First Look: Todo for iPad. By Appigo.

Posted on May 11th, 2010. Written by Arron.

Developed by @Appigo, Todo for iPad is the big brother of Todo for iPhone, and has been completely re-designed with the iPad’s larger resolution in mind.

Todo for iPhone and iPod touch, which saw its debut on the App Store in the second half of 2008, quickly became popular. Not just because it looked good, but the functionality and productivity of the app was clear. But it wasn’t all good feedback, as with any application Todo came with it’s own issues, with buyers as recent as this March reporting syncing and Microsoft Exchange issues.

Released today, the new version of the software mimics that of a real touchy-feely diary, with the first thing you’ll probably notice being the app is set out in a split view. Dependent on which orientation you have your iPad in, items are displayed on the left, while your actual ‘things to do’ displayed on the right. Throughout using the app though, you’ll also notice it’s much more than pretty list views.

As you open the app you’ll notice you’re greeted with a ‘leather look’ frontier, and beyond this we then have our ‘All’ screen. The all screen does just as it suggests, listing all the tasks you currently have created in one place, broken down under either Today, Tomorrow, Next Seven Days and Future. Firstly, lets get into what all these little symbols mean next to each entry. Each task you create is assigned a priority. Priority of a task is managed by the position in which is appears in your todo list. The higher you set the priority of a task, the higher it will visually appear on your ‘todo’ list. This is also indicated by the ‘bar graph’ displayed to the right hand side of each entry. Now, based on what task type you chose to create, this is also displayed next to the priority meter. A normal task is represented by a tick, projected by a flowchart icon and checklist with a tick in a box.

Altogether, there are nine different types of task you can create with Todo for iPad. Normal, project and checklist being the obvious ones, but then the app accounts for day to day tasks such as calling e-mailing or texting a friend, alongside visiting a physical place or website. Dependent on which type of task you choose, you might have to select further options. For example on creating a task to text someone, you’ll be given the option to create a task based around an existing number, a new number or entering a number manually.

Going back to the ‘All’ screen for a second, you’ll notice this screen has a variety of different menu icons. Top left you’ll see a search icon and tapping it will bring down the search pane where you can search the current inbox you are in. To the top right you’ll see three other buttons. From left to right, the first takes you into edit mode where you can freely move your outstanding tasks into whatever position you’d like them to be in. The second is your lightening fast way to create a new task. Instead of inputting priority information and deadlines, this option allows you to create a new task on the fly, quickly and efficiently. The last button is of course our new task button, which when tapped allows us to create, name and set the priority for your new task. Need to mark a task as completed, just tap the tick box to the left of the task and it will become grayed out.

The buttons along the bottom of the UI are fairly straight forward too. From left to right, the first allows you to task sync with a number of different outside services including Appigo’s own Appigo Sync, Remember the Milk and Toodled, with the option to set each of them up. Need to return to were you were? Tapping the left side of the dairy will flip it back over in a swish and slick animation. The second button at the bottom of the UI allows you to setup different ‘Contexts’ for your tasks. The third? Tags. Tagging your tasks with keywords so that they are easily searchable in the future. The last? Settings. The app houses the setting tab in a side pocket on the virtual diary, giving you the option to set alerts, synchronization and even a new theme! The app comes with with 24 themes in total, from the actual case of the dairy to the inside rings, nearly every aspect of the app has been built to be customizable.

Overall, my first impression of Todo for iPad is a good one, and to celebrate its release the app is just $4.99. Half the price of the company’s iPhone client, and that’s big news. if you want to create, organise and manage your tasks on a day to day basis, Todo for iPad by Appigo brings the goods with a clean, customizable interface, without the loss of performance or functionality.