Mindjet goes online
I had made a comparison of two very popular online mind-mapping tools some time ago: Mindomo and Mindmeister. Well, now they have competition looming. Popular desktop mind-mapping tool, Mindjet, has now launched an online presence. While it is not a free tool, I was able to try it out for free because they offer a free trial period. Here are my initial thoughts on the product after a quick review.
First of all, the user interface is simple – and thus, very usable. I was able to setup a workspace and create a new mindmap within seconds and got going easily. It does have all the usual bells and whistles that would be expected out of a modern web-based office like application. Having said this, I still prefer the Mindomo UI over this one.
The key thing about this product is the ability to collaborate. It offers a lot of features which allow multiple people to work on the same Mindmap simultaneously. You can leave little notes which will show up on other screens. There is also an online chat available (though I am not sure if that requires a desktop client or not as I was not able to try it out).
Although it has a web only version, it seems to be meant for integration with its offline product. A lot of features are oriented towards integration with MindManagerPro (the offline product). Having said that, the online version of the product is not half-bad.
The service is not free however. There are 3 different tiers of pricing which allow you to choose between successively more functional versions of the product. Here also, Mindomo and Mindmeister both take the lead – they both have free versions available which you can use.
Overall, I think it’s a decent little tool but I won’t pay for it (especially when there are free good options available).