A review of Google calendar after an entire hour of using it

So I’ve been using Google Calendar for about an hour or so, and I am impressed … mostly. Here’s what I like and don’t like thus far:

It’s still in beta.

Some functionality doesn’t work first time, every time. I noticed some glitchy slowness when trying to create a new event. I understand it’s beta, but I’d expect higher quality in some areas.

Events imported via CSV were imported with the wrong time.

Most of my events were off by about three hours. The original data had the correct times.

Slick time input like a desktop app.

You can type the time in the box, or select from a drop down menu.

Enter down-to-the-minute times.

If an event starts at 7:04 p.m., you can enter 7:04 p.m. rather than rounding it off to the nearest 15-minute increment, which is unlike Yahoo!

Extensive search options.

Search by what the event is, where it is, or between what dates.

Private URLs that enable sharing with other applications.

You could conceivably use that XML or iCal URL to sync or share with Mozilla Sunbird or Apple’s iCal.

No ‘To do’ list like Yahoo!

A ‘To do’ list with priorities, deadlines and reminders would be a dream. If the task changed color when it was past-due, all the better.

No RSS integration.

You can’t integrate things like weather or Upcoming.org feeds as you can with 30 Boxes.

Can’t delete calendar under ‘Calendar settings.’

When you click the arrow next to a particular calendar, and go to the Calendar Settings menu, there is no option to delete. Instead, you have to go through the main settings menu.

Only one reminder option.

If I’m meeting friends for drinks, I want a reminder at 6:30 a.m. so that I remember to drive into the city instead of taking transit, and another one at 5 p.m. so I remember not to go straight home. (What can I say? I’m flaky like that.)

Smart event entry.

Google Calendar is smart enough to parse “Dinner with Evelyn and Ashley May 5, 6:30 p.m. at Vickery’s” into a calendar entry.

Slick event entry.

Click on a date and time, and you will get a dialog box that says “Thu, Apr 13, 7-8am” (or whatever day and time you select). Enter the event title and you’re set. Even slicker: you can click-and-drag to create a multi-hour entry.

Dumb event management.

I can’t figure out how to delete multiple events at once. What If I want to delete recurring events that I imported?

[What others are saying (from Technorati).]