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For a long time, Astrid was considered a go-to task management app for Android users. But with its recent acquisition by Yahoo and the news that it will officially be going away on August 5, fans of the app are likely looking for alternatives. With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of four of my favorite to-do managers for Android. In some ways they may even outdo the popular Astrid, but feel free to tell us in the comments how you think they stack up.
Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET
Wunderlist (free)
The beauty of Wunderlist lies in its simplicity. It easily syncs across all major computing platforms, and its interface is made up mostly of Tasks and Lists, which can even be shared with other users. If you’re a paying Pro subscriber, you’ll love the premium features, including the ability to assign tasks to others. Finally, thanks to a friendly collaboration, Astrid users can easily import data to Wunderlist in just a few easy steps.
Once you’ve created and named a new list, you can start adding tasks. You can prioritize tasks with a star, create due dates, and add reminders via e-mail or Android notification as necessary. When you open up the details of a task, you can also add notes and even subtasks. The recently added subtasks feature is a welcome addition that is great for anyone who uses Wunderlist to manage more complex to-dos. While this still doesn’t turn Wunderlist into a powerful project management app, it certainly improves it significantly. Read the full review of Wunderlist.
Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET
Google Keep (free)
If you are looking for an app that is essentially a digital pad of colored sticky notes for grocery lists and quick reminders, then Google Keep is perfect. Otherwise, look elsewhere or wait until this newborn gets upgraded with more powers.
It may not have any bells or whistles to speak of, but the obvious best thing about Google Keep is its integration with Google Drive. This ensures that all of your mobile notes get synced through the cloud automatically, and can be accessed from any device — desktop or mobile — so long as you have an active Internet connection. This sort of integration is convenient, expected, and reliable. And you can be sure that Google is not stopping here. In fact, I’m guessing the company is right now hard at work, trying to integrate Keep with its other services as well. Read the full review of Google Keep.
Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET
Tasks (free)
While many task management apps boast impressive feature sets, the Tasks app keeps it simple. Just as its name suggests, this minimalist download is all about the to-dos. Its big selling point, though, is that it syncs with Google Tasks seamlessly. It also lets you add due dates and sync with multiple Google accounts, and comes with a home screen widget and different themes. If you like to use Google Calendar’s integrated task list, then this is definitely one of the best ways to take that experience mobile.
The ad-supported version of Tasks is free to download, but there is also a paid version available for 99 cents.
Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET
Any.Do (free)
Like Wunderlist, Any.Do has worked with Astrid to create an almost seamless switch. In just a few steps, you can quickly copy all of your tasks over from Astrid to Any.Do, with the exception of descriptions, because of a different implementation of the feature.
Any.Do is a beautiful, minimalist task management app that splits your to-dos into four distinct categories: Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming, and Someday. While some people might feel constrained by these buckets, others feel that they are a brilliant way of breaking down what could otherwise be unwieldy lists.
One of the best things about Any.Do is its contextual suggestions. While you’re typing out a task, the app offers autocomplete terms to speed up the process. What’s more, if your task is to call someone, the app suggests contacts to include and even adds a call shortcut to your item. Same goes for e-mail tasks. This kind of contextual help makes it easier not only to input tasks, but also to complete them.
Another nice touch is the support for Google Tasks. If that feature is enabled, Any.Do syncs, so crossing off an item on your mobile app will show up on your Google Calendar, and vice versa. Read the Download.com review of Any.Do.
