iBlueSky goes to version 2.0

An update to the mind-mapping software for the iPhone called iBlueSky (made by Tenero Software) was recently made available on the AppStore. I can call myself a power user of iBlueSky, being among the first reviewers when it was launched. I always liked the simplicity and great usability of this tiny yet extremely powerful iPhone app.

What I saw at a glance in the new version is a new translucent side-bar and bottom-bar when in editing mode, which appears on tapping on the current view. This makes the appearance a little slicker and elegant. Another thing that popped out was the size of the canvas, which seemed almost huge. Compared with the 1st version, it was huge, anyway. Remember, in the version 1.0 any time you hit the margin of a canvas with one of the child branches you get an iPhone vibration, sort of notification. In this version, it’s very difficult to get to that point, unles you’re having a really, really huge map, maybe hundreds of childs.

Another widely expected improvement was the ability to import other mind maps. iBlueSky decided to partner with Nova Mind, so they will support only their format (apart from the OpenSource Free Mind format). So, if you want to import your desktop mind map into iBlueSky on your iPhone, you have to this on the web. There is no direct link. Yet. There is a detailed explanation on how to import your mind maps at http://www.tenero.co.uk/import so you’d better go read at your leisure.

iBlueSky costs 7.99 EUR in AppStore.

All in all, iBlueSky remains one of the best productivity applications on the iPhone, although the niche is starting to get crowded with new players.