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Moleskine Actions (Free) by Moleskine is the complement app to Moleskine Timepage, a pretty decent digital planner app that we're fans of here at AppAdvice. If you're looking for a to-do app that's similar to something like Things 3, but like the aesthetic of Moleskine apps, then Actions could be for you. But it's not without some flaws of its own.

I used to consider myself a productivity nut, always trying out the latest to-do list app on the App Store, or finding other methods to become more productive. But that's kind of stopped, at least in the to-do list department. I've settled with Things 3 since it came out, because I love the simple design and feature set. And while my go-to calendar app is still Fantastical, Timepage was a close second for me since I'm a big Moleskine fan — I used to write in their paper journals. So naturally, when I saw Moleskine Actions on the App Store this week, I was intrigued and had to give it a shot. Sadly, I'm disappointed.

Free

Timepage

Moleskine S.r.l.

$9.99

Things 3

Cultured Code GmbH & Co. KG

$4.99

Fantastical 2 for iPhone

Flexibits Inc.

As a fan of Timepage, I like Actions' aesthetic, because it falls under the same design. It's a simple, clean design that focuses on a clutter-free lifestyle. You simply have your Schedule and Logbook of completed actions. Your lists are all organized how you want them, and they can be color-coded for easy reference. The Action Cards are solid colored rectangles with rounded corners that look great, and Actions showcases a basic sans serif typeface that wraps up the modern look. There's the default Light theme, as well as Dark, and you can have it switch automatically depending on time. There are smooth animations as you transition from one view to another, and even creating action cards and moving them around is fluid. Again, Moleskine knows how to make a product look classy and contemporary.

If you use Timepage, then you'll be glad to know that Actions integrates pretty seamlessly with Timepage. You can quickly throw an Action from Actions into Timepage, and vice versa. Both Timepage and Actions also use Moleskine's subscription-based model though, which starts at $1.99 a month or $11.99 yearly ($1 a month). When you sign up for an account, it automatically starts a 7-day trial. If you choose to not continue, both Timepage and Actions will be read-only mode. This is rather unfortunate, but at least the trial gives you a taste of what everything's like so you can make your decision.

When you first launch Actions, there's a brief tutorial that shows you the basics. It's pretty heavily gesture-based, though you get used to things after a few moments because it's fairly intuitive.

After the tutorial, you'll see your Schedule. This pulls data from your iOS calendar to display current and upcoming appointments and events on your timeline in a list style. If you tap on the checkmark at the bottom, or swipe from the screen edge, you'll see the Logbook, which shows completed tasks.

But how do you add tasks? First, you'll want to create some Lists, which you can access by tapping on the card icon in the bottom right corner. Then click the plus button to make a new list, which requires a name and then you get a lively transition to color bubbles, where you pick the list color (can be changed at any time). Once you make your choices, the list is saved and you can start adding actions directly to it.

You can add actions directly in a list or from the Schedule view. If you choose the latter, you'll need to pick the list to add it to when you create it. All Action cards can also have notes added to them, if needed.

Actions understands natural language input, though it's not as advanced as Fantastical's engine. This means you're able to type in something like "Post status report every second Friday" and Actions automatically takes care of the scheduling, reminders, and notifications. Or you can do something simple, like "Deposit paycheck every other week" or "Buy chicken by Friday" and Actions handles it.

However, I'm annoyed at the fact that Actions' natural language input does not understand everything, unlike Fantastical and other apps. It doesn't understand when I put things like "on 2/28" or "at the end of every month," and then just defaults to today for these actions. For something that claims to understand natural language, I'm seeing more fails than successes.

Another thing I've noticed is a weird text glitch. If I type something and make a typo, I want to just tap on the delete key and go back to fix my error. A few times I've done this, the last letter of the word I'm editing remains at the end, even though I'm fairly certain I placed the cursor after it. It's a small glitch, but it's driving me bonkers.

To complete an action, just swipe right-to-left. A swipe in the opposite direction lets you schedule it. If an item is in the logbook, you can swipe right-to-left to mark it as incomplete, or left-to-right to delete it for good.

Action cards can also be moved around the schedule just through drag-and-drop. There's also nice haptic feedback as you shuffle things around, which I like.

For those who like to use Siri for voice activated commands, Actions has support for that. However, I tried it out and it doesn't seem to work too well. One of the things you can say is "Create a list called whatever in Actions." When I tried this, first Siri created it in Reminders because I didn't accentuate the 's' in Actions hard enough. Then it made the list but kept the "in" at the end of the list name. I've never gotten along with Siri for voice commands, as it never seems to understand the words I'm saying, so I don't see the Siri integration in Actions very useful for me anyway.

Moleskine Actions is a new to-do app that complements Timepage.

The Good

Actions has a gorgeous design that is classy and modern. Like Timepage, it looks great, and the selection of colors means you can customize it to your liking and make it pop. The navigation is pretty decent and intuitive enough for most people. You can create as many lists as needed, and the integration with Timepage is nice. And while it's not perfect, the natural language input is useful for certain things.

The Bad

Unfortunately, there's more I dislike about Actions than like. First, I'm not a big fan of the subscription model for both Moleskine apps. Honestly, I'm tired of everything turning into another monthly or annual subscription payment, because there are plenty of other options that are viable without having to pay to use it every month (like Things 3 and Fantastical for me).

I found the navigation system to be a bit clunky at times. I think being able to swipe anywhere, not just from the edges of the screen, to navigate between Logbook and Schedule should be an option. I mean, as long as you're not swiping an Action card, there shouldn't be an issue.

The natural language input needs a lot of work to be up to par with other apps like Fantastical. It should recognize things like "on 3/30" or "at the end of every month," as I feel this is naturally how people speak. It doesn't translate into Actions, and I found it surprising.

Other small things, like the text glitch and Siri commands, also need work. With all of the current problems the app has, I can't justify paying a subscription fee to use it every month. At least I was able to use the trial to discover that it isn't for me.

The verdict

As a fan of Timepage before, I was hoping to like Actions. But a lot has changed since I last used Timepage, apparently, and I can safely say that I'm not a fan. While Actions looks great and has good integration with Timepage, I agree with others in the fact that this should have been added into Timepage itself, and not be a standalone app. After all, Fantastical is able to handle both scheduling and reminders, why not Timepage?

For now, I will stick with my current system. But hey, if you want to give Actions and Timepage a shot, at least the 7-day trial lets you get a taste before committing.

Moleskine Actions is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There is an in-app purchase for a Moleskine account that starts at $1.99 a month.

7.1

OVERALL

User Interface 8

iPhone Integration 7

Is engaging 7.5

Lasting appeal 6.5

Does it well 6.5

FREE

Actions by Moleskine Studio

Moleskine Srl

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

Alto's Odyssey ($4.99) by Team Alto is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2015 hit, Alto's Adventure. If you loved the first game and can't get enough, then Alto's Odyssey is a must. It's also great even if you never touched the first one, as it's a standalone infinite runner experience.

Since the App Store debuted back in 2008, I've grown a love-hate relationship with the endless running genre. I had fallen in love with Canabalt when it first came out, and it remained one of my go-to games when I was bored. Then I saw other runners come out over the years, like Temple Run, Robot Unicorn Attack, and Ski Safari, as well as clones of those as well. At some point, it seemed like every developer was releasing an infinite runner of their own, following tried-and-true formulas like Temple Run's over-the-shoulder or the classic side scrolling view. It all started to feel the same to me, and it got tiresome.

Then Alto's Adventure came along.

When I first saw Alto's Adventure, I was pulled in immediately by the minimalistic, yet gorgeous aesthetic of the visuals, especially the dynamic weather and lighting system. I was still a bit skeptical at first, but once I tried it out, I fell in love with it immediately. It was an elegant infinite runner, combining a trick system that you'd usually find in snowboarding or skateboarding games. It was different at the time.

Alto's Odyssey was first teased in December 2016, and was aiming for 2017 release, but it was delayed. Now it's here, and I must say that it's been well worth the wait.

$4.99

Alto's Adventure

Snowman

$0.99

Ski Safari

Defiant Development Pty.Ltd

$0.99

Ski Safari 2

SLEEPY Z STUDIOS PTY LTD

Visually, Alto's Odyssey retains the same simple and clean look that the first game has, except it now takes place in a desert dune with various biomes and temple ruins rather than a snowy mountainside. With this in mind, Odyssey features a much more lush and detailed world than its predecessor, and it introduces new obstacles that can either help you or hinder you, depending on the situation. The dynamic weather and lighting cycles mean that the backdrop is constantly changing and shifting, and it's still just a sight to behold. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, and I had no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus.

The soundtrack is pretty marvelous as well. While the first game's soundtrack was a bit more whimsical, Odyssey's music feels more ambient, atmospheric, and serene. It reflects the overall tone of a desert oasis, and it's rather immersive. The sound effects are realistic, and it all adds another layer of depth to the game, especially with the weather sounds. Overall, Team Alto has once again knocked it out of the park in terms of visual and audio design.

While the Alto games were never story driven, there's a lot of secrets to discover in Odyssey. It's an infinite sandboarding adventure, and this time, there's a variety of biomes to discover as you explore the endless desert oasis. The biomes range from regular old dunes to canyons and temples. On top of that, players will find hot air balloons that they can bounce off of, and even tornadoes that give them some hang time for more tricks.

The controls remain the same as before. Alto and his friends move forward automatically, but you tap to jump and do a long press while in the air for backflips. Doing backflips over chasms grants a slight boost in momentum, and that can help you get across the gap. You can jump into tornados to get lifted into the air, or jump on top of the hot air balloons to bounce off.

A new mechanic is the wallriding. When you have the Sandboard, you're able to ride along certain walls. When these come up, just tap-and-hold to ride the wall and go up higher. You can use these to propel yourself and jump off to do tricks. Some chasms also require wallriding to get across, but you can't wallride while flipping, so make sure to keep that in mind.

There are coins to collect, which you can spend in the Workshop to get upgrades for power-up items, like the Coin Magnet and Lotus Flower (protects you from crashes). There are also one-time use items that you can purchase, such as the Helmet (saves you from one crash) and Chasm Rescue pickaxes. The Wingsuit makes a return, of course, allowing you to fly once it's charged up from doing tricks. There are also some new items: Mysterious Radio, once bought, will appear randomly and drop something useful when there's someone on the other end. There's also the Sandboard and Compass, but you'll have to find these in the game first before you can purchase them.

The goals have made a comeback as well, with a total of 180 to strive for. They come in sets of three, and you'll have to complete all three before you level up and gain access to the next set of objectives. Once you've done all three, you earn the stars and level up. When you level up, you'll gain access to Alto's friends, who you can then play as. Each one has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, which you'll have to discover as you unlock them.

One character is better at backflips than others, while another has longer invincibility frames, another is faster, and someone else is better at jumping. Each character is good for achieving something that isn't possible with another.

If you don't feel like stressing out over goals, then just hop into the Zen Mode. Here, you don't have goals, points, coins, or power-ups to worry about. It's just you and the desert, and if you crash, you just pick your board up and keep going. Alto's Odyssey also has the Photo Mode, accessible from the Pause menu, where you can capture stunning moments from your desert adventure to share with others.

Alto and his friends have moved from snowboarding mountains to sandboarding dunes.

The Good

Alto's Odyssey may have taken about three years to make, but honestly, it's been well worth the wait. The game is absolutely gorgeous with the desert landscape and dynamic weather and lighting effects. The new biomes give the game even more variety as far as what you see, and they're quite stunning to look at. And the new mechanics, like the tornados and hot air balloons, made a great game even better, as it just improved upon the original template.

The goals system keeps the game interesting, and if the last one proved anything, it's the fact that you'll always come back and try to complete them all for the other characters. The game has high replay value, and it's just a joy to play.

The Bad

The only negative is that some of the goals are super hard to complete, and you may be stuck at one level for a long time. But that just means that the game is challenging, and you'll have a reason to keep playing.

The verdict

Alto's Odyssey is an improvement on an already great, classic iOS game. I never thought that you could improve on perfection, but Team Alto has done it. The graphics in Odyssey look even better than the first, and those were already great. The music is soothing and immersive, the new mechanics just add another layer of depth to everything, and there's high replay value. I mean, honestly, what more do you want? Plus, it's a premium game with zero in-app purchases, which is a rarity these days.

This game took three years to land in our hands, but Team Alto proved it was worth the wait. The desert has never looked so good before.

Alto's Odyssey is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for $4.99.

9.7

OVERALL

Game Controls 10

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 10

Replayability 9.5

Gameplay 9

$4.99

Alto's Odyssey

Snowman

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews