When I purchased my first iPhone in late 2009, I had high hopes that it would somehow transform me into a more productive person — the kind who procrastinates less, multitasks more and accomplishes tasks while on the go.
It didn't exactly turn out that way. Email apps only let me accumulate more unread mail in my inbox, to-do list apps simply encouraged me to build longer to-do lists and even the best calendar apps were generally too clunky for me to enjoy using on a daily basis.
In recent months, though, this has started to change thanks to a few innovative startups who have taken lessons from what did and didn't work with productivity apps during the first five years of the App Store's existence. Suddenly, there is a suite of email, calendar, to-do list and personal assistant apps designed based on the needs and usage habits of smartphone users, which make most of the apps that came before seem dated.
Mailbox (Free Apps)
If there was ever any doubt that email apps on iPhone fall short of what users want, Mailbox proved it by amassing a wait list of more than 750,000 people. Mailbox, which started to be rolled out earlier this month, lets you sort and schedule incoming emails with intuitive swipe gestures so you can better manage your inbox while on-the-go.
"One of the primary uses for email on the phone is triage," Gentry Underwood, CEO of Orchestra, told Mashable in a previous interview. Many smartphone users, myself included, just want a quick way to deal with the never-ending torrent of messages while away from their desk or home. "It really is different than desktop," he says. "For the most part, apps that exist have tried to cram an existing desktop experience into a mobile phone. That's not a very effective way of building a good tool."
After using the app for a little more than a month, I've found that the biggest innovation of Mailbox is that it lowers the bar for taking action with incoming messages: You don't have to commit to deleting a message permanently to move it out of your inbox. At first, I felt the option to schedule messages to be re-sent at a later time would only enable me to procrastinate, but I've since found that it gets me in the habit of actively processing my emails, rather than letting my inbox grow unattended. No, my inbox hasn't dropped to zero, but it did drop noticeably after I started using the app and just as importantly, it hasn't grown since.
If there was ever any doubt that email apps on iPhone fall short of what users want, Mailbox proved it by amassing a wait list of more than 750,000 people. Mailbox, which started to be rolled out earlier this month, lets you sort and schedule incoming emails with intuitive swipe gestures so you can better manage your inbox while on-the-go.
"One of the primary uses for email on the phone is triage," Gentry Underwood, CEO of Orchestra, told Mashable in a previous interview. Many smartphone users, myself included, just want a quick way to deal with the never-ending torrent of messages while away from their desk or home. "It really is different than desktop," he says. "For the most part, apps that exist have tried to cram an existing desktop experience into a mobile phone. That's not a very effective way of building a good tool."
After using the app for a little more than a month, I've found that the biggest innovation of Mailbox is that it lowers the bar for taking action with incoming messages: You don't have to commit to deleting a message permanently to move it out of your inbox. At first, I felt the option to schedule messages to be re-sent at a later time would only enable me to procrastinate, but I've since found that it gets me in the habit of actively processing my emails, rather than letting my inbox grow unattended. No, my inbox hasn't dropped to zero, but it did drop noticeably after I started using the app and just as importantly, it hasn't grown since.
Sunrise (Free Apps)
If you search for "calendar" in Apple's App Store, it will bring up more than 4,500 results. Until very recently, though, even the best calendar apps available on the iPhone stuck to the design and functionality of a traditional printed calendar. As with Apple's default calendar app on iPhone, these apps were a little clunky to update, didn't really integrate much with other platforms and lacked the kind of design flourishes that would compel you to play with the app on a regular basis.
Sunrise, which was created by ex-Foursquare designers and released earlier this week, moves beyond those design standards with a beautiful and intuitive list-view calendar. The app includes features that go well beyond scheduling: you can see weather forecasts for each day, check maps for specific events, keep up on Facebook birthdays and events and message people directly through the app if you're running late.
"I think people are expecting more from their calendar and one problem that they have is their calendar information is in a lot of different places," Pierre Valade, one of the co-founders, told Mashable in an earlier interview. "One thing we are starting to do with Sunrise is bring everything together."
The real revelation I've found in using the app is that it actually turns the experience of checking your schedule into something enjoyable, even addictive. The visual design and list format makes the calendar app feel like a kind of diary of my week, and I'll randomly find myself scrolling back and forth through the list just to see what I've done and what's coming up next. This, in turn, motivates me to be more meticulous in using the app to schedule events.
If you search for "calendar" in Apple's App Store, it will bring up more than 4,500 results. Until very recently, though, even the best calendar apps available on the iPhone stuck to the design and functionality of a traditional printed calendar. As with Apple's default calendar app on iPhone, these apps were a little clunky to update, didn't really integrate much with other platforms and lacked the kind of design flourishes that would compel you to play with the app on a regular basis.
Sunrise, which was created by ex-Foursquare designers and released earlier this week, moves beyond those design standards with a beautiful and intuitive list-view calendar. The app includes features that go well beyond scheduling: you can see weather forecasts for each day, check maps for specific events, keep up on Facebook birthdays and events and message people directly through the app if you're running late.
"I think people are expecting more from their calendar and one problem that they have is their calendar information is in a lot of different places," Pierre Valade, one of the co-founders, told Mashable in an earlier interview. "One thing we are starting to do with Sunrise is bring everything together."
The real revelation I've found in using the app is that it actually turns the experience of checking your schedule into something enjoyable, even addictive. The visual design and list format makes the calendar app feel like a kind of diary of my week, and I'll randomly find myself scrolling back and forth through the list just to see what I've done and what's coming up next. This, in turn, motivates me to be more meticulous in using the app to schedule events.
Any.DO Moment (Free Apps)
Any.DO launched its sleek to-do list app on iPhone in mid-2012, but it was an update to the app this week that really caught my attention. After tracking how its user base — now in the millions — engaged with the app, the Any.DO team realized that user engagement drops off if they create a giant to-do list because it becomes too much to tackle. With that in mind, Any.DO released Moment, a daily reminder that prompts the user to take a moment to schedule the tasks on their list for that day.
"One of the things we learned is that in order for people to be really productive, they need to change task management into a habit," Omer Perchik, founder and CEO of Any.DO, told Mashable in a previous interview. "We have a lot of users who create this everlasting list of all the things they need to do and once they get to a number of tasks that is just to much, they never look back. A long list is not very actionable and kind of frustrating."
At first, I thought this kind of daily notification might feel like an accusation: here are all the things you keep saying you'll get done, but don't. However, Any.DO designed the feature with friendly colors and a friendly greeting ("Good day, Seth. Take a moment to plan your day.") After using this for a few days, I've found that the Any.DO Moment is like a moment of Zen. I start out my day with a plan and feel that much more in control of what's coming up.
Any.DO launched its sleek to-do list app on iPhone in mid-2012, but it was an update to the app this week that really caught my attention. After tracking how its user base — now in the millions — engaged with the app, the Any.DO team realized that user engagement drops off if they create a giant to-do list because it becomes too much to tackle. With that in mind, Any.DO released Moment, a daily reminder that prompts the user to take a moment to schedule the tasks on their list for that day.
"One of the things we learned is that in order for people to be really productive, they need to change task management into a habit," Omer Perchik, founder and CEO of Any.DO, told Mashable in a previous interview. "We have a lot of users who create this everlasting list of all the things they need to do and once they get to a number of tasks that is just to much, they never look back. A long list is not very actionable and kind of frustrating."
At first, I thought this kind of daily notification might feel like an accusation: here are all the things you keep saying you'll get done, but don't. However, Any.DO designed the feature with friendly colors and a friendly greeting ("Good day, Seth. Take a moment to plan your day.") After using this for a few days, I've found that the Any.DO Moment is like a moment of Zen. I start out my day with a plan and feel that much more in control of what's coming up.
Grokr (Free Apps)
Grokr has often been billed as Google Now for the iPhone, and for good reason. The app, which was released in December, serves as a kind of homepage for your smartphone. Just open up the app and you'll find information about morning traffic, restaurants nearby, weather forecasts and trending stories all based on information Grokr pulls from your location and social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The app pulls up news and resources that you're likely to search for without actually asking you do any work. I've been using the app for awhile and have found that it helps me get out the door in the morning noticeably quicker.
Tempo is technically a calendar app, but it functions more like a virtual assistant for professionals. It uses technology from the same company that made Siri to bring artificial intelligence to your calendar. The app pulls together emails, documents and presentations that may be relevant to particular meetings you've scheduled, ensuring that you are organized and prepared. Tempo also integrates with other apps like Foursquare and Yelp to help you pick out places to meet and even provides directions to those locations.
“We've designed the experience to reduce the noise that’s often associated with virtual assistants that push information to users out of context or intent," Raj Singh, founder and CEO of Tempo AI, told Mashable in a previous interview. Tempo isn't perfect right off the bat — as with Siri, it requires time to learn about you and adapt — but it shows the potential of the next-generation of productivity apps.
As I've tested and written about some of these apps, I've felt more productive and on top of my workload just as I had dreamed of being back in 2009. It took a few years, but smartphone apps are finally getting smart enough for the smartphone era.
Images courtesy of Flickr, Cristiano Betta and Apple
Grokr has often been billed as Google Now for the iPhone, and for good reason. The app, which was released in December, serves as a kind of homepage for your smartphone. Just open up the app and you'll find information about morning traffic, restaurants nearby, weather forecasts and trending stories all based on information Grokr pulls from your location and social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The app pulls up news and resources that you're likely to search for without actually asking you do any work. I've been using the app for awhile and have found that it helps me get out the door in the morning noticeably quicker.
Tempo (Free Apps)
Tempo is technically a calendar app, but it functions more like a virtual assistant for professionals. It uses technology from the same company that made Siri to bring artificial intelligence to your calendar. The app pulls together emails, documents and presentations that may be relevant to particular meetings you've scheduled, ensuring that you are organized and prepared. Tempo also integrates with other apps like Foursquare and Yelp to help you pick out places to meet and even provides directions to those locations.
“We've designed the experience to reduce the noise that’s often associated with virtual assistants that push information to users out of context or intent," Raj Singh, founder and CEO of Tempo AI, told Mashable in a previous interview. Tempo isn't perfect right off the bat — as with Siri, it requires time to learn about you and adapt — but it shows the potential of the next-generation of productivity apps.
As I've tested and written about some of these apps, I've felt more productive and on top of my workload just as I had dreamed of being back in 2009. It took a few years, but smartphone apps are finally getting smart enough for the smartphone era.
Images courtesy of Flickr, Cristiano Betta and Apple
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