With Cal, Any.DO hopes to bring its productivity magic to calendars (hands-on)
When Any.DO -- the brains behind the popular iOS to-do app -- announced Cal for iOS last month, we had high hopes for its take on calendar functionality. Starting today, Cal will be available for download in the App Store, but we had a chance to play with it early to see what it was all about. The app marks the company's initial foray into a full-blown suite of productivity apps (as teased in their press release below), which will include, at some indeterminate point in the future, Any.DO's own e-mail app. Any.DO is determined to hit a home run with its life-management line, but does Cal live up to the hype? Read on to find out. %Gallery-193598%
The first thing we noticed about Cal is just how pretty it is. Users can choose from a selection of nine different photo themes (including animals, fashion and food) to spruce up their calendar. Gorgeous full-screen photos vary by day, according to your chosen theme(s). The calendar is fairly easy to navigate: swiping sideways scrolls through days and tapping on the image drops down the weekly view. From there, a quick downward brush of your finger brings up the full month. When adding events, Cal scans relevant local restaurants and your contacts to help you flesh out your plans. Everything from the streamlined menu to the easy-to-use event function emphasizes Any.DO's commitment to sleek, sophisticated design.
While Cal easily syncs with your existing calendars and contacts, we do wish it was better integrated with Any.DO's to-do app. As it stands, the two aren't quite in sync. After clicking the 'add' icon on the calendar, you're given the option of adding an event or a task. Choosing the latter launches the Any.DO app, where you can input your task as you normally would. Unfortunately, tasks entered in Any.DO don't sync with events in Cal, leaving your to-do list and your calendar as separate entities.
As pleased as we were with Cal's design, we did experience a few performance issues. The app crashed twice and was occasionally a little slow to respond. Considering that the version we tried was still in beta, we're willing to give Any.DO the benefit of the doubt that the kinks will soon be worked out. While Cal doesn't really offer anything that smart calendars like Tempo don't, the app's elegant aesthetic and streamlined functionality might be enough to satisfy those looking for a basic, well-designed iOS calendar. For more info, check out Any.DO's official Cal video below. To download the app, just mosey on over to the source link.
Show full PR text
Cal by Any.do wants you to have a good day, every day
Cal is a brand new calendar designed to help you make time for the things you care about and have a good day, every day.
San Francisco, CA - July 11th, 2013 - Any.do has helped millions become more organized and satisfied with their daily lives by transforming task management into a playful daily habit. Today, the team behind the #1 list making app on iPhone and Android, is proud to present Cal - a simple & fun calendar app for your iPhone. Cal was designed to help you make time for the things you care about and have a good day, every day.
In today's world, it seems we are always running from work to errands. We rarely make the time to do the things we love. "Our mission is to help people have a good day, every day" says Omer Perchik, the Founder & CEO of Any.do. A good day means something different for everyone. For some, its a productive day at work, while others love spending time with family and loved ones. We all want something different from our day, but we all share the desire for a well-balanced and satisfying day.
Our hunch is that the path to a great day can be uncovered with our everyday tools. Current planning tools have remained static to the point where they have become obsolete. They no longer meet our needs, not to mention actively improving our lives. Come to think about it, a calendar is an amazing tool that allows us to plan our day, but also plan for the future. It has the power to help us become more efficient while making time for the things we care about. Done right, it can transform the way we live.
Whether it's a family dinner, a business meeting or a date night with your loved one, using Cal is a natural fit. By design, Cal makes it really easy to plan an event by predicting the people you'd want to meet and places nearby you'd want to go. Just the way it should be.
Existing calendars only focus on meetings & things you have to do. Cal offers a different approach. Cal helps you find time in between meetings. We call these moments 'gaps' and we believe they are key to help you have a good day. Used intelligently, these 'gaps' are true opportunities to help you find the perfect balance between work and play.
Cal seamlessly syncs with all the major calendars on your iPhone such as Google, Exchange & iCloud. With contacts, location, and social integration Cal allows you to do more than just scheduling, it's a tool for better living.
Thanks to a sophisticated integration between Any.do and Cal, both apps now create a new flow for daily planning that can completely transform your everyday. And this is just the first step. Our plan is to create a suite of powerful apps that connect seamlessly to make the most of your day.
As a company, we believe that everyday apps such as tasks, calendar, email & notes are not mundane tools. They're the lenses through which we focus our lives. At their worst, they flood us with unnecessary information. At their simplest, they make us more efficient. At their greatest, they create a flow that completely transforms how we see and interact with our world. We know that upper bound has yet to be reached. Here at Any.do, we know it's a goal worth striving for, and one that is so important to us.
Cal is now available in the app store. If you wish to try Cal for android go to www.any.do and and sign up for updates.
