by James A. Martin

8 Good Reasons to Download the New ‘Cal’ Android App Right Now

Opinion
Dec 06, 20132 mins
AndroidComplianceMobile Apps

The brand new Cal app for Android looks great, syncs with lots of calendar systems and shows your to-do items. And those are just three of CIO.com blogger James A. Martin's reasons to download this calendar app post haste.

Cal, a popular iOS app that was just released for Android, is one of the most eye-pleasing calendar apps you’ll find. It’s free. It syncs with Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Yahoo, AOL and iCloud. And it pulls in to-do items from Any.Do, a free to-do list manager for Android and iOS.

Cal Android app

Here are five more reasons to love Cal – and to download it right away:

* If you entered a destination for an appointment, Cal displays it on a map thumbnail. Click the image, and you can choose to get directions from whichever navigation apps you’ve installed.

* You can view Facebook Friend birthdays and, with a tap or two, give them a birthday shout-out.

* Cal uses attractive photos as backdrops to your calendar. In the app’s settings, you can choose from nine photo themes such as Art, Fashion, and Landscape.

* Like to set lots of reminders for your appointments? (I do, at least for important ones.) Not a problem; just tap the various choices or set a custom reminder time.

* The app looks great in landscape view, too. On a Google Nexus 7 tablet, for instance, I can view the full month on the left and the day’s appointments on the right.

Is Cal the most robust Android calendar app on the planet? No. Business Calendar Pro ($5) is a popular option packed with features. And the free app Jorte includes a cloud-sync service that lets you manage calendars from the Web.

Cal lacks a few features as well. Where’s the search function? Why can’t you use your own photos as a calendar theme? Still, it’s one of the best-looking calendar apps for Android and it does most of what I expect it to do.