Reviewed by Luke Patrick

Price: $2.99
Rating:

With so many to-do and note-organization iPhone apps available in the AppStore, it’s difficult for a newcomer to make a name for itself. To do so, an app must have a slick interface, excellent functionality, and—of course—productivity value. Thankfully for Sleeping Giant Apps, their HQ organization tool succeeds in all three areas.

Functionality

My iPhone app review found that what HQ offers is simple: A great way to save projects and goals, track your progress towards their completion, and organize any extra to-dos you may have. This makes the iPhone app ideal for any number of applications, not limited to shopping, tracking the progress of your upstart website, making a packing list or travel itinerary, or even just remembering to pick up the kids after school.

To track the progress of a goal, you’ll first need to create a super-objective heading that can be populated withs smaller steps. Individual goals can be tagged with a date-for-completion, and as you tic them off HQ will keep a tally and report just how far along you’ve gotten via the home screen. Goals can even be set up on a priority basis, meaning you’ll never have to worry again about staying on task.

Design and Interface

HQ for iPhone

Perhaps the biggest boon for HQ is its slick and swipe-based interface. Creating new notes and projects is piss-easy with the included Add New Project button, which rests comfortably at the top of the screen. Fleshing out your projects is even easier using the app’s built-in forms. However, where HQ really shines is its ability quickly edit any existing note in a flash. Simply slide to the left, and you can immediately check-off, delete or edit a goal sans fuss. Because of the app’s simplistic list menus, this is a brilliant feature that makes HQ incredibly fun to use.

There are a few things missing, however: There is currently no way to search for a specific project other than sorting available goals via alphabetical order or by priority. There’s also no way to tie your notes to either social-networking or email, which is not so much a problem for personal use but is a tremendously useful utility for any business-minded individuals. That being said, the app’s blocky-layout, great Web 2.0 color scheme, and tabbed-browsing easily make it one of the most intuitive to-do apps on the market.

Overall Productivity Value

HQ currently rests at $2.99 in the AppStore, which is certainly a shade above the usual one to two dollar sweet spot. However, for your money you’ll get a top-notch and lovingly-crafted app with a slick interface and a lot of potential to organize your life. The easy-to-handle app navigation and goal-tracking functions make HQ a viable productivity tool, even if its not yet sporting full internet integration.