Task App Wanted

This is out to the iPhone lovers and know-alls. I switched over from a Treo 650 to the iPhone about two years ago, and as sad as it makes me to say this, it wasn't all gain for me. I had to make a few compromises with this move.

I have obviously gotten from the iPhone more than I did from the Treo (wi-fi capabilities, more storage space, and better interface all around - internet browsing, e-mail, music, sms, camera...). However, even though I have managed to reintegrate almost every thing I used my Treo for, I was never able to use the iPhone as an organizer as I did my Treo. There is just something that is missing; actually there is a very particular something that is missing: a native task application.

It never fails to boggle my mind why Apple would leave that out. This one simple app could bring the iPhone over from the cool, electronic "toy" to something those busy, important people would take seriously. I know that there are excellent 3rd-party apps out there that more than cover the capabilities of a simple Treo 650 Palm Task List. But there is one major issue with them: they don't have access to the iPhone outside the app (when the app is closed). This means they require some sort of internet connection to send any message (like an alert) to your phone when they are not open.

Apple did come up with the Apple Push Notification Service, which I had thought would be a way for 3rd-party apps to communicate with the iPhone even when they are closed. And it is, only that it needs an internet connection. Point of this new service? You can now get alerts for your tasks, if you have access to the internet and are willing to drain your battery life by leaving notifications on. APNS checks every 30 seconds with the server to see if you have a notification waiting, or so I've heard. My iPhone did go in a comma once or twice when I had notifications on. So not only does this help nothing (there are already ways to get alerts via SMS - see later), it actually makes it worse.

If you can settle for SMS alerts instead of the built-in iPhone alerts like the ones you get from the Calendar app, you still need an internet connection. The task app needs to save your tasks on a server somewhere, which will send you the text (or e-mail) when you need it to (and, as far as I know you need a subscription for this kind of service). This means that say if I wrote a task and needed an alert for it before I could find an internet connection, say I went camping for a few days, there is no way to do this other than make a calendar event or set an alarm with a note.

What I currently have on my iPhone is Appigo's Todo iPhone app. I can add tasks on the go and set a due-date and due-time; I can make check-lists and projects, as well as specific tasks like call a contact, visit a website, e-mail a contact, right from the task list. The only problem is, no alerts. It can't remind me to do what I need to do, unless I turn on push notifications - power-drain and internet required. I currently sync my tasks with Toodledo.com (which also has its own iPhone app that I haven't tried yet) which in turns keeps in sync with my task list at MS Outlook.

Here is a peculiar problem: Toodledo has an sms-notification service, but in order to get this alert, a "remind-me" check-box must be individually checked for each task. The Todo app I currently use does not have this option, there is no way to check this option on the iPhone. I was wondering if the Toodledo iPhone app has this ability, I wasn't able to tell by the pictures on the App Store. Anyone use this app?

I am just now downloading Appigo sync, which will sync my Todo list on the iPhone to my Task list on MS Outlook, via wi-fi of course. This would prevent needing Toodledo to sync my tasks, but the alert problem still isn't solved. MS Outlook apparently has an sms-notification service, but as luck might will it, it doesn't support Fido. Even if it did, I'd still need wi-fi to synch my tasks first, before I could get an alert.

I have actually reverted to using my school agenda for tasks (homeworks, projects, due-dates), and haven't used an electronic task-list for about a year. If I need a reminder for something, I just make an event in the iPhone Calendar app. All these problems, and all Apple needs to do is make a native iPhone Task app, which wouldn't need to leave the iPhone via an internet connection just to come back and initiate a message when needed.

I have come to think that finally jail-breaking the iPhone might be a solution, but I am yet to find an app that does what I need. Any ideas?

edit: when I say "native" I mean "default" - those apps by Apple itself that you can't delete. These have access to the iPhone even when they're closed it seems ex. the Calendar, Alarm, Mail apps. I just realized that "native" technically refers to what I've called "3rd-party" apps here. Sorry for the confusion. I want a default task app; or any way that I can get alerts for my tasks without an internet connection.