PocketInformant - anyone else eagerly awaiting it?

[page3]

Lets face it, the iPhone calendar really is duff. So little functionality and so much screen estate wasted with displaying blobs rather than event information.

I've been keeping an eye on PocketInformant development over at the WebIs blob and it looks like version 1.0 is imminent Although the initial version won't have some of the features I really want*, it does look a massive improvement on Apple's attempt.

It would, of course, help if Apple opened up the calendar database for third-party access. A glaring omission in the SDK.

Not seen it mentioned here. Anyone else waiting for it?

* full month view with events displayed in full (tiny text fine). Plenty of screen estate to fit this in.

 

[LostLogik]

True the native calendar is a bit limited but, as it is currently ring fenced, I don't really want to have a second calendar dB on the iPhone, along with alarms and tasks running off a separate server relying upon Apple's push notification. However it does look good and should Apple open up the calendar, it would be a promising app.

 

[ScottNWDW]

Before getting my iPhone last July I was an avid Pocket Informant user on my Blackjack 2. So when I heard last July that Pocket Informant was developing an iPhone app it made my decision to buy an iPhone even easier. I just wish it hasn't taken this long, but knowing how well the people at WebIS are, I'm not worried about the products quality, because it will be there. I'm also happy about having a program on my iPhone that uses the Franklin Covey methodology for tasks rather than GTD.

Granted all the features of the Windows Mobile version won't be there with the initial release, BUT, that platforms version is over 8 years old now and it took quite awhile to get where it is today. Knowing how the people at WebIS work, it won't take that long for the iPhone version to get up to speed.

Had Apple had the calendar app open and included a task app, Pocket Informant would have been available much sooner and would have been more powerful from the start.

I trust Alex Kac (founder and CEO of WebIS) and his team will not release a bad product and based on what I've read and seen so far on the WebIS forums, I'm confident that Pocket Informant will be a major enhancement to the iPhone community and that their calendar workarounds may even be more productive than those on the Windows platform since they will sync with Google Calendar and Toodledo.

 

[anjinha]

This is the first time I've heard about PocketInformant. I've checked out the features and pictures on the website and it looks like a great app. I like that in some things it looks very similar to apple's calendar but it adds the very important features that we were missing before.

Can't wait for its release.

 

[robdam1001]

Ill definitely check it out. I had purchased the WM version for my Treo and Sammy i760 before I came over to the Dark Side.

 

[jparris1]

I'll probably give it a look but it will have to do a lot to replace Saisuke. From the screens so far I am inclined to stick with Saisuke, as I cannot function without month and week views with readable text in the boxes. But more competition is always a good thing.

 

[Gokunama]

Both Daylite Touch and Pocket Informant look very promising, but once SmartTime gets some updates in place, SmartTime might be all I need (For me SmartTime simply lacks the ease of navigation and various calendars, something they seem to be working hard at). I'm wondering how well tasks are going to sync with Google calendars though.

Daylite Touch looks awesome, but it's probably overkill for my needs. I use these apps standalone (I don't have a computer), and I'm wondering how well I could back up Daylite Touch without spending a lot for online back up.

Pocket Informant syncs with Google calendar and Toodledo, which seems a good combination, as well as both services are free.

Saiduke's one outstanding feature is copy and paste, but it looks cluttered on month view and it lacks task management. I want one app to take care of all that on an uncluttered easy to navigate interface.

 

[petvas]

Pocket Informant was the best PIM on Windows Mobiles (still is) and I am happy it comes to the iPhone. I don't like using another DB for my calendar but Spanning Sync makes it easy to sync google calendars with iCal, so it's not that much of an issue.
I will buy it once it becomes available.

 

[Cantello]

I'm also waiting, the built-in calendar is lacking - e.g. tasks.

They have now put up the preliminary price tag on their site: 12.95US$!

 

[laserfox]

Count me in as one waiting eagerly. I want my events color coded so I can immediately know what I have planned.

 

[ScottNWDW]

Count me in as one waiting eagerly. I want my events color coded so I can immediately know what I have planned.

Ditto

 

[page3]

I hear it is ready and has been submitted to Apple

 

[odelay]

I hear it is ready and has been submitted to Apple

It has indeed:

http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/index.php?autocom=blog&blogid=1

I've been heavily involved in beta testing over the past 6 weeks or so, and can tell you that an incredible amount of work and effort has gone into this app, and people won't be disappointed. It offers some great functionality that is missing from the current iPhone built-in apps, and I believe it will prove to be a huge success on the AppStore.

 

[Gokunama]

Awesome! I'm hoping calendar events are as easy to duplicate as they are on Saisuke. I'm a productivity app junkie, still looking for the ultimate app. I'm wondering whether Pocket Informant will be it, or whether SmartTime will take that place with their future updates.

 

[odelay]

Awesome! I'm hoping calendar events are as easy to duplicate as they are on Saisuke. I'm a productivity app junkie, still looking for the ultimate app. I'm wondering whether Pocket Informant will be it, or whether SmartTime will take that place with their future updates.

Duplicating calendar events is very easy in PI. You just tap an event, then tap on a duplicate button, and there it is, ready to be edited.

PI "out of the box" will have what SmartTime will soon be offering (week/month views). I've not tried Saisuke, so I can't comment how how it will compare to that, other than the obvious fact that PI is a calendar AND task management app, whereas Saisuke is just a calendar app that I'm aware of. Contacts integration in PI is very good, allowing for adding attendees to calendar events. Also there is a search option in PI which allows you to search your contacts as well as events and todos. I believe there will be even more integration with your contacts list in future updates.

 

[diesel]

How will PI handle appointment alarms/alerts? As I understand it, Apple does not allow apps to access the built in alarms in the iphone. Will PI hold all user set alarms on a central server and then send out txt alerts as other apps do such as RTM or beejive? I'm not sure i would want my personal/business appointments held on an outside server........or has PI figured out a different solution? Or have they simply not implemented any appt alarms, which would then severely diminish the usefulness of their app.

btw, i was a PI fan from the windows mobile days.......hands down the best calendar app there was and am eagerly awaiting the iphone version.

 

[odelay]

How will PI handle appointment alarms/alerts? As I understand it, Apple does not allow apps to access the built in alarms in the iphone. Will PI hold all user set alarms on a central server and then send out txt alerts as other apps do such as RTM or beejive? I'm not sure i would want my personal/business appointments held on an outside server........or has PI figured out a different solution? Or have they simply not implemented any appt alarms, which would then severely diminish the usefulness of their app.

btw, i was a PI fan from the windows mobile days.......hands down the best calendar app there was and am eagerly awaiting the iphone version.

Alarms are handled by google calendar & toodledo, but you can set the alarm type in PI (SMS, email etc.)