Apps for Productivity

Smartphones are meant to help make our busy lives, a little less busy.  However, if you’ve just joined the ranks as a smart phone user, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the new features newly available to your mobile device.  Or perhaps you’re an avid smart phone user but you may be feeling a bit bogged down with all the apps you already have.  Lucky for you, at last Friday’s New Media Dayton meetup, the discussion was all about what apps are worth the investment – both time and money.

For iOS users (iPhone, iTouch, iPad), the options are endless.  To get an app, you have to go through the Apple App Store.  Android users on the other hand, don’t have quite the scale in their app store (called Google Play).  They do however, have a variety of places where they can get apps – one of which being the Amazon App Store.  Amazon offers one free app each day (and sometimes quite the bargain!).  In order to access, you’ll need to have the Google Marketplace app installed on your device.

One thing both OS users need to know is that it’s important to thoroughly read the review on an app – both good and bad – before downloading.  You may find some surprising things about the app, such as updates that break it, or that it’s actually a phony app.  Another piece of advice – if there’s a free version, download that before you make the plunge to plunk down some money.  It’s always better to try before you buy, even if the free one doesn’t give you everything you’re looking for right off the bat.

Now here’s the list of must try apps:

• Evernote -Freemium –  great for capturing notes, voice, images – and then syncing them across platforms
• Penultimate – $0.99 (iOS only) – great for handwritten notes
• Dropbox – Freemium (pay for space) – great for sharing files with colleagues
• iAnnotate – $9.99 – use this if you need to make notes on PDFs or sign forms
• Square – fee based – if you want to accept mobile payments – turn your phone or iPad into a cash register!
• Instagram – free – photoshop filters on your phone in a flash
• Dark Sky – $3.99 – a cool new way to view the weather
• Quick Office Pro – $14.99 – unofficial Microsoft Office’s mobile version; allows you to connect your other web docs accounts
• SeekDroid – Freemium (Droid only) – similar to iOS’ Find my iPhone app, allows you to find your phone or remote wipe your phone from your PC