Mobile Ministry Magazine: Product Review: Time Management Pad

Seeing mobile technology through the lens of Scripture

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Product Review: Time Management Pad

I had an opportunity to try out Time Management Pad, the flagship software title from Lil' RedSpider. Time Manager Pad (or TMP, for short) is a calendar and task manager with a twist.

TMP is a deviation from what you'd expect to see in a third-party PIM. It also shows deviation can be a good thing. It made me think "retro" while staying in the 21st century.

For those who secretly yearn for the good old days (read paper planner), TMP will take you on a ride from the get go. It incorporates a unique list style that combines a calendar view with a task section. The layout made me feel at home immediately, especially since it drew in my standing appointments and meetings seamlessly from the stock program.

I was able to adjust the default settings so that I was able to reduce the space used by the tasks section to about a third of the screen instead of half. This allowed me to "see" into my planned future, and it also included "no appointment" days. While somewhat weird to me at first, it occurred to me that including these "empty" days could serve the purpose of giving me a visual account of free blocks of time

TMP proved to be capable without being flashy. In this, it avoids accusations of bloat and overkill leveled against some datebook enhancers and replacements.

Its greatest attribute is the learning curve. It goes to great lengths to emulate the stock datebook in terms of entry and categorization. Even casual PDA and smartphone users should be up and running in relatively short time.

Sticking to the "less-is-more" paradigm, TMP allows for the user to tweak the standard low-frills look with category-specific coloring and custom icon use. Setting up repeat events and alarms was easy.

Creating a new calendar or task entry is as simple as going to "Records", just as any PalmOS program. This program also allows for assigning priorities to your items. It has a full-blown calendar that can be accessed from the Tasks pane, and which can be toggled forwards and back. The task feature has an adjustable countdown feature that informs you of the number of days left for a tasks completion.

All in all, I was more than impressed with how TMP performed. I used it for an extended period of time (including a stint when I was seriously indisposed), with it assigned to one of my hard button full time.
The developers are always open to suggestion (two for me would be linking and some sort of contact accessibility), and do look for ways to incorporate them into new releases.
It is a great accessory for any person on the go. It is available for trial from the developers' download site, and can be purchased as well for $17.95. Simon from LRS, who always takes the time to answer any and all questions, completes the cycle of wonderful service.