belorussia yonder: Countdown to an exciting event with Can't Wait for iPhone and iPad review

Counting down to an important or exciting date like Christmas, you baby's due date, or the iPhone 5 launch? Then Can't Wait is for you! Can't Wait is an iPhone and iPad app that has a single purpose -- to keep track of the number of days until or since important dates in your life.

There are two main screen views in Can't Wait: a list of all your events and each event's individual page. When adding an event to your list, you select one of 10 colors, give it a title, indicate whether it's and event you "can't wait" for (countdown) or an "unforgettable" event that's already passed (count up), and select that date.

The Events screen will show the list of all your events. Shown with each event is the number of days until or since the event and it's title, date, and color. You can sort the list by nearest, farthest, name, or color. You can also swipe to delete individual events or tap the little arrow to the right of an event to edit its information.

If you close the Events page, you'll be take to the individual screens for your events. Each event's page is very minimal and shows only the numbers of days, the event name, and the associated color. The numbers are displayed nice and huge and for coundown timers, the event name is in a small font at the top, and for past events, the names are at the bottom. If you tap the Twitter icon in the lower left of the screen, you can send out a Tweet that shares the info on that screen. For example: "5 more days until iPhone 5 launch". Unfortunately, Facebook integration has not been added, yet.

On thing I've noticed about Can't Wait is that it counts down different than I would. For example, if it's currently Tuesday, I would say that there are 3 more days until Friday. Can't Wait says there is 2 days. I'm not sure if this is cultural thing, because I have encountered other apps the have similar countdown methods. I think there should at least be an option to pick if you want "0 days" to mean the day before a date or the date itself.

The good

Count down number of days until a specific date (like the launch of the iPhone 5)
Count up the number of days passed since an important date (like your wedding date)
Gorgeous UI
10 colors
Share to Twitter
Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

Some colors are associated with a bolder font giving the illusion that those dates are more important
Countdown considers the day before the event as 0 days instead of 1 day
Can't share to Facebook (hopefully that changes with new Facebook integration in iOS 6

The bottom line

Can't Wait is an extremely simple app -- which is precisely what makes it so great. It's clear that a lot of effort went into the overall design with the pastel colors and beautiful, yet, minimalistic UI. The folks at Romly have found the perfect balance between design and function with Can't Wait.