If you've ever dived into the world of task management apps, then you may be familiar with the powerful but complex beast called OmniFocus. In fact, I wrote a guide on how to get started with OmniFocus earlier.

However, as great as OmniFocus is, it may be just too much for some people, which is understandable. And when this is the case, there's another of my favorite task management apps on the other end of the spectrum — Things from Cultured Code.

• Things 3 for iPhone: $9.99 - Download Now
• Things 3 for iPad: $19.99 - Download Now
• Things 3 for Mac: $49.99 - Download Now

While Things used to be overly simple and not feature-rich, some fantastic updates have brought many new improvements. Even though Things is still a lot easier to use than OmniFocus, the latest iteration has brought some big changes that may take some getting used to.

Today I'm going to show you how to get started with Things to manage all of your tasks and projects, no matter how small or big they are.

• Setting up Things
• Focus on Areas and Projects
• Dealing with task items
• Utilize the Quick Find

Setting up Things

As with any app designed to help you with productivity, you need it to work with you, not the other way around. While OmniFocus had plenty of setup involved with getting it to work the way you need it to, Things is a lot simpler.

First, if you plan on using Things on all of your devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac), then you should set up Things Cloud for syncing. Don't worry — accounts are free and super simple to set up!

When you're in Things on iOS, just access the Settings and select Things Cloud. Flip the switch on, and you'll get a prompt to log in to an existing account or create a new one if you don't already have one. Just enter an email and password, and you're good to go!

Now whenever you use Things, just log in to that Things Cloud account and all of your to-dos and projects remain intact, no matter what device you're on. Plus it's fast, secure, and completely invisible. In fact, it's so invisible that I sometimes forget I even signed up!

Another thing that may be useful for your workflow is the Mail to Things feature. This is a randomly generated email address that is unique to each individual account. With Mail to Things, you're able to add to-dos to your inbox by sending emails to this address. You can get your distinctive email address in the Things Cloud section.

On iOS, Things integrates with Siri, so if you prefer to use Apple's virtual assistant to quickly get things into your apps, you're free to enable it. With Siri, you can say things like "In Things, remind me to buy milk tomorrow at 10 AM" and they get added without any other input.

If you use Calendars or Reminders for your other simple tasks or schedule, then you'll be happy to know that Things can pull this data directly into the app as well. Calendar appointments appear in the Today and Upcoming sections of Things, so you'll always know what's in store in a single glance. Reminders get displayed in your inbox, as well as a separate list of your choosing.

Finally, there are a few miscellaneous settings that you can toggle in the General section in Things' settings to make it your own. This includes badge counts, how Today gets organized, when to move things to the Logbook, and the first day of the week.

One more thing to note regarding the Mac version of Things: Quick Entry. Make sure you learn the keyboard shortcut to utilize this feature, since it allows you to create new tasks from anywhere without having to switch applications. The iPad version of Things also has new keyboard shortcuts (if you use a Bluetooth keyboard) to make life easier.

Focus on Areas and Projects

There are two ways to organize your tasks in Things: Areas and Projects. What's the difference though? Let's dive in.

Areas is the broader scope of the two, so you can think of these as the bigger umbrella that Projects will fall under. For example, you can create areas like Home, Work, Career, School, Health, Money, and etc. With Areas, it's more like grouping your projects into a an ongoing category.

For example, I have several Areas set up in my Things: Work, Personal, Errands, Job Hunting, Taxes, Payments, and Family. I think of Areas as generic categories where I may have several projects or lists that I need to work on, and go from there. Usually, there should be at least one or two "projects" of mine that end up in each, though sometimes I just dump task items in an area, rather than a project.

Projects are actually defined on the Things website as a task that takes multiple steps to complete. However, I personally see Projects as current jobs or other task groups where I always have something happening. Most of the time, my most important Projects are never empty or "complete," as they say.

A sample of my projects include iMore.com and MakeUseOf.com under my Work area. These projects are where I throw in all of my upcoming articles with deadlines, pitches, and tasks required in order to get paid. The system is pretty simple, but keeps everything organized so I don't get anything mixed up between jobs.

While your own workflow may differ from mine, I think Things' simplified approach with Areas and Projects is easy enough for anyone. It's straightforward, and when you go on to add a new item on the main screen, there's even descriptions under Project and Area so it's impossible to forget.

I'd recommend thinking about general Areas to add into Things first, and then start putting your Projects together under those broad categories. You can always go back and make any edits to Areas and Projects later too, or mark them as Complete and Cancelled when necessary.

Dealing with task items

Now that your Areas and Projects are all set up, it's time to start adding tasks and becoming productive. I mean, that's the entire point of Things, right?

In Things on iOS, there's the omnipresent and floating "+" button in the bottom corner. This button is always available on any screen, though the actions you're able to do with it may vary depending on where you are.

For example, on the main overview, it lets you create a new Area, Project, or Task for the Inbox. When you're in an Area or Project, tapping on the "Add" button lets you add a new task item directly in that area.

One neat thing with the iOS versions though, is the fact that you can drag and drop that button into a certain spot, such as when viewing an entire Area, or a Project with a few tasks already. This makes it easier for you to have your item where it needs to be, rather than having to move it around later.

A task item in Things has a pretty simple format, and it's fairly straightforward. Just give it a name, and add in some notes if necessary. Once those two fields get filled in, you can choose the due date, add tags, create a checklist of subtasks or items, and even include a deadline.

What's the difference between a due date and a deadline? While all of your tasks may have a due date, deadlines are high priority items that you absolutely cannot miss. That's why you should use deadlines sparingly, so that the sense of urgency isn't lost.

Things has the ability to also structure your days. As you decide on a due date, there are a few options: Today, This Evening, a specific date on the calendar, or Someday. The option for timed reminders is also available.

Selecting Today will make it so that the task shows up in your Today overview, which is a default section. The This Evening option also has it appear in Today, but you'll get reminded of the item around the evening, rather than earlier on in the day. If you choose a specific date, or even the Someday option, you can find these tasks in the Upcoming section of the overview.

With existing tasks, you can always tap on them to expand and view notes or make any edits. There are also swipe gestures that you can do to change the due dates, move it to a different Area or Project, make it a recurring task, duplicate, and more.

Unlike OmniFocus, Things has a much more streamlined and simplified approach to dealing with your tasks, which is evident with the task creation and editing options.

Utilize the Quick Find

Once you start using Things to collect all of your daily and upcoming tasks, things can start to get a bit cluttered. While you could just go through all of your Areas and Projects to find that one specific task you're looking for, sometimes it's easier to use Quick Find instead.

Quick Find is available on all versions of Things, but probably the fastest to get to on the Mac. With the Mac version, you just start typing anywhere in Things (as long as it's not an active text field you're in already) and Quick Find comes up. With the iOS versions, you'll need to pull the screen down a bit while you're in specific areas, but on the main overview, it's the search bar at the very top.

What I love about Things' Quick Find is the fact that it's incredibly fast with results, as they pop up instantaneously as you type. Quick Find lets you search through all of the text for tasks, including the notes. And while completed tasks don't appear right away, you can always select Continue Search to dive deeper and (hopefully) get the results you're looking for.

I don't often need to search for tasks, but when I do, I'm happy to have Things' lightning fast Quick Find available to use. It makes finding specific items a breeze.

Become more productive in a jiffy

Again, if OmniFocus was too overwhelming for you (even with my beginner's guide), then Things may be a better choice to consider for managing your tasks. Though it's much easier to understand, it does take some time to get used to before it fits into your own workflow. Honestly, I thought Things was way too simple many years ago, but the latest version has made it the perfect task management app for my needs.

This was only a beginning guide on getting started with Things. There are many more hidden and cool features that Things has, and we'll be covering them in the future here on iMore!

• Things 3 for iPhone: $9.99 - Download Now
• Things 3 for iPad: $19.99 - Download Now
• Things 3 for Mac: $49.99 - Download Now

Things was just updated with its third major overhaul. Things has always been a top-notch task manager app, but this iteration is its absolute best. The developers of Things has finally found the prefect balance of easy use and robust features. It's definitely a worthy replacement for Wunderlist, even without real-time list-sharing support. I'm loving it, and I think you will too. Here's why.

Things is completely redesigned, and I mean completely

I've always loved how Things works on Mac. It's very simple and doesn't get bogged down with a confusing and complex interface. But ... and I hope the team at Things doesn't get mad at me ... I never liked the design. It's very iOS 2008. The new design brightens the colors and flattens the graphics to make Things look more at home on iPhone and Mac. It's beautiful.

The redesigned user interface is also much more intuitive, which is hard to imagine since it was always very easy to set up and use.

It's more than just a new skin on the same task manager. Things also has hundreds of new tools and features. I know, I know, the reason I like Things so much is because of its simplicity. But, the app designers have done an incredible job of giving us more options, but not distracting us from taking care of our daily tasks. It's still incredibly easy to use, but now more robust than ever before.

It's done with layers. When you open the app and look at your task list, it'll look simple and straightforward. It's a list. My favorite way to view my to-dos. But, you can tap to expand an item on the list to show a lot more information about it. If you included subtasks, notes, or a reminder to a task, it stays hidden until you're ready to see it.

Things has this awesome little tool called the "Magic Plus Button." It's an Add button for creating a new task. Why is it magic? Because it moves. You can drag it to a group or project so you can add a task to a specific list.

There are also a lot of gesture-based tools that are totally intuitive on iOS. You can drag and drop any item to move it, or select a group of tasks and move them all at once. You can swipe right to add a date or swipe left to mark a task complete. When in the main list menu, you can swipe to the left to add a check list to a task or group. Everything important is easy to get to, but isn't overwhelming to learn how to use.

Advanced planning tools let you schedule your life

Sometimes, you just need a list of things to do. But, other times, you need those things done at a specific time. Things lets you schedule a to-do item with just a swipe. You don't have to go through a bunch of steps to set a due date. Just swipe right.

You can set a simple due date, like "Today," "This Evening," or "Someday," or you can set a specific date. You can also set a reminder for a specific time of day.

Thanks to scheduled tasks, you can view your lists, either all in one list or separated by projects and groups, by days. If you have some items due today, across different lists, they will all appear under the Today section, and will even be separated by today and this evening.

You can connect the built-in Calendar app so you can view all of your events with due tasks listed below by their scheduled due date.

Lists, lists, and more lists

Lists. They are my favorite reason for having a task manager. I love lists. They make me feel like I'm in control of what my life is going to be like in the near future. I like separating my lists by groups, like stuff I need to get done around the house or articles I need to write for work. I also like having lists to keep me on track when I've got a special project coming up.

But, I also like being able to see everything I need to get done across all of my lists without having to select each individual list. Things lets you create separate lists for groups and projects, but also lets you view your tasks by date (as long as you set a date for them).

You can create headings within a project list to break it up into sections. For example, I have a project list for putting out a record with my band. I've got the project list broken out by recording, releasing, and promoting it.

When creating a group list, like your chores to-do list, you can add check lists for each task. For example, I have a chore list with "Clean living room" and within that task, I've made a check list for dusting, vacuuming, cleaning off the coffee table, etc..

When you enable Siri with Things, you can also select one of your reminders lists to see in Things. So, if you ask Siri to remind you to get milk when you go to the grocery store, it will also appear in your Inbox in Things.

Another subtle little thing that I love with the project lists: There is a little progress icon next to your project list to show you at a glance how close you are to completing it.

What it's missing

Though Things 3 has Notification Center support with a Notification Center widget, there is no Menu Bar widget on Mac. I'm a big fan of having my productivity needs available at a glance. I tend to ignore Notification Center widgets on my Mac because I have to actually call up Today View in order to see what's on it. I'd love to see a Menu Bar widget in a future update of Things that shows me my Today list.

Things 3 does not support location-based reminders. I'm the kind of person that, when going to the grocery store for something, promptly forget what I was there for. I set location-based reminders a lot. I'm hoping Things will add location-based reminder support in the future.

Sharing. We need more sharing in all to-do list apps. To be clear, you can share your list with others via the Share sheet, but all you can do is send a list. You can't invite someone to access your list. This app would be a total Wunderlist replacement if it had a list sharing option.

Should you get it?

Things is a hefty investment, especially on Mac. It is not a universal app, so you'll have to buy it for iPhone and iPad separately. I'm confident that Things will be my Wunderlist replacement (I'll have to find a different way to share lists), but I'm a serious list maker and am willing to spend whatever it takes to have the perfect task manager. Things 3 is the perfect task manager for me.

Everyone is different when it comes to what we want and need from a task manager, but I can say that, if you like Wunderlist and are looking for something to replace it, you'll feel comfortable with a transition to Things 3 (except for the list sharing option). There is even an import button that lets you import your lists directly from Wunderlist.

I suggest downloading the trial version of Things 3 on Mac to test it out and see if it fits your list-making style.

• $7.99 on iPhone - Download now
• $15.99 on iPad - Download now
• $39.99 on Mac - Download now

Task management app Todoist has received a major update with version 11.0, having been rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of new features in iOS 9, along with watchOS 2. The app now supports Spotlight search, 3D Touch, and deep links.

One of the primary additions to Todoist in version 11 is support for 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. This manifests both with quick actions that you can launch from the app icon, along with peek and pop for links. If you have a link in one of your tasks, you can take a quick peek at the associated webpage with a light press on the link.

With Spotlight support, you can find any Todoist task or project without opening the app itself. The app also supports deep links, which redirect you to the Todoist app whenever you open a Todoist link, rather than taking you to the web app in your browser.

Among the other improvements, the Todoist Apple Watch app is completely native, which speeds up loading and allows for you to put your Todoist task on your watch face with a complication. On the iPad, the app now supports keyboard shortcuts, which appear when you hold down the Command key on a hardware keyboard.

You can grab Todoist 11.0 from the App Store now.

• Free - Download Now

Todoist is a full-featured to-do and task management app available for many platforms, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As of Thursday, Todoist is also available for the Apple Watch: The watch app lets you view, mark, and manage tasks right on your wrist. The iOS update also includes several improvements and performance enhancements to the Today view widget and share extension.

I've been using Todoist as my primary task and to-do app for several months now, and I appreciate that adding and managing tasks can be as simple or as complicated as I need it to be. More importantly, Todoist makes managing my day less of a task. With Todoist on my Apple Watch, I no longer touch my iPhone to triage tasks; instead, they come to me.

The first thing I do in the morning is to check Todoist and see what I have scheduled for the day. Typically, that means grabbing my iPhone and looking through the app's Inbox and Today views.

In the few weeks I've been testing Todoist on my Apple Watch, however, I haven't needed to pick up my iPhone in the morning. Instead, I swipe up from the clock screen of my Watch to reveal the Todoist Glance, which lets me quickly see how many tasks I have due for the day. Launching the full Todoist app provides an optimized and scaled down version of the iPhone app. The Inbox and Today views are right at the top — undoubtedly two of my most important views.

In a future version, I'd love to see the Next 7 Days view available on the Watch. I know Watch apps need to have limits and not be replicas of their iPhone versions, but personally, I like to preview what's coming up over the next several days.

Todoist for Apple Watch also lets you drill into projects, labels, and filters. For anyone using Todoist for collaboration, the Filters section makes it incredibly easy to see only tasks assigned to you. You can additionally use voice dictation to create tasks in Todoist on the Watch, but I haven't found a reason to use that feature yet. For task creation, the iPhone still seems like the most sensible choice, at least for me.

During the workday, I use Todoist on my Mac or my iPhone to add tasks as they come up. As they come due, I'm now depending on Apple Watch to keep me informed. If I've already completed a task, I can even mark it as complete right from my Watch. If I need to snooze it for later, I can do that too.

I've talked at length about my desire to spend less time with my iPhone. Todoist for Apple Watch is helping me further achieve that goal. It shows me what I need to know and leaves everything else where it belongs — on my iPhone, away from my immediate attention.

Developers have to pick and choose carefully what information is worth presenting on the Watch and what is better left on the iPhone. When it comes to productivity and efficiency, Todoist for Apple Watch succeeds in making all the right choices.

• Free - Download Now

With Todoist's intelligent input, you can add due dates, labels, and priorities into the input field as you create a task. Todoist will automatically find and categorize all details for you. Todoist will also recognize start and end dates for you.

You'll be able to more quickly add tasks. You can tap the red circle in any task view or project, or pinch apart two tasks to insert a new one into the middle of a list. You can also interact with and edit multiple tasks at the same time. Multiple tasks can be completed at once, change due dates, delegate to a team member, and more.

There have been some changes to the interface. There is now a new, collapsable list view. You can reorder a task by pressing down on it and dragging it to the desired position. You can also now customize Todoist with a number of colorful themes if you are a Todoist Premium subscriber, which will still cost you $28.99 per year. Themes are available in red, tangerine, sunflower, clover, blueberry, sky, amethyst, noir, graphite and neutral.

You can download Todoist 10 for iPhone and iPad from the App Store now.

• Free - Download Now

Centrallo is a brand new productivity app, and if you spend any time making to do lists I think it will quickly win you over as a fan. While it is designed for making lists, it does a whole lot more as I'll explain. I've been a beta user for the last month, and Centrallo has just come out of public beta today. It's rock solid and you can start enjoying it for free on Android or iOS today.

What problem does Centrallo solve?

People who care about productivity make lists. Quite often I'm happy to just write some texts as an item on a list. But sometimes I need to record an audio memo, or take a picture, or record a movie. I might want to reference a file in the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive), or a URL from the web. Centrallo makes all of this super easy.

I also need to share my lists with others. I'm in the midst of creating a detailed table of contents for a large project with a business partner. I created one list in Centrallo and shared it with him. My wife created a list of all the "honey do" projects she needs me to take care of at home and shared it with me. My friend described how he used the app to take pictures of a house renovation in progress and share the list with his contractor. Heck, the contractor didn't even need to have the app because this homeowner just used the Centrallo feature to publish the list online.

Publishing a list is ideal when you want to give someone else (or a group of people) read-only access to the list via the web. You hit "publish", and send out the public URL. If you password protect the list then only people with the password can explore the content.

In a nutshell, Centrallo makes it easy to create, organize and share lists of whatever you need. Evernote has been the current gold standard for this type of thing in the past, but I've just never fallen in love with the app. I think it tries to do way too much. And it fails, at least for me, at being a simply way to organize my life.

The moment I started using Centrallo I felt like somebody read my mind and gave me exactly the app I'd always wanted.

User Interface

The interface is very clean. As a list of buttons / icons along the bottom you can select:

1. Lists - to see all of your lists.
2. Inbox - to see pending items that you've sent to yourself, or others have sent to you.
3. The Centrallo icon - a super fast way to add an item to a list with a single click.
4. Priorities - a quick look at any items you've tagged as a priority.
5. Settings - for access to everything else

The rest of the screen is dedicated to letting you look at your content, which mostly means you can see your list folders and the list items in those folders.

There is no "new list" button anywhere. Say you want to create a list for your Christmas shopping. You simply start by creating a list item "Christmas shopping". To turn it into a folder you just drag any other item on top of it. Centrallo is smart enough to understand that this means you're nesting one item inside of another. So now you have a list for Christmas shopping and you can add whatever you want inside of that list. It's way faster to make lists and navigate between them in Centrallo than anything else I've used.

The ability to create nested lists is awesome too. There is no limit to how many lists you can have within other lists, so when it comes to sub-lists and sharing of sub-lists, there is infinite flexibility.

I appreciate the little touches too. Notice the demo list I created here for this app review? The items showing just a large empty circle have text only. What's contained inside the circle tells me, at a glance, what kind of multimedia is included.

If you want to see how this looks when published to the web, just click here.I shared the page publicly, and it comes complete with a selfie where I obviously need to drink much more coffee.

The Inbox

To be clear, Centrallo is NOT an email management product whatsoever. But Centrallo lets you forward emails to the app. You can see an example in that list I published above. I just wrote myself a quick email and sent it to my Centrallo email address. From there, it showed up in my app inbox, ready for me to throw into the appropriate list.

You can forward any emails to Centrallo, and the content will automatically be ready to file away in a list. Very convenient!

Cross Platform and Cloud Synchronized

Centrallo already exists for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android. BlackBerry is coming soon. But there is also a web version you can login to from any computer, and as I mentioned above, you can publish pages publicly to the web.

It's really nice to know that you can go from phone to tablet to PC and see the same content automatically synchronized.

Pricing

Centrallo is free, but the free plan comes with only 100 MB of storage. You can boost this to 1 GB for $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year.

I've seen a few complaints about the limited free storage … but let's be honest. Unless you maintain lots of multimedia in your lists, the free plan is all you'll ever need. If you happen to be doing a house renovation and need to publish tons of pictures to share with your contractor, consider the $5/month a very minor expense. If you are managing stuff for a living and you really need more space I think $5 is a bargain.

As an individual / small business user, I can't see myself needing more space. I just live with the 80/20 principle in mind. Focus on the 20 percent of stuff that generates me 80 percent of my results and largely ignore the rest.

The Bottom Line

If you make lists as a way to organize data, and especially if you want to share those lists with others, Centrallo is a great free option that I find incredibly well designed and easy to use.

I have two minor items on my wish list for the app:

1. I don't see a way to kill the public URL of a published list. Once I publish a list I'd like to be able to unpublish that same list.
2. I think some people enjoy re-arranging the order of items in a list, and I don't see a way to do that with Centrallo right now. The order in which you create list items is the order in which they'll be presented.

• Download Now - Free

Omnifocus, one of the more complex and serious get things done services available for both iOS and Mac, has just been updated to version 2.0 on the Mac. With it comes a fresh new design, Forecast view, a handy quick open feature, and lots more. Back when I reviewed Omnifocus 2 for iPhone, I found it to be a huge step in the right direction as far as usability was concerned. So is the new Mac version of Omnifocus a step in the right direction as well?

For anyone already familiar with Omnifocus, you don't need to worry about picking up the new Mac version and feeling like you have to relearn everything, especially if you're already using Omnifocus 2 for the iPhone. The new design is bright, bold, and easier to use than ever. On the left hand side you've got a standard navigation section that quickly lets you access any of your inbox, projects, forecasts, review section, and more. The Forecasts section will look familiar to anyone who uses Omnifocus on the iPad. While Omnifocus 2 for iPhone has a forecasts section, it's somewhat of a limited version of the full blown Forecasts view. It's nice to see it made its way to the Mac.

One of my favorite new features of Omnifocus 2 for Mac is the quick open feature. Simply press Command + O on your keyboard to invoke quick open. Start typing a keyword for what you're looking for and Omnifocus 2 quickly displays anything matching it. It's a great way to search for almost anything without taking your hands away from the keyboard. Review Mode has also received some attention and is a lot more pleasant to use in the new version of Omnifocus. The easiest way to move items into the review section is to just drag and drop them. You can do this with single items, lists, and projects.

Perspectives are also easier to use and more clearly defined in Omnifocus 2 on the Mac. When I first started using Omnifocus over a year ago, I had no idea exactly what Perspectives were. After asking a few other people, it turns out I wasn't alone. For those that don't know, Perspectives are just different ways of looking at and understanding your information. For example, inbox, projects, contexts, forecast, review, and flagged are all perspectives. You can also add your own. You can use the perspectives menu in the top navigation to easy edit them, add more, and assign keyboard shortcuts.

The good

• The new design makes Omnifocus much less intimidating to new users, like its iPhone counterpart
• Keyboard shortcuts are better than ever, including the quick open feature which makes it dead simple to find what you're looking for
• Forecasts view is a great way to integrate your calendar with all your tasks at once glance
• Anyone already using Omnifocus will appreciate the simplicity of Omnifocus 2, not feel like they have to relearn everything
• Moving tasks or creating child tasks are ever only a keyboard stroke away

The bad

• No complaints so far

The bottom line

I never used Omnifocus on a day to day basis due to the overwhelming complexity of it. Omnifocus 2 for Mac may change that for me. Omnifocus may not be for everyone, but if you have a lot of concurrent projects to manage and you need a get things done workflow that can be tweaked and changed just as often as your demanding work load is, you need Omnifocus. Now I can't wait to see what the refreshed iPad version brings to the table next.

• $39.99 - Download Now

See also:

• $19.99 - Omnifocus 2 for iPhone - Download Now
• $39.99 - Omnifocus for iPad - Download Now

RealMac will be ditching Clear+, making Clear universal, and making it free for two 24hr periods in order to help all their existing customers migrate over. They'll also be updating Clear soon to add Reminders integration. All of this to try and clean up the pain that came from their attempt to launch Clear for iPad last year, the ridiculous reaction to it, and the mechanics of the App Store that still, almost 7 years later, don't allow for paid upgrades. Here's Dan Counsel's open letter from Real Mac:

If you're an existing Clear+ customer, go read the rest to find out how it all works, and how to get alerted when your 24hr free migration windows go live, then come back here and let me know - what do you think?

• $4.99 - Download now

Shopping lists and reminders are easily shared between iPhones with the stock Reminders app. That means adding something to a shopping list on one iPhone automatically updates it on the other person's. While this is a great option if both parties use iPhones, what if one of them uses Android? That's exactly the question one reader asked us. He currently uses an iPhone while his wife is sporting an Android. They want to be able to share lists and notes with one another but aren't quite sure what the best solution is. Luckily, there are some awesome third party apps that are available for both iPhone and Android that do just that. Here are my suggestions...

Wunderlist

My top recommendation is Wunderlist since it supports every platform I can think of and doesn't cost a dime, unless you want the extra premium features. Not only can you create and share lists, you can collaborate and leave notes on them. If you want to get even more serious, Wunderlist Pro is $4.99 a month or $50 a year and lets you add attachments and assign tasks and add due dates. This is geared more for work groups but is a nice option for more time sensitive type lists.

If you're more concerned with list making than note taking, Wunderlist is the best option.

• iOS, Free - Download Now
• Android, Free - Download Now

Evernote

Evernote is more of a note taking app than anything but you can create lists inside of it and share them. It's also available for a huge variety of platforms which include iOS and Android. Like Wunderlist, it's also free unless you need premium features. One thing Evernote does without a premium subscription that Wunderlist does not is attachments. The only catch is you're limited in storage space each month. You'll also need Evernote Premium on both ends if you want to edit each other's notes and lists, otherwise they're read only. A premium subscription is $5.00 a month or $45 per year.

If you want free hand notes and image uploads more than true lists, get Evernote.

• iOS, Free - Download Now
• Android, Free - Download Now

Thanks to Wilson for the question! We hope this answered it for you and that you and your wife can enjoy grocery list harmony now! If you have a question for Ask iMore, please email it to podcast@imore.com, or tweet it to @iMore with the hashtag #askimore.

What apps do you use for cross-platform notes and lists?

If you've been in a situation where you've had to find a solution to sharing notes and lists cross-platform, let us know what service you went with, and why. Also, if there's any pricing involved, let us know that too!

Todo by Appigo is one of the most popular task apps available for not only iOS, but for Mac as well. And for good reason, Todo is a productivity powerhouse. The OS X version of Todo made our list of best todo apps for Mac. I've been patiently waiting for Todo 7 to arrive for both iPhone and iPad. That day has finally come and it's brought a completely redesigned interface, a menu system that just flows better, and so much more.

For current Todo users, don't worry, you aren't going to be thrown for a loop if you decided to purchase the new version of Todo. It's familiar enough that you will instantly know what you're supposed to be doing. For me, I've found it's the little details of Todo 7 that make it that much better than its predecessor. For instance, the one peeve I've always had with it is how overwhelming it can be do new users who aren't familiar with the different kinds of tasks and actions. In Todo 7, icons have been simplified and just seem to be more self explanatory than they were in previous versions. There's not so much to look at all in one go.

The main view of Todo 7 is the same as the old version layout wise. You've got your Inbox, Focus List, and more on the top with your lists underneath that. You can add spacers in between lists in order to create a better visual division between your created lists as well. You can change icons to suit what you'd like for your created lists as well as the color of the tab. Tapping into any list will show you the tasks that you have inside that list. Again, the same as you would have done in older versions of Todo.

This is where things start to change a bit. Instead of having navigational tabs along to top to go back and forward, you can tap anywhere on the top of the inside of a list to go back a single menu. The tab colors you choose will flow through to each tab and inside each one. It creates a nice visual change as you tap your way through Todo 7. The only thing I wish Appigo would have taken advantage of that they haven't yet are the swipe gestures of iOS 7. To be able to swipe sideways to flip through menus would have made the experience even better.

The good

• The updated interface is a huge improvement over the old version visually and functionally
• The same feature set Todo users know and love, bundled in a much easier to use package that won't scare off first time users
• Holding down on any task or item brings up the quick menu that lets you move tasks, assign due dates, add contexts, and more

The bad

• Sadly, swipe gestures to move between menus don't seem to be supported
• The "+" sign on the main menu adds a list where I wish it would be a quick-add for a task instead, or pull down on the main menu to add a task would have been an option

The bottom line

If you already use Todo and you like the look and feel of iOS 7, you'll love Todo 7. It's got all the same features you know and love about Todo in an updated and refreshed interface. If you don't like iOS 7, you may want to stick to the older version of Todo for now.

One of my biggest complaints about Todo for iOS has always been that many icons and options were present in cramped spaces such as the task entry screen that weren't explained well. Todo 7 solves a lot of these problems by either making options more obvious or moving them completely so menus aren't as cluttered. For those contemplating a new todo app, you have no reason to be scared of Todo for iOS anymore.

• $4.99 - Download Now

Full for iPhone is a goal tracking app that lets you enter goals and then track how often you hit them each month. WIth a gorgeous gesture driven interface, adding goals and tracking them is simple, intuitive, and a lot of fun.

After you add goals to Full, you can see them in the main goal view. Swipe your finger across a goal to the right to add one to the count. Swipe to the left to remove one from the count. Swiping all the way to the right also brings up quick edit mode so you can change a goal title or setting.

As you complete goals, the badge indicator will change from red to yellow to green. This representation shows you how close you are to meeting each goal in your list with one quick glance.

Goals are a personal thing and when managing and tracking them is half the task of actually completing them, it can become discouraging and easy to fall off track. Whether you have little goals or big ones in mind, Full for iPhone will make for a great way to track them.

You can pick up Full at 50% off right now for the introductory sale. If you happen to check it out, let us know what you think of it in the comments!

• $0.99 - Download Now

Any.Do has just released their Cal app and it doesn't disappoint. WIth a great interface that's very on par with what we'll see in iOS 7 bundled with the ability to handle reminders through using Any.Do's existing reminders app, it's a great solution for anyone already using Any.Do for task management.

Cal can pull in all your existing calendar events from the default Calendars app in just a tap. You can quickly swipe left and right between months in the main view. Tapping on any day will list the events you have scheduled for that day below it. Pulling up on the month view of Cal will present you with a week view. This way you'll get a more detailed list that doesn't require as much scrolling on days you have a lot scheduled.

You'll notice that underneath the week view you'll see a random image. You can hop into settings and change what categories of images Cal will display for ones that suit your tastes.

To create a new event in Cal, just tap the plus sign in the upper right hand corner. Much like calendar apps such as Fantastical, Cal somewhat supports natural language input. I say somewhat because it isn't as advanced (yet) as what apps like Fantastical are. For example, saying "Lunch with Rene." would pull in contacts and allow me to tap on Rene's contact information for easy access later but I can't say "Lunch with Rene tomorrow at 11am." I'll still need to select the date and time. This would be a much needed feature to convert users of apps like Fantastical which already support more advanced event entry.

For events that you have actual locations set for, Cal will show you an overview of the event complete with a map showing the location. You can tap on it and be launched into the Maps app for driving directions.

When creating new items, you can toggle between calendar events and actual tasks. If you choose a task, you'll be taken out of Call and put in Any.Do for tasks. You'll then be able to quickly add your tasks. While it isn't a compete solution that allows you to use one singular app, it does create a nice ecosystem between the Any.Do family of apps.

As I mentioned earlier, Cal ties into your contacts so as you're typing someone's name it pulls in contacts that match. Just tap on the one that you'd like to pair with that particular event and they'll be added. This makes it easy to contact them later on if you need to without having to weed through the native Contacts app. After selecting a contact just select the date and time and you're done. If you'd like to add a location, just tap on the location pin and search for one. Any.Do will start looking around you for locations matching your search criteria. Cal will then append a map to the entry for easy access to driving directions.

The good

• Nice UI that'll match the interface of iOS 7 quite well
• Adding contacts and locations is easy and takes the work out of finding the contact or location in separate apps
• Ties in to Any.Do's task app, which makes it a nice calendar alternative for anyone already using Any.Do

The bad

• Natural language support is very limited and doesn't understand times, dates, and locations yet
• Switching between calendars has to be done manually

The bottom line

For users that are already using Any.Do for task creation, Cal is a great option that gives you even tighter integration between tasks and actual calendar events. If you don't use Any.Do and use the default calendar app, it still may be a nice alternative that requires less work to create events. It's also very reminiscent of what we will see this fall when iOS 7 is released from the revamped native Calendars app. If you want to see some of that now, Cal can give you a sneak preview without having to wait for fall.

The hard sell will be to people who already using a calendar service such as Agenda or Fantastical. I personally use Fantastical on a daily basis and I'd be hard pressed to switch to a calendar app that can't make creating events just as easy, if not easier, than what I'm already using. Until Cal can make event creation that's on par with some of the other third party alternatives, particularly Fantastical, those users will most likely stay right where they're at.

• Free - Download Now

Clear, the beautiful, gesture-ridden list-keeper for iPhone, has been updated with the ability to share lists via email. Instead of just a text based email, Clear also includes an attachment that allows recipients to open the list with the Clear app. To share a list, simply shake your iPhone to bring up the email option.

Realmac Software also teases of a couple new secret themes and the promise of an iPad version of Clear in the future.

What do you think of the new update? The ability to share a list that can be opened with Clear is very cool. I'm also very excited about the idea of an iPad version. Are there any other features you'd love to see added to Clear?

• $1.99 - Download now

Some of us have a tendency to accumulate a lot more possessions than others. Whether you own a business, have multiple properties, or just have lots of things to keep track of, Inventory List can help. Unlike profesional inventory apps, Inventory List lets you add things and track them in your own way through the use of storage banks and locations.

There are lots of subscription inventory options out there but not all of us need that many features. Inventory List makes a pretty happy medium without being too over the top. The first thing you'll be asked to do is start adding locations and storage banks. Inventory List works as a nested hierarchy in order to keep track of your items with the top most level being a physical geographical location. For many of us this will be home, office, summer home, beach house, or any other location you need to inventory.

After you've created actual places, you can move on to creating locations within that space. For homes, this may be kitchen, bedroom, bathroom while at work it could be storage room, waiting room, or any other space you have a need to inventory items for. You'll also be given one more location spot that is nested so you can drill down to items such as cabinets, storage bins, or something else. I personally found this space better suited for categories instead of locations where I like to break things up into electronics, furniture, or any other category of item I'd like to inventory.

To add an item to Inventory List, you'll have to be drilled down all the way inside a physical location, space, and secondary space. This is one feature I wasn't too crazy about. Some people won't have a need for the secondary space and since categories are already supported when creating items, it seems redundant. A nice option would be for the user to be able to choose whether or not they even need that second location classification within settings and have the ability to disable it.

Once you're drilled down into a list, you can start adding individual items or quantities of a specific item. You can include a name, price, SKU (only if you want), a photo, and additional notes. This item will then be shown inside that list. You can also toggle between locations and individual inventory items on the home menu of Inventory List.

When it comes to syncing your items, Inventory List supports Dropbox sync and CSV export which should help keep active backups of all your items in case you ever needed to restore them or share them with others.

The good

• Easy to see icons with quite a few choices which can help visually identify lists and items faster
• Much simpler and easier to manage than advanced inventory programs
• The drill down of categories helps to keep organization on point

The bad

• Secondary location classification isn't always needed and should have a way to be turned off
• Dropbox sync was finicky and kept yelling about development mode until it finally went through on the 5th or 6th try

The bottom line

Inventory List is really made for people that have a large amount of items to track such as contractors or property managers. If you're in one of these professions, Inventory List is a must have. It's also great for self employed individuals or those who many have storage units they'd like to keep a better handle on.

iPhone owners who aren't self employed or work with a moving inventory won't find much need for it, but those that haven't yet found a solution they're happy with should definitely give Inventory List a hard look.

• $4.99 - Download Now

If you're a movie buff and enjoy going to movies often, you can of course use services like Siri to look up movie times and even buy tickets but what if you want more information or to keep track of movies you've already seen? TodoMovies offers just that straight on your iPhone. Not only can you view trailers, ratings, and more on movies, but you can choose to save movies to your watch list and be notified when they come out in theaters.

I've always had a hard time finding an app that manages movies well. Services like Fandango and some others allow you to track movies, like them, and watch trailers but it requires another account login for me to remember. TodoMovies doesn't require me to do any of that or log in with a social service. I can just start adding movies the minute I launch the app. Not only that, native iCloud sync keeps your movies backed up and synced across all your iOS devices.

When looking for movies to add to your watch list, you can view movie trailers, gallery photos, ratings, and even App Store recommendations. This is one thing that really intrigued me since I typically do like to take a look at movie soundtracks or iBooks occasionally. While viewing any particular movie, just tap on the shop bag and you'll be shown any relevant iTunes or App Store items that TodoMovies can find based on that movie. I have found some quirks and things that may not necessarily belong but overall, it does a pretty good job at filtering in relevant soundtracks and books.

TodoMovies can notify you when a movie releases in a theater if you add it to your watch list. By default you'll be asked if you'd like to receive notifications for each and every movie that isn't out yet but you can easily remedy this by hopping into settings and disabling the notification prompt. You can either tell it to remind you each time or you can turn notifications off completely for TodoMovies in settings.

Once you've watched a movie, tap on it from your watch list and tap the check mark which will move it from your watch list to the already watched section of TodoMovies. This is a great place to keep track of all the movies you've seen.

The good

• Ratings from both Rotten Tomatoes and Movie Database
• High quality trailers built right in
• App Store recommendations including albums, books, and apps that may be relevant to that particular movie
• Notifications for movie release date reminders
• iCloud sync

The bad

• No ability to rate movies within TodoMovies
• Sometimes App Store and iTunes recommendations can be a bit flaky and produce irrelevant results in some situations
• No showtime support with local theaters

The bottom line

If you're looking for a movie tracking app that allows you to keep track of your personal watching experiences, TodoMovies is it. There aren't any pesky signups to complete or social network requirements. Your movies are just that, your movies.

With the added benefits of being able to view ratings, photos, trailers, and extras, TodoMovies is one of the best options available, especially if you don't fancy creating new accounts or sharing with your social networks. The only thing I'd really like to see in an update is the ability to view showtimes at local theaters without having to open a separate app.

• $1.99 - Download Now

All of us have bad habits we'd like to break and replace with good ones. Habit List for iPhone allows you to add goals that you'd like to achieve either on daily, weekly, or unscheduled intervals. Once you've completed a goal you've set for yourself, you can swipe to mark it off. As you start doing things every day, you'll notice that you obtain streaks within Habit List. If you forget to do things or fall off schedule, you'll see a negative streak for the days you haven't met your goals for accomplishing certain habits.

Habit List makes it easy to start using it and adding things. Once you've launched the app you'll be automatically taken to today's date. Just start tapping the "+" sign in the upper right hand corner to add new habits you'd like to make for yourself. The cool thing about Habits list is that there are several options as far as notifications and intervals. You can set habits to repeat every day, every few days, or just set them loosely so you set a goal to do them so many days a week.

Next to each habit, you'll see a number off to the left. This number represents your streak and how many times you've completed that habit in a row when it's scheduled. If you see a red number with a negative sign in front of it, that means you've missed performing that habit for that many days. Completing it will bring the count back to 1 and you'll start over on your streak.

Tapping on any habit within a list will show you statistics on that habit in weekly breakdowns. You can see a calendar view that'll show you how many times you've completed a particular habit followed by a completion rate percentage based on how many times you've achieved it and missed it. Along the top you can toggle between calendar view and stat view. Stat view will show bar graph representations that'll break down how many times you completed that habit in any particular week. At the bottom you'll also be reminded how many times you've chosen to do that habit.

From the Today screen you can tap on today or tap on the lower left icon in the bottom menu to pull out the submenu. Here you can jump to different days so if you forget to mark off a habit from yesterday, you can always jump back in and mark it at any time. To mark something as complete, just swipe across the title of it and you'll see a line appear through it which marks it as complete for the day. You can also tap on the repeating items icon in the bottom navigation in order to view what habits you've set to repeat. Here you can also reorder how they show up in your lists.

The good

• Absolutely gorgeous interface
• Streaks make you more aware of where you stand at a quick glance
• Notification support makes it easy to remember to do repeating items every day
• Passcode lock support

The bad

• Would be nice to see support for monthly tasks but it's not a deal breaker

The bottom line

We've all got bad habits we want to replace, but in order to do that we typically have to put better ones in their place. Habit List can easily help you do this. With the ability to create rigorous habits or looser ones, it's got options for any kind of habit you'd like to form.

If you're looking to make some changes in your daily routine, Habit List make be just what you're looking for.

• $1.99 - Download Now

While the default Reminders app can get the job done, some people's tasks are more granular than what the iPhone supports natively. Reminder+ is one of those third party apps that steps in to solve a lot of the issues with the default Reminders app.

In this case, if you've got a lot of location based reminders, Reminder+ allows you to easily set them up with as many locations as you'd like. It also has support for timers and alarms built right in.

The main feature of Reminder+ is the ability to create location based reminders at virtually any play you'd like. The problem with the native iOS reminders app is that you can't necessarily save locations for later so while you can set any location, it doesn't save that location for later use. Reminder+ will do just that which means if you frequent places like Starbucks, the gym, or other places that you may need to remember something at, you'll be able to select them in just one tap after you've initially added them in.

To create a reminder, you'll just tap the plus sign from the places section. Here you'll search for a location or choose an existing one. After that just enter the details and choose the time at which Reminder+ should notify you. You can also select to set reminders as recurring. You can do this with alarms as well.

Reminder+ allows you to choose if you'd like to be notified when you arrive or leave a location. From there you can also choose time intervals such as 5 minutes after or before you arrive. For example, if you want to be reminded to send an email to someone when you get to work, you may want some time to get settled in first. In this case, just set a reminder for a few minutes after you get to work. This is a functionality that the default reminders app doesn't have when it comes to location based reminders.

The good

• Saves places for later use making continuous entries fast
• Lots of tones and alerts to choose from so they aren't the same sounds as your other apps
• Location settings work well and always seem to be within 50 feet of where you're going

The bad

• No way to set reminders that aren't location based

The bottom line

Reminder+ not only has a great interface, but it functions beautifully. The only down side is that you don't have any option to set reminders that aren't location based. I don't necessarily need all of my reminders to be location based, such as sending emails or remembering to call someone later on. This seems like excess battery drain so to avoid that, I'd have to use two apps to accomplish what I want.

If Reminder+ would add the ability to add both location based and time based reminders, it could really give the default Reminders app a run for its money as it's a lot simpler to use but just as powerful as a lot of the other options out there.

• $1.99 - [Download Now](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reminder?at=10l3Vy&ct=UUimUdUnU17955 /id572460325?mt=8&at=10l3Vy&ct=d_im)

Projectbook for iPad is a note taker and to-do app that aims to streamline how you organize your data. Instead of using a note taking app and a to-do app separately, Projectbook allows you to keep them all in one place, minimizing the need for multiple apps to stay on task. You also have the ability to take handwritten notes or even draw which makes Projectbook ideal for almost any class or presentation setting.

When you first load up Projectbook, you will notice that only landscape orientation is supported. It's somewhat of a bummer that portrait isn't even an option but if you use a keyboard case or plan on taking extensive notes, landscape is probably the orientation you're going to prefer anyways.

The left hand column of Projectbook is where you'll find your navigation. Along the bottom you can toggle between notes, folders, tags, and to-do's. The rest of the screen off to the right is used for you to take notes, draw, or map out your to-do lists. To create a new note or to-do, tap on the plus sign in the upper right hand column and pick which one you want to create.

Notes allow you to create text based notes or written notes. You can also search for context within a note for other notes matching that item which makes searching for items a lot quicker. This makes Projectbook great for anyone who has drawing classes or have a need to create items with symbols or mathematical equations that are difficult to enter on a traditional keyboard. To switch to drawing mode, just tap the pencil in the top navigation and you'll be given different brush stroke sizes, pen tools, erasers, colors, and more.

Projectbook also has a feature when in drawing mode that's makes handwritten notes much more legible and manageable and that's the zoom box. Instead of writing or drawing text in the main space, you can use the zoom box. This will auto-scale your handwriting down so it fits much more content on one page. Whether you're using your finger or a stylus, it's hard to write small on an iPad while maintaining legibility. The zoom box is an awesome solution and works extremely well.

Tasks in Projectbook are easy to create and manage. You can set due dates, create multiple lists with nested lists inside of it and more. When setting up a new to-do, the first checkbox will be the name of the list. Everything underneath it will then become nested. Checking off the main to-do item will mark the entire project as complete. As you do things, you can mark them off individually as well.

When creating text notes or to-do's, you'll get a keyboard that has a specialized top row of keys that allow you to easily insert bullets, checklists, text formatting, and more. You can also choose to insert photos, audio recordings, things from an email, and more. Projectbook also supports Dropbox and iCloud integration which makes for an easy way to share and save your notes. You can also pull in from sources like Pocket and Instapaper as well.

The good

• Appealing layout that's easy to use and navigate through
• Zoom box for drawing and handwritten notes makes them much more legible
• Dropbox, Instapaper, Pocket, and iCloud support are nice for storing data
• The ability to add pictures and voice clips to notes makes it even easier to track all data in one place

The bad

• No Mac or iPhone counterparts which makes iCloud syncing somewhat of a moot point right now
• Contextual search doesn't always pull everything it should
• No way to change the default font so if you don't like it, you're stuck with it

The bottom line

The App Store has an abundance of to-do and note taking apps readily available. To be considered one of the best, your product really has to stand out. While Projectbook has a super nice interface and the drawing tools are beyond stellar, there is no iPhone or Mac counterpart which makes it hard to suggest. It's not very often I only need to interact with my notes or to-do's on my iPad. I want to see them on my iPad or Mac when I'm working and on my iPhone while on the go.

If you're only interested in taking notes on your iPad, Projectbook is a viable option but until there's more cross-platform support, it's hard to recommend it over other apps like Byword for note taking and Things for task management.

• $4.99 - Download Now

Since the iPhone is on-the-go as much as you are, task list apps are a natural way to stay organized. If you don't need a full on task-manager like OmniFocus, Todo, or Things, simpler task list apps are a perfect way to make sure things are getting done on time, every time. Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist are three of our favorite task-list apps, but which one is the best for you?

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: User interface and design

Any.DO has a super clean interface that it means to allow you to add and organize tasks quickly and easily. There are two main views that Any.DO allows you to toggle between - date and folder based. The date based view will combine all your different lists to show you what needs to get done today, tomorrow, this week, and later. It will pull them according to how you added tasks to Any.DO.

Once logging into Any.DO, the default date based list view appear and you can immediately start adding tasks. Each section had a plus sign next to it that allows you to add a task quickly. To access other views, there is a pull up located along the bottom of the screen. Flick it upwards and you can switch between date and folder view as well as view a list of completed tasks. Folder view will automatically sort all your tasks by folder groupings instead of time.

Tapping on any task in Any.DO will give you a list of options that you can apply to that task. You can mark a task as important, drop it into a folder, set a reminder, add notes to it, or share it with a contact.

Any.DO's settings can be access by pulling up the bottom menu and choosing the gear icon in the lower right hand corner. From here you can edit your folders, use the Any.DO moment feature, change between a dark and a light theme, control what the badge count does, change the language, and change the speech input language. There isn't much to configure but the options you may need to change are easily accessible right within the main app settings.

Clear is a gesture based app that aims to make adding tasks lightning fast. Upon first launching clear you'll be given a brief tutorial on the gestures that are supported. You can also change the color theme of Clear to your liking as there are tons to choose from.

The main screen of clear will show your lists. Inside each list you will find your tasks. Since Clear is gesture and layer driven, you use gestures to move up or down levels. If you're on the main list screen, tapping on the list will expand it. Tapping on a list item will allow you to edit it. Tapping anywhere else on the screen brings up a space to add a new task. To move back up a level, simply swipe downwards over the list or pinch your fingers together to collapse it.

While on the main list screen, swiping down or pinching will bring you up one more level. From here you can access your lists, themes, and view more tips and tricks. The settings panel of Clear can also be accessed within the app. Here you can control badge count for all tasks or just active lists as well as turning on and off features such as iCloud sync, sounds, and vibration.

Wunderlist's interface is set up to show you lists somewhat in the form of inboxes. You can tap the pencil in the upper right hand corner to edit current lists or tap in the box above your lists in order to quickly create a new one. Tapping the edit pencil also allows you to reorder lists any way you'd like. If you want your work list above your home list, you can simply drag it in that position.

The main navigation of Wunderlist runs across the bottom of the app and consists of lists, starred items, due today, overdue, and more. More is where you can find app settings as well as other ways to sort your lists. Similar to Any.DO, Wunderlist allows you to view tasks that are associated with time. You can choose to view all tasks, tasks that are already completed, ones due tomorrow, in the next 7 days, later, and ones that have no due date.

Wunderlist allows you to star tasks that are important and they'll filter into the starred section. You can easily star any task by simply tapping on the star next to the task name. It'll automatically filter into that section of the app. To mark a task as done, just check it off by tapping on the check mark box next to its name.

There isn't a ton of customization with Wunderlist but settings does allow you to change the background image, date format, language, and set up sending tasks by email.

While Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all have simple to navigate and easy to understand designs, Any.DO has most logical user interface and it's by far the easiest to use. Once you get to understand Clear and become used to the gestures, it's just as user friendly but doesn't have nearly as many options when it comes to interface as what Any.DO offers, which makes it a nice compromise.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Creating lists and tasks

To create a list or task in Any.DO you can either manually enter it or just pull down to use the voice input feature. This is something that's unique to Any.DO and adds a lot of value for users who quickly need to input something without interrupting their workflow. Swipe down from the main screen and tap on the microphone icon. Say what you need the app to add and then tap the checkmark to input it.

Any.DO will try and autocomplete tasks you are inputting by offering suggestions. They're based on places around you and on tasks you've previously entered into the app. It makes adding tasks a lot less painful than manually typing them.

Sorting tasks in Any.DO is easy and can be done within just a few taps. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen lets you order tasks by time or by folder. If you want to see a quick view of what you have to do you can tap into settings and view Any.DO moment which gives you a glimpse of what you need to do today. You can then quickly set reminders for things you have do or move them to a later time. It's a great feature but something that's rather hidden in settings. It'd be nice to see this feature pulled into the main menu for quicker access.

Clear uses multiple layers within the app and each layer houses lists and tasks. Tapping anywhere on the screen inside of a list brings up a slot to enter a new task. Just type in data and hit return on your keyboard and it adds it to your task list. From there you can pinch to close lists or swipe upwards in order to close a list and view your main list. Swiping upwards one more time brings you to the main menu that houses settings and themes.

To mark a task as done you can swipe to the right and it will be marked as complete. Swiping to the left on a task will delete it from your list. You'll notice that completed tasks will show up at the bottom with a line through them. To clear them from your list completely you can pull up on the task list and release and it will clear away old tasks that were marked as complete. While Clear doesn't have very many options for organizing and sorting, if you're looking for a simple task list that just works, it does that wonderfully and beautifully.

Wunderlist is a nice compromise between Any.DO and Clear. Task entry is simply and only ever a few clicks away. When on the main task list screen you can quickly add a new list or tap into any existing list and start typing a task into the task box above your list.

Aside from adding general tasks to lists the starred section easily shows you important tasks as a simple glance. When in settings you can view all options for time based tasks and how you want to view them. While Any.DO makes this feature apparent in their main menu, Wunderlist has chosen to put it in settings. I'm not sure this makes sense to me and many users may not think to open settings in order to sort tasks. While it's a wonderful feature to have, it should be presented in a way that makes it easier for users to find.

If you need to create lists, tasks, and organize them quickly and efficiently, Any.DO is a happy medium between Wunderlist and Clear that allows you to organize just as fast as you enter. While Clear allows for the quickest entry, Any.DO's navigation will make more sense to many.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Task reminders and notifications

Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all offer push notifications for reminders. What is really comes down to is how customizable they are. Any.DO by default will show a badge for any tasks that are due today. You can easily change this in settings to cater to certain lists or any tasks you'd like the badge to represent. Any.DO will also send you push notifications for any task you've set a reminder for. To set a reminder you can tap on the task name and then choose the reminder icon and set a time you'd like to be reminded. It's easy to access from any task and fast, which is what most users want.

Clear allows you to change badges in two forms, for the last active list or for all tasks. This means that you can have badges represent all the tasks currently listed in Clear or you can choose to have it only represent the last list you accessed before you closed out the app. There is no option to configure only certain lists or tasks due today since clear doesn't allow you to set times for tasks. This also means there are no push notifications inside Clear. You'll see a badge but that's it.

Wunderlist by default will show a badge for any tasks that are overdue. To my knowledge there isn't a way to change this within settings. As far as notifications go, you can set reminders for any task you'd like. After creating a task you can tap into it and choose a due date or set a reminder. Wunderlist will then send you a push notification at the designated time you specified.

If you need push notifications that are customizable as well as a badge count that's just as flexible, Any.DO is the only option since Clear lacks push notification support and Wunderlist doesn't allow you to customize badge counts.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Syncing lists and tasks

Any.DO uses its own native sync option. You can either create an account by signing up for an Any.DO account or by signing in with Facebook. Once you've set up an account, there is nothing to configure, it just works. Any device you've got Any.DO installed on will sync seamlessly.

Clear now supports iCloud and once it's enabled within settings, all your tasks will automatically sync between iPhone, iPad, Mac, or any other device you've got Clear set up on.

Wunderlist supports native syncing through their own login service. Just like Any.DO, once you've signed in there's absolutely nothing to configure. If you sign into your Wunderlist account on the web or on any other device that Wunderlist supports, your items will be there.

As far as syncing services are concerned, all three clients have excellent syncing support and no matter which you choose, you'll have no issues accessing your data across several devices. Tie.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Cross-platform support

Any.DO has support for iPhone, Android, and a Chrome browser extension with a native web version coming soon. I've been using the Chrome extension for a few days now and haven't had any problems. The only think I did notice is that syncing runs behind a few minutes but other than that, it works seamlessly with the iPhone app. There currently isn't a native iPad version so if you need iPad support, Any.DO may not be your best option.

Clear is available in the App Store for iPhone and in the Mac App Store. There isn't any native iPad or Android support so when it comes to syncing across platforms or to the iPad, it carries about the same support as Any.DO but instead of browser extensions, there is a native app for Mac users.

Wunderlist has been around for quite some time and supports quite a few platforms including iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and PC. If you have a tendency to jump between platforms and need a task list system that can go with you, Wunderlist is it and has the best support of all three options.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Pricing

Any.DO is available for free in both the App Store for iPhone and the Android Marketplace. The browser extension for Chrome is also free. Wunderlist is also a free option across all platforms and with the list of support you have, you really can't beat it.

Clear is the only option that is a paid option. The iPhone version of Clear is currently available in the App Store for $1.99 while its Mac counterpart will run you $9.99 in the Mac App Store. If you love gestures and want an app that takes full advantage of them, Clear is it and it's well worth the price if you need a quick and efficient task manager.

If price is a deciding factor, Wunderlist has the best support and with a free price tag, there's no competition.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: The bottom line

Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all have great options when it comes to syncing and work well to keep you organized and on task. It comes down to how you need to organize your tasks and whether or not notifications matter to you.

While Wunderlist has the best cross-platform support, the interface is not as simple as either Clear or Any.DO. It also feels dated as it hasn't seen a complete app overhaul since iOS 4. I'd only recommend Wunderlist over Clear and Any.DO if you really need that cross-platform support.

For most, it will come down to choosing between Clear and Any.DO. If push notifications and organizing lists by time are must haves for you, look no further any Any.DO. It'll do everything you need and probably more. If you prefer a native Mac app and a beautiful simplistic interface that's gesture driven, Clear is where it's at.

Any.DO - Free - Download Now

Clear - $1.99 - Download Now

Wunderlist - Free - Download Now

Marche Grocery List is, well, a grocery list app for the iPhone that features over 1700 common grocery items built right into it. Marche (which is French for "market") keeps track of what you've purchased, the price of each item, and the total price of your list.

Marche Grocery List focuses on grocery lists, but there's nothing keeping you from creating lists for other places you shop. If you want to add an item to your list that isn't included in Marche, you can add it to the database. In addition to different types of shopping lists, many users also use Marche as a way to make lists for competing locations (like two different grocery stores) as a way to compare prices.

The Shopping list view of Marche will show the title of all your lists, the date you last edited it, and the total cost of that list, including tax. If you tap the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, a new screen that displays a chart of the total costs of your lists over the last 7 months will slide up.

When adding an item to your list, March will automatically generate a list of items while you type. Not only does this speed up the process, but it shows choices you may not have thought of at first. For example, you may have been planning to add something basic like chicken to your list, but Marche will show specific choices like chicken breasts, cutlets, legs, livers, thighs, wings, and more. You can of course still choose to go with the more generic term "chicken" if you want. Also, Marche will display all your choices in categories instead of just one big alphabetical list making it easy to find what you're looking for.

After choosing the item you want, you can select from the following quantities: lb, gr, dr, oz, fl, fl oz, pt, qt, gal, item, can, doz, bag, btl, pack and select how many of the selected quantity you want to add to your list. Lastly, you can assign a price to the item either as a per unit price or a total price and select if sales tax should be applied to the item (sales tax value can be edited in settings).

To edit any of the above on a list item, simply hold your finger down on the entry. A quick tap on the entry will cross it out. Tapping the four leaf clover icon (similar to Command key on a Mac keyboard) in the upper right corner will generate a list of other actions you do to your list, the most notable being the ability to create a template.

A template is basically is a list of recipe ingredients. For example, you can create a template for "smoked salmon" that includes salmon, onion, sauce, etc. Then every time you add smoked salmon to you list, all of the required ingredient items will be added to your list instead.

This really is just a brief look at everything that Marche Grocery List has to offer. Some of the other features include a shopping timer, notes for each list, custom actions, customizable wallpapers, csv export, print via AirPrint, and more.

The good

• Beautiful UI with multiple wallpaper options
• Add quantity and price to each list item
• Edit sales tax
• Create templates
• Shopping timer
• Notes
• Custom actions
• Supports csv export
• Print via AirPrint
• Includes detailed user manual

The bad

• Requires some time to get used to and learn

The conclusion

Marche Grocery List is a very feature-heavy grocery shopping iPhone app that is perfect for people who are very detailed and organized with their planning. If you prefer simple and fast lists, Marche is not for you, but for the detail-oriented folk, you probably wanna give Marche a look.

$2.99 - Download Now

OmniFocus by the Omni Group, Todo by Appigo, and Things by Cultured Code aren't simple todo list apps like the built-in Reminders. They're full on task managers with powerful features and work flows that help you get stuff done on time, and as efficiently as possible. Since your iPhone is almost always with you, if productivity is a priority, it only makes sense to take your task management with you. But which task manager should you take?

Note: We're only looking at full task management apps here. Simpler task managers like Clear, Cheddar, etc. will be covered in a future app vs. app.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: User interface

Finding a powerful task management app for iPhone that also has a great user interface can be a daunting task. Several of them confuse clutter for customization, with too many menus to navigate through and settings to tweak. That's not a problem for OmniFocus, Todo, and Things. They all have excellent interfaces. However, they all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

OmniFocus starts you off with a main Home screen that allows you to view all your your lists and options in one place. You can tap into any of the sub categories to take a closer look at tasks, search for specific ones, and more.

Your first tab, the Inbox, is a place where you can throw tasks that you may not know what to do with yet, or for tasks that are simply so urgent they need to sit at the top until done. Since there's always a badge next to the inbox when something resides in it, you'll always know there's something in there that requires your attention.

The Projects tab allows you to add a main project or folder that can then contain and organize specific, individual tasks. Tapping the plus button in the main projects window lets you choose a new project or folder. You can also nest projects into folders where necessary.

Once you've gotten into your Inbox, or list that you'd like to add a task to, you can tap the plus button inside of the list and give it a title. You can go beyond that and customize due dates and settings if you'd like, but it's never required.

OmniFocus also allows you to order the tabs on your main Home screen in whatever order you'd like. If you never use the Maps or Forecast features, you can move them to the bottom and move the things you do use to the top.

Todo's main screen gives you easy access to all your lists and tasks. From here you can either click into any of the sections or tap the edit button in the top left to create, delete, and edit existing lists.

The four main sections are not editable and always stay static at the top of the app. These sections are: All, Focus, Starred, and Inbox.

Underneath the sections are custom-made lists that you can create and edit as you wish. This is where a good amount of the tasks and to-do's you set up will go. For example, I can create an iMore list and nest projects and tasks inside of it.

On the main screen are two buttons at the top right. A plus and a plus with a lightning bolt. The regular plus sign will allow you to add a task with all the bells and whistles from setting priority to due date and everything in between. The lightning bolt is a quick add feature. Just tap it and type in the task and click return. Todo will add it to your Inbox automatically for sorting later.

Things has an Inbox at the top, which functions much like it does in OmniFocus or Todo. Add things quickly into the Inbox when you don't have a lot of time or if you aren't quite sure where to organize it just yet. The new daily review feature in Things 2.0 shows a brief summary of what you have due now. It also allows for an easy way to pick out what you need to do now and move other things to a later date.

Underneath the Inbox, Things gives you basic sections such as Today, Next, Scheduled, and Someday. These sections do exactly what they describe, and you can add tasks to them as you please. Below that you've got a Projects tab just like you do in OmniFocus. Tapping into it allows you to view all the projects you have set up as well as tap into them and add new tasks to them. Below that you will also find areas which can be compared to a folder.

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have excellent interfaces, and you'll be well served by any of them. However, Things provides the most attractive interface, and the easiest navigation.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Tasks, lists, and projects

The most important criteria for any task management app is how it handles your data. Again, OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all make it easy to enter and organize your data, but do so in their own unique ways.

OmniFocus treats tasks differently based on how you decide to categorize them. You can add what they refer to as contexts to tasks. These will typically be places where you will perform tasks, such as work, home, the grocery store, etc. If you assign a task that needs to be done at the office with a work context, all of your work items will show up as such. You can also flag tasks so they'll show up in the flagged section. It's a great way to stay on top of tasks that require urgent attention.

OmniFocus' contexts feature also works hand-in-hand with Maps. You can assign contexts to the map and then, when you're out and about you can view the the map and see if you have any tasks with contexts in that area. If you're in the vicinity of the grocery store and you have things tagged there, they will show up on the map and remind you that you need to pick up some items.

The Forecast section of OmniFocus aims to combine your tasks with your calendar and provide an overview of your week. At the top you can tab through days of the week and see what you've got in OmniFocus in relation to where you'll be and what you've got set up through your default Calendar app.

You can choose between parallel, sequential, and single actions when creating a task in OmniFocus. If you have a project such as a grocery list that you'll be shopping in different stores for, parallel or single actions would work as you can do them in any order you'd like. If you have a project that needs to be ordered step by step you can choose sequential and OmniFocus will present the steps in order and grey out future steps until you've completed the current one.

There is one feature of OmniFocus that sets is apart from the others and that's Siri integration. If you go into the settings pane and enable iCloud reminders within OmniFocus it'll sync all your reminders with OmniFocus and send them straight to your Inbox. Just use Siri to create a reminder in Apple's default Reminders app app and, once you've confirmed it, iCloud will sync everything together and bring it directly into OmniFocus. If you want to prevent duplicate alerts just disable alerts for the Reminders app.

Todo utilizes four main sections in order to keep you organized. The All section will filter all your tasks that you currently have in one easy to read list. The Focus section will only show things what you currently need to focus on. This section can't be removed or renamed and you don't add tasks directly to it. It works by pulling in any tasks that match the specifications of the Focus list in settings. You can edit what the focus list pulls in by changing settings such as what prioritiy tasks it should show or if it should exclude certain lists or tasks that have no due date.

The next section is Starred tasks. To add a task to the Starred list you can simply toggle the star next to the task's title. This is a good feature if you need to remember to do something in the short term and can make a habit of frequently checking your starred items. It's also a good place to stick tasks and projects that you need quick access to as scrolling through lists can get a bit daunting if you've got several lists.

Just like OmniFocus and Things, you've also got an Inbox in Todo that you can put tasks in that you aren't sure what to do with yet and then move them later when you have time to figure out what you want to do with them. Below that you've got custom made lists that you can create. Inside of lists you can create projects, checklists, and single items. Tasks also have presets such as call, e-mail, text, visit a location or website, and more to make adding tasks quicker.

One more feature worth pointing out in Todo is that is integrates with other apps such as Notebook, GoodReader, Gas Cubby, and more. If these are apps you use extensively, Todo may be a no brainer for you.

Things organizes projects in a more detailed view by having things under time-based categories such as today, next, scheduled, and someday. Underneath that you've got a projects tab that you can create lists of tasks under one single project. Underneath projects you'll find a feature called Areas. While projects can have due dates and be completed, areas can not. They are meant to be a virtual work space that you can set up for different needs such as a work and home area. You can add new areas to your main screen through the settings menu.

Things reminders can't be set for a specific time, just a date. While the Daily Review feature helps with moving and reordering tasks I still find this odd as most other task management apps allow you to set an actual time for a task. In Things you'll only be able to set up a task for the day that it's due and you'll receive a reminder for when the task is approaching based on how you've got your notification settings configured.

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all let you organize projects, tasks, and lists, but OmniFocus goes above and beyond with Maps and forecasts, making it even easier to get things done.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Notifications and reminders

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have built-in notification systems that integrate with Notification Center. While all of them will remind you of things, some are flexible than others.

OmniFocus features a badge app icon that you can change to show any combination of overdue, due soon, and flagged tasks. To change what the badge shows you, just pop into the settings section and check or uncheck the appropriate options.

You can also go under the notifications section in settings and tweak how reminder notifications will show up through Notification Center. You can disable/enable sounds and alert banners for regular reminders or location-based reminders. Location-based reminders will alert you when you are close to a task location that you've scheduled through the Maps section of the app. Another neat feature of OmniFocus is its ability to provide calendar intergation with the default iPhone Calendar app to provide alerts for Calendar events. If you prefer receiving reminders all from one app instead of two separate ones, this is the option you'd want.

Todo also allows you to edit reminders through in-app settings, including badge count and alert sound and time. You can change badge count under the application icon section to show badges for due and overdue tasks, overdue tasks, all tasks, or just focus list tasks. If you don't want a badge app icon, you can just disable it by changing the option to no badge.

Scrolling further down in settings you'll see an alerts section. You can change the universal alert tone and the time you'd like the alerts to go off such as 5 minutes before, 1 hour before, etc. If you don't want alerts, you can also disable it completely. If there's a task you'd like to change to a different type of reminder you can do so within the task options when setting it up. If you don't change anything the app will abide by the universal settings.

Things allows you to change badge settings just like OmniFocus and Todo. You can choose between no badges, just due items, due plus today, or due, today, and Inbox.

Since Things doesn't allow you to set individual times for tasks you can only choose between one time each day to receive notifications for that day. Under settings go to the notifications area and choose a time each day you want to be reminded of upcoming tasks.

Things' lack of granular time settings hurts them here. When it comes to notifcations and reminders, it's a tie between OmniFocus and Todo.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Syncing

If you've got more than one iOS device that you want to schedule and view reminders on, having a task management app that will sync all that data for you is important. OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have an iPad counterpart but their syncing options are different across the board.

OmniFocus have iPad and Mac versions available to complete the product on every device, but you'll need to pay for them separately. Syncing services work through OmniFocus' own sync server, Wi-Fi sync with your Mac, or you can use a webDAV server if you choose.

Todo has separate iPad and Mac versions available as well. It also has several sync options including their own sync service which will keep the most recent 14 days of your data synced unless you opt for premium which will run you $19.99 per calendar year. If you don't want to use their own service, you can choose to sync with iCal, Outlook, Dropbox, and Toodledo.com as well.

Things also has iPad and Mac counterparts that you can purchase separately. As of Things 2.0, native sync is built-in. Under settings you can choose choose the Things Cloud option and turn on sync. Your data will sync seamlessly with Things' own servers so all your data is up to date across all devices at all times. There is no fee for this service as there is with the native sync option for ToDo.

All three apps offer acceptable sync services with free options. Tie between all three.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Pricing

When it comes to price, task management apps are among the more expensive apps in the App Store. If you use an iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you're looking at a good sized bill across all those devices. To put in context, however, it's less than you'd pay for a great dinner at a great restaurant, and unlike a great meal it won't be gone in a few hours -- you'll be using and benefitting from proper task management for months and years to come.

But the price does mean you should choose carefully.

OmniFocus will run you $19.99 each for iPhone and iPad. If you want to add the Mac app on top of that, it'll run you an additional $39.99 in the Mac App Store. That brings the grand total to around $80 for the complete suite of apps.

Todo is less expensive. The iPhone and iPad apps cost $4.99 a piece. If you'd like to add the Mac version, it'll run you another $14.99. That brings the total for all three to around $25.

Things for iPhone will cost you $9.99, while the iPad version is $19.99. The Mac version is the most expensive at $49.99. That brings the total to $80.

When it comes to price, if you're buying the full suite of apps, Todo is clearly the least expensive. Things is the same price as OmniFocus for the full suite, but if you don't want or need the Mac app, Things is cheaper for iPhone and iPad than OmniFocus. Likewise if you only want the iPhone version.

Either way, Todo wins on price.

• OmniFocus for iPad - $19.99 - Download Now
• OmniFocus for Mac - $39.99 - Download Now
• Todo for iPad - $4.99 - Download Now
• Todo for Mac - $14.99 - Download Now
• Things for iPad - $19.99 - Download Now
• Things for Mac - $49.99 - Download Now

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: The bottom line

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things are all at the top of their game and offer some of the best task management apps currently available on not only the iPhone, iPad, and Mac -- but anywhere. Which one is right for you is heavily going to depend on what you need to do.

Todo is the cheapest option. Unless you need a specific feature not found in Todo, or really want a different interface and organization structure, it's hard to overcome the sheer difference in price.

Things has a fantastic interface and the addition of built-in sync and Daily Review features make the app hard not to recommend. For those who don't want or need tons of advanced settings and menus, Things is a great option and looks like a task app that Apple themselves would approve of when it comes to interface and experience.

OmniFocus is a great choice for those who want an easy syncing solution and fine tuned control over all their tasks across all the Apple platforms. It's hard to beat some of the features OmniFocus offers such as Siri integration, location-based reminders, and Forecasts. If you want all that, don't look further than OmniFocus.

When it comes to task management on the iPhone, Todo is the best value and Omnifocus is the most powerful solution. If you want a happy medium between ease of use and functionality, Things is also worth a hard look.

OmniFocus - $19.99 - Download Now

Todo - $4.99 - Download Now

Things - $9.99 - Download Now

Checkmark is a new productivity app that lets you create location and time-based reminders on your iPhone... and to create them wickedly fast -- as in, only 3 taps! Checkmark will keep your reminders organized by location and distance, making it easy to see what needs to be done closest to you.

One of the biggest reasons Checkbook offers such quick entry is that you must first spend time to save your most used locations. You can add a location by searching the map, adding your current location, or importing from your contacts. Next you choose a radius for the location: 100, 150, 300, 800, or 1600 feet. This is a great feature because for some locations you may want a reminder when you're in the general neighborhood, thus reminding you to actually make a stop there, and for other locations you may only want a reminder when you are basically at the indicated location. For each location, you can also assign it a custom name and one of the 9 different included icons.

Once you're set up, you're ready to start creating reminders! To create a location-based reminder, just tap one of your saved locations in the Where tab. This will take you to a screen that shows you all the reminders you have created for that location and can sort them by Current or Done. To add a reminder, tap the plus sign. For each reminder, you can add a title, note, and select whether to be reminded when you arrive or when you depart from that location. If you tap the timer button next to the Departure button, you can choose to be reminded 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes after you arrive at (or depart from) the location.

Creating a time-based reminder is done similarly, except you switch to the When tab on the home screen. Instead of Arrival, Departure, and Timer buttons, time-based reminders will have one button for selecting a date and time in the creation screen.

To view an organized list by location and distance, tap the list icon in the upper righthand corner of the the Where tab.

Two of the biggest missing features in Checkmark are the lack of snooze and the inability to create recurring reminders.

The good

• Super fast entry
• Displays saved locations in a grid
• Set a timer with location, like 15 minutes after you get home
• Set a radius with each location

The bad

• Cannot create recurring reminders (like to take vitamins every day at 7a)
• No snooze feature

The bottom line

Checkmark is an incredibly fast location and time-based reminders app that is extremely functional. It's clear that a lot of thought went into its design as not only is it efficient, but also attractive. Although I agree that that Checkmark is the fastest way to manually enter a location or time-based reminder into your iPhone, it's still not as fast as "Siri, remind me to do laundry when I get home". With that said, Apple's built-in Reminders app (that Siri uses) doesn't let you assign timers to location-based reminders -- something I find to be extremely valuable about Checkmark.

$0.99 - Download Now

Clear seeks to apply new sensibilities to one of the oldest stalwarts of personal information management, the to do app. Clear does so by eschewing the user interface "chrome" of a typical iPhone app -- lots of buttons and columns, and endless amounts of tiny text to tap through -- for large lists that you swipe and push around. It also sheds a lot of features found in more expensive, more complicated "getting things done" apps, and instead focuses just on creating and managing lists. No more, no less.

It took Apple 5 generations of iOS to introduce their own, built-in task-management app, Reminders, which means the App Store has been trying to fill that particular void for years. In typical Apple fashion, Reminders offers only basic functionality compared to the full blown "getting things done" apps on the market, but it also manages to be remarkably cumbersome to actually use as an app. (Siri's voice controls rescue it for simple tasks.)

That leaves a gap below the high-end, feature filled task managers, for something elegant and easy to use, and it's one Clear seems intent on filling.

The key to Clear's approach is a big, bold design centered around a completely gesture-based interface.The challenge with any gesture-based interfaces like Clear's is one of discoverability. Humans are good at "see button, read label, tap button" but not so good at "see nothing, poke around, figure out a pinch collapses the lists". The first is almost instant, and the mental overhead all but unnoticeable anymore. The second is hit and miss, and can be frustrating or fruitless.

Clear mitigates a lot of the problems with gesture discovery by walking the user through them right when the app launches for the first time. It's an admission, much like a modern touch-controlled video game, that therein lies complexity, but it's also hopeful that once the first few moments of awkwardness pass, instinct takes over.

That it will quickly become like finger painting with productivity.

There are three layered views in Clear: Items at the bottom, lists in the middle, and the menu on top. You start at the bottom, in items. By default they're heat mapped with red at the top -- defcon 1 -- fading through orange and yellow towards the bottom. (If that scheme is too hot for you, you can change the theme in settings.)

Screenshots alone won't properly convey gestures, so if you haven't already, watch the video above before continuing on. Done? Okay. To move up to lists, you can either touch the screen and pull down -- past item creation, we'll come back to that in a moment -- until the items fall off the bottom of the screen and the lists take center stage. To move to the menu, you can do the same.

Another, funner way to do it is to touch two fingers to the screen and pinch them together vertically, like you're trying to fold the items together. Items fold into lists, lists fold into the menu.

To go back to a previous, lower layer, like to go from the menu back to the lists, just touch the screen and push up. Sadly, you can't pinch your way back out (that creates new items or new lists, between the others, or does nothing in the menu.)

To create a new item or list below the others, just tap the screen below the items or list. To create a new item or list above the others, just touch and pull down, though not too far or you'll switch to lists or the menu, as described above.

Once a new item or list is created, you get to label it, but the label can only take up that one, single, large-type line. I like that. It forces you to be concise and disciplined in your thinking.

To move an item or list, tap and hold it, and slide it to its new location. To mark an item as completed, swipe right. It'll turn gray and drop to the bottom. Swipe right on it again to un-mark it as complete (you'll have to manually move it back to its former position).

To delete an item or list, swipe left. It'll vanish. I haven't found a way to undelete them yet, so be careful.

There are many more quick, gesture based controls. The menu has a whole section on them, including ways to rapidly create many new items in a row. Which is interesting. There are levels of usability that appear. But there are also levels of complexity and collision. For example, in iOS 5 Notification Center is activated by swiping downward from the top of the screen. If you're not careful in Clear, you can partially activate it -- make the little gripper handle appear - quite frequently. (Having just the gripper handle appear is smart, however, it prevents Notification Center from being triggered by a single, perhaps unintentional downward swipe, requiring a more precise, purposeful grab and pull to reveal it.)

Once you learn to pull down lower to avoid Notification Center and create a new top-level item, you still have to be somewhat exacting. Pull too much and you switch to list view (or if you're in list view, to the menu view). Likewise if you're trying to switch to list view, pull too little and you've created a new item and have to cancel out and start over.

Since you can also get to lists by pinching vertically (or to the menu if you're already in lists), it can be a safer navigation choice to rely on. Likewise, being able to swipe through the layers in both directions, but being able to pinch through them in only one direction takes a little getting used to.

There's both a price to be paid and compromises to be made for gesture-based user interfaces. Clear balances both well and tops it off with several, delightful touches.

Empty lists are ghosted with famous quotes from the likes of Bruce Lee, William Shakespeare, Buddha, and others. Themes let you change color schemes from the default, aggressive red to more soothing green or unobtrusive gray, and if you have other apps installed, Clear will detect it and "reward" you with bonus themes (no stitched-leather popup for Find my Friends, though, I'm happy to report). There are also very distinctive sounds that accompany a lot of the actions. They're amusing at first, but you can easily silence them in settings if their charm or utility fades for you over time. (Likewise vibration.)

Once mastered -- and it doesn't take exceptionally long -- you can move very quickly through Clear. It doesn't have the power (or price tag) of something like OmniFocus or the features of Appigo Todo or the ability to quickly add tasks via Siri like the built-in iOS 5 Reminders app.

There are no dates or alarms, no location alerts or calendar integration, and no push notifications (though you can have Clear badge the app icon.)

There's also no iPad or Mac or Windows version, and no way to sync between devices, services, or platforms, which may be a deal-breaker for those who already have systems in place.

But then Clear doesn't seem intended for power users anyway. It's intended for everyone else; those for whom existing apps are far too much or far too difficult.

With Clear, once you get into the flow, you can fly through simple to dos, and triage your tasks, like nobody's business.

And hey, if you're joining us for fitness month, Clear is the perfect way to quickly, cleanly enter and check off your daily fitness goals. Whether it's going for those weekly walks or runs, or keeping that healthy shopping list handy, Clear can make sure you always know what's next.

The good

• Simple, highly focused design
• Well thought out gesture-based interface
• Fast, fun controls

The bad

• Not as feature-rich as typical GTD-style task apps
• Gestures take longer to discover and can collide at times
• No iPad or PC versions, no way to sync cross-device/platform

The bottom line

Clear is a task list app for those who don't like task list apps -- a new, gesture-based approach that's manages to be simple without being simplistic. It takes an almost Windows Phone Metro-style approach. It's not a task app for those who want power features or a more traditional interface. But for anyone new to to dos, who wants something fresh and fun, who just has a few lists of a few items and finds Reminders far too much of a chore, Clear might be the perfect place to start.

$0.99 (on sale) - Download now

Priorities for iPhone and iPad is a productivity app meant to help you with to-dos and lists. It supports custom, color-coded pages for optimum organization. Priorities is now a universal app and data can be synced between all your devices.

I have a mild addiction to to-do apps, which is rather strange considering that I continue to struggle with completing many of my tasks, but that's beside the point. Of my plethora of to-do apps, Priorities is now one of my favorites. Too often, I run into to-do apps that are packed with so many features, that I practically need to have a separate to-do list for adding items to my to-do list because of how long it takes to add an item. Not with Priorities! Priorities comes with the features I need and adding a new item with a due date and reminder only takes up seconds of my time. Not to mention, the UI is beautiful.

• Universal App - One app optimized for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
• Fast Add - Quickly add tasks or lists of items with a touch of a finger.
• Due Dates, Due Times, & Notes - Assign a due date, a due time, and record notes for a task or item.
• Priorities - Star everything that is high-priority and view them at-a-glance in your Priorities page.
• Reminders - See a badge count of your starred items on the Priorities home screen icon, and set popup and/or sound alerts for important items.
• Multi-tiered task management - Create pages, lists with sub-items, and tasks with sub-tasks to make organizing easier.
• Calendar Integration - View all your items with due dates in your calendar (iOS 4 w/ multitasking required).
• Templates - Save a page as a template if you want to use it again later. This is a great feature for grocery shopping and travel!
• Multiple Pages - Create custom, color-coded pages to keep track of all areas of your busy life. Tap or swipe to review them at-a-glance.
• Sync - Use our secure server to sync for backup and to sync between multiple devices.
• Page Sharing - Create a sync account and assign pages to be shared with others. This is a great feature for sharing a shopping list with a spouse or sharing to-dos with colleagues!
• Themes & Appearance - Customize the appearance of the app’s title bar, background, font and paper color.
• Other Features - Search, Landscape, Sort, Passcode Lock, built-in Hot Links for phone numbers, email addresses and websites, and more.

The good folks at Hand Carved Code have given us 5 promo codes for Priorities to giveaway to our awesome readers! For a chance to win, just let us know approximately how many items you cross off, or should be crossing off, your to-do each day in the comments below!

Priorities is available on the iPhone and iPad for $2.99.

[App Store link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

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By now you probably know that I am big into productivity apps and I am always looking for the next big thing. I use a lot of task management apps on the iPad, and there are some great ones for sure. However, I have just come across the ultimate task management app for your iPad; OmniFocus. This is, without a doubt the best app for utilizing David Allen's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodology. What makes this app stand out so much are three things: good design, Forecast and Review. But, I am probably getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Note, a lot of the features I am going to discuss are not unique to OmniFocus, but I think it is fair to describe them so you know what is contained in GTD and can get a better grasp for how it is used. For this review I literally rebuilt my tasks in the app form scratch except for the made-up Inbox screenshot below. I had to do that since I am already organized :-)

Gather your stuff

The first step in using a task app is to get all of your tasks together in one spot. This spot is known as the Inbox. You can add items to your Inbox by tapping the Inbox icon on he left of the screen. This allows you to enter the basics such as a name and maybe even a description of what it is you are trying to do and a date you want it done by. You can also assign Contexts and Projects, but more on that in a minute. For some people (like my wife) adding a bunch of items in a list with due dates that can recur is enough for you. If that is the case, stop right now and use another task management app. OmniFocus is more robust than that and it would be a shame for you to only use a fraction of its power. Now, it is time to move beyond the Inbox.

Organize

So you now have a lot of individual tasks. OmniFocus helps you out by allowing you to create projects for your tasks. Think of a project as a logical grouping of related tasks. For example, I might have a project to paint the house, which involves several tasks: buying paint and supplies, taping, mixing, etc.

On the OmiFocus sidebar located on the right of the screen in landscape or the overlap menu in portrait contains the link for creating projects. Once you tap it, you are presented with a screen that displays what projects you have. If you don't have any, tap the plus sign in the top right. A project can have a few different types: Sequential, Parallel and Single. Sequential means that the project you are about to start follows the typical finish-start task relationship in project management. So, back to my previous painting the house example, you must finish buying the paint before you start to paint the house. Parallel means that the tasks do not have to have a specific order. For example, I have bills due this month, it doesn't matter when I pay them as long as they are paid by the 30th. Last we have Single. Single is used if there really is a single task to your project, or, how  I use it, a general grouping of unrelated tasks that fall under a bigger more general umbrella like "Personal" or "Work". Hmm, let's talk about those bigger umbrellas now.

Once you have projects outlined you can group them together into logical areas of your life. Tap the plus button in the top left and choose folder. Some examples of my folders include: Personal, TiPb and a couple of work-related folders- that's it. Every project, every task in my life can be put into projects within these folders.

Now, to maximize your time completing tasks within your projects, you can use what are called Contexts. Think of a context as a way to virtually group your tasks into a place or method of communicating. For example, I have an errands context I assign to tasks that I need to do while I am out shopping. I have an email context for when, if I am doing email, I can get those specific tasks completed and so on. But what is the best part about contexts in OmniFocus? You can create location- based contexts! For example, I create a location context for Starbucks (where I do most of my writing). I assign that context to tasks I need to get done when I am at Starbucks. When I arrive, I tap on that context and using the iPad's location services, it finds my location and tell me relevant tasks that I have selected that need to be done in this location. Another example might be creating a context for different office locations at work. I need to speak to certain people at a location. I assign that location context to a task and OmniFocus only shows me contexts for that location.

At this point things might start to sound a little overwhelming. I mean, you have a billion tasks with a million projects, even with contexts and due dates, how do you keep it all in order? That is where OmniFocus really shines. Where other task management apps end, the power of OmniFocus really shows it's stuff.

First, you can filter your projects and tasks by seeing only what is the very next action (task) in each project to be completed, see what tasks are available across projects (even items that are on Hold, more on that in a minute), what active tasks are remaining and all of your tasks. You can easily focus on specific projects by tapping and holding on the title. It magically makes the other projects go away so you can focus on the project or task at hand. Using the same method, you can quickly expand all or collapse all to make viewing even easier.

Forecast and Reviews

Forecast is a simple yet infinitely useful calendar/timeline function that shows you dates in boxes for the upcoming week and a box for past and future. Inside of each box is a number representing the number of tasks you have due on that day. When you tap on the day you want, it gives you a list of the tasks due for that day. This is an great tool for people that are looking ahead to what needs to be done and they want to manage accordingly. The Forecast tool allows you to easily tap a task and change a due date for example. Most other task apps simple have a couple filters to do this, the Forecast tool is the best I have used so far.

Review allows you to literally review your projects on a weekly basis. You can change this interval to another time, but I think one week works well. This is so incredibly useful. It acts like a reminder, but without nagging. You can review your project, add tasks, adjust due dates and more knowing that in a week, it will be time to review these projects again. Of course this is something you should be doing anyway, but building it into the app was pure genius.  You can do more than just marking  a project complete. You can change the status of the project to Active (which is the default), On Hold (if you don't know when you will complete it or need more information), Completed (Yeah, it's done. Think if it like you are archiving the completed project) and Dropped (Canceled).

Syncing and conclusion

Of course, it is great to have this data on your iPad, but what about syncing? OmniFocus gives you options. First, they have their own beta syncing service. This is great for folks that don't have another OmniFocus product or don't use another syncing service. You can sync to MobileMe, your own WebDav server or over Wi-Fi with the Mac desktop version of OmniFocus. These services can be used to sync with the iPhone version of this app (no, it's not Universal).

I did not cover every aspect of OmniFocus here (yes, there is more...) but I think you have a good indication of what it does and how well it does it. Oh, and did I mention it's pretty with a cool app icon? Those are great bonuses, but this is clearly leaps and bounds ahead of what else is out there and our patience for this app release has truly been rewarded; thanks OmniFocus. It would be nice if there was a lite version of this app as the $39.99 price might be too steep from some. However, if you use the GTD methodology, then you are probably already hooked.

[$39.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Beautiful, intuitive design
• Workflow to add tasks is painless
• Multiple organization options
• Different sync options

Cons

• Expensive
• No way to sync to the web via a website (like Toodledo)
• No lite version is available for users to try before buying

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Appigo's Todo for iPad complements their existing Todo for iPhone app very well and if you already use Todo for iPhone, you will be quite pleased with the iPad version. If not, you'll certainly appreciate Todo for iPad on its own merits.

One of the first things you will notice is the aesthetic; Appigo went for a traditional three ring binder look and feel. You can change the color of the binder, paper and rings in the settings menu. Appigo promises more themes in a future update.

Outside of looking pretty, Todo gets the job done just like its iPhone cousin. You can create a your standard task, project, checklist, contact or website. If you are a Getting Things Done (GTD) user, you will be happy to know that @contexts as well as tags are supported. Holding the iPad in landscape gives you full view of all your task information. On the left side you have your lists, Inbox, Starred and Focus list. Let's discuss this in a little more detail.

Inbox is where tasks go that you have not assigned to a list yet. They just kind of hang out there till you move them, they can stay there, it is all up to your own workflow. Starred tasks are a way to flag a task. I use this functionality to star any items I want to do today, regardless of due date. Focus list allows you to create a dynamic list based on filters. Maybe you want to only see tasks with a due date of one week from now. You can do this with the Focus list.

If you are like me, you have a bunch of tasks you have given an arbitrary due date to, and inevitably that date slips. You can very quickly and easily move these items to another list, simply reschedule or reassign to a context in bulk with Todo.

For me the biggest benefit with Todo is online synchronization. Sure you can sync via Wi-Fi from your desktop with iCal, but for me it has to be the ability to sync with the excellent free service Toodledo [link]. I have used all of the other major task apps that sync and currently they all sync via the desktop through Wi-Fi. This can be very frustrating for me. During the day I may add a task only on the iPhone, complete a task on the iPad, but there is no way to merge them together till I get home. By Appigo partnering with Toodledo, I get free over-the-air (OTA) syncing and web-based management of my tasks from any web browser when I am not near my iPhone or iPad.

I find few faults with this application and I am so glad it is finally available. The functionality and price cannot be beaten. Checkout the video and pictures below!

[$4.99- iTunes link].

Pros

• Beautiful
• Themes
• OTA syncing
• Bulk editing for time and lists
• Different types of tasks (project, contact, etc.)
• GTD contacts and tags
• Search tasks

Cons

• Slow startup time
• List colors don't sync from device to device

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Once upon a time, all of the basic features that we use a smartphone for were previously handled by the standard PDA, and before that, pen and paper. I used to carry the FranklinCovey planner system with me, where I faithfully checked off my task list as I completed them. FranklinCovey has done well to embrace the digital age, and now they have a Task app in Apple's App Store - FCmobilelife can be found here for $5.99.

Given there seems to be as many task and to-do apps as there are fart apps, how well does FranklinCovey's FCmobilelife Tasks hold up? Will it help you prioritize and get things done? Read on for a quick review!

Under The Hood

FCmobilelife uses the proven FranklinCovey methodology for creating tasks and prioritizing them in a way that will increase efficiency in getting things done. It takes advantage of the easy-to-use iPhone interface by delivering an attractive interface for managing your personal and business tasks.

Like the FranklinCovey paper version before it, FCmobilelife allows you to input a task and rank it using the ABC-123 system of prioritization, but this is just scratching the surface of it's capability. You can also add notes to your tasks to really flesh them out and give them more detail, if needed. The app provides a means of tracking due dates of tasks, assigning categories, and create recurring tasks using the Complete-and-Forward feature.

The use of spoken tasks and managing attachments really beef up this app, and to make things easier, you can simply drag and drop a task to instantly reposition it for a higher or lower priority based on your changing priorities. The beauty of this app is that it's as powerful or simple as you want it to be. If you want to simply create a to-do list each day and check them off as you go, then it's easy as pie to set up your tasks. If, on the other hand, you want to add attachments (photos), voice record your task, add due dates and categorize your tasks, you have everything you need in this app to be a power user.

FCmobilelife is quite polished and easy to use, but there are a couple minor problems I have with this app. First, it can be a bit sluggish when changing to different views and, most notably, when scrolling through a list. The animated transitions are nice from screen to screen, but I'd like to see it happen with a bit more speed. Also, if you want a simple to-do app without the prioritization, this app is not the best for that kind of simplicity. It would be nice if there were either a 4th view for a bare-bones to-do list, or an option to disable the minimum two-step process of entering tasks when using the Master list view.

A Quick Run-Through

Before dropping down your $5.99 for this app, take a look at the demo video that FranklinCovey has put together on YouTube. It gives you a nice walk-through of this app so you can get a good sense of it's capabilities.

To summarize the video, FCmobilelife has several views to choose from: Today, Plan, and Master views. The Today view gives you a look at current due tasks in order of priority - A (vital), B (important), and C (optional) tasks. Under each priority, the tasks are further prioritized by numbering 1, 2, 3 and so on. The Plan view presents a list of tasks also sorted by priority, but condenses your task list into an easier view for all your items. The Master list view are tasks that have not been designated a due date or priority. This view is great for entering tasks on the fly that you want to return to and prioritize later.

All past due items can be moved forward to the next day with the press of a button. If you wish to sort your tasks differently, then just press the "Sort" button at the top left and then drag items to a higher or lower priority, or even delete them. When creating a task, you can name it and assign a priority and due date. Spoken tasks are also great when you don't have the means or time for entering text. Completed tasks are automatically archived for you by date, so you can always go back and view your accomplishments.

Conclusion

FCmobilelife is a great app for those looking for a fairly simple way of managing tasks or the power user who is steeped in FranklinCovey's culture and methodology for prioritization. The interface is polished and the features are powerful. The need for a little more snappiness and the lack of a bare-bones task creation option is just enough to prevent me from awarding a 5-star rating, but I can definitely recommend 4 stars. Give the demo video a look - if you want a solid task manager, then $5.99 isn't much to pay for a winner like FCmobilelife.

Pros

• Packed with features
• Simple, polished user interface
• Voice tasks
• Filtering mechanism and recurring tasks
• Photo attachments

Cons

• Sluggish list scrolling and transitions
• No "bare-bones" way to create simple to-do's

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I remember back in the day while driving, I would take an audio note on my Palm Tungsten, T, before smartphones really took off. My, have we come a long way.

Jott (recently out of beta) is a way to take audio notes, then have them transcribed into SMS, email, or just a web note. This truly takes my Tungsten Audio recording days to the next level.

There are a couple ways to use Jott; either the iPhone application or via an 800 number. This review will focus on the use of the iPhone app., but will touch on different ways to you can access your Jott.

Starting out

Jott is a free service with optional paid plans that allow you to take verbal notes spoken into your iPhone and have them transcribed and placed in an online todo list.

After installing Jott, you will have to create an account. Jott gives you 3 levels of service; a free level which should cover most people's needs, and two paid levels. The main differences between levels include the length of a recorded note and the ability to have these transcribed notes sent to you via email.

After you have logged in you can begin using Jott right away. The applications' home screen has a visual recorder. Simply tap it to begin recording. The screen turns red on the top and bottom telling you that you have begun recording. You have 15 seconds to record your note. If you end earlier, simply tap the screen to stop. Afterwards you MUST stay in the application for your note to be uploaded to Jotts servers for transcription.

I've recorded a note, what next?

It takes a little time to transcribe your note; somewhere between 3 and 15 minutes. Afterwards, you note will appear in the "Notes" tab on the bottom of the application. From here, you can see the transcribed notes from today, yesterday, etc. If a note is not done transcribing, the software tells you to check back in a few minutes. You can tap any Jott to read it. Once you have read the Jott you can move it to a folder (your defaults are Home and Work), delete it, or mark it as "done". You can also make a new list at any time by tapping Edit in the top left corner of the application. You can then move and organize your Jotts as needed.

If you prefer to type out a Jott, you can do that too by simply tapping the ABC icon located in the top right of the screen. Your typed note gets uploaded to Jotts servers along with your transcribed Jotts.

Conclusion

I like Jott a lot. It really comes in handy when you can't type out a todo or reminder; Jott is there to save the day. The ability to use Jott as an actual todo list is quite helpful as well since Apple does not have any built-in software to accomplish this task. It is important to note, that once you have an account created, you can Jott by calling their 800 number and via the web and their Adobe Air application. Using these tools, you can access your Jotts just about anywhere. I have also been very pleased with the quality of the transcription. I speak relatively fast and Jott picks up most everything very well. Kudos to Jott!

If I had to find an Achilles heel with Jott it would have to be that in order to use the service, you really have to be online. So, for example, you are using this app with an iPod Touch and have no Wi-Fi, it is essentially useless to you. Once you record your Jott, Jott wants to begin the upload immediately for transcription. If you are using it with your iPhone, the fact that the Jott cannot be sent in the background can be quite frustrating as using an EDGE connection can take upwards of 2-4 minutes to upload. If you exit the app and come back, it starts all over again.

All in all though, this is a great app, especially since it is free. There are other todo applications out there, but they are just that, todo tools and they don't really offer much in terms of voice note. If you are looking for a melding of traditional todos with voice notes, this is a great option. The todo functionality is not as strong as it could be, but it is enough for basic needs.

• Look and Feel: 4
• Navigation: 5
• Features: 4
• Reliability: 4
• Overall: 4.25

• Easy to use
• Take a note anywhere
• Touch or talk- two ways to enter data
• Many ways to access your Jotts

• Uploading over EDGE is painful
• You have to stay "in the app" to upload
• 15 seconds on the free service might be too short for some

BONUS: Here is a video discussing how Jott works!

There are several choices for an iPhone case at the Phone Different Store. One that caught my eye was the Belkin Clear Acrylic Case ($14.95) due to its unique "kickstand". I was very excited to see this type of case become available for the iPhone. It is perfect for setting on a tray table or on any table for that matter. But the real question is how does it hold up as a case?

Read on for the full review after the break...

The Belkin Clear Acrylic Case is just that; completely clear. The design is clear around the entire case so you can gaze upon the iPhone's beauty wherever it is. The iPhone is encased on both sides by the clear plastic. Every opening you need is available from the hole for the camera to the volume buttons to the bottom exposed for the microphone and speaker. There is an optional second attachment that snaps onto the rear of the plastic case. The attachment offers two forms of functionality; the aforementioned stand and a belt clip in one.

I found the case a little difficult to separate after unpacking the case. After "forcing" the case apart, I was able to determine how the case worked. There is no real latch or snap, the case simply fits together. In my opinion, it does not hold together well, a latch-type of mechanism is desperately needed. When I attached this case to my belt as intended, I felt very, very nervous that the iPhone would just plop right out of the case onto the concrete. The clip allows you to rotate the iPhone horizontally or vertically, but either way, it felt just as insecure. I do not trust this case while attached to your belt.

It is not all bad news though. The optional second attachment acts as a stand for the iPhone when attached to the rear of the case. The stand expands to a 45 degree angle making it a great solution for watching your TV shows and movies on your iPhone. When using the stand the iPhone was very sturdy and there was no concern of it falling over.

I don't feel this case was made to be carried around. The weakness of the plastic encasement while on your belt is just too much to be ignored. I have to assume the main value for this case is for its aesthetic look and stand for movies. I know without a doubt that if this case fell from my belt to the concrete, the case would either shatter or break, ultimately not protecting my iPhone. However, if you are looking for a case that looks good and works amazingly well as a stand to watch video your iPhone, look no further than the Belkin Clear Acrylic Case

• Look and Feel: 5
• Stand: 5
• Clip: 2
• Latch: 2
• Protection: 2

• Looks good
• Great stand for watching videos

• Weak case latching
• Poor protection