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Comparing Organice and Orzly

I was looking for a way to connect to org mode from my phone. My main goals were to:

  • Write todos when away from the computer
  • Read todos when away from the computer
  • Timetracking when away from the computer

In my search I came across the following possible solutions:

org-web
org-mode on the web, built with React, optimized for mobile, synced with Dropbox and Google Drive.
Organice
A community driven fork of org-web with the commitment of a Swiss company behind it.
Orgzly
org-mode on android, a native mobile app.
Beorg
org-mode on ios, a native mobile app.
Termux
Run emacs from termux on android. Not built with mobile in mind.
Organic
org-mode on android, a native mobile app; unmaintained.

For me it was easy to narrow down my choice to Organice and Orgzly (I am on Android). At that point it became difficult to decide so I gave both a try. These are my initial impressions:

Organice

Pros

  • Capture templates
  • Easy time tracking.
  • Great user experience feel
  • Agenda view
  • Search functionality
  • Support for checkboxes

Cons

  • Offline support not as good
  • No reminders

Screenshot

Orgzly

Pros

  • A native android app.
  • Reminders for scheduled tasks.
  • Agenda view
  • Offline Support
  • Search functionality

Cons

  • Not easy to do time tracking from mobile.
  • No capture templates.
  • User experience not as intuitive.

Screenshot

Conclusion

In deciding, its important to keep in mind the goals for using org mode from mobile.

  • Write todos when away from the computer
  • Read todos when away from the computer
  • Timetracking when away from the computer

In keeping with these goals, I prefer Organice because of the capture templates and time clocking. A nicer user experience is an added bonus. Yes, Orgzly has the advantage of better offline support, but I rarely see myself without access to mobile data. Orgzly has the advantage of reminders for upcoming tasks, but I don’t rely on these types of reminders from my mobile device.

Keep in mind these are my initial impressions. My plan is to go with Organice for a few weeks and report back with anything else I notice.

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