Ilium Software made a version of its Windows Mobile application eWallet available for the iPhone back in July. Now it would like to enlist its advisory board (its customers) to help it bring another title to the iPhone, ListPro.

ListPro, available for Windows Mobile and the Palm OS, is a reusable list manager that includes custom columns, column types, sorting, totaling, item highlighting, alarms, and synchronization between a PC and mobile devices. In addition, hundreds of pre-configured lists are already available on Ilium's web site.

While they've made a lot of progress towards this goal, the going hasn't been easy and - it appears - Ilium has run into a bit of a crossroads, according to the company blog.

Of course ListPro, even though relatively simply to use, is an extremely complex piece of software. Anytime you offer the level of customization that ListPro does, you’re looking at a ton of work. Throw synching into the mix and you’re talking about a monumental task.

That said we’re faced with a bit of a dilemma and we want to get your feedback.

Here are some of the problems Ilium says it’s facing:

 

First off, Ilium is behind schedule, having originally expected to release ListPro for the iPhone in August. Now its looking at at early next year, but only with limited functionality.

 

Because of missing its original deadline, instead of being an early entrant in the list maker/task manager category for the iPhone, Ilium will face a ton of competition from those who’ve already entered the market right off the bat.

 

To bring all of ListPro's functionality to the iPhone, it is going to have to completely rethink the user interface.

 

Synchronization with the desktop is essential, as Ilium found out from customers with the release of eWallet for the iPhone a couple of months ago.

Ilium proposes two solutions:

 

A simplified (and possibly free) edition of ListPro that is more of a limited companion to the ListPro desktop software than a full featured mobile application of its own.

 

Or complete the port of the full edition of ListPro to the iPhone, with syncing, of course. This would take quite a while to complete and isn't guaranteed to be a success.

They go on to list the advantages and disadvantages to both routes. And would like to know how you would handle the dilemma if you were the Product Manager. You can do so here.