gTasks - Task Management or Check List?

So Google Tasks has come out with an iPhone optimized version as well as a gadget for iGoogle. I'm glad to see they have quickly added some new features to it. Makes me think it is something they care a little about, at least right now.

But this does not really do anything for me. It does not address any of the issues I wrote about earlier. Mostly - collaboration and being able to move and work with the tasks in different ways.

I have used Google Tasks a few times for little things, like a short list of things to accomplish before leaving the office for an extended weekend. But that is about it. I'm not sure the iPhone interface adds that much really. I use the notepad on the iPhone to jot quick ideas down, or just send an email to myself that gets flagged as a task in gMail. I don't normally need to create a multi-layer list on the go.

If I could share a list, now this might mean more. Maybe the ability for my wife and I to both add items to a list of things we need around the house (light bulbs, trash bags, etc). Then when we are out somewhere by ourselves, we can see if there is something we need to pick up, then check it off so the other does not.

But do I really need a shared shopping list that bad? No. It sounds more like that is what they are trying to replace here, a grocery list. I don't call that task management. And I think that is the issue here. I'm defining task management more as project management. They are defining task management more as a check list.

They claim the goal here is to help us move from paper for task management to gTasks for task management. I don't really use paper for task management either, so maybe that is why this is not for me. I use paper in meetings to write down tasks. But more of what I write in a meeting are the notes that go along with the task. I'm not going to sit there and touch all this out on the iPhone.

I understand Google is not looking to duplicate MS Project and build a full blown project management type app here. But until I can share/assign a task to another person, move a task from one list to another, have gCal integration and possibly add attachments (and multiple emails) to a task - I'll just stick with using gMail itself to handle my tasks.

At least with this update though it looks like they care enough about it to keep going, which is good. The bad is...it kind of looks like they are going in the direction of a shopping list/to-do list and not really task management. At least as I define it.