Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Beesy - App Review

Meetings; love 'em, hate 'em... you just keep having 'em. The basic premise of Beesy is that business life revolves around meetings, and it's hard to argue with that. Beesy, in a nutshell (and it's a large cocoanut sized husk) is the repository for your calendar, tasks (To-dos), notes, and projects.

Now for the ACIDS test:

Aesthetics
You can pick up most Apps and start using them immediately, and then find little 'extras' as you go along. I would urge you not to attempt this approach with Beesy; this is not a criticism of the App, simply that it is so comprehensive that you need to understand the interconnections... before getting yourself confused.
The ‘Dashboard’ is the equivalent of your desktop with your monthly calendar, appointments, notes and tasks. Your tasks are automatically arranged into one of four sections of a matrix, split by a cross (Important, Non-important, Urgent, non-urgent), with your notes at the bottom. This graphical representation is streets ahead of the linear representation found in other Apps.
If you start with a meeting then, think of the agenda as topics. As the meeting progresses, action points will be agreed and you note those (together with very neat icons). Your To-Do list will flow naturally from these notes. As Beesy also has access to your contacts (provided you allow it), it is easy to add people to meetings and actions. The link is one-way only, so you can import a contact but cannot update same, or add a person to your iOS contact list directly from Beesy; this is neither an advantage, nor a disadvantage, just worth knowing.
There really is a lot to Beesy, and the only way to really do it justice is to try it out for yourself; the experience is well worthwhile.

Cost
The App is very reasonably priced, although there are also a couple of in App purchases (ugh!) for document importing and full reminders synchronisation to add.
The real cost of Beesy is the leap of faith that needs to be made to use it fully. The chances are that you will ditch other Apps that you already have, and there is a learning curve.

Indispensability
If you're involved in managing meetings then, you either already have Beesy, or you are wasting a great deal of time and effort.

Dependability
The App was totally reliable.

Security
As far as Beesy is concerned, there are no issues but I would suggest you password protect the App. Beesy syncs with Evernote so, the usual precautions are to be applied when dealing with third parties (Evernote is excellent).

ACIDS Test Rating:
Beesy is a reason for buying an iPad.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.
                                                         
You can get Beesy here and support for the App here.

18 comments:

  1. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 1.61 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    Follow-up on actions from previous Notes
    Notebook page flipping
    Dropbox export
    In-App purchase option for PDF export

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Philip
    Thanks for bringing Beesy to my attention. Currently in Italy but very impressed and looking forward to making 'follow through' oh so much easier.
    John.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A cleverly thought-through innovation that stands head and shoulders above many of the rather average business efficiency softwares one trawls through. Highly recommended.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 1.62 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - fix for new iOS
    *** NEW FEATURES
    - Follow-up on actions from previous Notes
    - Notebook page flipping
    - Dropbox export
    - In-App purchase option for PDF export

    ReplyDelete
  5. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 1.63 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - fixes for new iOS
    *** NEW FEATURES
    - Follow-up on actions from previous Notes
    - Notebook page flipping
    - Dropbox export
    - In-App purchase option for PDF export

    ReplyDelete
  6. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 1.71 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - fixes for new iOS
    *** NEW FEATURES
    - Follow-up on actions from previous Notes
    - Notebook page flipping
    - Dropbox export
    - In-App purchase option for PDF export

    ReplyDelete
  7. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 1.72 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - fixes for new iOS
    *** NEW FEATURES
    - Follow-up on actions from previous Notes
    - Notebook page flipping
    - Dropbox export
    - In-App purchase option for PDF export

    ReplyDelete
  8. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.01 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    *** New Features
    - Added support for Beesy.me online service
    - Online sync and back-up

    ReplyDelete
  9. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.12 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Improved support for Beesy.me online service
    - Online sync and back-up
    - Collaborative service between Beesy users
    - Access your Beesy data in a browser
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off

    ReplyDelete
  10. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.13 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - iOS 7 redesign
    - stability fixes
    - Improved support for Beesy.me online service
    - Online sync and back-up
    - Collaborative service between Beesy users
    - Access your Beesy data in a browser
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off

    ReplyDelete
  11. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.20 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    *** New Features
    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Online sync and back-up
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only

    ReplyDelete
  12. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.21 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Dutch translation
    - Optional Online sync and back-up
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users

    ReplyDelete
  13. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.22 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - Archive Notes and Projects
    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Dutch translation
    - Optional Online sync and back-up
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users

    ReplyDelete
  14. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.23 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - Archive Notes and Projects
    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Dutch translation
    - Optional Online sync and back-up
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users

    ReplyDelete
  15. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.24 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    *** New Features
    - Archive Notes and Projects
    - iOS 7 redesign
    - Dutch translation
    - Optional Online sync and back-up
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users

    ReplyDelete
  16. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.30 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    - iOS 8.0 compatible
    - Archive Notes and Projects
    - Optional Online sync and back-up
    - Toggle Beesy.me service on/off to let the app run on iPad only
    - Web Access to your Beesy data
    - Beesy.me collaborative shared note taking
    - Collaborative Task delegation between Beesy users

    ReplyDelete
  17. The developer advises that there has been an update to version 2.31 of the App.

    This includes the following enhancements and alterations:

    *** New Features
    - iOS 8.0 compatible
    - Document import fix

    ReplyDelete
  18. News from the developer:

    1. Capture and consolidate everything everywhere
    Never forget any important information, whether you are in a cab, a plane, a meeting or commuting. Beesy is the only solution to capture and contextualize tasks, ideas, photos, calls, emails, documents in any situation, even offline…
    For iWatch's addicts, adding actions is as simple as talking to Beesy!

    2. The smartest automated Virtual Assistant to manage their ToDos, Teams and Projects
    Using our smart contextual engine, we turn their work into actions and automate many of their day to day workflows:
    • Sending instant meeting minutes
    • Creating automated ToDo list
    • Managing whole teams
    • Generating 1 click projects reports
    • Analysing past and future activities to better manage their activity

    3. Track and update everywhere
    With our fully mobile solution, Beesy users will experience a whole new level of organization and productivity:
    • Using 3D Force touch, they will :
    o never forget anything again by quickly adding actions in a single press.
    o Browse their complete Beesy notes library
    o Update their daily tasks
    o Track their most important projects
    • They will never miss anything important by setting Beesy reminders to show-up as notifications
    • They will be able to recall anything anywhere, accessing their most important projects from their home screen
    • They will be reminded of their daily ToDo using the iPhone Today’s view or on their iWatch

    ReplyDelete

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