In the 1980s, the biggest player in the planner game was Franklin Planner. They utilized the concept of the “Big 3”, claiming that effective combination of one’s calendar, to-do list, and notes is needed to make a planner useful. In the 1990s, the Palm pilot again harnessed the magic of the “Big 3” with great success. Many productivity apps today (like Evernote, Fantastical, and Wunderlist) utilize one or two of the “Big 3”, but Parker Planner is the first to bring your calendar, to-dos, and notes all together in the Day View. This offers a huge benefit for those who are tired of switching back and forth between productivity apps to organize their day.
Parker Planners started as a physical goods company, selling paper planners to bookstores in 2006. By 2012, the obvious way forward for Ethan Parker, founder of Parker Planners, was to convert the paper planner into an iPhone app. While the first version of the Parker Planner app was released as more of a proof of concept, the new version, released in early April 2017, is quickly becoming a household name in productivity software.[sc name=”quote” text=”Parker Planner brings your calendar, to-dos, and notes all together in the Day View.”]
The newest version of the Parker Planner app added a healthy lists of benefits for their consumers while still maintaining a simple and user-friendly interface. These benefits include full syncing with the Reminders app, syncing with the Notes app, tags for notes that help consumers to keep ideas organized, a landscape week view for your calendar, 12 color themes, and reminders with due dates that show in the day/week/ month/list views. The app syncs directly to any calendar you have installed on your iPhone allowing you the flexibility to customize your software.
On April 24, 2017, Parker Planners plans to release the iPad version that will fully sync to the iPhone app. Consumers will pay nothing extra for this addition. The $1.99 monthly or $19.99 yearly subscription will stay the same. One drawback to Parker Planner is that no Mac version is currently available, so if you are looking for a solution for your entire lineup of Apple products, you will have to wait. The good news is that a Mac version is in the works to be released later this year and will complete the line on Apple hardware.
Current device requirements and pricing are as follows: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with iOS 10.0 or later. Parker Planner is $1.99/month or $19.99/year through Apple’s subscription feature. A unique 7 day non-consecutive free trial is available, offering consumers a risk-free way to try the app out for themselves.
