Hello fellow blackberry users, I have a small dilemma. I love my blackbbery 8310 but I need a program to manage my day to day tasks. I am currently using the trial version of todomatrix and I have to say that this is a very nice program. The question I have is should I wait to actually purchase todomatrix or wait even longer for the release of Agendus? I dont really know to much about agendus but it seems that there is a lot of hype about this program. Agendus is expected to be released in the middle of this month. They actually set their target date for July 15, 2008. If any of you can offer some suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

As a former Palm user, Agendus (love it or hate it), was probably the most used 3rd party app for your calendar and to-do list. Be warned that they undergo a lot of feature testing (bugs) but things get smoother along the road. They have been doing Palm for a long time and also do WM and Symbian stuff.

I'm awaiting the release of their 1st beta to give it a whirl.

Thanks pshift for the info. I just want to get the best program available without sacrifices loads of cash. I guess we will just have to wait and see how it goes.

Drfreeman82, another option to consider: Pocket Informant, which is a long-running, award-winning Pocket PC PIM.

WebIS, its developer, made a version for the BlackBerry OS and is presently in beta testing. I am a tester under an NDA; all I can say is it is an excellent application. As I know WebIS has not stated a release date. You can check www.pocketinformant.com for more information. (There are blogs and forums at their web site.)

I hope this helps.

Thanks technocracy, do you have any idea when WebIS will be releasing the pocketinformant? That program looks really nice also, there are too many options. lol

I'll throw in my two cents, since I have strong feelings about all of the programs mentioned here.

First, realize that TodoMatrix and Agendus/PocketInformant are very different products. TodoMatrix does one thing: manages tasks. It does nothing else. However, what it does is manage tasks very well (in my opinion). If you're otherwise happy with your BB's offering in terms of calendar and contacts, but feel your BB lacks only in terms of task management, then TDM is a good choice. It's expensive, at $60, but if you have to manage many tasks in your life, it's well worth it.

Second, as a long-time Palm user, I've used Agendus. It was my main application when I switched to the BB and I missed it. However, be aware that Iambic is known for buggy and bloated software. They rush products to market, even though beta testers are still finding major issues. Maybe that's changed, but my suggestion is to wait until Agendus is released, give it a hard trial, and only then buy it. AFAIK, there's been no public beta yet, so the July 15 date is, I believe (but could be wrong) is for a beta. Expect a production release, oh, some time in August. With a version that actually works in December or early next year (they do get it right by sub-version 5 or 6).

That aside, Agendus for other platforms has shown to be attractive (visually) products, that are well thought out in terms of design, and contain power features. Of course, this is just release 1.0, so it's only going to contain a fraction of the features of the mature Palm version.

I'm a beta tested for PocketInformation, so I can't say too much. What I will say is that it, like Agendus, is an attractive product that's easy to use. I can't say when it'll be out, but given the quality level of the latest betas, I'd say that if you can wait a month or two, you'll have a very high quality product.

Both Agendus (I presume) and PI (I know) do calendar, todo/tasks, and contacts.

Be aware that writing calendar applications for the Blackberry is not easy. There are bugs in the RIM API that mean that third-party calendar applications don't always provide the right data, so the programmers need to work around these bugs. And each version (and sub-sub-version) of the BB OS contains different bugs. Therefore, be cautious of third party calendar apps that were rushed through testing. Also, issues like dealing with repeating events and exceptions is hard.

There is another popular option: PocketDay. This is different from the others, in that it's a Today application that displays your calendar, tasks, weather, stocks, e-mails, text messages, missed calls, and more all on one screen. Although it's a different product, because it does include some calendar and tasks functionality, you may want to look it to see if it scratches your itch. The author is very responsive, in my experience, and works hard to deal with the complexities of the BB that I mentioned. There is a new version beta coming out soon (see another thread here at BBF).

For me, I use PocketDay constantly and find it does my calendar well. While PI does add some nice stuff, it doesn't do enough (for me) over the built-in app and PD to be worth the memory on my device.

I also use TDM all the time, because I juggle a lot of todos/task in my life and find that it's made me more productive and I miss fewer deadlines.

The combination of PD and TDM works for me. Well, almost. I'm waiting for the next version of TDM to add a key feature that will help link the two. But otherwise, it's a good pair.

My suggestion is to buy TDM if you find it a worthwhile tool. Then, when can get a demo of Agendus and PI, try them and see if they are better than the built-in apps. If so, buy the one that's a higher quality product.

Consider PocketDay if you want a Today application.

In the end, it comes down to your personal needs and your wallet.

Aside from the fact I use and recommend todoMatrix, you can't compare it to vaporware. My feeling is if I need hardware/software look at what is available and consider the options, otherwise you'll be waiting forever.
Agendus, PocketInformant, etc. don't exist nor has a firm release date been announced. What is the point of waiting?

squeff - if you use PocketDay and TMX, if you think it is important, send Rexwireless a note that integration would be nice where the "inject into" features were available in PocketDay and maybe even task views. They have a lot on their plate now but it seems there are only a few of us asking for this. I haven't used PD in years, pretty much the Today+ theme is what I've been using.

Regards-Michael G.

The only bad thing I have to say about Rex is that, when you ask for features, they always tell you that it's way down the list and not to expect it. OK, that's not a bad thing. It's them being honest. So never mind.

Actually, in this particular case, the upcoming (and announced) release has the feature I'm looking for: sync with the built-in tasks database. Once that happens, I should be able to see my TDM tasks in PocketDay. Then, I'll bug CRS to beef up the PD task features.

CRS and Rex have, apparently, already spoken. Rex, from what I hear, has dismissed CRS. (Note: this is one-sided information, so who knows...) See the CRS (mostly defunct) forums for CRS's post on this.

Alas, since the new version of TDM isn't out, I suppose that's vaporware, as well... So I won't mention it.

gwhiz will be coming out with a task manager in a few weeks and it will be free.

I recently switched to Blackberry from Windows Mobile. I had used PI for quite a while. Now I cannot say what the Blackberry version holds in store ,but the Windows mobile version was awsome. Also I can say that the customer service is second to none period. The developer was very active in the forums and provided an unexpected level of support. For this reason alone I will wait for his software release and buy it without a trial...Just my 2cents..

Thank you all !!!!! If any other suggestions, I would greatly appeciate it.

pocket day pro should be high on the list here. I was a die hard Agendus user back in the palm days.

Now on the BB I can't live without Pocket Day Pro and the support is outragously responsive.

PocketDay Redirect

As a former Palm user, I can tell you that I will never use an Iambic product. Their ethics and practices were sketchy to say the least. Buyer beware is appropriate in many cases, but that is not enough when companies are dishonest.

Another question, does the pocket day support recurring tasks? I know the native blackberry does not support the recurring tasks and the user can workaround with using appointments. I know todomatrix can do this but if pocketday can support this, well, I would go with pocketday.

As I remember, PocketDay presents data from native BB apps (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Texting, etc.). Though it has unique functionality it is limited to what each native app can do.

Cross River Systems has a 30-day fully functional demo. I tried it, and bought it. I discontinued its use after getting into the Pocket Informant beta program. Do not get me wrong, IMO PocketDay is a good app. (Regardless of functionality I just do not need 2 apps that can present the same data.)

Re Pocket Informant (and sorry for the belated reply), WebIS has not stated a release date. All I can say (due to a NDA) is that PI is an excellent app.

For me it does way more than the native Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks BB apps. All I need is a good phone with an OS and app combination capable of managing my Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks. I do not have a data plan.

As squeff said, it comes down to personal needs.

Thanks again!!! I think I am going to go with todomatrix and ideamatrix. After playing with these applications, they are too awesome. I will not consider agendus anymore because of the negative feedback given by the users here. It seems like their company has many questionable habits. In the mean time, I will wait for PI and see if it will offer something worth my time. Thanks again for the feedback.

No, that actually is a bad thing. Compared to the way Alex and his team at WebIS respond to feature requests, Rex Wireless has much learning to do. But ToDoMatrix is an excellent, if expensive, app.

Be aware, as a former WM PI user, that this is going to be version 1.0. It will not have the same feature set as WM PI 8.0.

My experience as a beta tester is that this is a good company. Small, but the head of the company and the lead developer are top quality folks.

No. PocketDay doesn't do anything with tasks that the native app can't do (other than display them differently).

One reason why, despite the fact that I love PD, I added TDM. I have several recurring tasks and TDM handles them well. Note: It does recurring tasks that regenerate based on the original due date, but not on the actual completion date. This is fine for most things, but I've yet to see something on the BB that handles "redo" tasks. I do recall that Agengus on the Palm did support this (I think... or it may have been their competitor DateBk).

On Iambic (Agendus), I care share only two things. First, I had an issue with them that needed to be settled via the California Attorney General. Second, the story that us old Palm users will tell is that Iambic purchased the domain names for their competitors upcoming product. So, when someone went to the expected domain for the competitor product, they'd get bounced back to Iambic.

In both cases, once the pressure was on, they quickly caved. Based on my interactions, I think they are simply terribly naive (they actually think their behaviors are acceptable) and not intentionally dishonest. There may be little difference, in the end, but they are more like the people that kill because they don't know killing is wrong, than the people that know that killing is wrong, but do it anyway.

My point is that, when it's not possible to do everything, you need to be honest about what can be accomplished. Rex only agrees to do the most popular requests.

Any company that adds features because one or two people ask for it is asking for trouble. You end up with bloated software, poor quality, and needing a larger development staff/longer development cycle. In the end, if you need to hire 100 developers just to handle everyone wants, the company will go out of business.

I do agree that Rex is TOO pessimistic and that they do less in each release than some other companies.

Hey squeff, can you elaborate a little bit more on the "redo" tasks vs. tasks based off the original due date.

This is easiest understood, I think, with some examples.

(1) Every Friday, I have to turn in a status report for the week. So, I create a repeating task called "Turn in status report" and have it set for every Friday. If I don't turn it in on a particular Friday (say I'm out sick), then the next one is still due the following Friday.

(2) Every 3 months, I'm supposed to change the oil in my car. However, if I wait 4 months to change the oil, the next change isn't due in 2 months. It's due 3 months from when I actually changed the oil. For example, suppose that the first time I change my oil is January 1. Completing this task will create another for 3 months in the future: April 1. Now, suppose I don't get the oil changed on April 1. In fact, I wait until June 30 to get the change. Using the approach described in #1, the "next" oil change after April 1 would be July 1. However, since I just got the oil changed on June 30, I'm not going to want to get it changed until September 30, at earliest.

The first one is well supported by TodoMatrix. When I complete a task, it creates the next on in the series as being one week from the original due date.

The second one is not supported.

There are actually several nuances here. For example, in #1, it's important to understand that the tasks are NOT generated from the get-go. One one task exists at a time. It requires the completion of a task for another to be generated. So, for example, if I totally miss wrtiing a status report one week, the next week's status report won't appear on my todo list until I go in say that I completed the one that I never really did. If I wait more than a week to do this, things get confusing, since the "next" one due is actually one in the past.

Bottom line is that most task programs that some recursion work this way. It works well for tasks that are regular and where you're expected to complete each occurrence on time.

Does this make sense?

Awesome explanation, It seems that todomatrix will work well for things such as bill due dates, because those will not change. I put my oil change into todomatrix also but I automatically assumed that the software would be able to figure it out. I guess sometimes, people dont pay attention to the small things within a program. My best bet will be to try and get the oil changed on that exact day that it is do, lol. Can you answer the question of "Will PI have a solution for this? " Anyways, thanks for all of your info man, you have really been helpful.

While I cannot be sure, my opinion is that PI will not support "redo" style repeating tasks in the initial release.

I have no idea if Agendus will or not (the Palm version did, I seem to recall), but I doubt it. Not for the first release.

I say this about these two products, not because I have (or can share) any inside information. But because even fairly advanced programs, like TDM, don't do it. And TDM only does tasks. Agendus and PI do a bazillion other things, so one function of one feature is not going to be the priority for a 1.0 release.

Thank you!!!!!!!! You have saved me. I was sitting here in tears thinking I had to give up the Blackberry and go back to my old Windows Mobile device because I could not find ANY good calendar software out there. I had been spoiled by "Agenda One" for WinMo, and to switch to the standard BB calendar was awful. This conversation led me to PI and Agendus now, so now I might make it!!! Ok, emotional/nervous breakdown averted- for today. ;) Thanks!