ForumsNewsiOS app update: Version 3.0 includes over 100 improvements.
iOS app update: Version 3.0 includes over 100 improvements.
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BoginBob |
Comments on iOS app
1. Font needs to be bold or darkened. 2. Short Task keyword descriptors are cut off / truncated - seems we need more line width (smaller check-box may be one way) AND DO NOT REDUCE FONT SIZE - MAYBE OFFER FONT SIZES: SMALL-DEFAULT-LARGER. 3. Task details way too small - can we revert back to previous theme yet keep added functionality? |
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jburke7 |
I agree - this font size is FAR too big...6 tasks per screen; double line display - much better in old version.
Posted by bgreiner: Posted by witness:
1. Offer the option for a smaller font size. The current one takes up too much screen real estate. I completely agree. There should be an option for a smaller font. The font looks nice, but takes too much space... Regards |
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bcmyers |
Posted by Jake:
Naturally, with such a big change there will be mixed reviews and knee-jerk reactions, however I am pleased that the worst complains are about font sizes and colors. I'm in sales, so I know a bit about the need to provide good customer service. A word to the wise: you never EVER want to refer to customer complaints as "knee-jerk reactions" even if you're certain that's what they are. It's OK to complain about certain customers in the privacy of your offices when no clients are within earshot. You do not ever want to do that publicly. To do so implies a condescending attitude towards your customers that many find off-putting. You may include me in that number. I've been happy Toodledo user for quite a while now, and I even bought a subscription to get some of the premium features. One of the things that made me fiercely loyal to Toodledo was the excellent iPhone app. It was far-and-away better than any other to-do app for the iPhone I had tried. Your latest update was a solution looking for a problem. The color scheme was perfect as it was: pleasant to look at and perfectly readable. Your new grey-on-grey color scheme lacks contrast. It is neither easy on the eyes nor easily readable. Removing the option to change the font size takes an option away from me that I really liked. The new features and improvements don't impress me. They don't address any of the things I use a to-do app for. I've been experimenting with Remember The Milk because they make it easier to convert an email into a task than Toodledo. With Toodledo there are so many operators (an ! will set the priority, a hyphen will do something else, etc) that it's easy to forget and include some common punctuation that screws up the subject line for the task that ends up in Toodledo. Or else it's easy to make a mistake with the syntax and something doesn't end up in the right context, or with the right due date, or whatever. Remember The Milk doesn't have that problem. I bring that up because I was already playing with Remember The Milk. Your new iPhone app, which seems to have been developed with the developer in mind and not the end user, is probably going to push me right into RTM's arms. RTM doesn't offer as much functionality as Toodledo, but frankly I've learned I don't need all of that functionality. Most of it is a distraction. You may dismiss me as a "knee-jerk" if you wish. Just remember that I'm a paying subscriber and if I don't renew, you may find you miss my "knee-jerk" revenue. Thanks. |
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Jake Toodledo Founder |
I am sorry for using the phrase "knee-jerk". I guess I had a knee-jerk reaction myself to all the criticism.
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AA |
Reading this thread has certainly scared me off upgrading. I'll be waiting for the release of other versions in future with less negative user feedback. I've long since learned I just can't use Apple's "Update All" button in the App Store, or I may end up with unusable apps.
The old iOS apps aren't perfect, but it never even occurred to me that a radical overhaul of their user interface was necessary. The only thing I really found frustrating in them concerned the Notes, both within Tasks and stand-alone ones. No HTML recognition in them was confusing, and in the iPad app, the notes field was ridiculously narrow, and therefore difficult to view or edit. I'm glad the 3.0 update apparently addresses these issues, but I just don't dare to upgrade if there seemingly are so many other issues now caused by the radical UI overhaul. Sometimes I wonder why it is ever necessary to *radically* overhaul something that was perfectly functional and well-loved in its previous format... Windows 8 anyone? |
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bcmyers |
Posted by Jake:
I am sorry for using the phrase "knee-jerk". I guess I had a knee-jerk reaction myself to all the criticism. I get upset with customers as well. As I said, though, I do all of my venting in private. This isn't the first time I've seen you get irritated with customers in these forums. It always surprises me. You may be interested to know that despite my misgivings about the redesign of your iPhone app I've been forced to the conclusion that Toodledo is still the best choice for my needs. RTM has a couple of advantages over Toodledo: it's easier to convert an e-mail into a task using RTM, and RTM's iPhone app is now far more visually appealing than Toodledo's. Toodledo's advantages, however, outweigh those of any competitor that I've tried. Toodledo's web interface isn't pretty but everything is in the right place. A great deal of the functionality you offer is stuff I consider to be overkill but I can easily suppress the features I don't want to use, and each individual can customize the web interface to suit his or her work style. The web interface is incredibly intuitive; when I tried it out I just played with it and in ten minutes I knew most of what I needed to know. Your iPhone app is still better than any I've tried, for many of the same reasons that the web app beats the competition. Still, the competition is likely not resting on their laurels. A couple of suggestions to consider: 1. Offer users the ability to customize the color scheme for both the web and iPhone apps. I find the overwhelming greyness of both to be harder on the eyes than a color scheme with more contrast would be. This actually detracts from the practicality of both apps rather than adds to it. 2. Bring back the option of reducing the font size for tasks in the iPhone app's task list. I sell software for a living. I understand the need to constantly innovate and get ahead of the curve. You can't react to the market. By then it's too late. You have to get ahead of the market. But the new iPhone app again strikes me as solution looking for a problem. You've taken away the things that were best about the iPhone UI -- the look and the customizability -- and in return provided functionality that to me just isn't a game-changer. It appears to me (and I realize appearances can be misleading, but this is my perception) that this was what I call a "developer's development." Stuff that looks cool to a developer doesn't always bang a gong with customers. I realize in today's technology world the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality just won't fly. You have to innovate. From my perspective, though, the iPhone app redesign was a step back. I'd urge you to give thought to the user feedback you're receiving, as difficult as it may be to hear such negative things about your "baby." The prior version of the iPhone app is something I'd've been willing to pay for. I've paid money for far worse iPhone task apps. Toodledo is still my choice, for now. But the new iPhone app has actually narrowed the gap between you and the competition rather than widened it. This message was edited Dec 01, 2012. |
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bcmyers |
Oh, and one other thing, Jake. Being in sales, I've learned that customer complaints are usually a good thing in that you're getting a chance to address those complaints. I'm not complaining in this forum because I enjoy being negative. I'm doing it because I think Toodledo is worthwhile enough that I should give you a chance to keep my business. You get me? I like getting customer complaints better than I like customers getting fed up and walking away without saying anything.
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stu.kruse |
Is anyone struggling with the two big bugs that are now causing me a major headache?
1) Unresponsive - i.e. tasks don't mark as done for at least 5 seconds after you click on the 'tick box' to show you've completed them. 2) Ignoring system defaults - when I create a new task it always defaults it as 'due by' TOMORROW, instead of TODAY (which is what my default specifies). It also shows the TOMORROW list by default instead of TODAY. I'd love to get these two bugs fixed....major pain at the moment :( Thanks for listening, Stu |
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mbarr74057 |
Posted by Jessica_:
I agree that the new color scheme, font sizes and use of space are bad. The old app had a clean, bright interface that was pleasant to look at. This one is dim and muddy and depressing. The UI *IS* severely detracting from the data. I'm glad you all are going to work on it - I hope soon! I regret updating, and wish I had looked at the reviews first. Why must the contexts in in the list have little @ signs next to them? Why must the dates added have a little square with a plus? These just add visual clutter without adding information. I am in total agreement. I went to the criticism response and one that I found disturbing is the use of " very good designers" was thrown out in rebuttal of the bad color. I am not a "gamer" and the color of the old design did matter. Therefore I am not happy with the upgrade and will be happy to rate this at the Apple Store. It will no longer be good. I have referred this item to many of my friends and I have already heard some chiding from them. This message was edited Dec 01, 2012. |
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Mapdoc |
Concerning the iPad version, I really appreciate the update. The reduction of keystrokes is a real plus. The only problem I have with the color scheme is lack of contrast. If the task title was black it would be a real help.
Keep up the good work. Toodledo, still the best todo solution for me! |
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arnaregils |
I feel that the look of the new version might do some fixing (like has been mentioned) but Im happy with the change in setup and ease of use. I especially like the new bar on the left. What I like most though is that the developer wrote a detailed response with solutions to that which seems to be bothering users the most. That being said my main complaint with the update is that I cant reduce the amount of visual information that accompanies each task. For me two fields are enough and I feel that more than that clutters the UI.
Great job! |
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shelbyp |
I think some of the comments concerning the new look and feel and color scheme are exaggerated. I almost didn't upgrade, but I finally decided to take the plunge. I agree that I preferred the blue style, but the new scheme works, for other readers do not be scared away, by comments about the contrast, everything is readable, there was more contrast before, but there is more than enough contrast now... After all this is a todolist not a 3-D fantasy game...
I also like the new features. As for improvements/fixes , I vote for: -reduced Font size on the task lists, or at least an option, I agree that they are too big now, but not a show stopper either... -this is a detail but someone commented on the fact that with the drill downs, when we have many folders we need an extra click, I agree... . I think it should be possible to display them all and allow us to scroll rather than to click more... I use folders quite a bit so this is a bit clumsy. Great work and I am happy with the new features, particularly the quick add task buttons and better subtask/note support!! |
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betsys |
Aieeeeee it's all brownish grey!!!
Help, how do I change the colors back?!?!? I **live** in this app and suddenly it's all low contrast!! Please have mercy on those of us with middle aged eyes and give us a way to set better colors!I have a new iPad mini and suddenly I can barely use my favorite app. Little gray on gray letters! Sob..... Ps do you have any beta testers over 50? I volunteer |
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mco |
It turns out I really hate looking at "No start date, No due date, No location, doesn't repeat" for almost every entry. I don't find "Started" to be useful, as an actual start date would be. Why display all this useless verbiage?
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Simon Fincham |
Posted by mco:
It turns out I really hate looking at "No start date, No due date, No location, doesn't repeat" for almost every entry. I don't find "Started" to be useful, as an actual start date would be. Why display all this useless verbiage? Go into Settings, Fields & Defaults and you can make a choice to use or not use a field; further, the placement of those fields top to bottom dictates what is presented to you in the task list? Totally in your control; how great is that! |
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Simon Fincham |
After a few days use I wanted to come back and comment further on this update.
In the last 9 months I've used quite a few different task management systems before settling on Toodledo. Some have undeniably better visuals in their apps, I totally agree. Trouble is it's all colour and graphical gymnastics and less on solid function. Yes, I agree the v3 app is a little devoid of colour, but, whats of key importance to me is the functionality the app and it's ecosystem provide. This app and the systems behind it remain by far and away the most flexible and feature complete in the market; fact. I'd like to pick up on an earlier comment where a user made reference to RTM and the iOS apps being far nicer to look at etc Yes, I would agree with that actually, visually they are very nice. The trouble is I personally found neither the iPhone nor the iPad app was stable. A crashing app is a total annoyance. I also had numerous issues with tasks duplicating and renewing tasks renewing on the wrong timescale. I'm not in any way intending to bash other apps; RTM is a great system. My point is, yes, v3 of this app is a little lacking in colour; 5 pages of comments make repeated mention of this. The devs have advised they will solve this within 2 weeks. Surely whats of more importance is function. I have never seen this app crash. I have never had it (yet) mess with any of my tasks, they repeat correctly, complete correctly, emails that I send in are correctly added as tasks. That is the most important thing to me, not wether the app has blue shading. For me, a flicker of colour aside, v3 is much easier to use than v2 and a huge step forward. |
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bcmyers |
Some people here are expressing different opinions, which is healthy. Although some seem to feel a need to "prove" their opinion of the app is best, which I think isn't worthwhile when it comes to something this subjective. No one is right or wrong here. The only question is what makes most sense from a business perspective? Some parting thoughts:
1. A lot of people commenting here share my feeling that the new monochromatic color scheme is a major negative. Very few people seem to have expressed such a dislike of the old color scheme. That leads me to wonder why the UI was redesigned in this fashion, and whether it might not be worth investing in an update that at least gives us a choice of color scheme. 2. There are those who feel the new functionality is fantastic. Others, like myself, find it is not a game-changer. None of us are wrong. Value is subjective. Jake will have to decide for his own future reference whether he made the right decisions about the features in the new app. 3. I did say that RTM has a nicer-looking iPhone app, but those paraphrasing me are omitting something else causing me to seriously look at RTM: the ease of converting an email to a task. It's far easier to do that in RTM than in Toodledo. 4. I've been experimenting with RTM and I have my misgivings about it. I also have my misgivings about Toodledo -- primarily Jake's apparent attitude towards customers who complain. Again, I've read remarks from Jake in other threads in these forums where he has betrayed irritation with customers who have expressed concerns or who have questioned him. It's one thing to tell a customer who is verbally abusive or trying to take advantage of you to mind his p's and q's but that wasn't the case in these instances. This is my greatest concern about Toodledo. I want to feel that as a paying customer my concerns are given a fair hearing, even if ultimately the end result is that nothing is going to change. I can accept that. I can't accept being dismissed out of hand. Again, I have chosen to stay with Toodledo because its advantages still far outweigh those of RTM, which I consider to be its nearest competitor in terms of quality. As long as that's the case, I'll probably stick around. I expect there will be some pretty... interesting... interpretations of anything I write, no matter how clear. It seems to go with the territory on the Web. Nevertheless I think I've said my piece and will let the chips fall where they may. |
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mco |
Posted by SimonFincham:
Posted by mco: It turns out I really hate looking at "No start date, No due date, No location, doesn't repeat" for almost every entry. I don't find "Started" to be useful, as an actual start date would be. Why display all this useless verbiage? Go into Settings, Fields & Defaults and you can make a choice to use or not use a field; further, the placement of those fields top to bottom dictates what is presented to you in the task list? Totally in your control; how great is that! You miss my point: I want to use those fields but not necessarily display them, particularly if they convey no useful information. By displaying four fields below the item in v3 instead of two or three (a choice in v2), and suppressing display of the fields used for view and primary sort, we have six fields in three places for each item, most of which are not useful. In addition the order and placement of the fields changes from view to view, in a way that is not directly under user control. It's not great and it's not good design. |
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daveunderwood |
New color (or lack of color) scheme is terrible. Add me to the list of folks who want smaller fonts and better use of real estate on iPhone scree.
Old color scheme and sizing for iPhone was great! |
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jc.hiker |
I echo the request for indented sub-tasks, but also want to give a big thumb's up for the aesthetic redesign. Love the new look!! I would like to see the web site version get a similar aesthetic facelift! I'd also like to see a native app for android.
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