MyPhoneRiches

3G iPhone Downloads

Readdle Docs

$4.99, Productivity, Reviews, documents, file viewer, readdle
Developer: Readdle
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 2.1.0

iPhone Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Utility Rating Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.38 out of 5 stars

Mobile Photo Mar 8, 2010 9 17 49 PMRarely do you find such a versatile, functional app in the App Store. Readdle Docs is pretty much the only document storage/reader app you’ll ever need—the viewer is clean and functional, grabbing documents from a variety of sources is easy, and you can’t beat the interface or the vast array of features. Readers take note: if you ever need to handle documents on your iPhone, Readdle Docs is the reigning champ.

Importing Your Files
The first step with any file management app, importing files can be a headache depending on the range of choices available. With Readdle, you’ve got a lot of options. You can import files from a MobileMe iDisk account (either yours, or a public one), Google Docs, Dropbox , Box.net, or filesanywhere. Readdle also gives you a free 512 MB online storage account with your purchase of the app. Files can be downloaded from any of these sources, or you can connect your iPod as a wireless drive and transfer files straight from your computer. You can also use the built-in browser to download files from the web. It’s all quick and easy. No complaints here!

File Types
Readdle supports PDFs, Microsoft Office, and Apple iWork file types, as well as image files. Again, pretty much what you’d expect; if you need a non-supported document format, just print it out as a PDF. (I recommend the free doPDF utility.)

Mobile Photo Mar 8, 2010 9 17 36 PMThe Viewer
This is where Readdle really shines. I’ve tested the viewer fairly rigorously—I’ve read three novels on it so far—and it performs consistently and well. One tap brings up the interface, which otherwise stays invisible and out of your way. Here, you have the option to lock the screen orientation (a godsend!), add or jump to a bookmark, scroll through, or—if it’s a plain .txt file—make changes to the text. The reader handles large files fairly well. From time to time the app would freeze for a second or two, but scrolling through my ebooks was mostly a pleasant experience. The “BookReader settings” aren’t as varied as you’ll find in other, more specialized apps (there’s no inverting font and background colors, for example) but you can still change the font and its size. All formatting was perfectly preserved, and I really can’t fault the viewer for anything except the occasional lag.

It’s All About the Details
All the nice touches are here, too; for example, the app automatically opens to the last document and close to where you stopped. Many of the awesome features aren’t immediately obvious. For example, you can forward any email with attachments to a special address and have those attachments show up in your Readdle storage account. You can password-protect your files, and save entire webpages for offline reading. The interface is easy on the eyes, even if the icons don’t quite look native. Readdle is a mature app, and it shows.

Overall
I’ve used numerous document viewers on my iPod, but none of them are quite perfect. Readdle isn’t flawless, but it’s so incredibly close that I can’t imagine using anything else. For me, the Dropbox integration seals it as an amazingly easy method of keeping all my documents close at hand; your mileage may vary depending on what sorts of files you need to carry and how large they are. Still, if you ever need a document viewer or file manager app, Readdle is my number-one recommendation. It’s a complete, complex workhorse of an app with a broad feature list, good performance, and a solid interface. What more do you want? For $4.99, Readdle Docs is an easy recommendation.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!


Dunnit!

$4.99, Dunnit!, Productivity, Reviews, Runloop, openfeint
Developer: Runloop
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

iPhone Integration Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I am typically not a fan of To-Do list apps, or really productivity apps at all. I can’t even get into the habit of using calendars. It’s not that I have no use for them, I just don’t like having even more things run my life. I like waking up in the morning to my alarm with the idea that anything at all could happen. I realize that every weekday is about the same, but the fact that something random might just happen makes me want to keep my schedule free.

IMG_0916There are some things though that need to get done every day. I know they need to get done, and I usually do them on my own, but something about having a task stare me in the face makes me want to finish it that much more. I really do see the value of a To-Do list, I just have never found one that really makes me want to keep using it.

Dunnit! may have broken the cycle though, with a To-Do list that offers something that no other list app has ever offered, OpenFeint. OpenFeint, for those of you who aren’t aware, is a social gaming platform that keeps track of achievements in apps. For instance, if you kill a certain amount of enemies with head shots in a shooter, you might get a “Head Shot Champ” trophy. The trophies don’t actually do anything, but they are typically a fun way to add some extra gameplay into an app. Openfeint in Dunnit! works the same way, giving you trophies like “No slouch” for completing 10 tasks in a day. The addition of achievements in a productivity app really is a stroke of brilliance.

As for the app itself, it is pretty standard fare for a nice looking To-Do list app. Tasks are added with the standard Apple “+” and are completed by just clicking on the box next to the task. One cool feature I found is that if you click on the “+++” next to the “+”, you can add multiple tasks to a single list. It seems like a dumb addition, but if you are going to the grocery store for a recipe, you can add each item as its own task under the recipe main task. Once created, each task can be titled, given normal or urgent priority, given a completion date, a repeat option, and note, and a tag. The interface is laid out in an easy to read/easy to navigate fashion, with fonts and movements that look native to the iPhone.

If I were to ask for something in a later version, it would be an interface for viewing the lists on your computer. While I like having the list on my phone, it would be nice to be able to check off some of the work tasks without having to open up my phone. With a web viewer, importing tasks into the app would be a breeze. Currently, you can import tasks as log as they are written in the Dunnit! format, but an Evernote style interface would be greatly appreciated.

If you are looking for a new To-Do list app or are just trying to get your life together like myself, Dunnit! really is the way to go. It may not be the most robust To-Do app out there, but it has every option that I need, as well as OpenFeint which will hopefully keep me entertained long enough to become habit forming.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!


Dunnit!

$4.99, Dunnit!, Productivity, Reviews, Runloop, openfeint
Developer: Runloop
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

iPhone Integration Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I am typically not a fan of To-Do list apps, or really productivity apps at all. I can’t even get into the habit of using calendars. It’s not that I have no use for them, I just don’t like having even more things run my life. I like waking up in the morning to my alarm with the idea that anything at all could happen. I realize that every weekday is about the same, but the fact that something random might just happen makes me want to keep my schedule free.

IMG_0916There are some things though that need to get done every day. I know they need to get done, and I usually do them on my own, but something about having a task stare me in the face makes me want to finish it that much more. I really do see the value of a To-Do list, I just have never found one that really makes me want to keep using it.

Dunnit! may have broken the cycle though, with a To-Do list that offers something that no other list app has ever offered, OpenFeint. OpenFeint, for those of you who aren’t aware, is a social gaming platform that keeps track of achievements in apps. For instance, if you kill a certain amount of enemies with head shots in a shooter, you might get a “Head Shot Champ” trophy. The trophies don’t actually do anything, but they are typically a fun way to add some extra gameplay into an app. Openfeint in Dunnit! works the same way, giving you trophies like “No slouch” for completing 10 tasks in a day. The addition of achievements in a productivity app really is a stroke of brilliance.

As for the app itself, it is pretty standard fare for a nice looking To-Do list app. Tasks are added with the standard Apple “+” and are completed by just clicking on the box next to the task. One cool feature I found is that if you click on the “+++” next to the “+”, you can add multiple tasks to a single list. It seems like a dumb addition, but if you are going to the grocery store for a recipe, you can add each item as its own task under the recipe main task. Once created, each task can be titled, given normal or urgent priority, given a completion date, a repeat option, and note, and a tag. The interface is laid out in an easy to read/easy to navigate fashion, with fonts and movements that look native to the iPhone.

If I were to ask for something in a later version, it would be an interface for viewing the lists on your computer. While I like having the list on my phone, it would be nice to be able to check off some of the work tasks without having to open up my phone. With a web viewer, importing tasks into the app would be a breeze. Currently, you can import tasks as log as they are written in the Dunnit! format, but an Evernote style interface would be greatly appreciated.

If you are looking for a new To-Do list app or are just trying to get your life together like myself, Dunnit! really is the way to go. It may not be the most robust To-Do app out there, but it has every option that I need, as well as OpenFeint which will hopefully keep me entertained long enough to become habit forming.

Iphone Media
3G iPhone Downloads!




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