Notes and Reminders

My usual protocol when setting up a new iOS device, is to take all of the default apps and toss them into a junk folder, but lately Apple has been making these barebones apps very useful. Notes and Reminders are two of these apps that should not be overlooked.



While these apps do exist on the iPad, they are most efficient on the iPhone or iPod, since, in most situations, that's the device in your pocket.



Notes is a super fast app that is great for jotting things down on the go. You can now create a multitude of separate notes, and all of them can be saved and shared in various ways. Please note, it's not as secure as other document apps, like Awesome Note, which allows you to set up password encrypted notes, but that might be on the way.




Apple has polished up the default Reminders app by 'borrowing' aspects of other reminder apps on the App Store, making it the all around best reminder app you can get currently. It's also faster than most of the other apps, which helps with adding tasks on the fly, lists can synced with the calendar, and everything can be saved and shared.

So there you have it - Two apps that come free with iOS5 that are very well done. Try them out! It's surprising how quickly they became part of my daily routine.

With the way Apple has been working to make these default apps better than premium apps on the App Store, it leads me to believe that iOS6 is really going to be something great. I can't wait!

~Ben