive as them. Here we will see if it measures up.

How does it work?

Action Lists does task management according to the GTD workflow, but you have the flexibility to do it in alot of ways.

Typically you start off by doing a sweep to collect any thing that you can think of. Any thoughts that translates to actionable tasks will go into the Inbox.

Task entry is similar to Appigo ToDo in that you can use a Quick Add button to add a task without detail specifications. But most would prefer to use the detail entry screen.

Here you can enter the

1. description of your task
2. start date of the task
3. end date of the task
4. notes for the task
5. context/categories of the task and
6. which project it belongs to
7. set task to repeating

whatever a good todo list have, Action Lists have it for you. You can specify your own contexts and later you can filter by them.

The repeating task is abit special. You can set them to continous repeat, and the tasks will be generated either when the day have been reached, or when the task have been completed.

I find this to necessary in the past to have the task recur on its own when the day comes but i realise that doing this, you can very likely litter your todo list should you fall off the to do list bandwagon and attempt to hop back on.

The preferred method will be to recur when you have complete the task. Either way, once you marked a task completed, a new recur task is added to the Inbox

This is abit different but its Action Lists way to make sure that all new task is handled at Inbox level. some people will like this, some will not.

Nested Projects

When you are organizing your tasks in your inbox, if the task needs more than 1-2 steps to be handled, you will create a Project to group them together.

This is where Action Lists differs from all task list on the market. Action Lists enables you to have unlimited projects within projects and there will alot of folks who appreciate this as you can really group your tasks by:

1. Personal and Work
2. Strategic Goals
3. Area of Responsibilities
4. Project Milestones
5. Small Projects

I used to want this nested feature alot as i think it makes alot of sense. Even the Desktop ToDoList that i have created based on Nested Tree List. People that are in software development would have use Microsoft Project and it enables you to have nested task. If you look at your life as one big project then having nested list will really help.

Not having it is not end of the world. In fact most people will just make do with 2 levels: the first level being your Area of Responsibilities be it Project A, Being a good family man and the second level being your Project milestones to achieve that area of responsibility.

Task Status and Doing the Task via Context

How you perform the “Do It” after “Organzing it” will be based on 2 things: the Status of the task and the Context.

When defining the task you can select the status.

Setting the Task to Waiting will cost the task to pop up at the Waiting Tab (notice the increase in number badge indicating the number of waiting task) for me this is good as it really provides a clear seperation of tasks that are currently waiting. Currently with Appigo ToDo, i have it as one of my Tags and while i have said Appigo toDo main problem is that you need to go into the tags to see how many unfinish task you have. With Action Lists you don’t have this problem.

The Same goes with Someday. Once you decide to do a Someday task, just switch the status to Active or Next Action

As i have said, you hop on over to Action Lists Tab to go through your context to see your next action.

You will note that there aren’t alot of task queued here. Why is that? This is because only task set to Next Action Status will appear here!

Its a novel way of filtering away all the freaking task and only show what you have to do next.

There is abit of a problem here. So lets say you completed a task, what you need to do next is go to the Projects tab and go to that particular project and set the next task status to Next Action from Active.

what happens when your task is so deeply nested inside?

This is where Task Queue comes in. Touch the blue arrow next to each project folder and you will see the option “Queue Next Actions“.

Toggle it on and after you finish one next action, it will immediately set the next earliest due task to Next action from Active. This may not work well if you have tasks that have dependency not based on time of completion. the jury is still out if this performs well enough

Synchronize and backup to ToodleDo

Action Lists enables you to back up your tasks and folders to Toodledo. I have not tested how well this works since my ToodleDo syncs with Appigo ToDo but i have a feeling it will be another case that ToodleDo will act as a backup rather than allow you to use it both online and on your iPhone.

Do tell me your experience with syncing.

Where to improve upon

This App have alot of potential i feel.However here are some things that they need to iron out.

Full Calendar selection – We cannot rely on the roller to select the date! As we are setting dates, we want to see clearly which day of the week or which weekday we set upon. Using a roller selector is not good for this.

More Description details – from the picture below you will see that its very difficult to tell at one glance what you need to do. you will have to go into the task itself. I feel this needs to be expanded

Conclusion

On the whole a very good to do list i feel. Does everything the competition has and a very niche and competitive feature in Nested Projects. Fix the problems that i mention and its well worthed the price.

For one that have program a todo list, i can truely appreciate this product and its difficulties. We hope that the next 1 month users will give ample feedbacks to increase the stability of the software. Appigo Todo have this problem for all versions, due to the complexity of to do lists in general.

so do contribute and highlight the issues to make this a good todo list!

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 >>]

WebOS is an OS that i have least experience in and a search on softwares that tailors to Getting Things Done yields very little results other than our dear Evernote.

That is why its refreshing to see Outline Tracker for WebOS. I did not give this a spin since i do not have a Palm Pre or Pixi to try it out.

How much does it cost?

There is a free version on the App Catalog that limits you to 50 tasks but the full version costs USD23.50.

What version of WebOS is it compatible with?

You will need webOS 1.3.5

What are its main functionalities?

• Organize tasks and sub-tasks as many layers deep as you need
• Keep track of where you can work on a task and who’s responsible
• The dynamic to-do list shows only the tasks you can work on here and now
• Color-coding shows at a glance who’s responsible for a task — you, your organization, or no one
• The dynamic waiting list shows tasks that are waiting for action by someone else — a single tap takes you to their entry in the webOS Contacts application
• Items with a due date appear in the webOS Calendar and the project outline, and tasks appear in the dynamic to-do list as well
• Coordinate with others using Basecamp from 37signals (useable through any web browser, with custom apps available for many kinds of smartphone)
• Basecamp items are cached locally, so Basecamp projects can be edited without a network connection. Changes will be uploaded when the network connection is available.
• Supports David Allen’s Getting Things Done® methodology
• Also functions as a general-purpose outliner, exporting to (and importing from) the modern XOXO format, easily integrated into web pages

GTD – Able to Organize in tree structure

with this you can essentially create Tasks and Sub-Tasks or Sub-Projects

GTD – Able to filter by Contexts/Places

if you are to perform GTD you will need to be able to filter your tasks by places or agendas. This one does it but not sure if it can achieve the sophistication of Appigo ToDos context filtering. [context/places intro and tutorial >>]

GTD – Waiting for looks good!

You can review your waiting for list according to the people. Outline Tracker allows you to go to the Palm’s contacts when you click on the person’s name.

Very useful.

GTD – comprehensive task view and integration with webOS Calendar

This is a good move that i don’t see on alot of mobile apps on iPhone since you will need a fair bit of work to achieve this on the iPhone OS platform.

essentially, your items need not be tasks and need not have dates. this gives it flexibility, but also increases the developer’s complexity.

also, note seems to be missing if you want to add additionaly details.

the kicker is that those items with due date specified will go into your webOS calendar. some folks definitely love to have this in their GTD system.

Final Thoughts

i thought its abit expensive at $23 bucks but really not sure if all App Catalog application are priced at that range. I hope we come accross more apps like this to compete and come up with good GTD apps for the webOS.

At the iPhone App Store competition have kept the incumbents at the top of their game and we do hope to see more of these on the webOS.

[Outline tracker for Palm Pre and Pixi >>]