Gadgetory

ever tried searching for a calendar app in the iPhone App Store good luck with that there are hundreds if not thousands of calendar apps vying for your daily attention and the truth is most of them are garbage but if you dig deep enough a few of them are truly great the best ones give you directions tell you more about the people you're meeting with and tie into your favorite services like Facebook and trippin but which app should you pick sunrise is the best calendar app for most people not only does it have one of the largest feature sets of any app I tested but somehow manages to bundle it all into a very handsome minimal and free package sunrise does everything you'd expect from a calendar app reoccurring events birthdays alerts Google Maps integration and more it's the little things that make sunrise truly special though like it's weather indicators photo avatars for event attendees smart icons that change to reflect your events and its integration with popular services like Songkick and TripIt show upcoming concerts and trips you can even add interesting calendars for free like holidays sports schedules or World Cup games sunrises Facebook integration is also best-in-class importing events and birthdays like no other the icing on the cake is that sunrise also makes iPad and desktop apps which Trump Google Calendar in almost every way there are some rough edges like a lack of a true week viewing month view sunrise finds a great balance however between useful features and information overload it not only displays your calendar really well but adds a whole lot to it fantastical too on the other hand doesn't have as many bells and whistles but it's so solid that it's impossible not to recommend it it comes in a very close second place fantastical is easy to read imports all the calendars you've already added to your phone right out of the box and has best-in-class language recognition that means you can type in dinner with David tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Chipotle press add and you're done even better as you type fantastical shows what else is going on in your calendar so you can plan around upcoming events the app also includes a true week view on like sunrise but offers no detailed month view fantastical is way more expensive than its competitors so it might scare off all but the most serious schedulers beyond sunrise and fantastical there's several worthy competitors that might be perfect for a certain kind of person if you desperately need the date on your home screen for example the iOS calendar is your only real option otherwise stay away calendars 5 by Regal is a lot better alternative the app does everything well from its fantastical inspired language recognition to its unique portrait oriented week view its best features are some little touches like arrows that indicate when you have more going on today and elegant support for Apple's to-do app reminder the apps month view is also excellent letting you quickly zoom into a day then back out again super fast calendars 5:00 is great but expensive and doesn't stand out much from the crowd if you're looking for a more integrated approach to productivity however Cal is a great option the app ties directly into any do one of the best to do apps you can find and envisions your calendar as a mixture of events and tasks and tacky stock photography there's no other calendar app that's integrated with a popular to do zap like any do but Cal can be sluggish and buggy enough to make the trip not worth taking if you want a calendar app that's ultra minimal and only includes today's events peak might be worth alone peak is definitely the most beautiful way to see what you're doing today but it can't do much else the apps UI is like nothing I've ever seen that also means it's a real challenge to add events and pick out calendars to show or hide so what good is it up to is like sunrise light offering a similar interface weather and interesting calendars but not much more up to selection of calendars is a standout feature in fact offering not just sports teams but also schedules for shows like Game of Thrones and alternative music releases the apps real strength however is its shared calendar system it's easy to share specific events so they show up on the calendars of your other family members but ultimately up to just doesn't have enough features or even week view which comes standard in most apps want another way to look at your day even if it looks totally bizarre mind offers an odd but effective snapshot of your day the moment you open up the app tells you the weather and what's happening but also which event is next and how soon you should leaves you aren't late the apps but ugly that has some unique features like insights about how you're spending your time and a tool that helps you suggest meeting times to colleagues more attractive take on predictive intelligence comes from tempo the app can dial conference call numbers for you pull attachments from relevant meeting emails and even tell you the latest tweets or mutual friends of an event attendee there's also one tap access to directions flight statuses and conference calls tempo is a bit of an eyesore especially when you happen to week view but is a well rounded calendar app that business people should love too final options are we calendar and agenda one's great for looking at the coming week while the other is good for looking at your agenda over the next few days agenda offers a really nice way to see a list of all your events at once the app has great information density week calendar on the other hand has gained a faithful following for its even denser week view which attempts to squeeze everything you're doing this week into one screen it's pretty ugly but hey some people dig that unfortunately for you downloading calendar app is only the first step towards organizing your life inputting events fulfilling promises and not being late to your next date is entirely up to you but there's certainly some effective apps to help you get there you