If you can find an app in the iPhone app store, chances are that you can find an equivalent app for your Android device.  Sometimes, though, an official app isn’t available, so you have to look a bit harder.  That’s the case if you’re a user of Toodledo, a task manager that we’ve raved about before here at 40Tech.  Fortunately, Android developers are a resourceful bunch, and, as a result, third party alternatives have sprung up that bring Toodledo to your Android device. Two of the best are Ultimate To Do List and Got To Do.

First, a couple of caveats.  This review is based upon a few days use of Got To Do Lite, and the trial version of Ultimate To-Do List.  The trial of Ultimate To-Do List is identical to the final version, minus the nag bar at the bottom.  Got To Do Lite does have differences from the full version of Got To Do.  The Lite version, which does not expire, does not support management of sub-tasks, or their indented display.  These are supported in the full version.

Got To Do

UI and Overall Feel

Of the two user interfaces and appearances, I preferred Got To Do’s look and feel.  It was just a bit slicker looking, and had less of a cluttered feel than Ultimate To Do List.  That is a matter of personal preference, though.  Of course, you’re probably not using Toodledo because of its looks, so that might not matter much to you.

Got To Do allows you to to set the default page that you will see upon startup.  Your choices include summary, inbox, hotlist, due today/tomorrow, and next action.  If you start with the summary, that is customizable, as you can hide the fields that you don’t want to see (but this customization doesn’t extend to fields throughout the rest of the app, as we’ll discuss below).

Features and Toodledo Integration

Got To Do’s integration with Toodledo is well-rounded.  The paid version of Got To Do supports the indented display of subtasks.  Both versions support the syncing of most of Toodledo’s other fields, including context, folders, tasks, task reminder, repeating tasks, notes attached to tasks, start dates and times, due dates and times, tags, task priority, task status, and starred tasks.  There are a few fields, such as Goal and Length, that aren’t found in Got To Do.

One of the nice features of Toodledo is how it lets you slice and dice your data.  Got To Do is similar in this regard.  You can choose between several ways to sort each list, such as Priority then Due Date, Due Date then priority, by Context name, by Folder Name, and more.  You can also hide task fields that you don’t want to see, but only in the summary field (see more on this, below).

Another nice feature of Got To Do is the ability to set up customizable templates.  With these templates, you can pre-fill data into a task form, and then set that form to be a template that will be selectable when creating new tasks.  When setting up the template, you choose the lists from which it will be accessible.  To access the template, simply do a long press on the add task button, and you’ll be presented with a list of the available templates for that list.

Got To Do also offers a home screen widget, if you like to quickly check your tasks.

Shortcomings

A few Toodledo features that seem to be missing in Got To Do (or at least that I’ve been unable to find) are notebooks and goals.  I don’t use these two features much, so their absence isn’t a big deal to me, but your mileage may vary.  Of bigger concern for me is that, as best I can tell, the task input fields are not configurable.  For example, if you don’t use the “repeat” field, you will still see this as an option on every task.

Finally, as noted above, there are some Toodledo fields that aren’t present, such as Goal and Length.  Before splurging on the full version, you should check to make sure that Got To Do supports the fields that you use.

Cost

Got to Do Lite is free, and contains ads.  It does not support management of sub-tasks, or their indented display.  The full version of Got To Do is £2 on the Android Market, which, as of the time of this writing, comes out to $3.16.

Ultimate To Do List

UI and Overall Feel

As noted above, I preferred the look and feel of Got To Do.  That was more of a “feel thing” than anything, as Ultimate To Do List also allows you to customzie what you see when starting the app.  For your startup page, you can choose between Home Page, All Tasks, Hotlist, My Views, Notes, Due Today/Tomorrow, Overdue, Starred, Status, Folders, Contexts, and Recently Completed.

Ultimate To Do List somehow just had a cluttered look, while at the same time having a Spartan feel to it.  I’m not a UI expert, so I’m not sure if this is due to font sizes, spacing between entries, or something else.  Font sizes are customizable, which is a nice touch, so some of this may be fixable.

Features and Toodledo Integration

Ultimate To Do List edges out Got To Do when it comes to Toodledo integration.  I haven’t been able to find a task field that Ultimate To Do List doesn’t sync.  Goals and Length are both there.  Unlike Got To Do, you can also hide fields that you don’t want to see.

Ultimate To Do List also supports notes (not just those attached to tasks).  The default home screen has a “new note” button independent of any task, that you click to enter a note.

The most exciting feature for me, compared to Got To Do, is the availability of saved searches.  You can’t sync your Toodledo saved searches to the app, but you can recreate them.  Once you’ve done so, they then appear under My Views from the main menu.

Ultimate To Do List’s power also extends to how you can sort your data.  You can sort up to three levels on any task field.  For example, you could sort by Start Date, then Priority, then Title.

Some other features of Ultimate To Do list include support for multiple accounts, the ability to search on any task field, and a home screen widget.

I would compare Ultimate To Do list to Toodledo itself – it may not be the prettiest tool out there, but it is highly customizable, and, as a result, very powerful.

Shortcomings

Aside from the UI issues mentioned above, Ultimate To Do List has a few other shortcomings.  First, unlike Got To Do, it does not support task templates, so you have to create every task from scratch.

My other complaints are minor quibbles.  I wish that there were a way to get a saved search into the top level menu (i.e., the home page, so that it was quickly accessible), and also that there was a “reverse sort” option when sorting by date, so that I could choose between viewing the oldest or newest tasks first.

Cost

There is no “lite” version of Ultimate To Do List.  Instead, you can get the full app from the Android Market on a 14 day trial.  After that, it costs $5 for a license.

And the Winner Is . . .

Both of these apps are great.  Got To Do feels slicker, and is easier on the eyes, while Ultimate To Do List is more powerful.  If I weren’t such a heavy user of saved searches in Toodledo, Got To Do might have won out.  As it was, though, I went with Ultimate To Do list.  If you don’t use saved searches, you should make sure that the fields that you use are supported by Got To Do.  If they are, give both versions a try, and see which one you like before making your purchase.

Do you have a task management app that you use on Android?  How about one that works with Toodledo?  Share your experience with us in the comments.