We’re all trying to organize our lives a little more effectively and a little more efficiently. Time management is a skill that few of us have mastered.
While no app can force you to stick to the plan, there are plenty of calendar apps that make the process easier and we’ve rounded up six of the best apps for doing exactly that.
:: TIME SAVING :: Read Review »Pocket Informant Pro has been updated with some new features and a whole new pricing structure. Whereas the app used to be paid, it's now available as a free (and feature-limited) download for everyone to try. Existing users need not worry though; Go users should automatically be upgraded to a special "Go Level" status, while Pro users will automatically be upgraded to Premium.
There have also been a fair number of additions to the app that include the ability to print out lists, share info via Airdrop, and an automatic notification when an event you're scheduling may conflict with another. You can grab the update now, or download Pocket Informant for free in order to try it out. Since, you know, that's how it works now.
:: CONVENIENTPart One: 16 - 25
Pocket Informant - While iCal is nice, sometimes we need a more robust solution - hopefully one that works seamlessly with Google calendar. This is that app. While there's no universal app yet, we find this one to be compelling enough on either device type.
American Presidents for iPad - With over 300 gorgeous vintage images and photographs, this is an educational app for everyone. There are biographies of every US president, a historical timeline, and detailed quizzes on the text itself. Presidential history never looked so good.
Camera+ - This one gets a lot of play on our personal iPhones, bringing a ton of extra funtionality we really wish the native Camera app had, including multi touch exposure adjustment, grid line compotition help, and loads of effects and post-processing abilities. Also, it's super easy to share to a ton of different services, not just the default Apple ones.
1Password - Seriously, we have a ton of passwords out there. Some we use a lot, and remember, while others, well, not so much. We're guessing you do, too. Enter 1Password, the super vault of all those pesky passwords that we can't seem to keep track of any more. There's a version for iPhone only, iPad only, and a universal version.
Sketchbook Mobile - Feeling creative? Artsy, even? Want to doodle a little while you wait for your constantly late friend to show up to the cafe? Pull out that iPhone and sketch a little, why don't you? The smaller version of this app (there's also a pro version available for iPads) packs quite a punch in a tiny little package, including multitouch navigation, up to 6 layers per image file, and 10 levels of undo and redo.
Band of the Day - We're huge music fans, so finding this app was a happy day indeed. Selected as App of the Year runner up in Apple's own Rewind section, BotD updates us daily with free songs, reviews, bios, charts, sharing, videos and the like. It's also, you know, free, which earns it some points, though we'd gladly pasy some money for this level of awesome.
Jamie's Recipes - Jamie Oliver is a chef for the everyman and everywoman. Each of the included 12 free recipes is easy to make and the food is approachable by a wide range of palates. Many more recipes can be downloaded as in-app purchases, each with its own theme, making this recipe app well worth a look.
Instapaper - Here's the original and still the best too-long-didn't-read-but-want-to-read-it-later app out there. Instapaper lets users save web pages for later offline perusal with a simple browser extension and a mobile device. We're also still happy this is a one-person operation, showing us all that independent development is still a thriving industry. If you don't have this app yet, you should.
Shop Savvy - Here's a simple idea, well-implemented, made possible by that powerful networked computing device with a camera you have sitting in your pocket. Scan a bar code at any store, and Shop Savvy will find it online as well as locally, telling you if there are less expensive options out there for you. This is a daily must have app, even when it's NOT the holiday season.
Localscope - This app uses the geo-tagged info from local search engines, social networks and media sharing services to connect you to the people and places around you. Walk around the places you frequent and try this one out - you'll be amazed at how fun and informative it can be.
We hope you've enjoyed the best apps of 2011. Come back on Friday to see our top five favorite apps and games of 2011.
Previously, on 148Apps:
Favorite Games, 6 - 15
Favorite Apps, 16 - 25
Favorite Games, 16 - 25
WebIS have released a single preview screenshot for Pocket Informant for the iPad. We don't know much about Pocket Informant on the iPad yet, but this screen shot shows the potential for a PIM on the iPad.
For those of you unfamiliar with Pocket Informant, it's an all-in-one personal information manager. It's currently available on multiple platforms, including the iPhone. And is very highly regarded. If the built in Calendar just doesn't do enough for you, you should look into Pocket Informant.
We took a look at the iPhone version a few months ago -- you can read that review to see how much we admired the app on the iPhone. And I think we can expect more of the same on the iPad version.
What we do know is the Pocket Informant for the iPad will be $15 when released. It will be a separate app from the iPhone version to help speed the development of each app. Exactly when it will be released, we don't know. But it can't be soon enough!
:: Huge Potential
