Pocket Informant for iPad

I'm curious about this. For those that use Pocket Informant and love it, how's the syncing of data with your Mac?

I don't sync directly with my Macs. I use BusyCal to sync with Google Calendar on my Macs. PI on my iPhone and iPad syncs with Google Calendar too so everything keeps in step.

Ahhh so basically PI is a tool if you're a heavy Google Cal user. Hmmm might skip this since I don't use Google Cal and I just use my Mac's iCal alone. If there's a way for Mac's iCal to sync with PI, then I might give this a spin. Otherwise, the iPad's native Calendar is fine with iCal sync but lackluster in features compared to PI.

arctic said:

Ahhh so basically PI is a tool if you're a heavy Google Cal user. Hmmm might skip this since I don't use Google Cal and I just use my Mac's iCal alone. If there's a way for Mac's iCal to sync with PI, then I might give this a spin. Otherwise, the iPad's native Calendar is fine with iCal sync but lackluster in features compared to PI.

Click to expand...

This is an Apple limitation, not a fault of PI. It will finally be allowed in iOS4 which we iPad users don't have yet. It is slated for the 1.60 version of PI for the iPhone, and I'd expect the iPad version to get it as soon as they can.

I didn't use Google calendar until i bought PI for my Touch. I just needed a calendar with features that worked for me - and ical wasn't working at all.

Hopefully they will do a lite version so you can try it out and see how you like it.

Oh and, i use CalGoo (free) to sync my iCal up to Google and back.

TraceyS/FL said:

It is slated for the 1.60 version of PI for the iPhone,

Click to expand...

I surely hope it gets through the approval team since I heard talk that Apple doesn't want this and other Apps to cannibalize MobileMe.

arctic said:

I surely hope it gets through the approval team since I heard talk that Apple doesn't want this and other Apps to cannibalize MobileMe.

Click to expand...

Then they shouldn't have introduced the ability to write to it to the SDK? I'd rather go back to an all mobileme syncing for my personal calendar. I'm not sure why it would cannibalize it at all, if anything the lack of it has me NOT using mobileme's calendar right now instead of the opposite.


The new app looks good, i'm all fixed up in the calendar area again. My daughter was excited to hear it too and rushed to sync her iPad (of course, she was more excited about all the lyrics i added to songs! )

I ama long time Pocket Informant user. I've used it on Windows Mobile and one of the reasons I bought the iPhone 3G 2 years ago was because Pocket Informant was coming. It did take a littlelonger than they planned to get it on the iPhone, but once it did I have been using it since. Therefore as soon as I could get it for the iPad I had to have it. I was already using the iPhone version on the iPad anyway.

I never used Google Calendars until I got Pocket Informant for the iPhone, and quite frankly it's really pretty good. Combined with Toodledo, and the fact that Pocket Informant allows you to use the Franklin Covey method of tax prioritization over the over rated GTD method make PI a winner.

MobileMe calendars only allow me to have 6 calendars. Google is more or less unlimited. I use the calendars like categories there is one for work, one for personal, one for special events, one for family and friends, one for television shows I want to see, one for workouts etc. I could easily pair them down to 6 for use in MobileMe and do for syncing the built in calendars of the iPad and iPhone, but with Google/Pocket Informant I can get a little more specific. On top of that, I am not limited to the 6 colors that Mobile Me and the iOS calendars present. Pocket Informant allows me to customize my calendar color to an color I want, and Google offers over 20 colors as well, which is more than I need since I really only have about 12 calendar (categories)

Right now I am happy using both ways. One in a sense could back up the other.

I used PI for years while still on WinMo devices. I ended up getting Things for my MBP and also have it on my iPhone. But I refused to pay $20 for the iPad version. Now that PI is available for iPad, I will most likely dump the Things setup and migrate to PI. I really used to enjoy it on WinMo and the iPad app looks great. Can't wait for iOS 4 on iPad so that I can sync my iCal directly.

If I cannot sync directly with iCal (BusyCal) then I need to pass. Other than that, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I love the look of PI.

I just installed this, set it up with my Google Calendar, got iFile, and went digging.

I didn't dig far before I found my email and password blatantly shown in a text file in the app's settings folder. They didn't even bother to encrypt it.

Anyone could very easily steal your passwords with this app, so be careful.

Dillenger said:

If I cannot sync directly with iCal (BusyCal) then I need to pass. Other than that, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I love the look of PI.

Click to expand...

PI for iPad cannot sync directly with iCal at the moment due to the limitations of the iOS that is currently on the iPad. iOS4 is supposed to open up the calendar API so that it can sync with iCal. This is not a fault of PI, but a fault of Apple.

Don't discredit the PI app for something that it has no control over.

ScottNWDW said:

PI for iPad cannot sync directly with iCal at the moment due to the limitations of the iOS that is currently on the iPad. iOS4 is supposed to open up the calendar API so that it can sync with iCal. This is not a fault of PI, but a fault of Apple.

Don't discredit the PI app for something that it has no control over.

Click to expand...

I don't think he was discrediting it, but if the guy needs an iCal sync (which I think most of us do), the PI is not as obvious of a choice as it would have been otherwise. Still, I have no doubt that this will be fixed whenever allowed by Apple. The PI is indeed an outstanding app and I look forward to when I'll be able to use it as my default solution for to-dos and calendar.

Does this have syncing with Microsoft Exchange Calendar OTA or does it require some sort of desktop software for syncing MS exchange calendar? If not then this program is of no use to me.

nanohits said:

Does this have syncing with Microsoft Exchange Calendar OTA or does it require some sort of desktop software for syncing MS exchange calendar? If not then this program is of no use to me.

Click to expand...

As Alex Kac pointed out in his forum, an ActiveSync license costs 100,000$, so Pi will never support it directly. The good news is that when iOS 4 launches PI will support the internal databases, thus indirectly writing and reading the Exchange calendar.

ScottNWDW said:

PI for iPad cannot sync directly with iCal at the moment due to the limitations of the iOS that is currently on the iPad. iOS4 is supposed to open up the calendar API so that it can sync with iCal. This is not a fault of PI, but a fault of Apple.

Click to expand...

I have 3 apps that syncs well with iCal. Appigo's ToDo and iPronto syncs well with iCal's To Do items while Hachi 2 syncs with iCal's Calendar. I don't see what's the issue. PI is designed for Google Calendar and not for iCal. They may support that in the future but for now, it's all just promises.

ScottNWDW said:

PI for iPad cannot sync directly with iCal at the moment due to the limitations of the iOS that is currently on the iPad. iOS4 is supposed to open up the calendar API so that it can sync with iCal. This is not a fault of PI, but a fault of Apple.

Don't discredit the PI app for something that it has no control over.

Click to expand...

PI is a great app, so I was not discrediting it. But if it can't sync, with the iCal or BusyCal then I can't use it.

petvas said:

The good news is that when iOS 4 launches PI will support the internal databases, thus indirectly writing and reading the Exchange calendar.

Click to expand...

Till then its of no use to me and will need ot wait till the iPad also releases iOS4. Everything I have is tied to Exchange.

arctic said:

I have 3 apps that syncs well with iCal. Appigo's ToDo and iPronto syncs well with iCal's To Do items while Hachi 2 syncs with iCal's Calendar. I don't see what's the issue. PI is designed for Google Calendar and not for iCal. They may support that in the future but for now, it's all just promises.

Click to expand...

The Hachi that is in the app store doesn't mention syncing with iCal. If it does, then it is doing so with private stuff and subject to being pulled.

Syncing todo's with iCal isn't the same as the calendar events.

PI had no choice but to design for google calendar since Apple closed everyone off until now. They halso are reliable in their table of what is coming in the future.

But hey, it obviously isn't for everyone!

Pocket Informant is a fully redesigned from the ground up calendaring and GTD based tasks solution for the iPhone or iPod Touch.It’s currently available on multiple platforms,including the iPhone.And is very highly regarded.

rmartin345 said:

Pocket Informant is a fully redesigned from the ground up calendaring and GTD based tasks solution for the iPhone or iPod Touch.It’s currently available on multiple platforms,including the iPhone.And is very highly regarded.

Click to expand...

You sound like a fanboy. Who cares, there are many apps that are also highly regarded. The fact is to me its useless if there is no exchange support for calendering as thats what I use and have been for years and not going to change because it is highly regarded.

nanohits said:

....there are many apps that are also highly regarded. The fact is to me its useless if there is no exchange support for calendering as thats what I use and have been for years and not going to change because it is highly regarded.

Click to expand...

Just curious what else you are using for exchange calendar synch? And one that also does tasks (to toodledo or wherever)?

I am serious asking, as PI seems to be the only one that seems to work OK for both calendars and tasks on the same screen. Agendus doesn't have nearly the nice calendar views.

As far as exchange synch, I only need to read my exchange calendar on my iOS devices, so I use google's synch on the desktop that synchs my exchange calendar to a google calendar, and then PI synchs to that. I wouldn't mind update/true exchange synch, but the workaround is acceptable (to me).

Treebark said:

Just curious what else you are using for exchange calendar synch? And one that also does tasks (to toodledo or wherever)?

I am serious asking, as PI seems to be the only one that seems to work OK for both calendars and tasks on the same screen. Agendus doesn't have nearly the nice calendar views.

As far as exchange synch, I only need to read my exchange calendar on my iOS devices, so I use google's synch on the desktop that synchs my exchange calendar to a google calendar, and then PI synchs to that. I wouldn't mind update/true exchange synch, but the workaround is acceptable (to me).

Click to expand...

To be honest I dont, The iPad/iPhone gives me the reminders I need and I even put all the to do into my calendar and it is synched up everywhere. I mean why should I go through the hassle of Google Sync just to use PI? I dont get it. If PI had Exchange sync I would gladly use this and likely use it a bit more but what I have currently is ample enough for me.