My Brief Review of OmniFocus for iPad
I’ve been using OmniFocus for the Mac for years. Probably since it came out. I seem to remember it being a much-anticipated app at that time, as well. And the iPhone version has been handy - it’s the todo app I always come back to, mainly because of its mostly-solid sync features.
Now that it has arrived for the iPad, it’s time to look into it. After some internal debate, I decided to spring for a copy. I spend so much time keeping my task lists in order that it kind of seems worth it. And it is nice to have another device that lets me brainstorm out a project quickly, something the iPad seems particularly well-suited for.
However, I see three main drawbacks to this version in particular.
Firstly, cost is an issue. I don’t think that these folks respect their customers’ existing investment. This app is not sufficiently different from the iPhone version, despite their claims. It does add some nice touches and UI, but for someone who thinks that all productivity apps should ideally just run on both the iPhone and iPad by design (unreasonable curmudgeon, I know), paying an additional $40 seems steep.
Second, their are glitches. This is a 1.0 and it shows. I’ve run across numerous difficulties using the software, and it doesn’t really seem finished. Dragging items between lists sometimes just doesn’t work. And I’ve already had some crashes.
Third, the design sucks compared to competitors like Cultured Code. OmniGroup just doesn’t have a good eye for design and they seem unaware of this. The lists of projects and their tasks feel like they take up a lot more space than they need to. The whole interface reeks of “chartjunk.” And so the app is full of lots of little eye sores that add up to an uncomfortable user experience.
If you’ve already given them a hundred bucks for OmniFocus, like me, then what the heck. Throw another $40 in their direction and hope for the best. They do have the best sync around, and that matters. But if you’re a bit more of a casual user, pass. You still need your Mac version anyway.
