Thingslist is your “want to-do list.” Simply put, this app collects the recommendations and ideas you come across in your everyday life into nine categories: Bar, Book, Food, Idea, Movie, Music, Person, Place and Product. Developer Elepath’s outspoken goal is to create “fun, simple iOS apps”—a goal that Thinglist effortlessly fulfills.
Visually, the soft pastels on the white background, combined with a nice use of the Dosis font, make Thinglist feel like more like a casual, hand-written note (without the skeuomorphism, of course). The layout is crisp and bright—a delightful departure from serious productivity apps and to-do lists. After all, Thinglist is for keeping track of what you want to do, not what you need to do.
The app is really simple and straightforward—just tap the “+” icon to add your new thing, then select a category. You write your thing, and a note screen shows up for any additional information you want to include—such as who gave the recommendation or which dishes are best at a particular restaurant. The thing will be added to your general Thinglist with an icon of its category, which you can then tap to filter by a specific category.
Thinglist doesn’t support custom categories, nor does it connect with Yelp or Amazon for quick access to restaurants or product links. In fact, Thinglist doesn’t even give you the ability to add images, videos, or links to each item. Instead, Thinglist focuses on “simplicity and a restrained focus on features,” a design goal that Elepath relentlessly pursues. The app is as basic and easy to use as iOS Notes, giving you a place where you can quickly jot down recommendations so that you can get back to what you were doing. Instead of throwing dozens of features at you, Thinglist aims to make wishlists a basic feature on your phone—a part of your daily life. That way, when you’re ready to take a recommendation or try something new, you know right where to look.
Wish lists should be whimsical; Thinglist knows that. By not including alerts or notifications, Thinglist preserves that whimsy in refusing to be yet another reason for your phone to buzz at you. Yes, it’s just a list of things—but sometimes that’s just what you need.
Platform: iOS
Developer: Elepath
Price: $1.99
Download: iTunes