Taskbook Review

There are probably hundreds of to-do apps to pick from in the App Store. So when a to-do app seems to do something unique or has a nice-looking interface, I believe it’s important to point it out. Taskbook doesn’t necessarily have any unique features that can’t be found in other to-do apps, but its clean and easy-to-use interface makes it a stand-out to-do app.

The App Store mostly contains simple, visually unappealing to-do apps that don’t have many customizable options. Taskbook has a mix of powerful features like might be seen in a to-do app like Things) along with the simplicity of lower-end to-do apps like the free Wunderlist. Powerful organizing features include tagging and multiple, customizable lists. Tags can be created with various colors and icon images - defaults are provided but can be uploaded as well. I’m a huge believer in tagging versus organization with things like folders. So the fact that Taskbook has tags and the ability to sort by tags is a big win. The lists or folders (the app calls them States) have a few defaults (Inbox, To Do, Planned, Pending, Done, and Trash). Like tags, new states can be customized with color and icon image.

When a new task is created, it is placed in a state of the user’s choosing, but to move it from one state to another is as simple as drag and drop, and the states and tags are constantly in a sliding bar to the right of the lists. Tags show up with their color and name under the item, while the state shows up with icon only on the left of the item. Another great feature is that multiple items can be added at the same time, with a button to the left of the plus button. Like all great organization apps, Taskbook includes a search feature. Sorting can be done by priority, state, date, or color, if multiple states are using the same color. There are various ways to move items outside of the app. With email, single tasks or the entire list of to-dos can be emailed. Also, tasks can be exported to the Calendar app.

I couldn’t find a single problem with Taskbook; it’s basically the perfect to-do list with the exception that it doesn’t sync with multiple devices like Wunderlist. If Taskbook can get multi-device syncing in the future, I have a hard time seeing Apple’s native Reminders keeping me from using Taskbook as my primary to-do app when iOS 5 comes out. Did I mention it’s only $0.99?
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