iThoughtsHD: Mind Mapping For iPhone And iPad

We have previously reviewed a number of mind mapping applications and web services, some of which we even compiled in a list post about the 5 best apps to make mind maps. Recently we discovered the iThoughtsHD app, which is a handy mind mapping application that has been specially designed for iOS devices. One of the biggest advantage of using this application is that it not only allows creating new mind maps but also provides the utility to import them from famous desktop applications including Freemind, XMind, Novamind, ConceptDraw MINDMAP, MindGenius, MindManager, MindView and others.

Unlike other apps, iThoughtsHD not only allows adding images to diagrams but also enables users to create their own Doodles. This functionality is not available in many famous presentation software such PowerPoint, which is why you can create more interesting mind maps for your presentations with self created doodles using iThoughtsHD. If you are wondering what might be the benefit of using Doodles in your presentations, then see our review of Doodleslide.

To create your Mind Map on an iOS device, Tap the “+” symbol located at the top left toolbar and enter a name for your mind map. Once done, Tap Save, followed by a double tap on the background canvas to begin working on your mind map. When creating your mind maps you can add notes and easily customize topic attributes such as the color shape, task, text, etc. To do this, simply tap on any topic that you wish to modify and select “i” (from the toolbar) to bring forth options for changing topic attributes. Similarly, you can change the font size and width by dragging your finger horizontally or vertically.

Like most (if not all) mind mapping applications you can also insert images to your diagrams via the Paperclip toolbar. One of the unique features that iThoughtsHD offers is that it not only allows importing images from your library or camera roll but you can even draw a doodle within your mind maps. By default iThoughtsHD auto-saves your mind maps after every 30 seconds or when the application is closed. This ensures that your modifications are not lost in case the application abruptly closes (e.g. due to accidental closure). Furthermore, the app also saves a snapshot of mind maps and keeps a zipped archive of the last 30 maps.