For those iPad owners looking for a task management app, there’s a great wealth of choice out there. However, many are nothing more than glorified to do lists, something that has recently been usurped by the Reminders app that now comes with iOS5.0. Next! has been around for a while now but it has come into its own courtesy of this latest release, providing a comprehensive task and project management tool for those desperate to be more productive.
Priced at $9.99, Next! is a more expensive offering than many other productivity apps but it’s worth it. Combining all the elements that could possibly be of help, Next! has things adequately covered.
Upon opening the app, the minimalist approach does take a little adjustment to master. Fortunately, a simple tutorial explains most of what’s needed to know plus there’s the choice to download a useful and informative user guide. Items are divided up into specific categories: Actions, Projects, Goals and References. Each of these can then be linked together, much like a major task would need to be.
It all makes for an ideal interface for those who like to break up major projects, whether life related or work based, into bite sized chunks. Progress bars throughout and some, ever satisfying to mark, tick boxes are available too. Reference material such as documents related to these goals and tasks can be imported and linked up to the relevant action, thus creating a streamlined approach to managing projects.
It’s the kind of app that might not sound like the most exciting product in the world but it is very useful. Half the battle to achieving things is being able to manage them in a way that’s productive, Next! does exactly that. It’s intuitive and attractive to use right from the start with swipes quickly getting users from side to side of their projects.
The only down side to the app is the lack of sync functionality. Something like DropBox or Google syncing would have been useful in order to back things up safely. Email facilities doesn’t fulfil that role as well. Hopefully in a future update, iCloud functionality will be added.
Despite the lack of backup facility, Next! is still a very useful app. It was a smart move to combine so many great elements of different To Do list apps and project management tools. In no time, users of the app will find it their lifeline to figuring out what they need to be doing and by when.