Tired Of The Same Old Calendar Apps? Put A New Spin On Your Events With CircleTime
July 16, 2012
Since the App Store arrived in 2008, there have been hundreds, maybe thousands, of third-party calendar apps released for iOS. Now a new one hopes to make its mark on the iPhone/iPod touch.
CircleTime displays time periods in a format its creators call a "revolutionary new way" to see calendars and events. In doing so, users can travel forward and backward in time using a dial-like interface.
And, since the app is synced with iCloud, any changes made to calendars elsewhere (on other devices or through other apps, for example) are also reflected here.
The $0.99 app uses a circle with different labels to display years, months, and days. Each period is shown with a corresponding arc that marks your exact time position. It also displays time differences between today and any selected day, as well as the difference between two randomly selected days.
To do this, CircleTime uses two distinct and creative interfaces: calendar and event.
The first places your entire calendar onto a circle, where you can access days, months, or years. Here you can access the selected time relative to the year, plus see events by date.
In Events view, meanwhile, happenings are presented on a circular 24-hour calendar. It is here you’ll see a graphical presentation of each event on a selected day.
For example, I have dinner plans with friends later tonight. This event is shown using a light blue box that indicates the event will happen between 18:00 and 21:00. The color chosen is the same one I use in Apple’s own Calendar app. In this case, a light blue object denotes “home” events, as opposed to the color green, which I use for “work” events.
In general, I found CircleTime to work as expected. This doesn't mean, however, that the app is for everyone.
My initial take on CircleTime is that it could prove to be a difficult sale for many users, who are used to using the more traditional linear approach to timekeeping. Still, if you can get past this change, you may find the app quite useful in helping you better organize your day.
To assist new users, HedgeHog, the folks behind CircleTime, have released a video, which further explains the app's main features.
Take a look:
If you're looking for a unique way to organize your time, you may want to consider the CircleTime app. It is available now in the App Store.
For more calendar app choices for iOS, be sure to check out our Calendar app guide. Plus, look at my report from June where I suggested some changes that should be made to the native Calendar app in iOS.
Which Calendar app do you like the best?
