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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Review: Get It Done for the PlayBook

[caption id="attachment_130" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Focus Area"][/caption]

One of the very first applications I went looking for on my PlayBook was a Task/Project Management application.  I have been a long time user of the web app toodledo, but there were no apps available that supported syncing with this popular web app.  There were two option in the App World that looked appealing: Get It Done (GID) and Conqu.  After reading the summary's and reviews and looking online I decided to run with GID because of it's integration with Evernote, the popular note taking application I already use.

For starters, GID has a very nice look and feel to it, the interface is clean and the colors are easy on the eye's and everything is within reach when you need it.  The menu column on the left has your list of "Focus Area's" as well as your list of Projects and a list for "Smart Folders" (we'll touch on that later.)  The "Quick Add entry box at the top of the list will quickly add a task into whichever focus area you are currently in.  In keeping with GTD principles the idea would be to empty your mind and start dumping your tasks into the "Inbox", from there you would sort through your task and apply them to appropriate projects, or time frames (today, someday, etc.)

[caption id="attachment_132" align="alignleft" width="159" caption="Priorities and Projects"][/caption]

The Schedule feature allows you to set a task aside to be reviewed or completed at a certain time and date or repeated in the same manner.  You also have the typical tagging features relevant to most apps, and they are searchable and sortable with the "Smart Folder" function.  So, say you have a tag called "windows updates" your Smart Folder could contain all the  Tasks with that tag regardless of date, time or project.  The people function allows you to assign tasks to members of your team, or others you designate.

All in all the app is fairly robust, easy to use and not too bad to look at.  GID is still actively in development, so features are being added regularly and there always seems like something is added every update.  The one fault I found in the PlayBook app was that the scheduling feature is not available and any task that has been "scheduled" is difficult to locate because of that.  The developers say that is coming in the next update, so I'm willing to let it slide.  The mobile versions of the app all sync with the web app, so you can have your information handy regardless of the platform you are using.  The web app is even decent to use on my BlackBerry Bold 9930 with the mobile browser.

The other fine point of GID is the Evernote integration, having your notes available to you as you work on your projects is a big plus.  Depending on your workflow and how you access and store your information, GID and Evernote can be a power 1 - 2 combination at your finger tips.

The  subscription price is $39 per year, which is quite a bit more than offerings from Remember The Milk ($25.00) or Toodledo ($14.95), but less then the upcoming Conqu which will run upwards of $55.  The application development is in house, so paying the subscription fee means you'll always be able to take your data to any device without an additional app cost or upgrade price for a feature set.

[caption id="attachment_133" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Main UI"][/caption]

In summary, I would recommend to anyone to at least give GID a trial run.  The 15 day free trial should be enough for anyone to make up their mind on whether or not this application will meet their needs.  I found it has just the right amount of depth and very little complexity.  I'd like to see sub-tasks in the future, and from reading the developer blog I get the impression they listen to their users and take their opinions seriously.  In my book, the Evernote integration puts GID over the top compared to the competition and I give it a 9/10.  I'm scoring it on the high side because I believe the developers will continue to support it and improve it, and that really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

7 comments:

  1. I need sync with other devices/services. All the task apps for the PlayBook lock their data to the device, not including webaccess like Conqu.

    I'm enjoying the free 'Due Today' Android app on OS2 beta that syncs with my BlackBerry 9700 and iMac via Toodledo.

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  2. Thanks for the comment Robert. Get It Done does sync with their web app as well as other devices (I tested it on my iPad2 as well.) Conqu is missing the ability to have notes in your tasks, which is a must have for me. I am, and have been a big fan of Toodledo and I have some code from a fellow who made an Air app for it. This weekend I'm going to try to turn that into a useable app. I'm not ready to instal 2.0 yet, I want to get a little more comfortable with what I have now before I go jumping into that pool.

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  3. A native Toodledo sync ToDo app would be great! Especially if it syncs ota using the Bridge bluetooth connection. All the Android apps need WiFi including ‘Due Today’.

    My bad, ‘Due Today’ is $2.99:

    http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/products/android/DueToday/

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  4. I've gone ahead and bookmarked your post: Review: Get It Done for the PlayBook at Digg.com so my friends can see it too.

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  5. Thanks for that, I appreciate the comment as well!

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  6. Well I'm working on an app right now, I have the web version working, but I want something cleaner. I hope to have something available before Christmas...

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    ReplyDelete