Get Productive with Next! – iPad App Review
The tagline for Next! states that ‘It’s a good day to be productive’ and I think that’s a good mantra for us all.
This app intends to be a ‘one-stop-shop’, allowing you to manage projects, take notes and store documents in a central location. The three core functions of the app are:
Actions – Encourages you to break down the things you need to do. You can assign specific or generic dates to each item, allowing you to prioritize. You can leave items in your ‘inbox’ that you haven’t decided how to approach, which can be a nice feature when you know you have a task that needs to be done but you haven’t fully contemplated it yet. As well, you can assign tasks a due date of ‘someday’ for those things that are more abstract or perhaps less important and therefore don’t need a true targeted due date.
Projects and Goals – These items can be big or small, whichever suits your needs. Actions can be tied directly to a project or goal so you can outline those as steps required to complete them.
Reference – Import all of your supporting documentation here. These items can be images, PDFs, word processing documents –just about anything!
Full text search and tagging make it very easy to find items you are looking for once they are entered.
My main concern is with what the developers describe as a ‘unique user interface’. I feel that it translates into an experience that is almost impossible to navigate. I found myself trying to be a touch psychic when trying to figure out where and how to swipe to bring the screens for setting goals, identifying projects and creating actions to the forefront. In my view, a central menu would have done a world of usability good.
What I liked: There is a concise (11 page) user manual included with the app that walks you through how to use all of the features with screen shots and tips.
What I didn’t like: This app is virtually impossible to use without having read the manual… and I hate having to read the manual.
To buy or not to buy: With so many other similar productivity apps out there, you may want to evaluate your options before laying down the purchase price for this one. The weakness of this app is in the user interface, and many of you may feel that learning curve is not worth the rich feature-list.
- App Name: Next!
- Version Reviewed: 1.2
- Category: Productivity
- Developer: LefTurn Labs LLC
- Price: $1.99
- Score:
