[robertgarrigos]

I'ld love to see a way to use omni Focus with my new android honeycomb tablet. I'll give a try to other online task managers, unfortunately, as I need to sync my mac with my tablet.

[adept]

I love my new HTC Shift 4G ... enjoying the open platform vis-a-vis Apple's content control on iPhone/iPad and their exclusive iron grip on distribution.

So I've switched to Remember the Milk. I use tags for context, lists for projects, I very very much enjoy being able to email my tasks in from the email client of my choice, the Smart Add feature makes task entry perhaps 4x faster than in OF, and while it is web-based you can pull a backup of your own data in .ics format. There are also some basic collaboration features (very basic).

The obvious things that are not in RTM are:
- start date
- sequential tasks
... but I never used those features anyway (and do not use Apple Mail nor Safari so there were other features I didn't use)

Don't know if this is a feature of OF on iPad/iPhone, but I also love the ability in RTM to set a location on a task and have my Android remind me when I'm within xxx feet (or miles for those of you who drive around) that I have a task set for a nearby location.

It took a day to transfer my stuff (basically a matter of retyping everything, but, again, Smart Add makes task entry really quick ... in one string you can type the task, the due date, recurrance, tags, what list it goes into, priority and a URL if applicable). I am *very* happy and recommend it to anyone who, like me, enjoys using OmniFocus but needs a task manager that syncs to Android.

Meanwhile, good luck to the OF dev team, and as a former techie I do understand their focus on Apple-only technology.

kazar

[hmurchison]

I for one and happy that Omni has remained steadfast to their roots which is in NeXT/OS X

I grow tired of reading about "Open" versus "Closed" as if I'm supposed to care how my software is distributed. In fact Googles primary profits come from advertising which means I'm being datamined for profit. Why would I want to support that system simply because they send out source code?

Sounds a lot like the proverbial joke of the guy holding a bunch of dog crap in his hand and says "Hey ....do you see the big pile of dog crap I almost stepped in!"

Omni is a company that I can recommend knowing that their focus is on delivering best of breed Mac and iPhone software. They've done well for each other without having to chase every other platform out there.

They are a rare breed of companies that excel within the Mac ecosystem. I've seen no companies that have jumped into other platforms only to see the quality of ALL their apps drop.

It's like Michael Jordan trying to play baseball...doesn't work.

[adept]

just to be clear, I agree with you! I find myself jealous of colleagues for whom the whole Apple suite of applications works well. And I think, as I said in my earlier post, that OmniGroup's tight concentration on creating excellent Mac apps is the right way for them to go.

For professional as well as personal as well as ergonomic reasons I did not want an iphone. As for Google data-mining, right now I am letting them, but I could also sync my data directly from Address Book and iCal to the 'droid's People and Calendar app (and lots more, with Missing Sync) ... I do not have to go through Google contacts and calendar.

And I do care about the control Apple exercises over the content allowed in the store, particularly when it comes to content censorship! But that's my personal problem. Each to her own!

My only reason for posting above your post was to make a recommendation to those who, like me, own Androids and therefore are looking for OF replacements. There are many posts on this forum asking for Omni to make an Android version, I am not but instead am proposing an alternative for people who have Androids.

kazar

[wilsonng]

OmniFocus is an appropriate solution for many folks - particularly folks who are embedded in the Apple ecosystem.

I am personally comfortable in having Apple exercise control over the the content allowed in the Apple store. It gives me a better sense of comfort that neither I or my children who use the iPad/iPod touch constantly will not be downloading some trojan or malware that screws me over. Every now and then a malware will slip by Apple protocols but at least there are barriers that have been erected to prevent such re-occurrences from happening in the future.

I can't be guaranteed that I will be suckered into downloading an Angry Birds look-alike and get infected.

Even the Amazon app store will be doing this form of curation for their Amazon Kindle.


There are many other alternatives to OmniFocus for the Android. Based on previous Omni Group statements, I believe that the OmniFolks are willing to concede the Android market to others. The OmniFolks are quite busy working on Mac apps and iOS apps.

Perhaps ToodleDo will be a perfectly viable alternative? I see that there is a Blackberry, iOS, and Android app. You can also use the web site version as well.

www.nirvanahq.com is also a web-only GTD app that might be suitable for you.

Despite various requests for an Android version, there does not appear to be an Android version of OmniFocus coming in the near future. The OmniFolks are nose deep into OF 2.0. Adding a major project such as OF for Android may very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

[wheat]

I think what people who don't do mobile development don't understand is you can't simply flick a switch to generate an Android build of an app developed for iOS. They are completely different platforms, which completely different IDEs that are based around completely different programming languages.

Here's the other thing they don't get: even though more people have Android phones, Android customers are less willing to pay for applications than iOS customers are. You can dig around on this a bit and find lots of developers who have tried both platforms sticking with iOS because the platform rewards developers for their efforts. I'm not saying no one makes money building Android apps, but it's easier to make a dollar on Apple's App Store.

So, assuming you've made your fame on an iOS app, and want to create an Android version, you have the option of training your staff in an entirely new platform, or hiring new developers, or hiring the job out to contractors. And, when it's all done, it's still a roll of the dice to see if Android customers will buy you app. And, while you're doing all that, your iOS app needs to keep evolving, too, unless you want to lose that customer base.

This is what I think every time I read "Dude, where's the Android version!!!! I hate the Applez!!! I want free and open, dude!!!!!" comments.

[Emericono]

The place I work is forcing us to use android phones and i cannot see constantly carrying, charging and syncing 2 phones all day so omnifocus is now out of the question. Does anyone know of any alternatives to omnifocus with a similar deep folder hierarchy and syncing of some sort? No one in the android market seems to value having more than 1 or 2 levels of folder hierarchy! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Won't ever forget you omnifocus!

[emory]

No, Android has no analogue to OmniFocus.

Depending on what you need Android for (I'm guessing it involves being forced to run old software that gets abandoned every 12 months -- kudos to your decision makers that opted for that) you could possibly forward/redirect services they provision to your iOS device.

You will need to ensure everything you do along those lines is acceptable and within the requirements of any relevant IT/employee/security policies your organization has.

[akalars]

I had the same problem when I moved from iPhone to Android. The only problem for me was that I was unable to find a good alternative to Omnifocus (all creds to them). I did a review series on the ones I found, including OmniFocus. It's available on executive-summary.no

--edit

I wish OmniFocus would port a client to Android. Even a very simple client would do. Just to add a few task and tick of the ones that are done.

[wickenden]

Originally Posted by akalars

I wish OmniFocus would port a client to Android. Even a very simple client would do. Just to add a few task and tick of the ones that are done.

Since that clearly is not going to happen, I would really like the good folks at omni to just toss us a little tiny bone and do something like this:

1. Allow clipping or importing of iCal tasks into Omnifocus. I'm happy for a one way trip. This way I can use one of my android helpers to send the task to iCal which is getting back into the apple space.
2. Allow a way to bring in google tasks (I can take them across platforms, but not get them back to omni).