Any.DO an Utterly Gorgeous & Productive To-Do List Manager App for #GTD
by Paul Wilks
Dec 13, 2011 9:07 AM –
Install
Any.DO is a cool multi-platform GTD (get things done) to-do list manager that is quite simply awesome. I am a massive fan of productivity apps and have tried plenty of them on Android. GTD apps on Android go from the brilliantly detailed project management-style tools such as Due Today to the infinitely simple Do It (Tomorrow). While I have found myself loving both of these and finding each superb in their own way, I always felt one was a little too complex for my level of use and one way a bit too simple. Step forward Any.DO…
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Utterly beautiful UI!
- Easy to create and organise tasks!
- Very user friendly!
- Just the right level of configurations!
- Predictive task adding!
- Collaboration mode!
- Syncs with Google Tasks!
- Any.DO developers are rolling out a web interface!
Cons
- Shake-to-clear doesn’t seem to work.
- Widget only comes in white at the moment.
- It would be nice to create recurring tasks.
Features:
I absolutely rely on a good to-do list. I usually have a long list of things I have to do, from review writing to getting some milk- I need something to keep me organised. With a HTC Desire HD, I relied on the Tasks app contained within HTC Sense, it was quite simple but it was pretty good. Eventually I got a bit fed up with the lag in Sense and decided to root my device and flash other, faster ROMs. I found my home with Cyanogenmod however, I missed a good to-do list app. I have tried so many now I was beginning to give up hope…
Do It (Tomorrow) is great, quite an amusing concept and has a lovely UI. Due Today is equally superb, yet at the opposite end of the spectrum. Astrid, which lies in the middle of these is OK, but I wasn’t a fan of the little Octopus thematic. Then I found Any.Do.
Stunning UI
The first thing you notice about Any.DO is the UI. It’s VERY smooth and highly responsive. It looks quite futuristic and works beautifully. Even down to the font the developers have chosen, it’s just gorgeous. Adding tasks is very simple, you can either speak the task or type it. The speech recognition works very well and I was greatly surprised to see that, when you begin to type a task it provides auto-complete options which make for a far more intuitive and faster experience. Even if you begin to enter someone’s name, it will suggest names from your contacts. When you’ve finished a task, simply swipe over it and it crosses itself out!
Impressive functionality
Now, just creating a list of tasks like that is enough for some, and Any.DO can be used like this, but sometimes you need more organisation. Here’s where the app, for me anyway, excels. You can firstly place the task (by drag and drop) into various sections: Today, Tomorrow, This Week and Later. If you tap on the task itself, you can incorporate a number of other configurations. These include: Priority level, Folder options, set Reminder, add Notes and Share. ‘Share’ let’s you collaborate with someone on that particular task, sending them an email that invites them to download the app and get involved!
The more you configure different tasks, the more you’ll need to organise them. As mentioned you can put them in folders, but you can also organise them by date and priority. You can also; check back on the tasks you have completed, back up your tasks and sync the app with the forthcoming web interface. If all this isn’t enough, Any.DO even syncs seamlessly with Google Tasks, so it’s easy to integrate the app into your whole Google experience.
But…
I’m almost reluctant to mention the small quibbles I have with Any.DO as I don’t think they should put anyone off the app. Firstly the app suggests you can shake your phone to clear completed tasks, a great and intuitive means to get rid of all your finished jobs. However, I couldn’t get this to work and I found a few other comments in the Android Market which suggested the same. The app comes with a pretty cool widget, but sadly it only comes in white which, unfortunately, really doesn’t work with my homescreen theme. The app itself can have a white or black theme, but the widget only comes in white.
One last thing, which would be really nice, would be the ability to create recurring tasks. Say I have weekly meeting or something I do on a monthly basis- the ability to set a daily, weekly, monthly task would be the icing on the cake!
Don’t let any of these put you off! Any.DO is utterly superb, one of my all-time favourite apps but, as such, I’ve spotted the few small things I’d like to see improved upon. As it is, it’s just brilliant. A little tweak here and there and it would almost be beyond perfect.
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Any.DO – To do list
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Any.DO – Menu
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Any.DO – More menu
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Any.DO – Set reminder
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Any.DO – Repeat option
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Any.DO – Create additional notes for each event/task
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Any.DO – Collaboration
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Any.DO – Clear finished tasks
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Any.DO – White theme
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Any.DO – Tutorial
Usefulness:
Any.DO, as a GTD app, helps you stay productive and focused on your list of jobs. There is plenty of configuration options to keep these tasks organised, adding to the usefulness of the app and your own productivity.
Ease of Use:
Any.DO is child’s play to use. Everything about it is really intuitive and natural. Creating a task, removing a completed task, setting a reminder, organising your lists, changing priorities…. it’s all very simple to use. Not only that, but it’s fun. It just looks so good, full of cool bouncy little effects that you feel inclined to use the app regularly…
Frequently Used:
I downloaded this quite a little over a week ago and have just been well and truly blown away by it. I use it every day, almost hourly, to manage all kinds of tasks and projects. I put household chores into it, my list of reviews, reminders for emails I have to send, things I have to research and read into. I’ve found it massively useful and something I practically rely on now, despite only having it for a relatively short period of time.
Interface:
Despite all the functionality, the UI remains the stand out feature. It’s just beautiful to use, and so much fun to interact with, it all contributes nicely to keeping you productive. I found myself actually wanting to add tasks to complete and organise myself even better than before.
You can choose between a lush black theme and bright white one. I think anyone currently being seduced by Ice Cream Sandwich videos (or even ICS itself if you’ve managed to get it) will be impressed too with the black theme, it just works so well. It’s just a shame that, at the moment, the widget only comes in white.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Any.DO,
Any.DO: To Do List Task List,
Astrid,
Astrid Task,
Do It Tomorrow,
Due Today,
Google Tasks,
Google Tasks Sync,
GTD,
Productivity,
tasks,
To Do List,
To-Do Lists
Categorised in: Productivity
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