February 1, 2016 (Vol. 36, No. 3)
Rating:
Strong Points: Visually appealing, easy-to-create maps
Weak Points: Some limits in free version
Platform:
iPad/iPhone/Android
Cost:
Free (in-app purchases)
Summary:
It seems like life is only ever getting busier, and it’s sometimes difficult to keep the brain clutter in check. Mindly is a nice, easy-to-use organizational app to help with experiment planning or life in general. The app offers the ability to create sleek “mind maps” consisting of collections of concentric arrays of nodes, much like planets orbiting a sun. These nodes are easily editable, with users able to assign color, text labels, and icons to each. Users can quickly duplicate elements by holding and dragging an element to another node location, and they can expand the map by single tapping on an individual element to create a new concentric level to the hierarchy. The entire graphic can be visualized on the screen in the “mindmap” view, and the map can be shared as a pdf. Purchasing the full version offers additional sharing options and unlimited mind maps.
