PocketInformant
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Pocket Informant planning public beta for cloud service
The team from Pocket Informant is at Macworld|iWorld this week to show off the app and announce a new cloud-based service that will share information across all of the company's mobile apps and new web interface. Pocket Informant is a GTD/calendar/tasks app that combines all sorts of functionality in one place, and during Macworld|iWorld, both it and the HD version are on sale for just US$9.99. The app is great (and we've spotlighted it here before), but the online service should make things much easier for many users. You can sign up on the website now for the public beta of the web app. WebIS, the company behind Pocket Informant, told us that it wanted to start the beta as soon as this week, but it's instead waiting to see what the response is like before launch. The web app will be a fairly open beta, and the company will widen it as time goes on. The iOS beta, on the other hand, is a little harder to roll out. WebIS will do a closed beta using Apple's Enterprise distribution, so the public won't have much chance to try that cloud service before it's ready to go. But once the code is all set, Pocket Informant users will get a free update that will sync their information across all devices. And while iOS is first, the app will eventually sync info to Android apps as well, so if you use multiple devices, this should really come in handy. Check back with us all week as our team at Macworld | iWorld is providing complete coverage of all the goodies on the expo floor.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for your favorite iPad productivity app
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your votes for the best iPad productivity app of 2011. This category pulled in the largest number of nominations so far in the Best of 2011, with two apps surprising the staff here at TUAW with the number of nominations they grabbed -- "Universal Translator" app Communilator Pro (US$2.99, also available in a free version) and Virtual Office Pro ($0.99). The rest of the nominees are: Pocket Informant HD ($14.99) OmniFocus for iPad ($39.99) GoodReader for iPad ($4.99) You have a couple of days to vote, and the winners will be announced on January 3, 2012. Let the voting begin!
Five apps to help you stay organized
Time is one of our most valuable assets and it's a shame to waste it looking for things that are misplaced and forgetting things because the details of your life are out of order. This week's Five Apps will help you gain control of life and get yourself organized once and for all. Completion ($2.99) Completion is a task manager that's quick and simple to use. It doesn't overwhelm you with complexity which makes its easy to get your tasks organized and stay committed for the long term. The workflow is simple. You add tasks and assign them to a project like work, personal or household. Each task lets you specify a date, set a priority, add a note, and assign it to a group. You can then use the group, due date and priority information to sort each list of tasks. When you have completed a task, you can delete it forever or mark it as complete which archives it for later retrieval. It has an attractive, colorful interface that makes Completion a pleasure to use. Pocket Informant ($12.99; $14.99 for HD iPad version) Pocket Informant is a contact, task and calendaring application for the iPhone and iPad. It's a productivity app on steroids that supports multiple calendars and syncs to a variety of services including Toodledo and Google calendar. The best part of Pocket Informant is its long list of customizations and settings. If you can see it on the screen, you can likely change its appearance and configure it to your preference. It's meant for the power user who doesn't mind spending a few hours tweaking it to his or her liking. Once you get it set up, you'll have 75% of your life at your fingertips. Bill Minder for iPhone ($1.99) BillMinder for iPhone lets you organize your bills by recording payment, amount and due date information. The app has a calendar and a list view that'll let you see which bills are past due and which are due in the future. If you need some help remembering when each blll is due, you can setup reminders that will alert a set number of days in advance. You can also sync bills between your iOS devices and back your data up to the cloud for retrieval if your phone is lost or stolen. Payment from within the app is made easy by its integration with DebtMinder (also made by the developers behind BillMinder) and Pocket Money. Billings Touch (Free to try; $15 to unlock via in-app purchase) Billings Touch is an invoicing and billing app for the freelancer. It'll let you organize your clients, track the amount of time you spend working on a project and manage invoices. Developed by Marketcircle, Billings Touch works alone as an iPhone app or as a companion to the desktop Billings for Mac app. We took a look at Billings Touch when it first came out. We liked it back then and still like it now. It's not perfect -- you can't use a custom invoice on the iPhone, but it remains one of the best apps for freelancers who want to keep track of their precious incoming cash flow. Pocket Money ($4.99 for iPhone and iPad) Pocket Money is a financial app that'll help you organize your money. It uses a standard register interface and lets you add accounts like your checking, savings, credit card, and cash. It has all the information you need to record a transaction like category, date, amount, and note. Best of all, it lets you easily sync information between two iOS devices. You can also export transactions to your desktop finance app via Qif files. It's an excellent app for your basic financial needs.
TUAW'S Daily iPad App: Pocket Informant HD
WebIS Pocket Informant is an advanced PIM that has been around for years, transitioning from the Windows Mobile platform to iOS quite nicely. The iPad version of this calendaring and task management app is particularly notable for its wonderful layout and efficient use of the entire iPad display. One feature Pocket Informant was known for, even back in its Windows Mobile days, was its many settings and options. And, thankfully, these features are carried over to the iOS application. The settings menu on the iPad has options for General settings, Appearance, Today settings, Calendar settings, Task settings, Sync setting and Advanced settings. Under each of these headings are options to change colors, views, orientation, notifications and more. It's a field of dreams for those that like to tweak an app to their personal tastes. Pocket Informant HD has the appearance of daily planner and can be viewed in either portrait or landscape view. In either orientation, there are tabs on the right side which lets you switch from calendar view, task view, agenda view and settings. Each section has even more options in the top bar. From this bar, you can add an event or task as well as switch from days, month or week view. You can also display information from an individual calendar and use a search box to find a specific appointment or task. Despite all these options, everything is neat, orderly and pleasing to the eye. For those who adhere to a planning regimen, Pocket Informant HD supports Getting Things Done or Franklin Covey ABC/1-99 Prioritization of tasks. It also syncs with multiple Google calendars, iOS calendars and Toodledo. Some users may be overwhelmed by all the options and views available, but most users will be pleased by the power and flexibility of this personal information management app. At $12.99 Pocket Informant HD is pricey, but it's worth the cost for those that rely on their calendar to help manage their busy lives. %Gallery-129441%
Macworld 2010: WebIS Pocket Informant video interview
WebIS Pocket Informant has been a powerful Personal Information Manager for years, having made an impact in the Windows Mobile and BlackBerry world before moving on to the world of iPhone. The iPhone version has been recently updated to version 1.21, and the feature set just keeps growing. As part of TUAW's continuing coverage of Macworld Expo 2010, I visited the WebIS kiosk to learn what's new with the app. Among other things, Pocket Informant now has German and French localizations, the ability to group by context and project, Outlook sync, and over-the-air sync with Google Calendar and ToodleDo. Pocket Informant 1.21 is available for a special Macworld Expo price of US$7.99, and is a powerful way to keep your life in order. Check out our video interview with WebIS by clicking the Read More link below. We apologize for the static-filled audio in this video interview.
