Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Search for the best Family Application

We have recently adopted Android based mobile phones for the family (4 months ago).  Ever since, we have been searching for the best shopping list/to-do list application.  We have some requirements that are essential to making our life more organised and coordinated:
  1. Applications must have a simple interface
  2. In addition to the Application there must be a web interface
  3. One must be able to sync with the web and across multiple phones
I think these are pretty reasonable expectations and pretty common for a family that uses smart phones.

Here are the applications we've tried:

FAMJAMA  (-1)
This site is full of promise, but at the time that we used it, it was flawed and difficult to use.  There were tonnes of interface problems and the built-in calendar feature required a different application.  There was no Famjama application for Android at the time and it relied on the web interface.  This later point was not so much an issue because it ensured that everything was easily synchronised. 


GROCERY GADGET (0)
Another promising application that is available in Android form and with a website.  In the Pro form there are many nice things like multiple lists, a family group across which you can share lists and a master list of things that have been placed on a list so that they are easily added again.  Also nice to have is a built in bar code scanner.  The big problem is the complexity of the interface and the issues with synchronising.  It became very difficult to update the website and all phones, to the point that we no longer use it.

OUT OF MILK (+1)
This is the application that we are using now and from our preliminary tests, seems to be the answer we have been looking for.  There is no family group, but the lists are so easily shared that this is not an issue.  Synchronisation is almost instantaneous and it incorporates google voice recognition as a method for adding to lists.

Out of Milk is the recommendation that I recommend and use.

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