Agendus for iPhone dedicated forum

[adriano]

Hi,

seen the requests and numerous suggestions received so far for a possible version of Agendus for iPhone, we decided to create a forum dedicated just to that.

Questions, suggestions, feedback, are welcome. Agendus for iPhone is something in our road map, and therefore the more we know what your expectations are, and the better we'll be able to fulfill them.

Want to be kept in the loop but too busy to actively interact? No problem, here are a couple of no-effort alternatives:

- sign up to the iPhone beta and release announcement mailing list at:
http://www.iambic.com/iphone/

- subscribe to this forum by clicking here (http://support.iambic.com/forum/subscription.php?do=addsubscription&f=151) to receive updates of new threads.

When posting in this forum, if you don't have feedback specific to an existing thread please refrain from "chiming in" -- create a new thread instead. That will make our life much easier :)

Thanks and looking forward to see you around.

- Adriano

[Joseph Arison]

So the other day I was sick, had to cancel an entire day of patients. Was so disoriented, had a terrible time on the Iphone, Changing from calendar to contacts, call, back to calendar, reschedule. Again and again, two full days, a big fat pain. The whole time, missing Agendus. Yes I love my Iphone, the classic 80% solution without Agendus. It would have saved me more than half, two thirds of the time.
And then there's the "to do" lists, don't get me started on the useless apps I've bought.
I miss you guys terribly. The best app on my treo was Agendus, had it the entire three years of treo. The most missing on my Iphone is Agendus.
It's not about the copy I buy, it's about the hundreds of referrals I make to the product. Miss you guys, daily

[magnes]

I have heard you guys talking about this for about 3 months now. When are you going to release IPhone Agendus?:cool::cool::cool:

[adriano]

while waiting for Agendus, we got something for you coming up in the App Store in the next few days :)

http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36644

- Adriano

[pslawing]

I am a long time palm/agendus user. I've had the iphone now for 3 months. The integration of calendar/contacts is so lame compared to the agendus platform for the palm. I miss my calendar/contacts/memos/todos/icons/seemless integration! I understand there is an apple issue with developing for the iphone, but others seem to do it. PLEASE PLEASE work on this. I would be willing to pay a premium price for this app.

Thanks
pslawing

[adriano]

we hear you -- and we are working on it. At this time we rather not commit with availability estimates quite yet, mostly because of a few challenges and unknowns have been stumbling into.

Nothing terribly major, just things that required us to spend time trying out different routes.

- Adriano

[Nurseferatu]

I have Verizon and a Treo 755p with Agendus; I've been using Agendus for years and it's my main reason for using the Palm OS, which I find is getting tired and sad. But Blackberry is so...clunky. My husband, who is also on Verizon, is devoted to his iPod so I got him a Touch for Xmas. WELL, my goodness, what a wonderful device! I want one! But wait: That is the LAMEST calendar I've ever seen! Yes, there are lots of other calendars out there for the iPhone/Touch: Menstrual calendars, Hebrew calendars, etc...Somehow they don't meet my job-juggling needs. PUH-LEEEZE, if you make Agendus for iPhone, I'll switch to horrible AT&T just to get us a couple of iPhones! Hahaha....Happy 2009, and may it exceed all our expectations in a POSITIVE WAY! Nurseferatu

[Allibama]

Don't forget that Palm is about to release a new device with an updated (finally!) operating system in just a few days at CES. It could (hopefully) mean that everyone gets the good Palm simplicity and apps that we know and love, with some of the beauty of the iPhone. Fingers crossed!

[Nurseferatu]

Hi,
Yes, I would like Palm's new OS to be Killer...but I'm not optimistic. Their most recent innovations have been too little too late. The iPhone, despite its obvious shortcomings, raised the bar. And it seems to me both Apple and RIM generate way more buzz than Palm, which makes them cooler *sigh*. The stock prices for the three of them say it all. However, as I said, I would like to see the underdog make a comeback. Agendus's calendar icons are so wonderful on the Palm OS! I'm totally ADDICTED to the month view with icons, and NO ONE has anything like it. --Nurseferatu

[Patrik]

Please, please, please, I need Agendus for my iPod Touch.
I have used Agendus for my Sony Clie for many years and terribly miss its functionality on the iPod Touch. As a health professional, I needs to be able to quickly fill in patients names when scheduling appointments in the Calendar or be able to change already made appointments as well as have easy access to their tel. numbers and other contact information. I also need to compatibility with iCal for desktop sync. I have spent a whole day in the iTunes store trying to find some similar application that integrates Contact, Calendar, and ToDo lists and none do what Agendus is capable on the OS platform.
Please give us some regular update of your progress in making Agendus compatible with the iPodTouch/iPhone platform.
Thanks

[billrush]

Was it a dream or did Iambic offer 4/15 as release date for Agendus for the Iphone. I can't wait. I wonder if Iphone 3.0, which was announced after the 4/15 announcement changes anything? In other words will Iambic wait until 3.0 to take advantage of its new features or still try to release under 2.2. Thanks

[Silfveroxel]

Don't forget that Palm is about to release a new device with an updated (finally!) operating system in just a few days at CES. It could (hopefully) mean that everyone gets the good Palm simplicity and apps that we know and love, with some of the beauty of the iPhone. Fingers crossed!

Palm will never come back! You where very reluctant to do anything with mac or Iphone. Many of us told you and Iambic that this will be the future. I could bet very much that Palm market share will continue to decline and become niche product. Do you remember Psion? Palm will have the same future and blackberry, Windows and Iphone will be the devices onward.

[Allibama]

We could go round and round with this. Do you remember the first "smart phone?" It was a little device from your friends at Apple called the Newton. It was the future. Ok, so maybe not. The truth is, any company can come back and be on top. The iPhone was not Apple's first "at bat." They weren't expected to succeed quite like they did based on the history of the Newton. Don't count Palm out just yet.

As for being reluctant to do anything for the iPhone...the first year you could not develop applications for it beyond web games. That does not indicate reluctance. If you had any inkling of the difficulty of getting non games or farting apps to the platform this 2nd year (and yes, it's still within the 2nd year), you still wouldn't make that comment. No disrespect intended, but the people who talk about how easy it is to get an app coded and into the Apple store are the same ones who talk about how easy it is to end the conflict in Iraq, and how simple it would be to end today's global financial crisis.

[billrush]

Apple has been a royal pain about their app process. They have changed the rules and been capricious about what they will and will not approve. Deevlopers have to take the risk of developing first and then seeing if apple will approve. They have rejected apps before that they felt were competitive with one of their own and then reversed themselves. This makes it very hard on developers of complex apps like agendus. I love my Iphone and have had both the original and 3G models. But I am tired of Apple's arrogance. If the PRE is what it has been billed to be, I would seriously consider switching. Cut and paste two years after Iphone intro. Give me a break!

[TechWriter]

Patrik, I couldn't agree more! When I'm in my calendar, I need to pull up an address or phone number, and on my iPod Touch, that means so many steps of saving the item in the calendar, leaving that, going to my contacts. I, too, have wasted HOURS looking for an app that would do this for the Touch, but there is no such critter. For the Palm, besides Agendus, Datebook also had this functionality, and it was great. You had to buy it from Pimlico (approx. $29), but hey, I'd pay more than that. So does anyone know anything more about when Agendus for the iPhone/Touch really is coming out? I feel as desperate as you sound.

[pdadds]

Hopefully May 1st!
http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37650

[Patrik]

This is great news, this will make the iPhone/iPod Touch a real useful & practical PDA.

[muzikman52]

HOPEFULLY...this is the 'real deal'! I have been waiting to get an iPhone because there has been no version of Agendus for it. Now that my Treo is dying (a slooow death), perhaps I can finally put it out of its (and my) misery and get the long awaited iPhone AND Agendus at the same time :) .
I'm hoping this isn't just another 'carrot' being dangled out there for those of us that love Agendus as our Contact Management software and want an iPhone. If it is truly arriving in a couple of weeks....KUDOS to the development team! :up:

[luvgeek]

I got a new iPhone because I just couldn't live with my Treo's web browser and the calendar doesn't sync with google.

The iphone has what appears to be a great calendar that syncs live with google, so it's easy to edit online.

Then I found that the iPhone calendar is useless because it has no alarm! (the sound of stepping on a cricket doesn't count). I have missed every appointment since I got it.

I was about to turf it then I thought... if only there is agendus for iPhone...

I pray that it appears before I smash this stupid thing.

[jemenake]

I got a new iPhone because I just couldn't live with my Treo's web browser
Hear, hear! That's my exact story, as well.

Then I found that the iPhone calendar is useless because it has no alarm!

Same here. Add to that the fact that there's no "snooze" feature. Grrrr!
I have missed every appointment since I got it.

OMG! You're sound like my *twin*. Hey, do you drive a pea-green 72' AMC Pacer, too? :P
I was about to turf it then I thought... if only there is agendus for iPhone...
Well, for the interim, I'm using Pocket Informant to get me by. It's a little better than the stock calendar (and it's free if you don't care to sync with a desktop calendar), but it's nowhere near as good as Agendus for the Palm (and how good I'm praying that Agendus for the iPhone is going to be).

[TechWriter]

I got a new iPhone because I just couldn't live with my Treo's web browser and the calendar doesn't sync with google.

The iphone has what appears to be a great calendar that syncs live with google, so it's easy to edit online.

Then I found that the iPhone calendar is useless because it has no alarm! (the sound of stepping on a cricket doesn't count). I have missed every appointment since I got it.

I was about to turf it then I thought... if only there is agendus for iPhone...

I pray that it appears before I smash this stupid thing.
Hey--I know how you feel! I've only had my iPod Touch for a few weeks, but I used to count on Agendus or DateBk on my Palm to be my alarm. You're not completely lost--the Clock app that comes built-in on the iPod has an alarm function on it, so you can use that. The volume isn't great, but if you listen to all the sounds you have to choose from, some are clearly louder than others. Hope it helps.

[Ronald NL]

Releasing on May first means sending it for approval to Apple at least 10 days before. No update from IAMBIC so far they did this...
May first is in 3 days......

The forum on Iphone is awefully quiet. If I compare this to others who release a new Iphone app soon too quiet.

IAMBIC is not keeping us posted since many days....

So, to be honest, I expect the usual posting from Adriano that due to etc. the release has been postponed.

[billrush]

Ronald, I have to agree that I will be pleasantly surprised if we have a version on May 1. However, there may be a clause in the developers agreement with Apple not to discuss apps which have not been approved. I also read that there is now a clause which states that developers can't discuss apps which are turned down by Apple. This came after some highly publicized cases where Apple turned down apps and looked stupid. Yikes the arrogance!

While we are speculating, I am getting ready for a version of Agendus for the Iphone which only has a fraction of existing (Palm OS) Agendus functionality. Again, this is due to the serious limitations of the Apple SDK.

I suspect that Iambic has their hands full trying to make this work on 2.2 while getting a different version to work on 3.0 at the same time. With 3.0 due out in June or July, I'll bet Iambic seriously considered waiting and just doing a 3.0 version. PI's launch a few weeks ago may have complicated matters for them as well..

[Ronald NL]

Ronald, I have to agree that I will be pleasantly surprised if we have a version on May 1. However, there may be a clause in the developers agreement with Apple not to discuss apps which have not been approved. I also read that there is now a clause which states that developers can't discuss apps which are turned down by Apple. This came after some highly publicized cases where Apple turned down apps and looked stupid. Yikes the arrogance!

While we are speculating, I am getting ready for a version of Agendus for the Iphone which only has a fraction of existing (Palm OS) Agendus functionality. Again, this is due to the serious limitations of the Apple SDK.

I suspect that Iambic has their hands full trying to make this work on 2.2 while getting a different version to work on 3.0 at the same time. With 3.0 due out in June or July, I'll bet Iambic seriously considered waiting and just doing a 3.0 version. PI's launch a few weeks ago may have complicated matters for them as well..

Hello Bill,

Thanks for sharing your concern. The fact that PI launced a few weeks ago, and, in contrast with Iambic, shares their progress in a perfect way, makes me believe that there is no issue with Apple that forbids to keep your customers informed. If PI's Alex can do it so can Iambic's Adriano imho.:rolleyes:

Of course nobody is expecting a full Agendus version as we know it from Palm platform. This is a whole new start and the app needs to grow.
The people who post on this forum are all aware that Apple puts some serious restraints on the possibilities for integration on Iphone and I have no reason to believe that this will change with 3.0

The point I tried to make is that Iambic is seriously lacking communication with their customers on their forum. This is only since a year or 2, before it was much better. Time pressure or lack of resources is not an excuse in my opinion: just tell your customers you will be less active for a period and everybody understands, but again: they do not give us this information.

Same issue was occuring when Agendus for Symbian S60V3 was discussed.
No clear answers from Iambic for more than 15 months.

But hé, let's stay positive.. Might be that beginning May the appstore shows a new app: Agendus for Iphone:eek:

[billrush]

Ronald:

I completely agree with you re. communication. They certainly could be giving us a better idea. If the app isn't submitted by now, it won't be available May 1 and they could let us know in a general way.

[magic_halley]

Since my palm, clie I only used iambic and I hoped for it for my ipod touch, . . .

even if they launch in may, . . ., the lacking of communication let me buy PI.

Perhaps it is not as good as agendus, but they communicate with their customers and ask them, what they want next in PI for iP.

And communication wins. A company that is so good, that it is not nessecary for them to communicate with their customers is no company I put another dollar in, . . .

Talk to your customers or loose them, that's business today!!

Just my 2 cent

Andreas

[lolongan]

Since my palm, clie I only used iambic and I hoped for it for my ipod touch, . . .

even if they launch in may, . . ., the lacking of communication let me buy PI.

Perhaps it is not as good as agendus, but they communicate with their customers and ask them, what they want next in PI for iP.

And communication wins. A company that is so good, that it is not nessecary for them to communicate with their customers is no company I put another dollar in, . . .

Talk to your customers or loose them, that's business today!!

Just my 2 cent

Andreas

I can not agree more !

[Silfveroxel]

I expect the same! Last time when it was mid April did I send a similar saying only days left and it was coming again! Due to stupid, ignorant Apple are we forced to delay. PS We from IAMBIC still hope that Palm will return as number one.

Releasing on May first means sending it for approval to Apple at least 10 days before. No update from IAMBIC so far they did this...
May first is in 3 days......

The forum on Iphone is awefully quiet. If I compare this to others who release a new Iphone app soon too quiet.

IAMBIC is not keeping us posted since many days....

So, to be honest, I expect the usual posting from Adriano that due to etc. the release has been postponed.

[luvgeek]

even if they launch in may, . . ., the lacking of communication let me buy PI.

Perhaps it is not as good as agendus, but they communicate with their customers and ask them, what they want next in PI for iP.

And communication wins. A company that is so good, that it is not nessecary for them to communicate with their customers is no company I put another dollar in, . . .

Talk to your customers or loose them, that's business today!!

Just my 2 cent

Andreas

Wow! let's face it: No news is... Well... No news. Let's not become like a cable news network and filling the information void with conjecture.

I looked at PI and it is not even close to Agendus. It is just an integrated todo and calendar where agendus is more like a PIM crossed with a CRM. The key point of Agendus is the integration of contacts, appointments, calls, meetings, notes and more. Maybe it won't be able to truly be Agendus until 3.0 but that's only a couple of months away in any case.


Posted via Mobile Device

[pdradley]

I also bought PI, because I don't know what Iambic is up to. I remember it from other platforms and it was a good and serious rival to Agendus, yet it too is crippled by Apple's stance. In any case, the integration of databases in earlier versions of Agendus seems to me impossible, at the moment, for an iphone: the calendar database is closed to developers and there is no built-in todo or notes function. PI has already said it will integrate the contacts and will add a notes function. PI is also looking into some kind of direct syncing. Apple's position is certainly bad news and not just for Agendus: I have other applications (Zagat, for example) that are designed to integrate with the calendar database, but which cannot because it is closed. I don't see how any developer can get around this.

[lolongan]

I looked at PI and it is not even close to Agendus. It is just an integrated todo and calendar where agendus is more like a PIM crossed with a CRM. The key point of Agendus is the integration of contacts, appointments, calls, meetings, notes and more. Maybe it won't be able to truly be Agendus until 3.0 but that's only a couple of months away in any case.

I was user of Agendus on Palm, PI on WM and now use PI on iPhone.
Before comparing PI on iPhone to Agendus on iPhone, I think you should wait first for Agendus to be released on iPhone, then we will see if it will be really "a PIM crossed with a CRM" ! We should compare what is comparable.
At the end of the day, I strongly believe that the only differences between the 2 products will be:
1. The look and feel of the user interface
2. The fact that Iambic simply ignores their customers while WebIs communicates and listens to thier customers.

[jemenake]

I looked at PI and it is not even close to Agendus.

Part of why it's not even close it because it exists!!!

I realize that Agendus is available for other platforms. However, what I think we should keep in mind is that, if it's not available for my platform, it might as well not exist.

Furthermore, I think it's a little naive to look at Agendus for some other platform (the Palm, say) and assume that it's going to be just the same on the iPhone. It can't be. The screen resolutions are different, the user interface is different, there's no 4-way hat switch, etc.

Nor should you want Agendus for iPhone to be just like it is on other platforms. If you look at some of the really captivating apps for the iPhone that make you say "Oh, wow..."... like Rolando, X-Plane, Labyrinth, or apps that offer pinch-zooming... they capitalize on the unique UI opportunities of the iPhone. To come out with an Agendus for the iPhone that used the lower half of the screen to emulate the hard-keys on a Palm Treo... would be to miss what the iPhone is about. What I'm hoping for is an Agendus that lets us do stuff like multi-touch (maybe for making a new appointment), pinch-zooming (maybe for switching between day, week, month views), and maybe even some utilization of shake or tilt gestures that I haven't imagined.

So, given that, I say again that, regardless of what other platforms Agendus works on, it doesn't exist on the iPhone... so, in my universe, it doesn't exist, period. Furthermore, there's little hint that it ever will exist. I mean, this kinda gives vaporware a good name. We haven't seen any screenshots... we haven't heard any comments on what it's expected to do or not do. Aside from causally mentioning a couple of expected ship dates, this has been a pretty well-kept secret.

HOWEVER... I would like to close that this doesn't give us license to bash Iambic. They're not the ones who made the iPhone calendar suck. They're not the ones who made all of the other calendar/to-do apps for the iPhone marginally useful. They haven't been telling us to hold off from using/buying other apps and to, instead, wait for Agendus to ship, and they're not already taking our money by letting us pre-order.

We all bought iPhones knowing that the calendar app was what it was and knowing that it was a crapshoot regarding if something better would be available later. It's not Iambic's fault that we bought iPhones and are now unhappy with the calendaring and would really, really like to have something on the iPhone that works like Agendus does on other platforms. They never promised any particular features or that there'd be an Agendus for iPhone at all. All I've heard them say is: 1) Yes, we're working on it. 2) We're aiming for April 15th. and 3) We're not going to make April 15th and we're now aiming for May 1st.

Like the rest of you, I'm counting the hours until May 1st to see what new news the day brings. But, can we stop bashing Iambic for not fulfilling promises that they never really made? If you can't wait any longer, go buy PI (or download PI lite) and move on with your life. If you still can (and want to) wait longer... then wait longer.

[luvgeek]

Part of why it's not even close it because it exists!!!

Oops. Sorry I was unclear. PI looks like a fantastic program if you are task oriented.

What I meant by not close is that IMO the primary function of Agendus is to organize your interaction with people (clients, customer, management, friends, lovers, etc.) such as meetings, calls, callbacks, history, etc. whereas Pocket Intelligence seems to be about managing tasks, goals and targets.

It sounds and looks like a great program but is not what I need.

[pdradley]

Yes, agreed, PI is task oriented, whereas since its beginnings on the Palm platform, Agendus has been contact oriented. At this point we don't know (and that is a matter of Iambic's silence on the matter) what Agendus on the iphone will do, but I don't see how it can be like its predecessors as the calendar database, as noted earlier, is closed to developers so that integration of calendar and contacts will be, at best, a compromise (perhaps Iambic will create its own database). Of course, this is not Iambic's doing, they did not prevent access to the calendar database. I hope for the best from them, but I tend to agree with Lolongan that there won't be a great difference between Agendus and PI, at least not at the beginning.

[TechWriter]

Thanks for the information about the calendar database being closed--that's the first time I've understood why someone hadn't already long ago come up with their own version of an Agendus-type app. Please forgive--I'm new to Apple products (just acquired iPod Touch 2G), so could you kindly tell me what "PI" is? It's mentioned in many discussions, but I haven't been able to find it.

[pdradley]

PI = Pocket Informant, you can find it in the AppStore, check it out, it's much better than the built-in datebook.

[Ronald NL]

It's the First of MAY !!!!


Nothing on the forum::sour:
No message from IAMBIC:mad::mad:
Nothing in the Appstore.:sour:


Why am I not surprised????:confused::confused::confused:

[Allibama]

Patience, grasshopper. We are all waiting anxiously. Yes, I finally got an iPhone too.

We will have it eventually.

[Silfveroxel]

First! We will have it April 16
April 14 moved to May 1
On May first. We will have it eventually:weird:

For many people is commitment a commitment and not only a wish list!

If you no able to fix, let us know and we will all leave you alone to develop a palm app. And we will go somewhere else. You have 6000 of your customer who has checked this thread, so you have a very big interest!

Patience, grasshopper. We are all waiting anxiously. Yes, I finally got an iPhone too.

We will have it eventually.

[TechWriter]

It's the First of MAY !!!!


Nothing on the forum::sour:
No message from IAMBIC:mad::mad:
Nothing in the Appstore.:sour:


Why am I not surprised????:confused::confused::confused:
Please, Ronald, tell me you weren't holding your breath on that one. OK, well, yeah, I was secretly hoping that magic would happen, but I knew it had really low odds. Just keep humming that song, "Someday . . . "

[Allibama]

I realize how much you all want it. I do too. But no amount of whining, pleading, cajoling, or complaining will change that. The development team at Iambic does not normally say when products will be released. This is a perfect example of why. They had to roll back from the original guesstimate of April 15 to May first, and now you are all screaming that it is a broken promise. It was a projected release date, not a promise.

I've looked at what's available, and there is nothing else out there comparable even to the Agendus for WM version. So rest assure that I feel your pain. But...nobody promised anything. You knew when you bought the iPhone that its PIM manager wasn't the greatest, and you knew that at the time there was no Agendus (or any other program) for the iPhone.

So...I can either not respond to you at all, which you will take as being ignored, or continue to tell you to be patient. Your choice. We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?

[TechWriter]

By suggesting that someone hum a song, I was suggesting that we all try to keep a sense of humor about this issue (along with many other of life's issues). I remember people just about laying an egg waiting for Windows 95, the first iPod, as well as many, many items of both software AND hardware. Life is just too short to get very cranked up over things that complaining won't change.
P.S. LOVE the Anita Blake quote!

[jemenake]

They had to roll back from the original guesstimate of April 15 to May first, and now you are all screaming that it is a broken promise. It was a projected release date, not a promise.

I agree. Personally, I've been using the target dates not as an "expect to see it then" date, but as a "don't expect to see it before then" date. Saves me from checking the iambic website every day and it helps me hunker down and prepare for a long haul of toil and torment with the existing crop of PIM apps for the iPhone.

At least the pushbacks have been getting shorter. When I first got my iPhone in Feb, the projected release was two months off. Then, it got pushed back a mere two weeks. Hopefully, they're getting "real close now (tm)".

So...I can either not respond to you at all, which you will take as being ignored, or continue to tell you to be patient. Your choice. We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?

Well, I guess what I'd consider as helpful (without forcing you to commit to any hard dates), are:

More frequent updates about the scale of the wait that we're looking at. By that, I mean: does it look like you'll be done in a matter of: months, weeks, days, or hours?
Some idea of how long it is expected to take for Agendus to wind its way through the AppStore vetting process. In other words, some day in the future, I figure you're going to post "That's it! We're done! We've submitted it to Apple!". At that point, how much longer is it expected to take before it shows up in the AppStore?
Maybe a screen-shot or two. I'm dying here! I can't even imagine using Agendus because I don't know what it's going to look like. Now, I realize that Apple might not allow you to do that or, if they do, that you might not want to get the people here even more impatient than they already are. But, I'm just sayin'... if I got to see some screenshots of what it's supposed to look like, I... I think I would need to go have a cigarette afterward. And I don't even smoke! :)



Pining without whining,
- Joe

[Allibama]

LOL! I know exactly what you mean. If it's any consolation, the forum staff don't know any more than the visitors. Only the code monkeys know for sure.


Well, I guess what I'd consider as helpful (without forcing you to commit to any hard dates), are:

More frequent updates about the scale of the wait that we're looking at. By that, I mean: does it look like you'll be done in a matter of: months, weeks, days, or hours?
Some idea of how long it is expected to take for Agendus to wind its way through the AppStore vetting process. In other words, some day in the future, I figure you're going to post "That's it! We're done! We've submitted it to Apple!". At that point, how much longer is it expected to take before it shows up in the AppStore?
Maybe a screen-shot or two. I'm dying here! I can't even imagine using Agendus because I don't know what it's going to look like. Now, I realize that Apple might not allow you to do that or, if they do, that you might not want to get the people here even more impatient than they already are. But, I'm just sayin'... if I got to see some screenshots of what it's supposed to look like, I... I think I would need to go have a cigarette afterward. And I don't even smoke! :)



Pining without whining,
- Joe

[witlin]

@Alli, thanks for sticking with us, this is greatly appreciated.
Also I know that the ever popular iambic-bashing doesn't help anybody here, least of all you guys, and I'll try to choose my words carefully to not be joining the chorus...

I wasn't even hoping for any of the deadlines/guesstimates etc. actually showing a finished agendus, but I feel the communication is what frustrates most people here.I know answering to every ridiculous thread actually takes time from finishing the product, I get it,
BUT a little more consistent exchange with your potential customers and other customers might actually be in order, and might justify a little of your time (and I don't mean you personally, but rather somebody in charge, be that Adriano or anybody else). Please don't get me wrong, this is not meant to criticize you or any other of the forum-team, but rather iambic themselves.


Example?

I think a big part of your customerbase will be using your software professionally, therefore business compatibility and syncing in general being one of the major issues.
Which was exactly what a question, quoting one of Adriano's posting, was aiming at, in the following thread on page 4:
http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26825&page=4
...Communication so far could probably have been a little better but that has been discussed to death already, also I'm glad iambic is still trying to get Agendus on the road, despite the few rocks in their way.
What I was wondering, already back while still using a Palm, even more today is, don't you guys get fed up by the limitations other people enforce on you?
The Palm desktop underneath, Outlook underneath, now Apple and it's ridiculous SDK restrictions, and last but not least the limits of Apple's own PIM solution so far (iCal, Address, Book, still no Tasks or Memos on the horizon).
I mean I understand that it's probably easier to rely on underlying technology and especially on sync functionality. But don't you think that as it matured to an unparalelled product, Agendus would deserve it's own independent Desktop app and sync? It works quite well for cultered code and their "Things" for iPhone (USD10) and Mac (USD50), and this is just a todo manager.
Maybe Agendus could sync over WiFi, like some other apps (not PIMs) do. Or piggyback on the Exchange protocoll, maybe one of the Open Source Exchange protocolls like openXchange (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-Xchange).
This was on the 1st of March.
On the 23rd of March Adriano (no answer until then), posted an update.
I answered the following, quoting my initial question:
Thanks for keeping us up to date, Adriano!
I also appreciate you guys and gals(?) focusing on the final touches of Agendus in these last weeks.
But I would still very much like an answer to a question I posted on the previous page:
Then you, Alli, where kind enough to attempt an answer, although I felt, we weren't really talking about the same thing here.
March 27th:
I believe, that freeing your product from the limiting factors (Outlook, Palm Desktop, iCal/Address book etc.etc.) would greatly enhance the enduser experience, as you won't have to take into consideration what limitations others impose on you (no true platform independence for example, sync issues being another one).
Agendus could finally be what it deserved to be long ago:
I know this might be a radically different approach, but this way only iambic's imagination and the sky would be the limit here

That merely being my personal conclusion, after checking back with iambic's different Agendus variants over the years.
No more "we can't do this and that, because Outlook doesn't allow for this"
No more "sync problems are caused by (take your pick) Windows, Mac, Outlook, Palm Desktop, etc.etc"
No more "we have to work around Palm Desktops tight limits with implementing e.g. Icons via a code in the comments/notes field".
No more (I'm sure working forum support you could imagine many many more).
I'm quite suprised that you guys (namely the developers behind Agendus) aren't even more fed up by this then we are.

A clean cut, a truly independent standalone multiplatform desktop app, with it's own independent sync, maybe even to web services, would be immensely high on my wish list. But I suppose it's needless to say that if Agendus for iPhone is merely half of what the Palm one did, I will be on board, no question about it. Although it would have to cut even a few more corners (Apple, iTunes Store, still only being a front-end to existing apps) than before to achieve the same.

I repeat, why aren't you guys fed up with this situation?
and March 28th:
...But still this is just a workaround for the question lying at my posting's core, a question, that I feel is essentially aimed a little more towards Adriano.
That's it so far. Today we have the 1st of May, and I haven't heard from anybody in charge at iambic since. 2 Months!!!
Is this the kind of customer support we can expect when things get a little stressy with some potential other iambic-product?

Yes, a few screenshots would be nice, but I could even live with
"No, an independent desktop app, is not going to come in the foreseeable future, but nice idea". At least this would show the will to some kind of interaction.
As of today we have 4 threads in the iambic for iPhone forum, no structure, everybody posts in whatever thread he/she wishes (is there no moderation here in these forums?), and the iambic members pop in at random times to throw a bone to the most desperate here and there.
This is not enough. Don't you get it? People don't talk about PI because it is their dream app (those people that actually think that, won't bother posting here, but rather get other things done), they talk about it because it appears that PIs developers care about their customers. Don't know if they really do, but they do a great job at appearing to be.

One last thought, history is full of examples where a superior product didn't succeed, because its marketing was to weak or otherwise unsuccessfull.

PLEASE, don't let Agendus for iPhone become one of those products.
Talking to people on your own forum shouldn't be too high a price to pay for a little free marketing. Right?

All the best

[Allibama]

Gotcha. I grok. Really.

A few weeks ago on msmobiles podcast, I asked Eric from HTC about some devices and were they coming to the US and he said "HTC doesn't discuss future products." So it's not unusual.

The forums have been traditionally for actual product announcements (rather than notification to watch for an upcoming announcement), but mostly for product support, so that we can help users with some of the little things that cause newbies grief, and some of the weird issues that often plague experienced users.

I only wish we had more insight - and that we could share.

Anyhow - we're all in this together!!

[Silfveroxel]

This response is excellent! I work for one of the three biggest IT & SW companies WW and we would be fired immediately for telling our customer this! But this Allibama will get a diploma and a promotion from Iambic because he told the customer to "Get lost you fucking idiots" in a slightly nicer word.

"We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?" Unbelievable and not much Sales & Marketing in that brain!

When ever someone find a good alternative will this forum be the best to get 6000 Agendus user to try another solution where the supplier understand and treats the users as customers.

I realize how much you all want it. I do too. But no amount of whining, pleading, cajoling, or complaining will change that. The development team at Iambic does not normally say when products will be released. This is a perfect example of why. They had to roll back from the original guesstimate of April 15 to May first, and now you are all screaming that it is a broken promise. It was a projected release date, not a promise.

I've looked at what's available, and there is nothing else out there comparable even to the Agendus for WM version. So rest assure that I feel your pain. But...nobody promised anything. You knew when you bought the iPhone that its PIM manager wasn't the greatest, and you knew that at the time there was no Agendus (or any other program) for the iPhone.

So...I can either not respond to you at all, which you will take as being ignored, or continue to tell you to be patient. Your choice. We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?

[lolongan]

This is not enough. Don't you get it? People don't talk about PI because it is their dream app (those people that actually think that, won't bother posting here, but rather get other things done), they talk about it because it appears that PIs developers care about their customers. Don't know if they really do, but they do a great job at appearing to be.

They are not only appearing to be, they are really doing a great job. I know because I have experienced it by myself.
They even set-up a special section in the forum where users can post their suggestions to enhance PI, and vote on suggestions of other users, and suggestions which get the most votes are actually implemented by them in priority.
Nothing to compare with the mere laconic comments of the like ("We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?", "So it's not unusual") that we find here.

[witlin]

Gotcha. I grok. Really.

A few weeks ago on msmobiles podcast, I asked Eric from HTC about some devices and were they coming to the US and he said "HTC doesn't discuss future products." So it's not unusual.

The forums have been traditionally for actual product announcements (rather than notification to watch for an upcoming announcement), but mostly for product support, so that we can help users with some of the little things that cause newbies grief, and some of the weird issues that often plague experienced users.

I only wish we had more insight - and that we could share.

Anyhow - we're all in this together!!

I get that, and thank you for what you (personally) try to do here on the forums. But could you then perhaps forward my last posting and this one to somebody in charge, just to see if anybody cares indeed? Or maybe point them to this thread here?
I would still appreciate some kind of response from higher up, to see if iambic is still the kind of company we would like to do business with?

Cheers


P.S. @Silveroxel:
...Unbelievable and not much Sales & Marketing in that brain!

When ever someone find a good alternative will this forum be the best to get 6000 Agendus user to try another solution where the supplier understand and treats the users as customers.

The reason for your the first point you make, is that as far as I know Alli is not employed by iambic, but rather helps out on the forums in her free time, which we should honor.
But your second point, is a fear I actually shared when I said that a (potentially) better product might not succeed simply because of it's crappy marketing/customer service.

P.P.S. @whoever-is-in-charge-at-iambic:

We would very much like:
a) a screenshot
b) some kind of basic info on what key features to expect
c) to know what kind of effort/manpower iambic puts into this product
d) what priority Agendus for iPhone enjoys at the moment
e) and yes, a realistic release date (+- a month)

I don't think this is asking too much, and would probably satisfy the majority of users, that are frustrated with the situation at the moment.

Also it would probably make sense to put that info also on your iPhone page, as this will be where potential customers will be looking for that info:
http://www.iambic.com/products/?iphone

[witlin]

They are not only appearing to be, they are really doing a great job. I know because I have experienced it by myself.
They even set-up a special section in the forum where users can post their suggestions to enhance PI, and vote on suggestions of other users, and suggestions which get the most votes are actually implemented by them in priority.
Nothing to compare with the mere laconic comments of the like ("We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?", "So it's not unusual") that we find here.
lolongan,
I tried to state things carefully, as I personally have no experience with PI and or their developers, so I just wrote what I know for a fact, that it appears to me they do a great job, at interaction with their users. Nothing more, nothing less.
Cheers

[lolongan]

A few weeks ago on msmobiles podcast, I asked Eric from HTC about some devices and were they coming to the US and he said "HTC doesn't discuss future products." So it's not unusual.
...
I only wish we had more insight - and that we could share.


HTC does communicate a lot about their future products, as all other companies do. I think it's rather your interlocutor who does not have the information or the right to communicate.
But I understand that you can't say much about Agendus because it is Iambic's weird (and completely stupid, you should agree with me) policy not to communicate to their customers or potential customers.

[Allibama]

News and updates here (http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?p=148807#post148807). Looks like 3 times the functionality of PI.

[HerveB]

News and updates here (http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?p=148807#post148807). Looks like 3 times the functionality of PI.
I would very much like to know how you compute this from the few information contained in the post that you refer to... I you have additional information, may be that Iambic should share it with everybody.
I have an iPhone for a few month now, recently with PI inside. I am missing integration between calendar and contacts as I used it with Agendus on my Clie, but I am very happy with other functions. More Iambic will postponed the release of Agendus, more I will have time to find my way of working with PI. If I don't have a better understanding of what Agendus for iPhone will be, through screencopies for instance (I strongly support the request that has been done), I will certainly build my "definitive way of working" with PI and I will not come back to Agendus!

[Allibama]

I compute that by the simple inclusion of contacts...which PI doesn't have. That and the crash "feature" that PI has whenever you sync.

[HerveB]

I compute that by the simple inclusion of contacts...which PI doesn't have. Up to you to consider that this feature is 3 time more important that all the other ones...
Personnaly, I started to professionaly use PI without it, and my business is still going well.

That and the crash "feature" that PI has whenever you sync.Should I understand that there will be no crash with Agendus?...
Wait and see.

[lolongan]

News and updates here (http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?p=148807#post148807).
Ah! at last ! I'm glad to see that Iambic starts finally to communicate...

Looks like 3 times the functionality of PI.
I compute that by the simple inclusion of contacts...which PI doesn't have. That and the crash "feature" that PI has whenever you sync.
I believe this is a joke.

First, your assertion simply denotes that you don't know anything about PI. I currently use PI for my personal and professional needs, without any "crash" issue.
Second, to say that Agendus v1.0 will be 3 times the functionality of PI v1.0, because of some "contacts integration", while on the other side,
1. Agendus v1.0 will sync to nothing (sure that it will have less opportunity to crash if it won't sync at all, but then I wonder how we can backup our tasks data) and,
2. even worse, it won't have "calendar" feature !!!

Sure that when Agendus will have "calendar" and "sync" features integrated, PI will have plenty of time to also integrate "contacts" feature. To me, for the time being, it looks more like PI V1 is 3 times the functionality of Agendus V1. Or at least the 2 products can't be no more compared at all, since they do not address the same needs (as we wrongly thought they would).

[Allibama]

I am using PI. It crashes regularly on sync to my Google calendar. It's a known issue, written up on their site. I don't make assertions without proof. Evidently you've been lucky not to have had a crash.

And yes, it does look the two products will be totally different, and we might just find a place for them both..

[HerveB]

... we might just find a place for them both.
Both...on the same market, or on the same iPhone?

On the same market, no doubt: both can find their place.
On the same iPhone: speaking about mine, I don't think so. The major benefit of Agendus was integration of calendar+todos+contacts: it is missing. I already have Pocket Informant and ABContacts. I will continue to use them. And when Agendus will come as I expected it to be, it will probably be too late.

[lolongan]

I am using PI. It crashes regularly on sync to my Google calendar. It's a known issue, written up on their site. I don't make assertions without proof. Evidently you've been lucky not to have had a crash.

Oh, I'm sorry to know that. Why don't you contact their support ? They answer quite fast and do anything possible to help. Because unluckily you will have to use PI for sometime, now that we all know that Agendus will only get "calendar" feature "one day in the ongoing update (when ? no one knows)".

[Allibama]

Support at PI said - remove and reinstall, and wait for the update. Fortunately I'm patient. (Unlike some other people around here.)

[HerveB]

Fortunately I'm patient. (Unlike some other people around here.)
It is not a matter of being patient or not. I think that people working with Iambic Agendus for years have shown that they are patient...
It is a matter of, let say, "frustration": we have been waiting Agendus on iPhone, which means agenda+contacts+todos. Now we understand that Iambic currently "has ideas" on how to provide agenda to their not-yet-available contact+todo product. Ideas are not enough. Do you think that people who are using Agendus as a professional tool will be able to wait for an other not-determined time? with no idea of what they will/would/could have at the end?
As I wrote, I started to investigate other products on the iPhone, with still the hope that Agendus would come soon. In fact, I am using PI in order to have the essential information on the way, but I am still using Agendus for Windows on my netbook for access to the complete set of my data. I think that starting today, I will complete my complete switch to other tools. I will take this opportunity to select data to go into these new tools, and Agendus (for windows) will become the application to access to my several-years archive of data. Nothing more.

No, it's not a matter of not being patient. It's not a matter of frustration. It is just a matter of having tools to do my work correctly... now!

[lolongan]

Support at PI said - remove and reinstall, and wait for the update. Fortunately I'm patient. (Unlike some other people around here.)
Ah ! May be people from PI they are smart enough to know that you are from the competition, so no need to hurry up ? :haha:
Anyway, why do you complaint ? Patience is exactly what you told us to have ! Remember what you wrote ?
So...I can either not respond to you at all, which you will take as being ignored, or continue to tell you to be patient. Your choice. We'll get what we get when we get it. Got it?

[Ronald NL]

Support at PI said - remove and reinstall, and wait for the update. Fortunately I'm patient. (Unlike some other people around here.)

At least they tell you when to expect the update, unlike some others here...



I've looked at what's available, and there is nothing else out there comparable even to the Agendus for WM version.

Have you noticed we are talking IPhone here?? What has WM to do with that?
Compare apples with apples !


News and updates here (http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?p=148807#post148807). Looks like 3 times the functionality of PI.

Sure,

First of all, there is no Agendus for Iphone, and even the management of IAMBIC seems to have no clue if and when it is coming because only their developpers know

An app without Calendar function ends up as a simple todo app, lot's of them available in the AppStore

An app without a back-up possibility is a joke.

PS:

Lowering the competition does not upgrade your own product. Especially when you have nothing in your hands.

[sftirol]

This latest exchange is yet another example why a basic product page--even if it said nothing more than "under development, release date yet to be decided" would have been prefereable to encouraging forum mining to glean info. While there's been some truth to some of Alli's posts about Apple, Iambic, and even some of us posters, it gets lost in the editorializing. I'd expect a commercial firm to be more protective of its image.

Since Adriano has revealed a much different iphone Agendus than anticipated, I hope he/Iambic takes another opportunity to start afresh by creating an actual product page containing the update info with a form for folks to send suggestions or questions. I think we'd all prefer interaction with the devs, but there generally doesn't seem to be time or desire on Iambic's part to do so. I can accept that--just let me know upfront.

[HerveB]

...I'd expect a commercial firm to be more protective of its image...
Agree.

Since Adriano has revealed a much different iphone Agendus than anticipated, I hope he/Iambic takes another opportunity to start afresh by creating an actual product page containing the update info with a form for folks to send suggestions or questions.
Change in the name as well is needed, because "Agendus for iPhone" is no longer an agenda...

I think we'd all prefer interaction with the devs
Not always.
When talking about product features, I prefer product management.
When talking about bugs, I prefer devs, or someone close to them.

[AgsMom]

Just purchased Agendus. Feels great to have it once again. I will be patient and wait for more to come but for now will enjoy the features it offers. Thank you Iambic!

[adriano]

Hi,

just letting everyone subscribed to this thread that Agendus for iPhone is now available. For details please visit:

http://www.iambic.com/agendus/iphone/

Questions, suggestions, feature requests, etc. are more than welcome -- but we'd appreciate if you could create a new thread in this forum with specific to your topic, that way it become easier for everyone to follow each of the conversations.

Thanks!

- Adriano