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I started using David Allen’s Getting Things Done system about two years ago. Like many GTD devotees, my adoption has been piecemeal. At it’s simplest, GTD is a clever way to organize life’s projects into the most minute of next actions. A project such as “Learn Italian” might have a next action “Order Rosetta Stone software.” That next action might have a context (where it’s done) “shopping.”

I’ve tried a few different ways of implementing GTD in my life. A Hanselminutes podcast turned me onto Moleskines. For a time, I used to carry one of these handy little notebooks around everywhere I went. But not surprisingly, a notebook is hard to keep organized. Such a system also works best when wearing cargo pants…

I gave the GTD Tiddly Wiki a try. I found it to be an effective tool, but it lacked portability (no mobile access). I’ve recently started using Monkey GTD for organizing work projects. I’m growing fond of it. But it’s still doesn’t have the mobility I want for managing my non-work life.

For about a year, I used an online service called Vitalist. This site, until recently, was by far my favorite way to implement GTD. Vitalist has a nice, uncluttered interface. It’s quick and responsive (typical AJAX-y site). It has a nice feature that allows reminders (at custom times) to be sent via SMS or email. There’s a sharing feature to allow some basic collaboration.

I grew more attached to Vitalist when I got my Motorola Q. Vitalist has a pretty usable mobile site. Mobile Vitalist got me back to the portability I enjoyed with the Moleskine, but was much easier to keep organized. After I got my iPhone, I continued to use Vitalist. But there was something about having an iPhone and having to use a web app built for any mobile phone that juts didn’t feel right.

A couple of months ago a coworker introduced me to Things, by Cultured Code. Things is a desktop app for Mac OSX and for the iPhone. This app is brilliant. It’s simple and intuitive. It has an incredibly feature complete GTD implementation. The mobile app seamlessly syncs with the desktop app over your wireless network. Things nailed navigation. It’s amazingly simple to add a next action, whether to the Inbox, to a project or any other GTD standard location. Actions may be given a due date, starred or tagged or just left in the inbox for later processing. Things got it right.

Since installing Things, I’ve realized there are certain types of software that simply don’t work as well on the Web. Task management and calendaring are two such apps. Even with a bookmark to Vitalist’s mobile site on my iPhone’s homescreen, there was a lack of immediacy to allow it to be truly effective. Having to load Safari, occasionally login and then navigate the site was too cumbersome. Reviewing and adding next actions needs to be fast and extremely convenient.

I use Things most often while on the train commuting to and from work. Having the iPhone client allows me to manage my actions even when under Grand Central and without access to a data network. The badge option (turned off by default) allows Things to show a little red circle on the app’s icon. The circle contains the number of items due for the day. I find this is a much better reminder tool than email. Vitalist’s reminders started to add to my email noise and I started to ignore them. The badge greets me whenever I look at my phone’s homescreen.

Things has already made me more productive. Vitalist had a similar effect early on as well. But the sheer number of next actions I’ve already pushed through Things is more impressive to me. And of course, while writing this post, I added a next-action to put it online when I am off the train…

This post might be a little of topic for this blog, which typically deals with matters of interest to software developers. But since we’re geeks who love our Internet to be everywhere we are, I’ll go down this consumer-ish path…

In the month or so since I left Verizon for an iPhone, I’ve been very patient. I’ve endured dropped calls and a mostly fleeting 3G experience. Why have I been so patient? It’s one hell of a phone. It’s such a great device that it’s easy to forgive the shortcomings of AT&T’s network. But at some point the constant struggle to find service with AT&T makes the iPhone lose some of its shine. As I write this, I’m staring at the iPhone’s email app and it refuses to send or to receive. I’m told by the phone that I’m connected to the 3G network.

When at work or home, I use WiFi connections and everything is brilliant. But out in the wild, getting a good connection is a crap shoot. Looking only at voice service, Verizon simply destroys AT&T in coverage. There were virtually no dead zones on Verizon’s network (I live in the southwest corner of Connecticut) when they were my carrier. Even in some remote locations where one would expect not to have a signal, Verizon came through. That’s definitely not the case for AT&T, which has vast stretches of dead zones that can last for miles. More bars, but where?

The situation with data is much worse. That the iPhone reports having a connection to AT&T’s 3G network is not sufficient proof that one will enjoy high speed Internet. I frequently have problems connecting. To receive or send emails, I often have to restart the phone (maybe that points to a problem with the iPhone’s software?). On my daily train travels in and out of Manhattan, I pass through suburbs of Connecticut and New York. It’s rare that I get a good stretch of network availability – and when I do it’s often the Edge network, not the 3G network. In and around the City, I have few complaints.

The iPhone crushes the Motorola Q (my old phone with Verizon) in terms of usability and overall user experience. I still think the Q is the best Windows Mobile device I’ve seen, but again it’s no iPhone. When it’s working , the Web on Safari is untouchable (no pun intended). I’ve played with the new touch devices that Verizon offers. The iPhone still kills. But again, we’re talking about when it works. As of this moment (a few days after I originally started this post) I haven’t been able to connect to AT&T’s data network for several hours due to a major outage affecting AT&T’s customers in the Northeast.

This past weekend, I also made the mistake of signing up for Apple’s MobileMe, lured by the promise of a push life. After several wasted hours with online tech support, I still don’t receive my MobileMe emails unless I manually fetch them. Scheduled fetch doesn’t work either. Contacts and calendar do thankfully sync over the air. The problems with MobileMe and the constant battles to connect to AT&T’s network are making me lose faith in Apple.

My original plan for this post was an optimistic rant on how I had totally given myself over to Apple. I recently purchased a MacBook Pro. It’s a beautiful machine, with brilliant features. The screen is the best I’ve used (go matte not glossy). The keyboard lighting is both entertaining and functional. I had even started to use Safari on my Windows machines.

But my planned transition to Mac is on hold. They had me at hello, but lost me on 3G. This iPhone purchase has turned out to be one of the most frustrating tech purchases in recent memory. Surely a company that prides itself on itself on its innovation and ease of use could do better. It’s simply not enough to be “not Vista.”

Bottom line, if you’re thinking of buying an iPhone anytime soon - don’t. You may not be disappointed if you will primarily be a WiFi user, but then why not just buy an iPod Touch? Maybe in 6 months to a year, the iPhone will be on a capable network, but for now it’s just not worth the headache.