This is what Tim said to another member. I totally agree. I couldn't go without pocket informant HD. It's the best!
I looked at several apps for this and, in the end, chose Pocket Informant HD.
I read that Pocket Informant was buggy but, in my (admittedly) limited experience, Ive found no problems at all. It has a very nice user interface that's almost infinitely configurable - a complaint that many Forum members make about the iPads native Calendar app. So you can choose how tasks, events, projects, appointments are colour coded and there is a wide choice of notifications and alarms - so, for example, you can have different alarm sounds for different categories of notifications.
Pocket Informant sits on top of the iPad's native Calendar app and (optionally) imports all entries that it finds there. They can be colour coded so they can be distinguished from entries made in Pocket Informant itself.
This is important because many other iPad apps use the native Calendar app as the default place to put events, invitations etc. So, for example, if you are invited to a meeting by email and you receive that invitation in the iPads native Mail app, that app can automatically (and quite cleverly) insert that invitation into the default calendar app. Without that integration between the native app and Pocket Informant, you'd have to enter those invitations all over again.
Pocket Informant has lots of hidden features too. One of the reviewers remarked that part of the fun of using Pocket Informant was discovering them!! The display is infinitely configurable - day, week, month, year at a time. Tasks, events, overdue tasks, projects, projects in progress etc etc all can be optionally displayed on the main calendar. Projects and tasks can have infinitely nested sub-tasks and projects - these can cleverly be integrated with GPS - so, say you needed to purchase some goods from the hardware store. Put that in a To-Do list and link it to the location of the hardware store using the iPads native Maps app. Next time youre driving past the hardware store, up pops the notification (Remember to purchase some 2x4 timber).
Repeating events are very flexible too, with the custom mode being infinitely (I keep using that word!) configurable. So, meetings that occur on the last Thursday and first Monday of every other month - no problem.
It can sync with external calendars - Google for example - and back-up is cool, it creates a backup file that you can email to yourself for safe keeping. If you lose your iPad or all your data is corrupted, that backup can be imported back into Pocket Informant with a single click.
You can create multiple diaries within Pocket Informant - say Work, Family, Golf Club etc and have their entries optionally displayed on the main screen or restricted to the display of the individual diary. So its easy to check if theres a clash between the golf tournament and your wife's birthday - and hide it if there is......
If you surf to the developers web-site, you can download for free a very comprehensive User Manual that will show you in detail what Pocket Informant can do.
The developers are constantly updating the program - always a good sign in my view.
As I said at the beginning, perhaps I'm not a particularly demanding user, but Ive had no stability problems at all. I should add the usual disclaimer that I have no contact or other relationship with the developers of Pocket Informant other than being a very satisfied customer.
Tim
sent with love from my iPad on IPF
