Gmail tasks make it to the iPhone
Somehow email clients and task management seem to belong together, probably because they have always been joined at the hip in MS Outlook and Lotus. Now the two are paired up again in tasks for Gmail on the iPhone.
Tasks were added to Gmail on the desktop late last year and like all Gmail features has attracted a lot of users. It was described as “lightweight” when introduced, and that was an accurate description. This is not project management, or even Cultured Code’s Things application. Still, it does allow users to perform basic task management functions from right inside Gmail itself.
On the desktop, this little task manager allows to you add, view, and mark as complete tasks in a way that is fairly seamless inside the familiar Gmail interface. You can categorize tasks easily and can even turn an email into a task with just a few clicks, which is very handy when most of your to-do list arrives via email. They become a part of the basic email interface and are always visible to the user.
Not all of the desktop interface made it into the iPhone app, according to ars technica, but enough so that the the system is usable. The user can still create new tasks and task lists on the Apple mobile platform. It is even possible to attach notes to tasks on the iPhone. Unfortunately, it is not (yet) possible to assign a due date to a task in the mobile version. A few other shortfalls also exist in the iPhone implementation. It is not possible to rearrange tasks. Nor does the app handle sub-tasks with any grace. Sadly, neither does the iPhone app seem to bear much relationship to the main Gmail app when used on the iPhone, instead seeming to be more of a separate system, lacking much real integration.
Still, it is simple task management on the iPhone, it bears the Google name, and it is free. And with every app that becomes available for the iPhone, the device become more useful as a very portable computer that happens to have a telephone attached. This is probably the wave of the future and we can all ride it now.
Related Posts:
