10 Mobile Apps for Business You Can’t Live Without
By Gail Martin
Whether
you’re a true road warrior or you just seem to be on the go all the time,
mobile apps from your tablet PC or smart phone can make your life much more
productive. Even better: many great apps
are free, and others are very inexpensive, so productivity seems sweeter than
ever.
What
are the basics you need to get work done when you’re not in the office? At a minimum, you need some good ways to take
notes, work on or read documents, store and retrieve files, and access the
tools you usually have close at hand in an office or on your laptop. Fortunately, there are apps for all these
needs, and on your smart phone or tablet PC, they’re truly at your fingertips.
Smart
phones and tablet PCs are desirable because they’re smaller and lighter than a
laptop and easier to carry around. But
that same portability comes with a price: they can’t carry all of the files
stored so conveniently on your laptop.
Good news: an ever-increasing array of apps bridge that gap between
laptop and mobile device, making it easier than ever to work on the go.
Quick
note taking is essential to keep your thoughts organized, especially when
you’re constantly in motion. iPhones and
iPads come with a basic Notes app, which while not perfect, is quite suitable
for the kinds of things you’d jot on a cocktail napkin. While it doesn’t sync with other apps and it
doesn’t have any security beyond that of your phone’s keypad, Notes is perfect
for jotting down something you don’t want to forget and assuring that you won’t
lose the scrap of paper you wrote it on.
Not perfect, but it’s free, and there’s a lot of basic function that
goes a long way.
Evernote,
which I’ve discussed earlier in the book, also has a mobile app. So if you love it on your other devices, you
can bring it along in your pocket with your phone or tablet PC. A few other note taking apps include Awesome
Note, WriteRoom, Simplenote and RememberTheMilk make it easy to jot down what
you need to remember, and come with varying additional capabilities, such as
being able to sync to other devices or store data in the Cloud.
Pages
is very good, basic app for reading and writing documents. Documents you create in Pages can be emailed
in RTF or Word format, and you can email yourself (small) documents in those
formats and edit using Pages. While I
find it cumbersome to type documents of any length with the on-screen keyboard
or a phone or tablet PC, when you pair Pages with a wireless keyboard, the result
is pretty efficient.
For
those who want to access their Microsoft Office files from their iPad or
iPhone, Quickoffice® Pro HD bridges the gap between Microsoft and Apple. There’s also a scaled down version,
Quickoffice Connect Suite. With Quickoffice,
you can open a Word document, access a PowerPoint presentation, or edit, save
and share other types of Office-based files.
Office2 HD is a similar program, offering a few more
capabilities for word processing than some of the more basic apps. Documents To Go® Premium Office Suite not
only handles Word and PowerPoint, but it will also access Excel spreadsheets,
and it syncs with storage programs including Dropbox, SugarSync and Box.net.
Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success
by Gail Martin. Order this book on 9/26
and get great bonus items.
www.VirtualProductivitySuccess.com
Additional Great Information:
·
Head in
the Clouds? “Cloud computing” refers to access to software that is
accessible via subscription over the Internet. Programs that reside in the
Cloud are actually housed on the servers of the company that owns the software
and which provides subscription access. Unlike traditional software, such as
word processing or spreadsheet programs that are stored on your computer’s hard
drive, programs that reside in the Cloud never have to be installed, updated or
uninstalled from your computer. That’s the beauty of the “Cloud.” And since you
don’t have to install the program, you can use software that requires greater
speed or memory than your desktop or laptop might possess.
·
Instant
computer, just add clouds. Cloud computing programs offer extremely
flexible access to powerful programs without the hassles of maintaining the
software on your own computer. If you’ve ever suffered through a lengthy
software download (especially one that needed to be done over several times),
you’ll understand the appeal of being able to “visit” your software instead of
needing to have it all on your hard drive.
6 reasons you want your software to be
housed on the Cloud
ü
Because the software is stored on the Cloud, it
doesn’t hog memory or bog down your computer.
ü
You don’t have to worry about updating the
software; the tech staff at the company providing the software takes care of
doing that.
ü
Since you access the software via the Internet
(and a secure password), you can access your software (and possibly your related
files) from any computer, anywhere you have an Internet connection.
ü
Since your access is via subscription (usually
monthly or annually), your costs are much less than if you were to purchase a
private license for the program.
ü
When you no longer want or need the software,
cancel the subscription. There is no software to uninstall on your computer.
ü
If there’s a problem with the software, your
subscription includes access to technical support. It’s the provider’s
responsibility to fix the bugs, and you don’t have to download patches or new
versions.
·
Is your
data safe on the Cloud? If the idea of having your valuable and proprietary
data residing in the Cloud worries you, here is a first step you can take to
set your mind at ease: Make sure that
you understand the individual service provider’s privacy policies, terms of
use, intellectual property safeguards, and recommended methods for assuring the
security and integrity of your data.
·
Can you
keep your information safe in Cloud storage? If the idea of having your
valuable and proprietary data residing in the Cloud worries you, here is
another step you can take to set your mind at ease: Always back up essential information. This
can mean creating a print-out, saving a Web-based document as a file or a
screen shot, or copying essential information to your hard drive or an FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) storage site. An FTP site allows you to store and
share documents or files that are too large for regular email. Yes, FTP sites
are also Cloud computing sites—an example is www.4shared.com, but there are
many similar site
·
Keep your
stored data safe. A third step you can take to set your mind at ease when
using the Cloud is to safeguard your password. Realize that when you share
access to your Cloud computing sites with an administrative assistant or
colleague, they may gain access to your billing and credit card information
unless the site allows for different levels of access. Some Cloud computing
sites offer a group membership, so that you can provide access to several
employees or partners while keeping your own account information private. Other
programs make it possible to designate an “administrator” who can access
everything except the billing/payment information. If you must share your
password with an assistant, keep track of which passwords have been
·
Let’s
“do” lunch.—virtually. Virtual calendar programs look and act just like
their paper counterparts, with two important exceptions: they are accessible via computer and most
allow some level of sharing so that you can “invite” participants to meetings
and note the appointment simultaneously on your calendar and theirs. At a
minimum, your virtual calendar should make it easy for you to enter new
appointments, change or cancel existing appointments, and block out time when
you are unavailable. Many programs also alert you to upcoming appointments via
email reminders or pop-ups on your screen, making it less likely that you’ll
miss a meeting.
·
Are you
good at sharing? Calendar sharing and scheduling programs save you time and
increase your productivity by taking out the “middleman” when it comes to
making appointments. Tired of trading emails with clients or vendors to set up
meeting times or phone calls? Using a calendar sharing/scheduling program makes
it easy to share a calendar with your available days and times with others and
to have them select the best options from your openings and book the
appointment. Some calendar programs enable you to share different versions of
your schedule with different groups of people, so you could, for example,
separate work and personal appointment times. If you’ve ever spent hours
playing phone or email “tag” trying to confirm an appointment, the productivity
benefits of a sharable, online calendar become immediately apparent. If you
make just five appointments per week and each appointment now takes you an
average of 15 minutes to arrange, using an online calendar and scheduling
program could save you five hours a month!
·
Pick your
date (and calendar). There are plenty of online calendars and scheduling
programs to choose from, with more being added every day. You may not realize
it, but if you use Microsoft Outlook, you’ve already got an online calendar
that’s linked to your email and Outlook’s integral Business Contact Manager. Access the calendar at the bottom of your
Outlook dashboard. You’ll find well-marked buttons that enable you to add an
appointment or create a meeting with multiple invitees. You can invite someone
to your meeting by accessing contacts in your email address book or the
program’s Business Contact Manager, or by entering the person’s email address
manually. You’ll be able to differentiate
between all-day events and regular appointments, and to set recurring
appointments. If the other people you want to invite to a meeting have shared
their calendars with you, you can view their calendars to look for available
times and dates before scheduling the meeting, to avoid conflicts and
rescheduling.
·
Free is
good. Still looking for an online calendar and scheduling program? Google
offers a free online calendar with plenty of robust features. With Google
Calendar, you can create and share your schedule and view other people’s Google
Calendars. Google offers a built-in synchronization feature that enables you to
see and access your calendar from your mobile phone as well as your computer,
and share updates made on one device with the calendar stored on the other
device. As with Outlook, Google Calendar makes it easy to invite others to
meetings and confirm their attendance. It’s accessible for read-only viewing
offline, so you can see where you need to go even if you’re in a Wi-Fi dead
zone. Google Calendar will send you reminders by email and text message, and it
can even sync with some other calendaring programs, such as Outlook.
·
Apples
and Clouds. Another online calendar and scheduling program option is
Apple’s iCloud, which replaced its previous MobileMe virtual calendar. iCloud
works with all Apple devices and shares books, photos, music and apps as well
as calendar information, email and contacts. The iCloud is a hybrid virtual
storage and virtual Swiss Army Knife of sorts, bringing together all of a
user’s data to make it location and device independent. Because all data is
stored on the iCloud, Apple takes care of syncing your devices for you. That’s
handy if you make an appointment using your iPad and want to later see your
schedule using your computer or your iPhone. You can share your calendar with
other iCloud users, and any changes will be automatically pushed out to the
schedules of all meeting or event participants. The iCloud is an attempt to
seamlessly integrate your online life, so the program also makes it possible
for you to access your email and phone contacts, virtual notes, online
reminders and Web bookmarks from all your devices.
·
Tungle,
anyone? Tungle is a stand-alone
program (currently free) to share your calendar with people who may not be on
the same email program, such as people outside your organization. Tungle is
especially designed for setting up meetings without hassle, and promises to
help users avoid double-bookings and missed appointments. The Tungle calendar
makes it easy to limit your availability to particular days/times. This is
handy if you want to reserve portions of your calendar for other work or
events, or just want to control how much of your calendar can be booked by
others. Tungle adjusts for differences in time zones, and sends you reminders
of upcoming appointments. Tungle also offers a difference between the private
and public view of your calendar, meaning that your clients won’t be privy to
any personal appointments you book on your online calendar. Tungle will sync
with a variety of other calendar programs, including Outlook, Google Calendar,
BlackBerry, LotusNotes, Facebook, and Apple iCal among others. There’s also a
handy Tungle app for your smart phone, so you can Tungle on the go.
·
Did you
leave home without it? When you’re on the go, it’s difficult to bring all
your files with you. Carrying a laptop can be difficult when traveling through
airports, and taking your computer with you puts you at risk for theft and
damage. Printouts are cumbersome, offer data security risks, and provide only a
static snapshot. To address these
problems, Cloud computing programs make it possible for users to access their
computers remotely and store files in secure storage sites that can be accessed
on the go. For users who rely on instant, mobile access to stored data but
don’t want to lug their laptops everywhere they go, these programs offer
portability, security and easy access.
·
Do you
feel secure? When considering use of remote access programs, you’ll need to
weigh the convenience against the possibility, however slim, that even the most
secure data connections can (at least theoretically), be compromised. If you
travel frequently and have ever had a deal compromised by a missing file, the
benefits may be well worth the risk to you. This is especially true for
one-person companies who lack the office staff to email or overnight a
forgotten document. If you’re in a business where a security breech would be
catastrophic, it’s probably worth the price to confer with your Information
Technology consultant to explore options. While the remote access programs
themselves may be secure, there are inherent security risks to using public
access computers, such as those in hotels, libraries and office supply stores.
Only you can decide whether the risks outweigh the convenience. If you’re not
sure how to assess the risks, talk to your IT consultant.
·
Be in two
places at once. GoToMyPC enables subscribers to securely access their
computer back at the office while they’re on the road. If you’ve ever had an
“oops” moment of panic as you realized that you left the folder or the flash
drive you needed for your out-of-office presentation back on your desk, you can
appreciate the appeal. GoToMyPC is compatible with both Microsoft and Apple
computers, and can also be accessed from an iPad. The service offers access to
files, email, applications and network resources via a secure, encrypted
connection. Other virtual access programs
include LogMeIn.com, PCAnywhere.com and Anyplace-Control.com.
·
A little
salt with your data? Corporations store their data backup in salt mines and
high security off-site locations. That’s a little extreme (and expensive) for
most small businesses, but the need for secure storage and backup isn’t limited
to large corporations. A flood, fire or natural disaster could wipe out your
computer and your locally-stored flash drives and portable hard drives.
Frequent back-ups to a storage location reduce your risk of a catastrophic data
loss. Storage capacity is another challenge for many users. While storage costs
have decreased tremendously, making terabytes of capacity reasonably priced,
some users rapidly exceed their on-site storage capability. Fortunately, Cloud
computing offers alternatives for both data security and data storage.
Carbonite, Mozy, MyOtherDrive, iBackup, Dropbox, GoogleDocs, GoDaddy,
Sugarsync, ElephantDrive, LiveDrive, MyPCBackup and other sites offer
Cloud-based data backup and storage capabilities. Most sites provide automated
back-up, making it less likely that you’ll forget to update files. In addition,
files stored on the Cloud can be accessed from any location, giving you
portability.
Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success
by Gail Martin. Order this book on 9/26
and get great bonus items.
www.VirtualProductivitySuccess.com
·
Ready to
move to the Cloud? When you’re looking into Cloud-based data storage,
remember that you’re entrusting your sensitive files to a third party. Here are
some questions to consider as you weigh your alternatives.
ü
What happens to my data if the provider is sold,
merged or goes out of business?
ü
How does the provider assure site security?
ü
What precautions are taken against hackers?
ü
How does the provider do its own back-up to
assure my data is safe if the provider has a catastrophic event at their
location?
ü
What do other users say about the ease of use,
security and customer support?
Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success
by Gail Martin. Order this book on 9/26
and get great bonus items.
www.VirtualProductivitySuccess.com
·
Question: When is a computer not a computer?
Answer: When it’s acting like a phone.
Thanks to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), it is possible to transmit voice
data over high-speed Internet connections, utilizing the built-in microphone
and speaker of devices ranging from laptop computers to cell phones to TV sets.
VOIP is often less expensive than traditional landline or cell phone plans,
especially for international calling. Even better, many providers offer free
calling among members of their service. Skype, Vonnage and Google Talk are just
three of many VOIP providers in a rapidly growing field. While cell phone plans
have dropped in price and have drastically reduced or eliminated domestic long
distance charges, international calling remains difficult. Cell phones either
don’t work for international calls or impose very high roaming charges. If your
business involves frequent international calling, consider VOIP as an addition
or replacement to your current phone carrier.
·
Ready for
your screen test? When you are considering virtual phone options, don’t
base your decisions solely on your current needs. If you haven’t had access to
video conferencing, think about how you might use it for client meetings, small
group presentations, Webinars, or even connecting with employees working in
remote locations. This might be a perfect time to add affordable communication
options that make it easy for you to deepen your long-distance business
relationships. If you do choose a virtual phone provider, make sure you list
your new phone number so that it is easy for others to reach you. If you prefer
to use VOIP only for specific situations (such as international calling), you
may want to share your phone number more selectively, or note a preference for
what types of calls use your VOIP number, and which call in on your traditional
phone line. Virtual phone services bring to life the “TV-phone” concept that
was once just science fiction and make it both real and affordable. Whether you
use VOIP for inexpensive video conferencing, recorded calls or low-cost
international calling, it’s definitely worth a second look.
·
Lights,
Camera—Videoconference! Not too long ago, the idea of videoconferencing was
something only very large corporations could afford. Back in the day, video
conferencing required dedicated facilities, a trained audio-visual staff, and a
serious investment in technology and equipment. Today, anyone with a phone and
a computer that has a Web cam can run a virtual conference, and costs run from
free to under $100 for a system that will allow approximately 100 attendees, to
a few thousand dollars for a top-of-the-line system able to host a much larger
audience. Webinars make it possible to gather a group together in a
password-protected online area and share both voice and a slide or video
presentation in real-time. In many Webinar programs, it’s also possible to
share control of the pointer or broadcast a live view of a single user’s
computer screen for the rest of the group to see. Some programs also have an
online “whiteboard” where participants can write notes or draw diagrams.
Webinars require a computer and a fast Internet connection from both host and
attendees. Although many programs make it very easy to set up and attend a
Webinar, it does require a basic level of computer literacy to host or attend a
Webinar comfortably.
·
Easy-to-do
Webinars increase your reach. Today’s Webinar, teleseminar and virtual
meeting software is available in a wide variety of options and pricing. For a
small business or solo professional, there are some less expensive,
subscription-based Cloud computing programs that offer robust choices for a low
monthly fee. GoToWebinar, Yugma and Instant Teleseminar are all popular,
Cloud-based programs that enable anyone to set up a Webinar quickly and
inexpensively. These programs make it possible to have several hundred
attendees live on the Webinar, and do a good job of handling registration to
help you build your permission-based opt-in list as your attendees register for
the conference. Some of the programs, such as GoToWebinar, integrate with
Outlook’s calendar and make it easy to send automated reminder emails. You can
share control of the meeting with other presenters, mute attendees or enable
live conversation, and have a simultaneous online chat to gather questions for
a post-presentation Q&A session, or to allow presenter and facilitator to
handle administrative issues live without interrupting the audio flow. Other
useful features to look for include the ability to do a quick, live poll of
your audience to gather feedback or see where they stand on a particular issue
or question. Some programs make it possible for participants to “raise their
hand” (i.e. identify that they want to ask a question) without a verbal
interruption. Post-event surveys, follow-up emails and event recording are all
other features to consider. Some programs even integrate with Skype.
·
Looking
more for an online meeting? Then you will want a solution with more focus
on collaboration tools, and that expect you’ll have a smaller audience and less
need for the administrative tasks that go into hosting a true online event.
Fuze Meeting, GoToMeeting, MegaMeeting, Yuuguu, Microsoft Office Live and Webex
are popular programs for workgroups to meet, share desktops, collaborate on
whiteboards or documents, and keep a virtual record of their meetings. A more
limited but potentially effective way to do a small or ad hoc meeting would be
to create a Skype conference call. Skype enables audio and video sharing, but
lacks the collaboration tools of some of the other programs. That said, it’s
possible to collaborate via email attachment or to use free programs like
FolderShare, Gubb, Zoho Planner and Google Calendar. Alternatives to Skype for
a video chat with a small number of users include Sightspeed and ooVoo.
·
Are you a
person of few words? If your idea of collaboration is more like Twitter for
a private group, consider Co-op (coopapp.com), which is a private microblogging
application (and at the time of this writing, free). On the other end of the
spectrum, you can create a full-featured online classroom with an internal
forum, the ability to share and post documents and other features with Moodle.
If what you’d really like is a low-cost, simplified quasi-intranet, consider
Qontext, a free tool that combines the ability to share files and see others’
screens with the ability to create groups and archive material. If your intent
is to gather material from a large number of contributors and confidentiality/privacy
isn’t a serious concern, you may be able to create what you need with free Wiki
or Ning software. Google Docs is another free tool to store and share documents
utilizing the Google Cloud to archive your materials. In fact, the down-and-dirty
way to host a collaborative online meeting on the cheap would be either to use
Skype or Google Voice, and then utilize tools from the Google suite of products
to add the features you need, such as Google Talk (a version of instant
messaging), Google Docs and Google Sites. It’s proof that, whatever your
budget, there’s an online conferencing method out there for everyone.
·
Apply
yourself! Don’t overlook what’s available on LinkedIn through the site’s
applications. Huddle Workspaces is an app that provides you with an online
private place to work and collaborate. When it comes to sharing your
presentation, you can add DropBox, SlideShare, Google Presentations or
Portfolio Display to your profile to enable sharing. The Projects and
Teamspaces app links your LinkedIn profile to a tool to help you keep track of
your projects and other documents.
·
Video not
the way you want to go? Teleseminars are an audio-only meeting, training
class or seminar held over phone lines without a visual component. They are
simple to run and require no technical expertise beyond the ability to dial a
phone. Teleseminars do not need a computer to run so long as the host and
participants can call into a pre-arranged conference line. If your audience is
iffy on computer skills, a teleseminar may be the best way to go.
·
What’s
the difference between teleseminars and conference calls? Teleseminars are
different from conference calls because teleseminars often charge an attendance
fee and usually involve a larger audience beyond a specific work team. A
teleseminar is an online event, like a virtual speaking engagement or class,
where speaker and audience connect via a conference call line. Attendance is
usually managed by getting attendees to opt-in to a mailing list which then
shares the phone line and call password information via email. Teleseminars
require less administration because there is no visual component. To run a good
teleseminar, you need a shared conference phone line, and a way to record and
share your call as Web-friendly audio. Sites like FreeConferenceCall.com and
FreeConference.com make it easy to set up a call and offer the ability to host
a large calling audience, in some cases up to 100 callers. Recording the calls,
hosting on a toll-free line and other extras are often available for added
charges. Most teleseminars don’t bother with toll-free lines, given how
prevalent cell phone plans with free long-distance calling have become. You’ll
want to record your teleseminars, so you can either pay the extra fee to the
conference call site, or use a separate Cloud-based service like
AudioAcrobat.com or InstantTeleseminar.com. These sites also charge a fee but
provide many additional useful services. If you want to share visuals but don’t
want to bother with Webinar software, considering holding a teleseminar and
sending attendees a link to handouts or to your slideshow so that they can
follow along on their own.
Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success
by Gail Martin. Order this book on 9/26
and get great bonus items.
www.VirtualProductivitySuccess.com
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