From the cross-promotion department: this list of replies is embedded in this post using ThinkUp beta 8's new Embed Thread plugin.

You saw the full screenshot tour last week. The biggest feature addition in this release is standard Android-style task search: tap your device's search button to try that out. The prettiest bugfix is our new login splash screen, shown here, which appears when you initially launch the app or log out of Dropbox.

Todo.txt Touch will always be free to download on the web, but it costs $2.00 USD in the Android Market. Your two bucks buys you two things:

1. The convenience of auto-updates to the app via the Market;
2. Good karma and the satisfaction of knowing you've supported the whole Todo.txt project.

Don't underestimate #1. That convenience will be worth it, I promise. There are tons of interesting ideas and features we hope to build into this app, and updates will come frequently. You don't want to have to do it manually.

The revenue from Market app purchases will help recoup some of my expenses from the past five years of running the Todo.txt project, like web site hosting fees, domain name and Market registration. These costs are admittedly low, but a two-dollar purchase price is, too. I don't expect sales will be through the roof, but if by some stroke of luck the app goes viral, I will share revenue with the core contributors.

Again, the app will always be available for free on the web if you're unable to purchase it. But, I'm thrilled to have a presence in the Android Market and I'm looking forward to adding more features soon, like offline use, a homescreen widget, Share menu integration, location-based magic, done.txt support, localization, and more. If you do buy the app in the Market, please rate and review it.

As always, the Todo.txt tools are open source projects built by enthusiasts and volunteers in their spare time. Thanks to all the Android developers who have helped build Todo.txt Touch and who have shared knowledge about mobile app development. I've learned so much in this collaborative process, especially in the last two weeks, and I look forward to learning more. Interested in getting involved? Browse and fork Todo.txt Touch's source code, then get in touch on the mailing list.

Todo.txt Touch on doubleTwist
Todo.txt Touch on AppBrain

Todo.txt Touch is a companion app to Todo.txt CLI, a command line task manager that adds, updates, prioritizes and completes items on your todo.txt list in the terminal. It supports task priority, projects, contexts, and an archive of completed items. Once you store your todo.txt file at Dropbox, you can update it at your desk in the terminal, on your Android device using this app, or using any text editor anywhere and all the changes sync to your devices automatically. Eventually we hope to support other cloud sources, like perhaps Simplenote.

Here are some screenshots of Todo.txt Touch in its current state in action. Click any image to enlarge it.

Dropbox integration

When you launch the app, you log into Dropbox, and the app creates a Dropbox/todo/ folder and puts a todo.txt file there. Right now the app doesn't work without logging into Dropbox first (but we hope to fix that).

Add a new task

Just like the Todo.txt CLI, assign a project or context to a task by using the + and @ sign. For example, the task "Call doctor @phone +Health" associates that task with the @phone project and +Health project. Think of projects and contexts like tags that help you filter your task list down to situations in which you can do them, or projects with which they are associated.

Assign existing projects or contexts

If you've already entered a project or context, you can add it to a new task by just choosing it from the Project or Context dropdown. The Priority dropdown lets you assign A, B, or C priority to a task.

Main task list

Once you've added a few items to your todo.txt file (or copied your existing one to the Dropbox folder and synced), they will be listed in the main screen of the app. Todo.txt Touch automatically colors priorities, and highlights contexts and projects.

Task actions

Long-press any task in the list to bring up a context menu of possible actions: Complete (mark as done), Prioritize (assign a priority), Update (edit the text of the task), or Delete.

Filter tasks

From the Filter menu item, you go to this screen, which lets you filter tasks by any combination of priority, context, or project. The search tab lets you see only tasks which contain a keyword. (We plan to implement search the more standard Android way—by tapping the Search button your handset—soon.)

Tweak your settings

The Settings area of Todo.txt Touch lets you show hidden-by-default task line numbers, automatically prepend today's date to new tasks, change the default folder in Dropbox where you store todo.txt, and log out of Dropbox. There's also more information about the whole project in the About box.

A few gotchas in the beta you should know about: the app doesn't work if you're not connected to the network, the search button doesn't trigger search, and there's no done.txt file support yet—completed tasks remain in your todo.txt file. If you're an Android developer, help us close some of those issues.

I've been having a ball learning about Android development from my fellow project contributors, and I'm thrilled this little experiment has turned into something usable which I'm already living in on my phone.

Download the latest release of the apk here, or scan this barcode:

Todo.txt Touch beta, version 0.1, release 12, 1/18/2011

Ask questions and report any bugs on the Todo.txt mailing list.

To use Where Do You go, you've got to log in with your Google Account and authorize it to index your Foursquare check-ins, which gave me pause, since I keep my Foursquare history private. But, the app doesn't publish check-in details, just your past whereabouts in aggregate. You can delete all your data from the app if you want to just try it and bail. If you keep your account, the map updates with each new check-in, but only displays check-ins which are more than 24 hours old for privacy reasons. It's fun to see what areas of different cities you favor most--apparently I rarely travel above 34th street in Manhattan--and it can give you even more motivation to visit areas you normally don't, even in your home city. Someday I hope to get a similar heatmap view in ThinkUp for posts from Twitter and Facebook, too.

Congratulations to Kevin for publishing his first book, and to our publisher 3ones for continuing this iterative, collaborative tech book publishing model that we started with The Complete Guide to Google Wave.

I look forward to watching this book evolve as Android does, and also, asking Kevin all my hardest Android questions.

The Complete Android Guide