Ondrej Holzman The main event of yesterday was probably the admission awaited Clear app to the App Store. Twitter was full of it, which split into two halves - one was from the new venture Realmac Software et al. excited, others disappointed. So how is that Clear?
You need really good marketing for a single app to make such a big impact on Twitter or the App Store charts shortly after its launch. And Realmac Software had it solved perfectly. Clear hadn't even seen the light of day yet, and almost everyone who was at least slightly interested in iPhone and apps knew about it. In short, the developers knew how to sell their app.
It was also downloaded within the first hours at an introductory price of 0,79 euros by thousands of users who couldn't wait to try the visually attractive Clear. But was there really such a fuss? If the developers wanted to bring something groundbreaking, then they succeeded only partially - the controls are really novel and very intuitive, but in terms of functionality, Clear doesn't have much to offer anymore.
The motto during the development was definitely: "make it as simple as possible, and then make it even simpler". And why not, these days minimalism is popular and people like simple things, but for an application as specific as a to-do list, it may not always be a good move. In the same way, today there is a modern organization of time (GTD method, etc.), due to which users are looking for various sophisticated systems in which they would write down their tasks and plans. And Clear is definitely not for them.
For a better understanding, I would liken the new solution from Realmac Software to a shopping list. Clear is just a simple list of items from which you can expect nothing more. Perhaps only in addition to the fast and efficient control, which uses the advantages of the touch screen. You move throughout the application using various gestures – switching between lists and tasks, creating new items, deleting and unchecking them.
It is the control that is the main "feature" that Clear has come up with. If you swipe down on tasks, you will create a new entry. When you swipe from left to right after a task, you mark it as done, with the opposite swipe you delete it. If you want to get to the lists, just use the familiar gesture where you "close" your fingers together. By holding individual tasks, you can move them and set the priority - the higher, the darker the color. Clear actually works on three levels: menus, lists, and tasks, where you only actively use the other two.
Everything is relatively fast and undemanding, but if you want to organize your tasks at a higher level, Clear will soon become small for you.
I really don't see any use for it other than as a shopping list, although I'm sure a lot of you will disagree with me. However, I can't handle a simple list of tasks that I can't assign anything but priority to. I could adapt to a simpler "to-do list" than Things, but I would much rather use Reminders, which is offered directly by Apple in iOS, than Clear. Even these are not complicated applications, but unlike the new Clear, they offer significant benefits. Tasks can be assigned a note and a notification, which can be critical messages for many users.
And if Clear looks better? I don't think appearance is that crucial for applications like this, although it can play a role. In addition, I myself was not so enchanted by the graphic design of the new task book. Just because it plays a color list doesn't mean it's good. Although we can customize them within the available themes.
Another reason I would prefer other apps over Clear is the lack of versions for other devices and sync. Even the aforementioned Reminders do not provide this in part, but it is, after all, Apple's work, where we have to be somewhat more lenient. I would probably expect a bit more from independent developers. It is possible that we will see an iPad or Mac version of Clear, but there is currently nothing like that. Apparently, for the time being, it would be enough for me to simply synchronize the tasks in text form, for example via Dropbox, so that the lists can be further worked on, printed, etc.
I don't want to just pillory Clear, I'll try to look at the matter from the other side as well. I can't imagine this application as a primary tool for managing my tasks, but as a supplement to an already established system, it probably is. Clear is perfect for quickly writing down a note, phone number or address. If I need to shop, like the aforementioned shopping list, it will also serve well. If it weren't for the significantly limited number of characters for individual tasks, one could simply make notes from the task list. But the application was not intended for that, so we have to be satisfied with what it can do.
I believe that many users of Clear will solve the dilemma of which task tool to use. If you just require a simple list with quick entry of new entries and simple controls, then you have probably found your favorite. But if you expect even a little more from your task manager, it's not worth wasting your time with Clear.
[button color=“red” link=”“ target=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear/id493136154?mt=8″“]Clear - €0,79 (introductory price)[/button ]
There you go. I would also like to point out that even the gesture control is not completely refined, e.g. when sliding at the top of the screen, the notification center often pops up and you need both hands for comfortable gesture control (e.g. the pinch to zoom gesture to create a task somewhere among others). A lot was expected from Realmac, hence the free advertising and hype across apple websites.
I'm hearing about this application for the first time :-) What makes it so good? somehow we didn't understand it from the article. Can it run constantly in the foreground as a widget? That's the only thing I need, to see an entry in the calendar without having to open the calendar. Nokia has been able to do this since birth and I miss it after switching to iOS.
Wunderlist rulez.. It doesn't do as much as e.g. Things, but it's on all platforms, easy to use and free.
notifications can't do it. Or am I mistaken?
Nope. Basically, it's just a "zonam shopping center" as Ondra writes in the review. It's like sewing on a shopping list. ;)
dodo
I'm sorry, but for quickly writing down a note, phone number or address, I can do with Notes, which is integrated directly from Apple, and I'm not talking about synchronization with the iPad. You write something on the iPad and it is immediately on the iPhone.
The article is basically true and well written. Clear was quite "expected", but it's just a (albeit nice) list. It works well, but too many functions are a mistake. I could still wish for the absence of a warning, but I miss any synchronization, the best web version. Registering tasks only on the phone is quite inconvenient and laborious.
Clear resembles a simple application written in HTML5/JS, but it is clearly more useful for me than Reminders from Apple, which does not allow such a thing as primitive sorting by importance.
For example, I use it exclusively as a list of daily tasks, which are practically empty in the evening, or as a kind of intermediate link between the attack and additional processing with a more advanced GTD application. It can't even be used for anything else. Anyway, I appreciate the thought of handling the usage.
For me, the number one To-Do application SiezeTheDay is and will probably always be, which in the new update also brings the ability to update notes/tasks with Google. It can also sort by importance, tag and prepare notifications, postponement, etc. - all this in the guise of great simplicity.