App Review – Reminders

Reminders is a native app on the iPad that I find myself using a lot. It’s a help to planning your day and the days ahead, especially for someone who tries to fit too much into one day and is easily distracted from the task at hand.

There are buttons beside each entry to mark when the task is completed. You can hide the completed tasks or not. Taps bring up either the time set window or the keyboard window. Day and time is set by a swipe scrolling motion accompanied by a ticking rotating wheel sound. You can set recurring tasks as daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly, which is handy for regular events and remembering to water plants. It has a very simple side by side two column layout with the display options on the left and the reminder list on the right, which allows the text to be a readable size. There are three ways to view it: reminders for each day, a complete list of reminders, or connected to your email. Your device dings at the reminder times you’ve set up, even when turned off. If the task is not complete, you can reset the reminder time. It also syncs with your laptop and sends reminders there as well.

I found it pleasant to look at and simple to use. The UI was quite intuitive. The app had a focused task with no confusing or extraneous functions. Although it took me a few days to notice it, there is a way to switch off the reminder notification and just have something on the list.

There are only two changes I would make: 1. Make it possible to put an item on a day without setting a reminder time. 2. Add a satisfying sound for when you check off a task.

Gliffy App Flow

App screens photo

App Q’s

1) The problem I have is I often have to help my disorganized musician son get his items together at the last minute for a gig. Sometimes he needs to run out at the last minute to buy strings or drum sticks.

2) My app solves this problem by giving him one place to make a master list from which he could create venue-specific check lists, as well as keep in one place all the contact and map info for each gig.

3) I am passionate about this because it will ease stress in the home when he gets ready for a gig, and I may use it as well for book tours.

My App Idea – On Tour

Although the brainstorming session in class improved my app name, changing it from “Gig Organizer” to “Gig Manager”, I think I like “On Tour” better.

On Tour helps traveling musicians arrive at gigs on time, with all the equipment needed.

It is designed mainly for disorganized musicians who must keep track of a lot of equipment and venue needs. But Performing artists or even Authors on a book tour might find it useful. Site specific check lists can be created from Master lists of equipment, contacts, and tasks. Alarms can be set. Venue contact info and maps can be saved and referenced natively if wifi reception is poor.

Audiences are more receptive to performers who start on time with all their equipment ready to go.

As a list maker and mother of a disorganized musician with ADD, I see this as an valuable tool for him and others like him to keep track of important but uninteresting details.

Personalities

App Review: Sticky – Beautiful Notebooks

One of my favorite inventions of the last century is the Post it note. My laptop is shingled with them. I use the digital version as well. As a consummate list maker, I love the quick utility of them, in any form.  I downloaded the brand name app, but it didn’t seem to be the same as “Stickies” on my computer, so I looked for that. Among several similar apps, I found “Sticky – Beautiful Notebooks” app for iPad and iPhone by tewks. I figured out most of the functions intuitively, but had to look at the tutorial to figure out how to delete a note. They chose to include a tutorial video instead of prompts. The app lets you make albums of your notes, which is a nice way to categorize them. You can type or record your voice to make a note. You can also import pictures, take a picture, or search the internet. Each album has several pages. Finger pinch enlarges type or the note itself. I learned a new touch function: touch and hold, which gives you options to share, delete, copy and more. I  will definitely use this app.

App Sketches 01 GIG ORGANIZER

Mobile App Concept Definition

GIG ORGANIZER

Keeps on the road musicians organized so they reach their venue on time with all the gear they need at hand. Venue specific equipment check lists, contact personnel info, and gig play lists are generated from master lists. Alarms can be set as reminders to replace worn accessories, leave for the gig, or whatever the musician tends to forget. Maps to venues can be downloaded and saved for traveling to locations where the internet is unavailable. Also included is a built in tuner.

Loseit App Review

Loseit is an app for keeping track of personal diet and exercise. It calculates suggested calorie intake for a desires weigh loss goal at a chosen rate, e.g.: 10 pounds in 2 weeks. When you enter what you eat, there are several interfaces to find the food consumed, including name brand. For an app newbie like me, it was very easy to figure out. The icons are intuitive and simply designed. There is a lot of white space on the screen making it easy to distinguish app functions. Food lists are organized by searchable categories. There is a pie chart that shows the ratios between fat, carbs, and protein. It will subtract calories for exercise. You can do it all without entering your weigh. Which is nice, since there isn’t a scale in my household. I am not interested in earning badges for good behavior, or encouraging emails, but they arrive anyway. There is a premium option for the app which you pay for.