Prior to the release of iOS 4.2, I felt ashamed to share my disorganized homescreen with you. I have some changes to make, as I have not come up with the perfect solution to my “imbalanced chi” with this setup, but I am definitely close. Let’s begin, starting at the top left:
Calendar: Calendar.app features a tasty UI that cannot be beat. As with the iPhone, it has been serving its purpose since the launch. Thanks to MobileMe, I have never had any trouble keeping my calendar colors in sync with my iPad. Pure win!
Contacts: Contacts.app is by far my least favorite app on my homescreen. Holding the iPad in portrait orientation (while Contacts.app is loaded) features a beautiful, yet unfinished and thoughtless UI.
Simplenote: Replaced Notes.app. It was a necessary replacement, to keep the notes, on my Mac, iPhone and iPad in sync. I am still praying for more advanced functions: RTF Bold, *Bold*, or <strong>Bold</strong>, I am looking at you.
Maps: Since its debut on the original iPhone in 2007, Maps.app has replaced the Yellow Pages as my go-to-source for directions and phone numbers.
Videos: I will never understand Apple’s decision to separate videos from iPod.app. I considered making a “media” folder, containing both iPod.app and Videos.app, but the thought of having to double-tap to launch iPod.app makes me cringe.
YouTube: Sometimes I wish Apple had not included YouTube as a default application in iOS, and instead released it as a downloadable application. I have nothing suitable to replace it, and so it remains.
iTunes Store: I have a problem keeping everything between iPhone, iPad and my Mac in sync. The NC data center could come in handy right about now.
App Store: Both the worst, and best part of both the iPhone and iPad. I do not want to know how much money has been lost to this deceitfully friendly blue icon.
Utilities Folder: Thanks to iOS 4.2 and this little gem, I was able to cut down the amount of pages I had from seven, to three. I won’t describe the apps themselves, but I will appease you with a list. Dropbox (irreplaceable), CalcBot (irreplaceable), Deliveries, Find My iPhone (irreplaceable), Flipboard (the icon is too bright for my liking, so I decided to hide it in this folder), GoodReader (decidedly hideous UI, but irreplaceable nonetheless), Gallery, WeatherStation, Dragon Dictation.
Settings: No matter how hard I try, Settings.app will remain on my homescreen. It could fit in my Utilities Folder, but I do not know of a suitable replacement.
iBooks: No matter how hard I try, I do not think I will ever be able to read a book, without being forced. I have tried. In an effort to seem more studious, iBooks remains on my homescreen. However, the studious nature of it’s placement would be lost if anyone were to open the app and see the two books in my library, “Black” by Ted Dekker and “Cradle to Cradle” by Wiliam McDonough & Michael Braungart.
Instapaper: The throne king. I do not use this app as much as I should. I mainly use the service as more of a filing cabinet that I never file. As of this little post, I have 49 unread items. The app is great on both the iPhone and iPad, but I find you have to force yourself to open it once-and-a-while. This is not a fault of the app itself, but a fault in myself which needs repair.
Penultimate: The iPad would not be complete without a drawing/sketching app, and Penultimate.app is by far my favorite (though, not fully featured) in that category.
Reeder: Simply amazing. The iPad app is still in need of some refinements. Still, an irreplaceable app nonetheless.
Safari: I tend to use the in-app browser more than the actual Safari.app. In fact, I tend to forget it is there. I have been introduced to many web browsers in the App Store, but the default will always remain a favorite. I also use Safari exclusively on my Mac â aside from the occasional launch of Firefox to test some code. Tabs in iOS would be nice (esp. on the iPad).
Mail: iOS 4 has enabled some pretty amazing features to the Mail.app (primarily, the unified inbox), but it is still in need of some work. Multiple custom signatures and better folder management are among my top complaints/requests.
Photos: Contains my priceless Camera Roll. I have been putting off syncing it to iPhoto, until I purchase the latest iLife suite.
iPod: Both iPod.app and Pandora.app receive an equal amount of abuse. If I am driving anywhere, you can assume I have one of these apps connected via an auxilary cable.
Things: Cultured Code’s app is another irreplaceable gem. However, the iPad version has proved Things.app is crying-out for an interned based syncing solution. I would be happy, though not thrilled, to sync with iDisk through my MobileMe account. The status page says it (Over-the-air Sync) is coming, but the real question is, “When?”
Twitter: The iPad icon is better, but still a little fugly. Again, the app is irreplaceable. I am waiting on a replacement icon based on Chuck Skoda’s Twitter Icon for iPhone 4.
There you have it, a pretty thorough description of the applications that reside in my digital home.
