Technology & You

With tens of thousands of apps out there — social media tools, information receptacles, games and more — it’s hard to determine which (if any) might be useful for getting down to business. This task is made more difficult by the fact that the number of apps grows with overwhelming speed.

Technology & You Nine business apps worth watching by Laura Bradley

With tens of thousands of apps out there — social media tools, information receptacles, games and more — it’s hard to determine which (if any) might be useful for getting down to business. This task is made more difficult by the fact that the number of apps grows with overwhelming speed.

850 went looking for apps designed to make your work life a lot easier. Here are some that have been consistently recognized for their utility:

Hootsuite

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Keitai, iPad):
Social media promotion is still a hot trend in businesses, especially as a way for emerging enterprises to keep customers engaged and up-to-date with promotions. Accordingly, keeping up with the various social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) can still be a dizzying task. This is where Hootsuite comes in. This app enables users to schedule updates to various social networks ahead of time. It can also update networks simultaneously. Results can be tracked and tasks can be assigned and delegated to employees. In short, this product offers a serious edge when it comes to promotion through social media.

Scan2PDF Mobile

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile):
This app will send your portable scanner packing. Take photos and convert them to high-quality PDFs in a snap. Even better, since they are already on your phone, they are ready to send virtually anywhere. Multiple pages can be scanned and converted to one PDF quickly and easily. Image quality is higher than that of a photocopier, but still not quite as good as a desktop scanner. Since the images are stored locally on the phone, retrieval is also made simpler.

TripIt

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile (beta), iPad):
Anyone who travels frequently knows how much of a hassle it is to keep track of all those confirmation emails for flights, reservations and rentals. This app “drags travel kicking and screaming into the 21st century” by organizing all of this minutia into a neat itinerary. Users can forward their confirmations to plans@tripit.com and receive an organized itinerary that can be customized with maps, directions and even personal touches like pictures and notes. The itinerary can be accessed anytime online or by mobile device. These features, combined with its support for over 1,000 booking sites, make TripIt a must-have for business travelers.

CamCard

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry):
Rather than collect business cards and stuffing them in a pocket, why not use an app that can scan them and sync the information to the phone’s contacts quickly, easily and with astounding accuracy? CamCard is designed to do just that — and do it well. It works by taking a photo of the card that can be cropped and then using OCR technology to scan the text in the photo. Finally, the app identifies to which field each piece of information belongs (email address, phone number, name, etc.). With a brief skim to make sure the card scanned appropriately and everything was categorized correctly, the work is done and the information can be found in Contacts. There is also a cardholder that allows organization of contacts.

Evernote

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, WebOS/Palm, Windows):
Evernote is a fantastic note-taking and organization tool. Capable of taking text, photo and audio notes, as well as OCR-scanning documents and photos with text to enable text-based searching, this free app is a must. When used on both a personal computer and a phone, notes and changes sync frequently between the two, enabling seamless work no matter where a user is. Clips of web pages can also be stored. Passwords can be organized. With a little imagination, possibilities for this app abound.

Documents to Go

(iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Web OS/Palm, iPad):
The name says it all. No more meeting stand-stills when someone forgets their folder or laptop. Now documents can be accessed, edited, even generated on a mobile phone. With the ability to work with Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and formulas, PDFs and more, Documents to Go can serve many purposes. If the app encounters a function it does not support, often it can open the file in read-only format. With all of these functions, it is well worth the small investment.