Decisions...: Things vs. OmniFocus

[chriswheat]

I've been using Things on my mac for several months now and have fallen in love with the way it works. However the implementation of their iPhone version leaves a lot to be desired. I'm thinking about switching to OmniFocus and their iPhone app.

Can anyone who has used the iPhone version of OmniFocus tell me how well the syncing works. Also, is the location function working correctly?

Is anyone else thinking about switching from Things to OmniFocus? Do you think I should wait it out for the guys at Things to add syncing and location functions?

Just looking for some other opinions on this as I've been back and forth and can't make up my mind.

 

[SRSound]

Id love to have the Omni focus iphone/desktop system, but I cant justify the cost when i have a great pad/pen in front of me

 

[trentiles]

I'm an avid Things user and bought their iPhone app. Right now I'm not even using it since there currently is no syncing with the desktop version.

Sit tight though. They already have planned to release desktop syncing. So if you can be patient I'm sure a new version will be here before you know it making their iPhone app the best GTD app out there.

 

[twinsdad]

I've been using Things on my mac for several months now and have fallen in love with the way it works. However the implementation of their iPhone version leaves a lot to be desired. I'm thinking about switching to OmniFocus and their iPhone app.

Can anyone who has used the iPhone version of OmniFocus tell me how well the syncing works. Also, is the location function working correctly?

Is anyone else thinking about switching from Things to OmniFocus? Do you think I should wait it out for the guys at Things to add syncing and location functions?

Just looking for some other opinions on this as I've been back and forth and can't make up my mind.

Syncing on OmniFocus has been flawless for me so far. I'm hoping they add push features when Apple releases that technology. I went to WalMart today and while there created a context called grocery shopping and set it to my current location. It found the GPS coordinates in seconds.

 

[mctheriot]

Same Here - Flawless

Using MobileMe, syncing has worked perfectly so far. The iPhone app is elegantly implemented.

Mark

 

[badtz]

I'm also on the boat between OmniFocus and Things. My primary concern is how well it works on the desktop version, that will dictate which one I buy for the iPhone (since both will ultimately support syncing).

What I do like about Omnifocus is the fact that it can sync via webDAV, that's very cool! I don't want MobileME, so mobileme syncing is useless for me

 

[pb30]

I'm syncing perfectly over WebDav (although their forums do show some people have had issues) and the location seems to be working great using the 1st gen iPhone (just bought the app, haven't had a lot of time to stress test it)

Sidenote: The current Things price will be going back up to $20 at some point

 

[musicpenguy]

OmniFocus for the iPhone is simply incredible! The location feature is great, the syncing is flawless, within the past day I have been able to get more things done and been able to be more useful with my day! I am now hooked on OmniFocus and will be ordering a license for the desktop client once the 14 day trial is up.

I cannot recommend OmniFocus enough I think it is the best or one of the best iPhone apps available and its just at version 1.0 now!

 

[badtz]

^ have you compared this against Things?

my concern is not on the iPhone end, but omnifocus on the desktop ... because the interface is much "busier" than Things. Looks a little too complex for task management......?

 

[Nikhil72]

I haven't used Things on the desktop yet but I'm really enjoying its iPhone client--I'll load up the desktop client once syncing is enabled, but it's more convenient for me to use my iPhone as my To-Do pad. I especially love the breakdowns of potential task categories (Today, Next, Scheduled, Someday...perfect)

 

[TimothyB]

Do any these have the ability to display a reminder or sound an alarm anytime? Or do you have to launch the program to be notified?

For example, on my old phone, I set it to have an alarm go off 10:30 pm for the 5 days I work, repeating. It's to remind me of one last task before I leave work.

So the iPhone will need to sound an alarm to remind me. Also similar setup up for bill reminders.

I notice in Things product page, for the scheduled section, some have clocks icons next to the items. Is that to say the item will sound an alarm? http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/index.html

EDIT: I just noticed for the first time all the stopwatch, timer, and alarm features in the clock app. I'm glad to find you can make as many alarms as you want, label them, and choose which days of the week to repeat. And easy on and off switch incase you don't need it and don't want to delete it. But can any apps from the app store do alarms for to-dos or payments? But I guess now that I have the alarm for repetitive things, I can use the calendar for simple things like when a bill is due.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I am also trying out Dejumble. It's not as fully-featured or complex as OmniFocus, but the interface seems more to my liking. The iPhone app seems pretty good too (but hard to tell from screenshots only!)

 

[madmaxmedia]

I haven't used Things on the desktop yet but I'm really enjoying its iPhone client--I'll load up the desktop client once syncing is enabled, but it's more convenient for me to use my iPhone as my To-Do pad. I especially love the breakdowns of potential task categories (Today, Next, Scheduled, Someday...perfect)

I just started playing around with desktop Things, and at initial glance love the basic organization. It does some things differently, but the design decisions seem very pragmatic and seem to agree with my actual workflow. Areas and tags are great too, there seems to be a lot of flexibility and it's just a matter of devising a system that will work for my needs.

I'm not worried about Things Touch synchronization, we know it's coming in a free update. I will probably buy the touch version next, this seems to be the app for me.

Omnifocus looks great too, though its hard for me to justify the cost (when Things seems quite complete for my needs.)

 

[Sky Blue]

I downloaded the Things iPhone app, though I'm pissed there's no syncing. It's pretty much useless right now, i just wanted the cheap price.

 

[TimothyB]

Can anyone tell me if an app like Things can set alarms reminders for scheduled tasks, or to-dos?

So if the phone is in my pocket or on my work desk, I'll be reminded without having to actually load the application?

 

[amysig]

Can anyone tell me if an app like Things can set alarms reminders for scheduled tasks, or to-dos?

So if the phone is in my pocket or on my work desk, I'll be reminded without having to actually load the application?

I'm looking for an answer to this also...anyone?

 

[madmaxmedia]

I'm looking for an answer to this also...anyone?

I don't think it does at this point, the developers have said they they are going to be adding a lot of features (including synchronization) in later free udpates. I would recommend you contact the developers for details about alarms-

http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/

Their website also has a user forum as well.

 

[TimothyB]

I'm looking for an answer to this also...anyone?

So far my only solution for some kind of notification is ReQall, where I've set it to send reminders to a new g-mail account I made for it, and with fetch every 15 minutes, I'd get at least a notification from the iPhone via it seeing a new e-mail.

Or I wonder if there could be a loop where you have a to do list app that syncs with your computer's calendar, then the iPhone syncs with that calendar, and hopefully carries over some alarm to the iPhone calendar.

 

[hiredgoon]

What to do, to do?

I was running Things on my laptop but found the lack of drag'n'drop functionality a pain to work with. The tagging and interface is lovely, but the few bugs made the application painful to work with, so I switched to the desktop version of OmniFocus.

Whilst it isn't as pretty as Things, OmniFocus is a better GTD client. The desktop widget was useful and generally it's a more solid application. It's just that the price is a kicker.

So like you CHRISWHEAT I'm torn about how to proceed... Has anyone found a definitive comparison article?

The best solution would be for THINGS to update their syncing solution and charge a single licence fee for the Desktop and iPhone versions.

until then, i'll keep using Basecamp (though it pains me to do so)

 

[madmaxmedia]

Where were you missing drag and drop? The only thing I noticed was dragging stuff around in the sidebar, but I believe the devs have said that is coming.

The final desktop app price is going to be $49, and the final mobile app price is going to be near $20 IIRC. You can sign up for their newsletter and get a promo price of $39 for the desktop, and buy the mobile version now for $10, so the total would actually be the same $49.

It does require a leap of faith, but I have found the desktop app to be well-designed and well-thought-out so took the plunge and bought the mobile app for now. They also seem relatively responsive on their message board, so that's always a good sign for me.

 

[gillybean]

I'm using a todo app called ToDo and it works fairly nice.

 

[jaseone]

Can anyone tell me if an app like Things can set alarms reminders for scheduled tasks, or to-dos?

So if the phone is in my pocket or on my work desk, I'll be reminded without having to actually load the application?

No, it isn't possible with the SDK at the moment as you can't run applications in the background. However come September or whenever Apple launches it's notification system then I would imagine the developers would be able to work that into their applications for reminders although I'm not sure whether that will be an iPhone only feature or not.

FYI I use and love OmniFocus on the iPhone, I have the desktop client in trial mode as well, which I like even though it is a little complex looking but I am having a little diffculty in coughing up $80 for it.

 

[chuckd62687]

What does GTD stand for?

 

[diesel]

What does GTD stand for?

GTD = Gettinig Things Done

I just found out myself when looking into Omnifocus and Things.

Apparently some kind of technique for time/action management or something created/popularized by David Allen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done


i'm personally surprised about how someone could take common sense concepts and write books and a whole business around it. more power to him i guess

 

[onomatopoeia]

How about Exchange syncs? Can either Things or OmniFocus do that?

The iPhone does a great job of syncing Exchange email, contacts and calendar it fails to sync the To Do tasks. That's all I need.