App Profile: Denki

Gprof

Rating: 5/5

I use other high-powered apps costing $$ to schedule tasks, manage notes, create mind maps, etc. Technically they do what I need. But I regularly get a hankering for something more visually intuitive and uplifting than a list to work from when tackling the task pile. This is (almost) perfect for that. Create text bubbles with a tap, change the size or color with a tap, move them at will (no constraints), delete with a long hold. That’s it. Very few apps get so completely out of the user’s way. So I can throw the week’s main tasks from my main planning app into here, color code them, arrange and rearrange them, work Kanban style by making the task now underway larger, make them disappear as they are completed. Very visually satisfying and I can still formally track deadlines, dependencies, projects, etc elsewhere - it’s the very simplicity that is appealing here for just focusing on the work and seeing it at a glance, not its organization into a system. Basic informal brainstorming would work well too, as long as you don’t need to export the result. The main thing I’d want added is capacity to save multiple sheets (maybe that’s what the leaf icon is for in the future?) and an optional confirmation dialogue for clearing the whole page (too easy to do by accident).

Remnant1018

Rating: 4/5

If this is the first iteration of this app, I think it’s a good start. The functions are simple and the design is calming and beautiful. I wish there was a way to save your work, exit the screen, and see all your files in one place. I also wish there was a way to zoom out so I can get more bubbles on-screen. A help page would also be nice. It took forever for me to figure out that holding your finger on a bubble makes it disappear and the leaf symbol in the corner does nothing. Not sure why there’s a spot to put a file name either. There’s no way to create additional files that you might mix the current one up with. This app would be much improved if it had a “save” feature and a “share” feature. I like this app but - because it is missing things I need - I will have to try a different app. For my first experience doing “mind mapping” (or brainstorming) on an iPhone app, this wasn’t bad🤷🏽‍♀️🙂.