But when it comes to business and productivity related apps what do people use?
Well as a mobile apps developer with like four phones in my hands all the time (I need to have handy at least an Android, an iPhone, a Windows phone like a Nokia and a Blackberry all the time plus a Motorola Xoom Android tablet and an iPad), I have quite a few business apps installed on my smart phones and tablets.
And here are five of the ones I use on a daily basis.
1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great social media solution for professionals. I've been a member of the site since 2010 and recently exceeded the milestone of 1,000 direct connections with access to an impressively larger 2nd and 3rd degree connections. Historically we got multiple contracts, jobs and professional relationships LinkedIn and our network is growing every day.
The reason I like the mobile app is that I can nurture and work my network in a mobile way. Weather I am in a meeting with a prospective customer who wants professional references on the spot or I am just on the road on a project, I can grow my network, post updates and back links to my website, promote my blog or even start a PPC campaign. Accepting new connections on the fly or responding to e-mails is a breeze.
LinkedIn is well designed and it works well on both my tablets and all my smart phones. Downloading and using the app is free. There are paid (but fairly inexpensive) packages for sponsored ads and expanding your network. I LOVE LinkedIn!
2. Meetup
I extensively use the app of Meetup.com. The reason is that it provides me with access to a large number of local (such as Miami based or NYC based) groups and their meetings. The groups are well structured around topics like web development, mobile development, start-ups, e-commerce and retail, enterprise applications, public and Government related work, environmental and non-profit work. There are also a number of groups focused on certain technologies such as Ruby on Rails, Android Development or iOS development.
My experience so far is very good: people who participate in these meetings are dedicated professionals, they brainstorm and collaborate and they are always open to tackling new projects (actually most of them go there with a specific project in their mind).
The Meetup app is well done, it gives you real estate to present your practice, it provides two ways communications channels with the groups, it gives you updates on events and opportunities and it naturally ties the scheduled meetings into your phone's calendar.
The local factor of these groups makes a big difference: attending in person meetings has a better outcome than just bidding online on projects. I LIKE Meetup a lot and will be a long time user.
3. Skype
Skype has been around for a while: I personally used the web app for almost a decade. I started with making free PC-to-PC calls to Europe to talk to my family but more recently I mainly use it as a business collaboration tool.
What the mobile app adds to the table is the ability to basically make free (or very inexpensive) mobile video phone calls / video conferences all over the world. I use this app a lot when I work with my overseas team: we chat, face-to-face collaborate, exchange files, notes and specs and watch videos or training content. I use it on all my smart phones but also on my tablet as it gives me a little more real estate while I am still mobile.
The fact that I am not locked into a specific office location (such as my location in Miami Beach on Lincoln Rd) but I can still run my meetings with geographically dispersed teams adds a lot to the productivity: you can go see a client at 11:00 AM and have an immediate meeting over lunch from a Starbucks nearby.
4. Office Mobile
Even if they were kind of late to the party, Microsoft launched their flagship product for mobile platforms. It was expected and necessary. The Office Mobile offers most of the traditional Office for desktop functionality on mobile platforms. You have things like Word, Excel and PowerPoint ready to be used wherever you are.
While some people use Office Mobile just to be able to open up and read Word docs and Excel spreadsheets, I find it useful at editing docs as well especially when used on a tablet with an attached physical keyboard and/or mouse. That kinds of hardware basically turns your tablet into a laptop.
So I read and edit docs from e-mail attachments, I write quotes and proposals, make graphs and PowerPoint presentations and even do some UI/UX work while on the road.
I like Office Mobile and I use it weekly.
5. Google Maps
I use Google Maps as a business app. It is a very important app for me because it tells me who is my competition in my neck of the woods or who maybe a potential referral partner.
I always scope Google Maps & try to evaluate my partners and members of the local community: places and addresses, customers reviews and ratings, pictures, descriptions. And, of course, I use the Maps for driving directions as well. As a programmer, I extensively use Google Maps API: it has a tone of data immediately available to incorporate in your apps!
In addition to these I sometimes use an app called StockSpy where I am checking how my stock market portfolio is doing. Even though I tend to be a longer term investor than a weekly or monthly trader, I find this app useful.
I also extensively use Google's Hangouts- it is an awesome collaboration tool that gives you rich functionality including video conferencing, notes and artifacts sharing and remote control to a client or business partner machine.
Make it a great day!
Adrian Corbuleanu
Miami Beach, FL
http://wittywebnow.com
