We all have our favorite to-do list system and mine is Things from Cultured Code. I use their Mac client and a few months ago I reviewed Things for the iPhone here on BestAppSite. Since then, the iPad has gotten released and they have had an iPad version of Things out almost since the beginning. I thought today that it is high time to give Things for iPad a review.
Interface
Part of why Things is so great is its gorgeous interface. I would go as far as saying that half of Things is its interface. Throughout all the platforms it is gorgeous to look at, but I must say that the iPad beats both the iPhone and the Mac with the most beautiful Things version to date.
Navigating around the application is simple and it works well in both landscape and portrait mode. Controls are simple which makes managing your to-dos equally easy.
Functionality
When you look at what Things can do on the iPad, its functionality is pretty close to that of the iPhone. You have access to all your areas of responsibility in the sidebar and can get to your projects there as well. With the touch of a few buttons at the top, you can move your tasks between areas and projects and also schedule them on for a later date.
One of my gripes is on the scheduling side. Much of my to-do list is automated in the sense that I have many tasks that are recurring for me, mostly every week. As of now they only get created on the computer and then (as active today tasks) get synced over to the iPod. What I would like to see is the recurring system implemented on the iPad client so that I do not have to sync my devices first thing in the morning.
Adding items on the iPad is not harder than on any other version of Things. You have the few taps to name the task and choose where to create it and apply some tags and notes.
Syncing
As you would expect from a rather expensive app, it syncs well with the Mac client and in the long run also with the iPhone client, if you are running that as well.
I find it very neat that the syncing system is intelligent enough to go through my devices in order if I say have both the iPhone and iPad connected to the network with Things open. The app will then go through and sync my iPad, then the iPhone and finally the iPad again to make sure all changes are through.
Needless to say, you can also use this as a standalone application on the iPad without using the sync, even though I think you will miss out a lot, especially if you also have an iPhone. The iPad and iPhone require the Mac to sync together.
Conclusion
My love for Things on all three platforms now is still strong. For me it is an unbeatable system that looks good at the same time as it manages my daily tasks. My strongest gripe is that the scheduling doesn’t come over and get created automatically on the iPad, but I have high hopes that this feature will see the light of day in a future version. I really hope that!
Generally though I do demand of the iPad version to be as close to the Mac version as possible mainly because of the type of device that the iPad is. An enlarged iPhone client will just not do in my eyes. Therefore if I get my recurring scheduling and slightly improved task management, á la Mac, I will give this a full five stars, whereas now it will have to do with a four.
Hej!
Kul att se att du nästlar dig in på NAPP. Eller jobbar du bara mer Terry? Gött att du kanske kan influrera till en mer internationell prägel på NAPP och Terry’s siter. Bra jobbat!
I’ll look at the iPhone app of Things. It looks nice and useful.
Alex
Hej! Mestadels med Terry, ja, men är på god fot med de flesta hos NAPP med, dock vet jag inte hur mycket jag influerar…det får tiden utvisa. Tack!
Erik
I think it´s really a great app. I was using Omnifocus but it has too many options that I find myself spending more time planning than doing. When I switched to Thinks it was very comforting. Well, I would love to do recurring tasks also, but what I miss the most (and Omnifocus has) is the cloud syncing. To enable MobileMe or Dropbox as a central for all my apps is great, specially because I don´t like to sit down and sync stuff on my Mac very often.