impatient juggler: Task for iPhone and iPad review: To-do list creation that's easy, fun, and beautiful

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Task for iPhone and iPad review: To-do list creation that's easy, fun, and beautiful

Task for iPhone and iPad was recently updated to version 2.0. For those who enjoy Clear either for iOS or Mac, Task is very similar but uses a little bit different of an organization scheme. Instead of hierarchies and levels like Clear, Task takes a simpler approach and just organizes reminders by date. Didn't finish one? That's okay, Task can automatically just move it to tomorrow for you.

To start using Task, just tap anywhere on the screen to create your first reminder. You can choose to just quickly enter items without due dates and times or you can add them. Pulling down on the day will reveal a time selection screen that lets you set a time you'd like to be reminded to do something. Pulling upwards on that will reveal another level which is a month view calendar. From here you can easily change the due date.

You can also choose to stamp something as important by tapping on the exclamation mark in the left hand corner above a task's title. This will bold it in your main list view. Task also allows you to choose whether or not you'd like a badge count on the app icon itself. You can enable or disable it within settings. There aren't many options aside from that for badges. If you have it on, it'll show a count for how many tasks you have left for the day. There aren't any other custom settings to choose from.

For notifications, there are a few tones to choose from in settings, the only thing I'd like to see added in that aspect are shorter tones. A lot of the options that are available are a little long for my taste.

The good

Nice gesture driven interface that gives quite a few options for creating tasks and managing them
iOS 7 like design and if that's your thing, you'll like the UI
Easy task management that isn't overly complicated which creates a nice balance between quick entry and too few options

The bad

Alert tones are rather long, which may annoy some users
Not many options for badge counts
No categories, just date driven lists

The bottom line

Task for iPhone and iPad is a great option for users that like Clear but would prefer date driven organization over categories. Much of the interface will feel very familiar.

If you currently don't use a task app and are looking for one, Task is a nice choice if you don't require a lot of detail for task lists. If that sounds like you, Task's beautiful interface and ease of use won't disappoint. It's also slightly cheaper than Clear.