Favorite iPad apps

A week ago I posted a tweet asking what were people’s favorite iPad apps.  Today I’m posting what came back as a result of that poll.  We are doing a lot more work with iPads so I see a series of blog articles coming soon as we talk about different scenarios where iPads work well in a business environment and also talk about situations where they just don’t fit at all.

First off, everyone should know that the iPad is a great vehicle for games and puzzles.  One of my favorite apps is a little Suduko game by Finger Arts.   The other favorites on my iPad are Quickoffice Pro, Evernote, Dropbox, Hootsuite, Netflix, FormConnect and last but absolutely not least Kindle for iPad.

Ok, so what did I get back as replies for favorite apps. Evernote, FormConnect, AudioNotes and Suduko got mentions as replies to my tweet.  Armed with that information, here’s a blurb about each of the products menti0ned. I will post URLs for all these apps at the bottom of this post.

Evernote – this handy app keeps important information as notes up in the cloud.  It’s free if you choose to only access it via the cloud – if you want to have it on devices locally, it’s $5 per month for a subscription.  The key thing here is this app runs on PC’s, smartphones and tablets so you keep your important notes synchronized on all devices.

FormConnect – this app is a way to design forms such as invoices, patient records, etc.  As per their website, “FormConnect allows you to create your own custom forms for storing information on your iPad. Create patient records, customer contacts, expense reports, invoices, proposals, purchase orders, questionnaires, real estate listings and more.”  It only costs $9.99 and has tremendous potential for small business applications.

Quickoffice Pro – for those of us who still live in the Microsoft world, this app is a must.  It allows you to read and create Office documents on an iPad.  You can use it to view PDF files as well.  At $14.99 it is one of the more pricey iPad apps but for me is an absolute necessity.

Dropbox – what can I say.  I love Dropbox.  I’ve been using it even longer than my iPad.  Dropbox is another cloud application that allows you to store files in the cloud and also on your devices.  It is similar to Evernote – except that this is for all file types.  You “drop” a file into a folder and it automatically gets sync’d to a cloud location.  What is particularly cool is you can share a Dropbox folder with other people in your organization or with customers and vendors.  You get a nice popup on your device telling you a file has been placed in a folder.  How cool is that.  I recently used it to put a Kindle book that was out on Facebook into a Dropbox folder and then opened Dropbox on my iPad and retrieved the Kindle book.  The Dropbox app was smart enough to download the book into the Kindle app.  Cool indeed.  Even better is the fact that Dropbox is free for up to 2 gig of storage. You can add more free storage by referring people to Dropbox.  Or you can upgrade to more storage for as little as $9.99 per month.  It makes a very good inexpensive alternative for backing up critical files to the cloud. That is always a good idea for disaster recovery.

Hootsuite – if you read my blog often, you know I am into social media.  Hootsuite keeps me sane.  It allows me to manage all my social media accounts in one place, including those of my clients who I monitor as part of our social media services.  Having it on my iPad turns my iPad into a device that serves me well in a business environment.

Audio Notes – I have a cheaper version of the iPad so I don’t have a means of recording sounds.  So, I had to go look up this tool and boy I wish I had recording ability.  It looks amazing.  Here’s what it says on their website: “AudioNote combines the functionality of note-taking and voice recording apps to create a powerful tool that will save you time while improving the quality of your notes.  By synchronizing notes and audio, AudioNote automatically indexes your meetings, lectures, classes, interviews—you name it. Watch as your text and drawings highlight during playback, helping you to remember the context in which they were taken. Tap notes to seek in the audio, taking you instantly to what you want to hear.” It sounds cool indeed.

Summary

Having elderly parents around means spending time in doctor waiting rooms for me.  Traveling quite a bit and suffering through the slings and arrows of airline services also means sitting around and waiting.  Pulling out my iPad is soooooo much easier than finding a plug for my laptop.  Since I read and respond to my emails, get instant messages, check my social media, read books, play suduko, read proposals, fill out quotes, and on and on, it has become my device of choice when I know I am going to be sitting somewhere for an eternity.  I am now mobile and productive and what’s not to like about that.

That’s my first pass at this series of blog articles.  If you have a favorite iPad app or are using it creatively in your world, post a comment here.  We all would love to hear about creative uses for this evolving technology.

And finally as promised, here are URL’s for all these apps.

http://www.evernote.com

http://www.formconnections.com

http://www.dropbox.com

http://www.quickoffice.com

http://www.hootsuite.com

http://luminantsoftware.com/iphone/audionote.html

Suduko 2 by Finger Arts – find it on the Apple store with your iPad