Top 10 iPhone Apps - A Business View

With my business having switched from using Blackberry’s to iPhone’s a few months ago, the concern was that we had switched from business tools to mobile phones that were effectively executive toys. How could the Apple offering better the email machine that is the Blackberry?

I have to say that, apart from a slight slowdown in typing speeds (and ignoring security issues), the switch from my point of view has been a great success. A larger screen, full internet capability (apart from the irritatingly missing Flash) and the multitude of downloadable applications has made it a very positive experience.

What I have done below is listed the applications that make the iPhone work for me. I have focussed on the apps that need downloading rather than the native Apple apps such as Mail, the Safari browser etc. and explained why I think they improve my business life.

1. mSecure (£2.99)

Modern life revolves around software and the internet. As a result most people have multiple accounts, usernames and passwords. From a security point of view passwords should not be reused from account to account, should be changed regularly and should have a degree of complexity to them. But how do you manage that?

Many solutions exist but the one that works for me is a password protected iPhone app, given that my iPhone is (almost) always with me.  I use mSecure from mSeven Software. My iPhone is PIN protected and mSecure is password protected. As long as I remember those two passwords I then have all my other details available -110 at the last count. That includes PC/network login details and passwords, software login details and passwords, internet account details etc.

For those of you that know about such things it uses 256 bit Blowfish encryption.

I find it an invaluable tool and well worth the cost.

2. Pocket Informant (Free to try or £7.49)

Pocket Informant is a GTD-based tasks solution. It is a relatively expensive app and is really only going to make sense for those of you who are Getting Things Done (GTD) system converts or who want to be.  I fall into that latter “want to be” category and this app comes the closest to keeping me on the right path for following the GTD system.

The app is task management software that enables you to capture all your tasks and to-do items and categorise them in terms of projects, deadlines etc. If used correctly then you get a series of “next actions” which should be the tasks that you focus on each day.

3. Dropbox (Free)

Dropbox is a web-based file hosting service which uses cloud computing to enable users to store and share files and folders with others across the Internet using file synchronization.

In my case I have a home PC, a work laptop and an iPhone and with the iPhone app, a simple install on home PC and laptop and via a web interface I have access to documents stored in a folder based directory structure from almost anywhere. Whenever a document is changed, created or deleted then that is replicated in all the linked folders.

If I am working on a document for a particular project then I know I can access it wherever I am.

4. Evernote (Free)

Evernote is another web-based storage app, but in this case it is snippets of information or things such as emails I may need to refer to at a later date that I store, rather than organised documents. For example, I don’t necessarily want to file a retail stores money-off email offer in a full blown directory structure but instead I forward it to the Evernote email address so that it gets stored and is accessible to me in the future.

There are also downloadable tools so that snippets can be taken from web pages and stored for possible future reference. It is an ideal app for collecting ideas for particular projects.

5. Awesome Note (Free to try or £2.39)

This is a great app for creating ad-hoc lists and notes as day to day reminders. It uses a basic folder structure but I tend to keep things simple and have all my notes in one place and create and delete them regularly.

A really useful aid memoire.

6. Mindjet (£4.99)

Mind mapping is one of those concepts that I have always thought is a great idea but never really used in practice to any great extent. I have tried the PC software several times and can see how it can be used for both business and general life but for some reason have never continued to do so.

However, I do use the Mindjet iPhone app and it is a great addition to my working tolls. Maybe this is because I use it in a similar way to Awesome Note and create mind maps on a temporary basis, using it as a visual part of my thought processes, particularly at project planning stages.

7. LinkedIn (Free)

The LinkedIn app is pretty self-explanatory and is the iPhone version of the online LinkedIn social networking tool.

8. TweetDeck (Free)

Remaining with social networking tools, we have Twitter. Something I participate in from time to time and which I know I should find the time to use more, from a social aspect, a knowledge gaining aspect and to promote websites and blogs.

Having tried many desktop, Blackberry and now iPhone Twitter clients and think TweetDeck has the edge for me. It is visually pleasing and easy to use.

9. MobileRSS (Free to try or £1.79)

Again I have tried a number of RSS tools and have settled on MobileRSS as the one that I use. It feeds off my Google Reader account and provides an easy interface to read all of the postings from the blogs that I follow.

10. Angry Birds (Free to try or £0.59)

Finally, this is clearly not a business app but an essential one for those times where you want your brain doing something other than thinking about business matters. What better way than to catapult a succession of angry birds at evil green pigs?

If you agree with the usefulness of these apps and get the paid for versions of those that come at a price then I think at a few pence over £20 they represent great value for money.