Is iPhone worth the wait for GTD?

J

jasonswank

Registered
I have been using the GTD method for several months now, having read both books and been lucky enough to get a copy of the GTD-Fast seminar. All outstanding. Like Mr. Allen, I use a Palm - an old Palm, the M505 to be exact. I have been meaning to upgrade (a Treo, maybe) but haven't because I'm waiting for the iPhone. I am not a Mac user (with the exception of iPod/itunes) but I've been wanting to make the switch. My question is for you Mac users. Do you think the iPhone will be able to accomodate a "bullet-proof" GTD system. I know nothing about iCal or Notes. Any suggestions, or should I just upgrade my Palm and forget about all of the cool iPhone hype?
 
mcogilvie

mcogilvie

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jasonswank;47925 said:
My question is for you Mac users. Do you think the iPhone will be able to accomodate a "bullet-proof" GTD system. I know nothing about iCal or Notes. Any suggestions, or should I just upgrade my Palm and forget about all of the cool iPhone hype?
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I think none of us can know much at this point about what the iPhone will be like. It will be 1.0 and expensive. Apple is driven much more by connectivity and multi-media rather than personal productivity. It is possible that the iPhone will couple well to the new notes and todo features announced for Apple Mail in 10.5, but 10.5 (Leopard) is now delayed to the Fall.

Personally (and I switched completely to Macs over the last few years), I would buy either an inexpensive palm (E2?) or a Treo, depending on my phone needs/desires and my time horizon. I have a T/X, but WiFi on a Palm has not been very useful for me.
 
C

cornell

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I wouldn't wait

I'm no iPhone expert, but when it came out one thing that struck many was its lack of software expandability. I believe Apple's position was that they would control everything - no third part apps, which would require doing GTD using built-in tools, whatever they might be.
 
M

madalu

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mcogilvie;47931 said:
I think none of us can know much at this point about what the iPhone will be like. It will be 1.0 and expensive. Apple is driven much more by connectivity and multi-media rather than personal productivity. It is possible that the iPhone will couple well to the new notes and todo features announced for Apple Mail in 10.5, but 10.5 (Leopard) is now delayed to the Fall.

Personally (and I switched completely to Macs over the last few years), I would buy either an inexpensive palm (E2?) or a Treo, depending on my phone needs/desires and my time horizon. I have a T/X, but WiFi on a Palm has not been very useful for me.
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I would agree. I think the suitability of iPhone for GTD all depends on how much they open the phone up to developers. So far, Apple has said they will not do so; the iPhone will be more like the iPod than a handheld computer.
 
M

madalu

Registered
I looked at a video of the iPhone today, and the whole overly slick Flip Cover thing made me a little sick to my stomach. The beauty of the original iPod was its simplicity; it was a darn good music player that was easy and elegant to use but got out of the way of the music. Now the iPhone seems like one more way to get your brain plugged into the corporate media giants. Seriously, do I really want to be staring at a picture of Nelly Furtado?! (That's what the Apple iPhone promo site displayed in its Flip Cover screen.) I apologize for ranting, but it seems a travesty that Apple has put immense resources into a product that could be an amazingly useful handheld computer--but instead seems intent on crippling the device, marketing it as a kiddy toy.

Unless they open the iPhone up to 3rd party developers, forget about using it for a robust GTD system.
 
S

severance1970

Registered
I need categorized action lists, third party utilities, tactile keys and Sprint. So the iPhone is a nonstarter for me, whatever its sex appeal. Jobs' fiat against aftermarket apps will probably be popular with enterprise customers, whose IT admins cringe at the thought of supporting large deployments of highly configurable smartphones. Hence the success of the BB.
 
C

CSGiles

Registered
I'm on the list for the iPhone and am looking forward to it. Obviously, as it has not been released yet we do not know what its capabilities will be. However, it does appear to have full support for iCal, Addressbook and a notes feature, so it should work as well as any Palm does with its basic software.

With a bit of tweaking I've used iCal as my GTD application for years now and find the system stable and reliable. I expect it to sync perfectly with the iPhone.

While the iPhone is not, apparently, going to be an open development environment, Apple has indicated that it is not closed to third party software. It just wants to vet the software so it doesn't cause conflicts with the programs on the phone itself. That doesn't seem unreasonable for me.

That said, I don't think anyone expects the iPhone to be primarily aimed at the productivity market. The target market appears to be upscale creatives and those who want a serious entertainment device. But I expect it will work well enough for GTD.

Scot Giles
 
M

Michael Fahey

Registered
Can you let me know a little more about the tweaking you have done in ical. I switched to mac a couple of years ago but have not really delved into ical or address book. Any ideas appreciated.

MTF
 
W

webhak

Guest
madalu;47941 said:
...Thank goodness for the hipster PDA! I can pull it out on the bus, knowing that no one will be interested in a tattered stack of index cards.
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Amen to that! I refer to mine as my Amish PDA...although it is relegated to a note-taking device at the moment. Work has issued me a Blackberry and I need to keep that electronic leash with me when I'm out of the office.

hak
 
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