One of the most effective task management tools that I have had the opportunity to use was Lotus Organizer. I had used the tool for several years and IBM had stopped updates and new releases. Despite this, it was still a pretty powerful tool. It allowed you the ability to synchronize your data with the Palm OS which came in handy back in the day. I have since begun to do more and more work on a Mac rather than a PC.

I had decided to install a couple of task management applications on my iPhone to see which one would be the most useful. The two that I decided to try out are Appigo’s To Do and Cultures Code’s Things. Being a project manager there are a few things that I looked for in a task management application that some of the “lite” versions did not offer. For this reason, I decided to give them both a try. Which one did this PM end up picking? Both. Here’s why.

To Do Dashboard

Ideally it would have been nice to have the ability to manage all of my tasks with one handheld application and it may seem a little inefficient to some that I am using both quite frequently. Like Internet Service Providers, Cable Companies and other products, some are better than others in some areas. For this reason, I decided to stick with both.

Some of the similar features that both products contain include a “focus” feature that allows the notification badge to show you what tasks and/ or projects are coming due within a given duration. Both applications let you customize the notifications in reference to how far out you would like to be notified. Both allow you to categorize tasks by project. Both allow you to create recurring due dates for tasks that you may want to see again.  Both have a task inbox to allow you to create tasks on the fly without categorizing them. Finally, both allow you to tag your tasks.

Appigo’s To Do is primarily an iPhone only application. Unlike Things, it does not have a desktop application that accompanies it. It’s ease of use and feature set are everything that you would need in a task management tool. I would venture to say that it is actually easier to enter tasks into your handheld than its counterparts. The user interface allows you to enter tasks in less time than it does in Things.  Selecting tags, contexts and list make it faster to create a task. Also, the date picker interface is an actual calendar rather than a scroll bar, which is extremely helpful in speeding things up.

If you are looking for a robust task management application for your iPhone without the desktop counterpart, I highly recommend To Do. I use To Do because it is fast. If I do not have my laptop, it is a quicker and more efficient way of entering the tasks. Additionally, it integrates with Apppigo’s Notebook application, which allows you to link data across applications. I also like the presentation of completed items. It makes getting tasks done fun.

Things Dashboard

Cultured Code’s Things task management application for the iPhone is a bit more involved. It requires more steps to get the tasks into the phone without the desktop application. Some of the additional steps in creating a task make it take just a little bit longer to enter tasks. Its user interface is a bit more streamlined than that of To Do since it allows you the ability to do just a little bit less from the phone itself.

Why do I still use it? The desktop application that compliments the mobile counterpart is extremely powerful. When I do have my laptop, I will usually plow through adding tasks and doing the majority of the organization on the laptop. If you have the ability for constant use of the laptop application and rely on the iPhone application solely for status and/ or updates, then this would be the way to go. I cannot say enough about the application itself. It is truly amazing and you can preview it in action on the Cultured Code website. Additionally, the iPhone application syncs with the desktop application over the air, which is quite helpful.

One last determining factor that you may want to take into consideration is the price points. Things desktop application will run you about $49.95 and the iPhone counterpart another $9.99. Appigo’s To Do will run you $9.99. Both of which are excellent products and have received rave reviews. If you have any questions about any of the other features, please feel free to submit them in the comments below. I love both of the applications and use them everyday to help make task management more effective.

Although the keyboard shortcuts are there, I would have liked to have seen one that allows you to scroll all the way to the top of the list. There is a setting that allows you to do that by default but, it would be a nice addition if you wanted to reference another tweet. I guess the thought there is that you are already using the pointer. One nice thing about the auto scrolling to the top is that, if you have focus on a tweet when it updates, you will not lose your spot. If you change views, however, you may.

From a user interface perspective, again, I think that they did an outstanding job. However, there is one little thing that I am not too terribly fond of. I don’t mind the visual notifications on the application when it is open but, the visual in the task bar could use some customization. What I mean is that it lights up when there is a tweet, regardless of is it is an @ reply or a direct message. I know I am getting tweets, the interwebs is always on and some programmer somewhere is working a late night. My solution proposition, light up when there is an @ reply and maybe have a dot in the middle when there is a direct message.

Another cool feature is that it does support multiple accounts, which definitely comes in handy. As far as the visual notification in the task bar for that particular use case, I think that it would be fine to show the same visual notification as what was proposed earlier. If I see that I have an @ reply or a direct message, I will open the application and should be able to go from there. Also, the twitpics and other images open full-sized which I thought was nifty, especially after squinting at the little boxes in TweetDeck.

The Twitter API frequency adjustments are not there like TweetDeck but after today, I am not sure that I really need them. That is just my personal preference. I feel that it does a pretty good job updating as it. But, if you are in a hurry, there is a keyboard shortcut for refreshing the lists.

In summary, I love the application. I paid the 14.95 after deciding that I liked it so much and since I was able to get a grasp on the shortcuts so quick. atebits did a fantastic job with usability and I thought that I would take advantage of the introductory offer rather than wait for improvements. I am still a fan of TweetDeck but am glad that I installed it on the Mac.

If any readers have any specific questions on any of the items that I may have left out, feel free to comment and I will get back to you.