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This is part 3 of 3 in our Personal Information Manager Smackdown, The previous installations can be found here (Part 1: Agenda Fusion, Part 2: Pocket Informant).
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I looked at Agenda Fusion (by DeveloperOne, $29.95 from the store), and Pocket Informant (by WebIS, $29.95 from the store). Both packages turned in perfect scores, but how do they stack up? While both are great pieces of software, what are the differences between the two? And which is best for me? Click on through for the answers to these (and more) questions.
Introduction
After using both applications for long enough to get a feel for what the developers were thinking I’m seeing very distinct differences in how things are meant to be handled in these two applications. While neither is necessarily wrong, I would recommend that you keep that in mind as you read this review and make your decision.
Contacts
Both applications offer strong upgrades to the stock Contacts application in Windows Mobile. The ability to assign pictures, duplicate contacts, and link the contacts to other information types are all available in both.
I have to give the edge on this category to Pocket Informant for a number of reasons. For starters, it replaces the default Contacts app (when you press the Contacts softkey, it opens the Pocket Informant version), which surprisingly was not true for Agenda Fusion. Also, the “Touch” functionality (while not perfect) makes the most basic tasks even easier. Powerful features like pulling contact photos from a folder directly into the contact list are just the cherry on top.
Verdict: Pocket Informant
Calendar
With all of the power that is built into the desktop version of Outlook, the default calendar management features in Windows Mobile can seem anemic and awkward. Both of these applications do an outstanding job of giving you a wide range of features and options while still making the job of managing your appointments as easy as possible. (After all, what’s the point in managing your calendar if the act of managing it adds more stress?)
As I see it, the key features in this category are offered by both applications. The idea of a “Template” is applied in a brilliant manner by both. Secondary alarms are also available with each, but Pocket Informant goes a step further by offering more than two alarms for a single appointment.
Verdict: Pocket Informant
Tasks
This is the one category which I have not used as extensively in the past as I could have. After using these applications I will be using this feature much more frequently. The interface in each is greatly improved over the standard Windows Mobile flavor.
This component is where I see the greatest difference between the applications. While Agenda Fusion uses “Projects” to group Tasks, Pocket Informant allows you to create a hierarchy of tasks (both methods essentially accomplish the same thing). Where I see Pocket Informant (again) taking the lead in the realm of Tasks is the ability to establish both recurring and regenerating tasks (Agenda Fusion supports recurring, but not regenerating). The basic idea of regenerating tasks (for those of you who didn’t read the full review of Pocket Informant) is that the task is re-created based on when the previous task is completed, not when it’s due.
Verdict: Pocket Informant
Notes
Both of these applications simply kick butt when compared to Microsoft’s implementation. Both support Rich Text formatting, drawings, alarms and more. Pocket Informant does support different Paper styles (like Graph Paper) which I could see as being useful particularly in some of the more technical fields.
Verdict: Pocket Informant
Other Features
Pocket Informant supports Journaling (in fact it seems to push it on your rather aggressively), but I found the Journaling idea to be both over the top and underwhelming. The idea of me creating a Journal entry every time I end a phone call or create an appointment does not seem appealing, but if I did want to fully utilize this feature, I would want the entry to be more note like than task like. Also, the fact that you must buy a separate product for synchronizing your Journal rubs me the wrong way.
Pocket Informant also has a search feature that is available from the “Views” menu. The search allows you to search between any and/or all types of information. When searching Contacts, the sound of the name is searched (a search for “Farrell”, returned my contact information, with a last name of “Ferrill”).
Both applications offer numerous settings to customize the way the application looks and how it is used. From the numerous grouping and sorting that each offer to the Settings screen that is filled with tweaks and customizations that will make the application fit your desires, both of these applications allow for the end user to decide how things are done.
Verdict: Pocket Informant
Conclusion
While this would seem to be a knockout victory for Pocket Informant (it did win in every category, and has an obviously superior feature list), I don’t feel that the decision is as obvious as it appears on paper. The problem with any organizational solution is that if you don’t use it, it doesn’t work. Agenda Fusion was, in my opinion, a much easier application to learn and was also less complex to use on a regular basis.
With the above disclaimer about the learning curve out of the way, the sheer number of features included in Pocket Informant make the decision to declare it the winner an easy one.
Good comparison Tim! Another cool thing about PI is that their developers are really good at taking user ideas and implementing them and listening to customer feedback. They also develop for other platforms.