Save Everything with SpringPad

Do you like movies? Books? Cooking? Eating? Remembering stuff? Do you hate it when you just can’t seem to remember that name or that thing you have to do. You wrote it down somewhere, but where?

If you’re not lucky enough to have a personal assistant that follows you around recording anything that mildly interests you, then you might want to check out Springpad.

Where to Begin?

First things first: get set up with Springpad’s online service by jaunting over to their website and registering for an account if you haven’t already. Sure, you can register directly from the app, but it would be well worth checking out their video that explains the Springpad concept and how it works, as well as browsing around the information they have on their site.

Springpad’s services extend far beyond the reach of this humble review, so I’ll be focusing more on the actually app and less on the rest. It’s also worth noting that the app is free, so you may as well just get it now and follow along with me!

What Was That Movie Called Again?

So you’re hanging out with the gang and someone mentions a movie that you just have to see. Sounds interesting, but by the time you’re back home and get around to browsing Amazon, you’ve forgotten what that movie was called. So, you settle for that other movie and are forever frustrated at your lack of listening skills.

What do I do? Why it’s simple! I just fire up Springpad on my iPhone and add the movie while it’s still fresh on my mind. Then, without leaving the app, I add it to my Amazon shopping list and I’m back in the conversation, ready to complete my purchase in the car on the way home (someone else is driving of course), or from my iPad while I’m on the couch, or maybe from my computer at work. Now that’s a personal assistant!

How Did You Do That!?

You may be thinking that such an efficient process must involve a superior mind and astute attention to details (which I do not deny possessing), but the fact is that the Springpad syncing system makes it convenient and quick for anyone! Let me show you how it’s done:

You start out by choosing either the “Login” or “Register” option as it applies to you. Then, if you haven’t added anything already via the Springpad website or another device (such as your iPad, iPod Touch, etc…), you will have the simple option of adding stuff to your collection(s).

Once you’ve clicked the “+” button, you’ll be ushered to a screen with a straightforward list. Just pick what you want to “Add to My Stuff”- in my case, I selected “Add by Type” to add a movie.

After selecting “Movie” from the list, I put in the name of the one that I’m looking for and choose “Search for it”. I chose to search instead of just saving the movie because searching allows me to find actual instances of the film from an online service such as Amazon.

Next, I get to choose from a list of suggestions that match my search and I’m almost done!

I chose the first suggestion, which took me to a screen with a summary of the selected movie including a cover image, source (Netflix in this case), rating, etc… With a touch to the “Add This” button up top, I’ve successfully added my movie.

Now comes the real hidden power of this portable assistant. By scrolling down the screen, I am offered a really nice selection of options related to the movie called the “Quicklinks” menu. From here I can add the movie to a list (coming up), watch a trailer, or even buy the it from within the app!

Make It A List

One of the nice features of Springpad is the ability to create lists to help organize your stuff. It’s easy to add something to a list or create a new one, by simply selecting the “Add to List” button from the “Quicklinks” menu. If you already have any lists, they will show up for your selection. If not, you just put in a name for your new list and hit save! That’s all there is to it.

The Hidden Menu

Now, just when you think you’ve seen it all, I’ll surprise you with one more feature- what I call the “Hidden Menu”.
You can access this menu by scrolling beyond the top of the movie summary page. (Drag your finger down until you reach the top of the page and then keep dragging.) You’ll see a row of white icons contrasting a dark gray patterned background. (See below)

From this menu, you can flag the current item for quick access at a later time, give it a rating (1-5 stars), check that you’ve already seen it, make it visible to the public (your Facebook friends, etc…), or delete it from your Springpad.

Final Thoughts

At first use, I was a little intimidated by Springpad, but once I played around with it, it became very apparent how useful it could be! I love adding movies, but you can do so much more such as: add books, tasks, packing lists, music, photos, restaurants, contacts, recipes, notes, etc…

Since there’s no way I could have the time to go into detail on all of those, I’ll leave you with some of my favorite features of the iPhone app: (Keep in mind that Springpad is available on the iPad and from the web among other things.)

1. My “stuff” is cached and therefore available for offline browsing and use.
2. The app has a barcode scanning feature that lets you add stuff quickly using the camera.
3. It’s quick and easy to save a short note that I won’t easily lose and can access from anywhere.

So, that in mind, plus the incredible free pricetag, puts Springpad on the top of my productivity apps and it could do the same for you!