RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘OmniFocus’

Review: The All-New iPad 2

12 Mar

The iPad 2 (Prices vary by model)

As I am sure you are aware, the iPad 2 was released to the public yesterday, March 11, 2011. The widely anticipated release has put in our hands the best iPad on the market. As a matter of fact some reviewers have said that with the release of the iPad 2, it becomes the only tablet on the market. I too was there to purchase the iPad 2 yesterday and now that I have had sufficient time to use it, play with it and try things out I can give you a fair assessment. Of course many of you would probably expect me to give a perfect rating simply because of my obsession with . The truth is that I fully intend to give an unbiased rating, not because I love , but rather an assessment of how the device truly works.
Read the rest of this entry »

 
8 Comments

Posted in iDevices, iPad, Technology

 

A Day in the Life of *MY* iPad

24 Feb

I have seen conflicting reports over the past 11 months relative to how people feel about their iPads. Ever since the release of the iPad April 2010, I have heard from people who LOVE it and people who HATE it. There are also plenty in between who bought their iPad only to realize that they never use it and it essentially became an expensive item to have hanging around the house. I myself bought an iPad from a man who bought it and no longer needed it. It was in perfect condition and even still in the box because he bought it and obviously found no place for it in his life.

This idea has often made me wonder why I can get so much use out of it and others find it so useless. I cannot help but think that many bought their iPads simply because it was the thing to do. But, as an Apple fan boy, I can always find a use for such a device so it baffles me that others cannot as well. Perhaps they regret their decision to buy it, or even resent Apple for the device, or maybe they are just looking for an excuse to hate it. No matter what the excuse, I have seen plenty of articles about why people hate their iPad and they just don’t stack up to those who LOVE their iPads. Of course that is easy to say coming from the guy on this side of the fence, but I also wasn’t one of those who jumped on the bandwagon, I waited to purchase my iPad until I could “justify” the purchase. I had to come up with a reason WHY I needed that iPad. Now, I see that it was truly one of the best purchases I made last year, not a day has gone by since I purchased it that I haven’t used my iPad. Literally, I use it day in and day out. I have many uses for it, one of which is maintaining this blog. I have found it easy to carry around with me, in a good case it stays safe and I can use it in many environments. If I am going to have a sit down meeting with someone, this makes for a great tool to show demos, write up notes or look things up on the internet. I use my iPad for news, videos, documents, communication and when I’m bored, games! I can also see the day when I am on a hunt for a new job, with all of my cover letters and resumes right on my iPad, the ability to print from my iPad, email my resume, and even show examples to potential employers.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
1 Comment

Posted in Apps-iPad, Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Technology

 

Review: NotifyMe2 (iPhone)

30 Dec

NotifyMe 2: ToDo in cloud (PoweryBase $5.99)

I am not sure why they added on the 2 to their name since there doesn’t appear to be a NotifyMe or NotifyMe1 in the app store. But this app is exactly what it claims to be, an app to Notify Me of whatever event I choose. This is not a universal app, but just as with other apps, if you don’t mind the the fact that it doesn’t look nice on an iPad, then it will actually do the job you need it to just fine. There are also a few different flavors of this app ranging from free to $9.99 for the iPad app. I currently have the middle tier coming in at $5.99 although I got the app for free at some point in the past (I don’t remember why) probably for helping them beta test it. Unfortunately, as much as I don’t want to knock the people who gave me a free app that actually serves a good purpose for me, I am not convinced that it is worth $5.99 cost they are charging and so I cannot at this time recommend you purchase it. That is the main reason for only giving it 3 stars. It is a good app and has many great aspects, but it is definitely not worth $5.99 to me. Had I had to pay for it, I would not have. That being said, if you find it on sale at some point, go for it!

This app is designed to help you get notifications and alerts about things, reminders if you will. It works by providing you an interface in which you can enter alerts for a variety of types, with a variety of tones and a description of your choosing. You can setup the alert to be recurring or force multiple alerts to come through as a general reminder. In my opinion this works a whole heck of a lot better than using iCal (Calendar) to manage these. Especially if you already use your calendar a lot, the last thing you are going to want to do is clutter it up with recurring events and constant reminders. Not to mention how easy it is to enter a new alert or reminder into this app, it beats iCal by far along those lines. The real benefit is that you can have both Push Notification events and Local Notification events. Now the app does have a few bugs, and a few things I just couldn’t quite get to work right, but for the most part the app functions, doing exactly what I want/need it to do to a point where I can rely on it. Now if I need a reminder about a specific event or something I need to do, I put it in NotifyMe2. Although since I already have iCal for regular events, and OmniFocus for an organizational To Do list, NotifyMe2 has very minimal use. Nonetheless I have yet to stop using it or actually delete it from my device.
Read the rest of this entry »

 
Comments Off

Posted in Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPhone, Technology

 

Review: OmniFocus (iPhone)

04 Dec

OmniFocus (The Omni Group $19.99)


I think it is pretty obvious by now that I like the OmniFocus apps, whether on my iDevices or on my mac. I find it an extremely useful tool and would be completely lost with out it. I use it quite a bit on my mac (throughout the work day) and on my iPad (when I am at home and around the house) but whenever I am out and about, I use it primarily on my iPhone. This review is specific to the iPhone version as it is NOT a Universal App. The two versions are significantly different in how they look and in some of the features. You can find the iPad review here. I recommend taking a look at the iPad version and seeing if it is right for you. I was reluctant to purchase at first but now find it exactly what I needed!

I have been using the iPhone version for several years now and have come to rely on it as a trusted system. As with other versions, it helps give me focus on the tasks that truly need my attention at that time. But it also helps me organize myself in quite a bit of ways, everything from bills that need to be paid to work tasks for the current project. Where the iPhone version really comes into play though is when I am out of the office or out of my home and need access to this list on the go. I use it for some of my shopping items, in particular items that I need to get from a specific place. I also use it for all my random errands that I would otherwise forget about. One of the great features of OmniFocus is the ability to have recurring events. That of course means if there is something that I regularly need to get from Costco, (for example) then I can schedule it as a recurring event. The next time I am at Costco I can look at the Costco context and see the things I likely would have forgotten had they not been in OmniFocus.

Most of the features of OmniFocus that have the biggest advantages are not unique to the iPhone version. So I may not list all of the features available but I am listing those that I specifically use from the iPhone.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Comments Off

Posted in Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPhone, Technology

 

Review: Zenbe Lists

02 Dec

Zenbe Lists (Zenbe, Inc $4.99) Universal App


This app is a universal app and functions equally well on either the iPhone or iPad. I actually do use the app on both, but definitely get a lot more use out of the iPhone version as I can access my lists anytime from anywhere. In this review I will include screen-shots from both versions. The features are identical. This app really is a redundant app for me as I already have OmniFocus as my to do/gtd app. But I do still use Zenbe Lists solely for the purpose of shopping lists. Although I do put some of my lists in OmniFocus, in general any list that I need to collaborate with another person will go into Zenbe Lists. Not only do they have the iPhone/iPad apps, they also have a very decent web app that can be used from any device, which means ANYONE can use it with me. But again, if it is a list I’ll be working on for myself, I will generally always use OmniFocus.

They have done a great job with this app and have continued to improve it over the past several years. When I first downloaded this app it was free, but now with all the development that has gone into it, as well as all the added benefits you now get from it, they have begun charging for the app. I probably would not have ever purchased the app had I not gotten it free. As such, I really reluctant to recommend anyone purchase this app. Though if you are in the market for a good To Do list then this may be for you. I am not really sure it is worth the value of the cost. But I will outline for you the features and let you decide.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Comments Off

Posted in Apps-iPad, Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPad, iPhone, Technology

 

Review: Twittelator Pro (iPhone)

28 Nov

Twittelator Pro – Twitter Client (Big Stone Phone $4.99)


This is NOT a universal app, but it is worth buying for both the iPhone and the iPad if you use twitter a lot. This review will be solely about the iPhone version with the iPad version being covered at a later date. The iPad version is available for $4.99 as well. If you are familiar with this app, it is not hard to see why it is worth buying for both devices. There is also a free version available, more than likely it is limited in some way although I am not sure exactly what the limitations are but it certainly will give you a chance to try out the app and decide for yourself. This app is definitely worth the purchase. Every time a new twitter app has been released for the iPhone, I have tried it out. Sometimes to see if I am missing anything by sticking to Twittelator Pro, and other times because those apps promise some great new feature. This includes of course the official Twitter app, when it was first released and since then, I have tried it out a few times. However every single time, I end up back with Twittelator Pro.

This app has had a lot of thought put into it ever since it first debuted back in 2008. It started off as a feature rich, but unpolished app (visually) and has grown into a very nice, very functional and very feature rich app. I use it quite regularly on both my iPad and iPhone.  A lot of the features in this app were developed and supported even before twitter released support for them. For example geo tagging tweets, or even lists are features that this app implemented in one way or another prior to twitter doing so. I have a long list of features for this app so I’ll get right into them now.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Comments Off

Posted in Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPhone, Technology

 

Review: OmniFocus for iPad (iPad)

23 Nov

OmniFocus for iPad (The Omni Group $39.99)


The iPad version of OmniFocus is exceptionally done. They now have companion apps for the Mac, the iPhone/iPod and the iPad. Unfortunately you have to purchase each one separately. The good news though, is that they all work together seamlessly. Between each instance you can have all your data syncing to any webdav drive or your MobileMe iDisk. This added benefit means that none of your machines ever have to be out of sync. I currently run OmniFocus on my home and work macs, as well as my iPhone and iPad. The one single license allows you to have it running on up to two machines at a time in the same location (This means if you use it on two like I do, you wont have any problems).

The OmniFocus idea is the Getting Things Done way of thinking. The idea is that when you have a task or project that needs to be done, there is no point in thinking about it at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Using OmniFocus allows you to organize your to do list in a way that maximizes your efficiency in addition to allowing you to relax when you don’t need to be doing anything else. The idea of Getting Things Done is not new but it is complex so I won’t go into detail here. Sufficeth to say that you can find plenty of online documentation about this way of thinking. I encourage you to read up on it sometime as you will find it quite beneficial at organizing your life. The main concept though is organizing your life into projects, and then projects into actionable items. Each action item then has a context in which that item should be completed. That context may be a place or a person.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Comments Off

Posted in Apps-iPad, iDevices, iPad, Technology

 

*MY* Top 10 iPhone Apps

16 Nov


It was by far a lot harder to choose my top ten iPhone apps than my top ten iPad apps. Not because they aren’t used or as useful or that I like them any less; but rather quite the contrary. The biggest problem I had was narrowing down the list and specifically weeding out ones that I really like but that have a limited use. Rest assured though, that I will at some point in a later post write more at length about the other apps as I think they are all news worthy in one way or another. For now I will be limiting the remainder of this post to the ten apps that I have chosen. I have not chosen any apps that are native to the iPhone despite how often I may use them.

One thing worth noting: ever since I started using my iPad I have started to move away from certain apps on my iPhone, and over to the iPad version of the same app. It is not that the iPhone isn’t worth mentioning, but simply that certain apps that would have made the list just 3 months ago, no longer do, simply because I use the iPad version now instead.  BeejiveIM is one of those apps.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
1 Comment

Posted in Apps-iPhone, iDevices, iPhone, Technology