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New Task Management App - Smarttime

O

odelay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 21, 2007
324
1
Thought this might interest some. It's not my app and I don't work for them. I don't even have the app installed any more as it doesn't really suit my needs, but I think it's got a lot of potential:

Product homepage:
http://www.leftcoastlogic.com/home.html

Appstore link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290995843&mt=8

Smarttime. The UI is very interesting, unlike any of the other task management apps I've used.

But for me, it's a bit too cluttered when adding tasks, and there's no reminder functionality which is a biggy for me, so I'll just carry on using reQall for now. It may well suit people needing a more complex app for time/task/appointment/project management though. It's free until 5th Oct, so get it now and try it out before the price goes up.

I'd love to see something like this that integrates with the built-in calendar app, to allow for reminders and side-by-side views with calendar events. I know currently Apple don't allow 3rd part app integration with the calendar, but hopefully further down the line it'll be possible. God only knows why apple didn't integrate their own todo list functionality into the calendar app itself....thinking about it, it was probably so they could make more money out of hundreds of 3rd party task mgmt apps!
 
Looks pretty interesting. I've been testing it out for a few minutes and I'm going to give it a try over the next few days. The only complaint I have at this point is the amount of typing and inputing it requires to enter a simple task. Otherwise, it looks very promising
 
I downloaded this last night after seeing this thread. I have tried just about all of the ToDo apps and none of the really work the way that my mind thinks. They're all basically re-hashes of each other. SmarTime seems to be a promising start in a better direction. The three views are helpful and if they tie into the Exchange calendar as they say they will, it may work.

I don't have any connection with these guys, but glad to see someone is at least trying to do something different. Their forum on the website says it will be free for the first week only.
 
im curious why you wouldnt just use the calender app? ive never really understood all these todo apps when the it seems the calender app does everything they do and syncs with "the cloud" and your desktop/laptop.
 
The calendar app doesn't allow snooze for reminders, something on the growing list of things that I miss on my Blackberry. Intelliscreen fills the void pretty well, but I don't really want to have to pay for it.
 
velvetelvis said:
im curious why you wouldnt just use the calender app? ive never really understood all these todo apps when the it seems the calender app does everything they do and syncs with "the cloud" and your desktop/laptop.
Click to expand...

The calendar is probably the most used app on my phone. I use it for tracking all my daily court appearances (where and when), but it is useless for tracking tasks associated with those appearances. In other words, it's the difference between appointments and tasks.

I have multiple tasks arise daily that I need to keep track of, and after trying many task apps on the iPhone, this one seems to come the closest to what I need, but it's still far from what I'd like. Maybe I should learn to develop....
 
swindmill said:
The only complaint I have at this point is the amount of typing and inputing it requires to enter a simple task. Otherwise, it looks very promising
Click to expand...

I've been using it and actually found that it was pretty simple to enter a task. All you really have to do is type in a word in the "Title" bar than you're done. The other stuff is already set by default, and you can edit that later.

Another cool feature is you can enter a task without even using the keyboard. Just tap that little arrow on the right, and you can select an icon instead. Like if you click the "meet" icon then you can click the name of someone in your Contact list then you're done. It even puts their address in .
 
I have tried it, awesome! it's easy to use and the UI is excellent. The app has a good design, I can find most important information on my daily activities on single 1 view. I will not use the app if i have to navigate through multiple screens to see the important information of my Task/Event.
 
SmartTime- my little boss

I LOVE
this app because it full-on reminds me of what I need to do, making tasks as visually important as scheduled appointments. a task becomes like "an appointment with yourself", Its hard to describe, you just have to try it. and when you have future appointments scheduled, it puts your to-do tasks in front of those appointments, REMINDING you to do them. I call it my "little boss" and you can drag the appointments and tasks around with your fingers.

you dont need a recurring task option; you just dont check it as done.

there are three views - the smart view, which orders ALL your tasks and appointments by priority, your calendar view, which tells you what you need to do today, and then a closer look which gives you details of each thing.

there is no month view, and i havent missed it yet- mainly because the SMART VIEW supercedes it. i do like month views for travel scheduling.
im still using my calendar for that.

it kind of visualizes the way you actually think. or should think, LOL.

of course i can fire my little boss whenever I want. but for now i think i'll keep her. I wish her colors were prettier though. they should change before they start selling it.
 
velvetelvis said:
im curious why you wouldnt just use the calender app? ive never really understood all these todo apps when the it seems the calender app does everything they do and syncs with "the cloud" and your desktop/laptop.
Click to expand...

because a task is not the same as a calendar item or appointment.
a calendar item is a specific item in time. a task is something in varying stages of completion until the time it's due.

look at the difference in outlook as to how they are handled/what's tracked for each.

Apple is entirely missing the boat in task management.
 
littlewaywelt said:
Apple is entirely missing the boat in task management.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure. I reckon Apple's thinking was/is:

"Let's leave todo's / task management out of the inbuilt apps, and just take our 30% from all the 3rd party task management apps (of which there are lots and lots), thank you very much"
 
velvetelvis said:
im curious why you wouldnt just use the calender app? ive never really understood all these todo apps when the it seems the calender app does everything they do and syncs with "the cloud" and your desktop/laptop.
Click to expand...

The tasks in iCal are severely limited in what they can do. One of the biggest drawbacks for me is that they do not support repeating tasks. I almost always have my iPhone with me, so I don't need to have them on my computers. I ended up purchasing ToDo by Appigo. It suits my needs perfectly.
 
SmartTime - very promising

I saw this app today on the app store and decided to install it. After playing with it a bit - I said "wow". I HAD to search the internet for these guys (and ran across this posting). I usually don't post - but these guys nailed it! Finally SOMEBODY GETS IT!

If only they had a sync - or if it were integrated directly with the iPhone calendar - that would seal the deal. It looks like from the SmartTime forum they are planning to do a sync in the up and coming releases. So, I'm going to wait for them to put that in and see if that answers my questions.
 
i just got my touch in late september, and i have been searching for a "decent" organizer since. i've had a palm since 97 and stopped using pim's altogether since i haven't had a need for a smartphone. Now that i have a touch i have been searching for something that makes data todo, management, tasks effectively and these guys almost have it perfectly.

different color coding for different tasks? i'm back in school and i love that i can color code my tasks for work school or home(laundry).

the view is very nice and organized, and you get due dates and everything.

cons:
there's no full calendar view, it doesn't talk with the built in calendar.

lets admit it, anyone whose ever used the calendar knows it sucks. apple does not know how to program these applications effectively nor will they, thats why other ppl can, and these smarttime ppl makes it better.

i can't wait for the next update, heck i've downloaded every free app that has anything to do with to do or calendar or anything and this is the first one that does anything even remotely better than the standard calendar.

i just wish they had calendar view, oh i really wish they come out with a paid version soon too, then it'll be even better with money, i mean if spore is 10bucks and you stop playing after a week, how much would it be to spend 10bucks on an app that can organize your life.

oh i hope they read this thread too, as their website is crap. i mean how horrible is it to make a website that is incompatible with safari? so not smart.
 
Lanx said:
cons:
there's no full calendar view, it doesn't talk with the built in calendar.

oh i hope they read this thread too, as their website is crap. i mean how horrible is it to make a website that is incompatible with safari? so not smart.
Click to expand...

Hmm, works fine in my safari. Even works pretty cool when I view it from my iPhone. Are you running Windoze? :)

Check out the Forum on their web site. They've got crash stuff figured out, which has to do with limited memory. Also some new cool stuff coming out like task and appointment sharing and auto mapping, but that will be in the paid version. They've got synch in beta too.
 
I really liked the idea of this app...
Glad they took a new approach to task management.

Like some of you, I also am not fan of the interface, it looks like there are too much inputs and too many screens.

They should really stick it to one page, make it short and simple, forget about the categories and just stick one tap colors there instead, allow one tap quick access to icons, etc.

Other than that it gets the job done.
I have mixed feelings about it right now after using it for a couple of days.

I think this kind of app works for a specific group of people. They should really try to make it more generalized and easier for inputting tasks.


The calender view is really useless and impractical. The Smart View is beautifully done.
 
Calendar View

What I like about their Calendar view is that you can just move stuff around with the tip of your finger, to organize your day. You can't do that on iCal. Not sure what you mean about simplifying the interface. You can create a new task with just a tap or two. Maybe they need to make that more obvious? Like, there's tons of stuff you can fill out if you want to, but all you really need to do is just type a word or click an icon, and you're done. Sweet.
 
I'm waiting on the monthview update before trying to use it again. I think it's a decent app, but it'll have some competition from task/event managers like the upcoming Pocket Informant app due out soon.
 
They have Month and Week View

Hi Goku,
Did you see view the video clip? Looks like both Month and Week will be in landscape mode, you just turn the iPhone sideways. :)

I don't think any of the other apps actually show you tasks and appointments in the same view (maybe I'm wrong?) and I'm pretty sure none of the other apps can look at your appointments, then schedules your tasks for you :rolleyes:

Here are two pictures from their forum:

Week01.png


Week02.png
 
My comp didn't want to play that video. I love the Smartview with tasks and events both on the same screen, but I really need a monthview calendar.

I know Daylite Touch will have a homescreen that shows tasks and events on the same screen.
 
Looks to me like SmartTime has month view...

Gokunama said:
My comp didn't want to play that video. I love the Smartview with tasks and events both on the same screen, but I really need a monthview calendar.

I know Daylite Touch will have a homescreen that shows tasks and events on the same screen.
Click to expand...

Looks like they've got month view. http://leftcoastlogic.com/

STMonth-500.png


As for showing tasks and events in the same screen, sure, lots of people do that. Microsoft Entourage (their version of Outlook for a Mac) has a cool pop-up called "MyDay" that shows your tasks and events. But they are segregated from each other. And there's no app that I know of that actually looks at your schedules, then organizes your tasks for you.
 
The thing about SmartTime is that every major update has been bug-ridden, and they've basically been using their installed user base as their beta testers. If you haven't bought this app yet, don't buy it now, and don't buy it the first thing when they come out with the next major update, which is supposed to be version 3.0. Keep checking their user forums, and wait until the users there seem more or less satisfied that the app is usable before you sink your money into this app.
 
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