When I first saw the screenshots of Today Todo, I wasn’t the least bit interested. I thought it was another wannabe app, trying to cash in by offering changeable backgrounds and colour labels. But I should thank Stephan for insisting I try it out.
Today doesn’t have the most intuitive of user interfaces. But it comes preloaded with a tutorial in the form of a task list, so getting to know the app is just a matter of minutes. Once you do know how things work though, there’s absolutely confusion about how to navigate. Today works on the basis of your tasks for Today, what you have done or were supposed to do, and what you want to do in future. It bases all of this on a cheesy workflow involving a floating sun. Move it to the left, and the screen (along with background) switches to yesterday. Move it to the right, and it switches to tomorrow. Another little UI treat is its pull down sheet to switch between task lists. Yes, it all sounds extraneous and frivolous, but it’s not. You don’t have to locate a button, nor do you have to think about which mode you are in. Even creating new tasks involves flipping your phone into landscape.
Today 1.5.3 brings in web server access, which allows you to access your tasks from the web browser. But that’s only for quickly editing and managing tasks, and you need to have the app open and on the same network for it to work. You can backup your data, but that too is in its own cryptic format. I’ve expressed my concern for these non-syncing todo-list managers, and this web server mode isn’t helping much in that regard. Also, its workflow wouldn’t work very well for extensive task lists, project management, or planned events. It’s more of a ‘get milk’ kind of task manager, but I’m sure many will be content with its feature set and user interface. $2.99 at the App Store, and there’s a functional Basic version so you can get a feel for the app.