Multi device pro-discount?

I’m considering purchasing omnifocus for at least one of my devices. I have iPhone, iPad, and a couple Mac laptops that I use…but getting the software on all three (especially if I upgrade pro) is going to be pretty costly. Is there any sort of multi-device-pro-upgrade discount available?

You can probably send a feedback request to Omni Group about offering an OmniFocus bundle package. I’ve seen device specific bundles (iPad only or iPhone only) but I don’t recall seeing a bundle that has all three platforms.

If you are tight on money, you can always start on one device and eventually get the apps for the other platforms as your funds permit.

If I had to be going on a budget, I would probably buy the iPad version with the Pro upgrade first. It is cheaper than the Mac version. Then it is a tossup between the Mac and the iPhone.

But I guess I’d get the iPhone version last. It’s nice to have OmniFocus in your pocket but the iPhone version doesn’t have Review and the ability to create and edit custom perspectives yet.

Get the Mac version before the iPhone version if you use your Mac a lot. You can always be have OmniFocus on your iPad and carry that instead of the iPhone.

Hopefully OmniFocus 2 for iPhone will be updated to get a custom perspectives editor and review.

I just thought of something else. You can buy OmniFocus 2 for iPad and get the Pro in-app purchase for $40.00. That will get you the ability to create custom perspectives on the iPad version.

If you buy OmniFocus 2 for Mac, you won’t need the pro version because you’ll have the ability to create and edit perspectives on the iPad version already.

The only feature you’ll be missing on the Mac would be having Applescripts and “Focus”.

I just got a reply back from Omni support. The answer was a pretty firm “Nope – Apple doesn’t provide anything for this and we don’t either.” I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am a little disappointed.

Other software in this category costs significantly less – many of them have a freemium web site and offer a “universal” iOS app which is < $25 for the Pro version for all iOS devices. I really like the GTD attitude and the Omni software, but I don’t know if I like it enough to dump $90+.

Anyway, thanks for the different thoughts about multi device pro.

Cheers
-vox

yes, I understand that OmniFocus is a lot to swallow in terms of price. But I think the returns that I received have outweighed the cost. My return on my investment (investing in myself by purchasing OmniFocus) has more than paid itself back ten times over.

Of course, it all depends on how much you use it. If you find resistance in using OF2 then the price isn’t worth it. But if you get to learn how to use it, it makes your life easier.

If all you need is a “to-do list” then Apple Reminders is perfect. Scale up to Things when you need something more. But if your life is complicated (like mine) with multiple projects in different areas of life (work, home, personal, community, etc.) then OmniFocus is more than up to the task.

Consider reading some articles that discuss the price of OmniFocus:

http://www.asianefficiency.com/productivity/omnifocus-is-too-expensive/

The second one:

https://blogs.library.ucsf.edu/mobilized/2012/10/22/a-focus-on-quality-and-options-why-i-would-omnifocus-at-any-cost/

And yet another article:

http://williamgallagher.com/blog/2014/06/22/someone-elses-omnifocus-2-for-mac-review/

It’s beneficial to read the user comments below to get a wider range of opinions and comments.

After learning how to use custom perspectives, forecast, and review in OF2, I can’t imagine going to another task manager anymore.

I’m a casual biker and I didn’t invest a lot in my bike. One of my best friends is a hardcore biker and spent $5,000 on his latest and greatest bike. Too much for me because I’m not as serious. But he competes in the local bike races and triathlons and it was worth every penny for him.

I guess you can always see how OF2 for Mac works for you. When you’ve invested enough time in it and think it can fit your workflow, then consider buying one of the other iOS apps one at a time.

I guess that fermium web site and universal iOS didn’t persuade you to switch to that platform? At $25.00, you get what you paid for.

I’d wholeheartedly agree with the comments above, but it really is a question of OmniFocus being the “right tool for the job” – it’s great if you need it, obviously not worth it if you don’t.

I used to do hardcore project management, so I guess some of that mentality is still with me, but my life is a lot less complicated than it used to be in that regard. Despite that, I still use OmniFocus – and happily paid for the full upgrades to Version 2 for all three platforms – including Pro – because OmniFocus does a bunch of things that work for freeing my mind that no other platform I’ve ever used can quite seem to match – and I keep up on the other platforms and solutions… I’ve tried easily a dozen different ones in just the past two years – not just playing around with them, but actively switching to them to see how they differ. I always come back to OmniFocus.

The key point for me is the ability to dump everything into a “trusted system” and deal with what I want to see, when I want to see it, and only when I want to see it. Things like Defer Dates (“Start” date), flags, contexts, and custom perspectives all work together to make it “just work” for me. The thing is that OF is as much a “framework” that you can customize as it is a canned task management system. There’s a lot of power to set things up in a way that works for you, and what works for you may not be the same as what works for somebody else.

If you want to dip your feet in, I’d suggest looking at whether you use your Mac or iPad more heavily for planning things, as even though the iPad version has a cheaper cost of entry, you won’t get the most out of it if you spend more of your planning and brainstorming time in front of your Mac. Then, also get the iPhone version unless you really do sit at home all of the time, since it’s the ability to have the tasks available in your pocket that makes the whole solution work as well as it does. Depending on how much you use the “other” large-screen device (iPad/Mac), you may not even really need to purchase that version. For example, the iPad version is a “nice-to-have” for me, but if money was tight I could most definitely live without it and wouldn’t miss it at all.

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