<snip> Here's what I want:
- Re-ordering tasks easily
- Check off tasks AND THEY DISAPPEAR but can still be recovered if needed.
- Sync tasks with a desktop app, or website, or be able to e-mail (some way back it up) but not have to buy expensive software for syncing ($30+)
- Different categories/folders/lists </snip>
Your stated needs are precisely what I wanted in a ToDo app. Plus one more:
alarms/alerts. The rest of this will be kinda long, but the original poster is looking for details, so I want to hit the basics as best I can.
I've been through most of the on-the-phone apps, and find all of them lacking in one way or the other. First, the ability to email the list is ok, but it just means extra work for me if a crash/upgrade kills the data on my iPhone (i.e., going thru emails to get the info and put it all together on my desktop). Therefore, if it doesn't actually sync, I don't want it. Second, I want some todo's to be in my face, via an alert of some type. But Apple apparently does not presently allow that, since there's an anti-run-in-the-background rule or something.
I wanted to set up this sort of structure:
-- Home
-- PD (Personal Development/Life Goals)
-- Work
---- Client A
---- Client B
---- (etc)
-- Con$ider ($$ (maybe 2buy items)
-- Photography (hobby)
-- Travel (many work-related trips)
-- Paperless Office (I've killed 9 file cabinets, 3 more to go)
-- Special Days (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays)
...... (so I can set alerts a month or so in advance for card/gift buying, etc)
The only solution I've encountered which covers each and every one of the stated needs = the web-based app,
ToodleDo (
http://www.toodledo.com). It's "slim" version (
http://www.toodledo.com/slim/) works well on the iPhone, allowing categories, folders, lists, re-ordering via a tap or two, etc. And, by choosing which priority level earns an auto-alert (Account Settings), I get my "Big 3" tasks sent via SMS every morning (full text!!), with other critical alerts popping up as desired/configured.
Through minimal taps, I can change the view as desired (web or iphone): by
-- due-date
-- folder/category
-- context (@O&A {out & about}, @Desk...)
-- status (active, next action, etc)
-- priority
-- tags
and likely others I've forgotten. In short, you name it, you can probably get that precise view.
Technically, ToodleDo does not have a sub-category/sub-folder feature. But it does have a "Goals" feature, which I use to handle my by-the-Client todo's. This explains why I went back and added that PD folder (see above) to my tasks area.
There's also a Notebook, using the same folders already set up for the tasks area. It behaves kinda like forum postings, i.e., if you add an URL, it will behave accordingly-- very convenient.
If I'm reading something via my iPhone RSS reader, and want to investigate it further, I send it to email, with that email sent to my special ToodleDo address. It lands in my InBox, which I can easily move to the appropriate folder.
The problem is that sometimes, there's insufficient signal strength to pull the slim version from the web. Or, I may be on the run, and just want to capture my thought/todo quickly without assigning tags/priority/context/etc.
The cure = Appigo's ToDo app, as I can sync my entries to toodleDo when coverage returns. Indeed, that is the only reason I paid the $10 for the iPhone-based ToDo, which would otherwise be much too limited for my needs (no contexts, folders, etc).
You may want to spend some time experimenting with ToodleDo. It's free, unless you want the ability to create "sub-tasks", in which case the fee is about $15 for a year. I'm actually glad to see these folks charge for something, as that spells longevity. Be aware: it's wise to spend some time in the forums reading, as this is how I learned about the SMS alerts feature.
Finally, to check out similar web apps, tap the "Upgrade Your Account" link in the lower left column. When the related page appears, scroll to the bottom and tap the "compare us to our competition' link, which will yield the features list per service.
