Tuning up the iPad for the office, streamline your tablet for business use

I bought my iPad for 2 main reasons, firstly to make the 1:30hr train journey to work bare able with some light entertainment and the other to make myself more efficient at my work both in the office and on the train.

Choose your Apps wisely, it will be different for everyone depending on your industry and function but there are apps out there for most purposes. Most of the good ones are not free so I urge you to do some research, ask around or install the free version to find out if it suits your needs. There’s nothing worse than purchasing something that is completely not what you though it was. It’s not like you can return an App.

So here’s my build so far and I will go into more details on certain apps in separate blog posts. The following apps are my productivity apps, in my opinion these are apps that make me more efficient in my daily tasks. In my opinion the best apps are the ones that span across your Mac desktop / laptop, iPad and iPhone. So, my first recommendation does just that, it’s free and it will be appropriate for most.

EvernoteEvernote – Evernote is a intuitive note taking app that with all the basic functions you will need to make, save and organize your notes. The beauty is that I can start my note taking in a meeting or on the train and when I open the desktop of mobile version my notes are there waiting for me right where I left off.

KeynoteKeynote – Another app that is available on Mac, Pad and Phone. I have now started using keynote for presentations after doing some testing on importing PowerPoint presentations. Obviously industry standard for most, this was more of a need than a want, more on this in a separate post. My other keynote recommendations are to download the keynote remote for your iPhone, you can not only control your presentation but also check your notes remotely. Finally, buy the adapters for VGA connection and hdmi.

Dropbox – You’ve probably used this before but again a great app for syncing your files across all your devices.

SimpleMindSimpleMind – I had the trial version of this software for a day before I bought the full version. There is loads of mind mapping software out there but I found this one did exactly what I needed to do and it has really helped me get some sleep after large brain dumps.

Sketchbook ProSketchbook – what it says on the tin, it’s a digital sketchbook full of nice features to produce some really nice visuals.

Bamboo Paper – a simpler sketchbook but great for quick visualization that you would usually scrawl on a bit of paper to explain something.

Tips and tricks
You can open PDF attachments on your emails in iBooks, just click the icon in the top right.

The latest Mac OSX update includes the App Store, now you can have Apps on your Desktop

The latest Mac OSX (10.6.6) update includes the App Store,  widgets meet applications and visa versa to produce lightweight desktop Apps not dissimilar to the Apps on your iPhone or iPad. Some popular Applications such as iMovie, Garage Band, Keynote etc have crossed over to the App store and the prices are very reasonable. Installing an App is single click just like in iTunes, the icon appears in your dock and updates regularly occur in the same way as your mobile Apps.

I have tested a couple, comparing them to the versions I have on the iPhone. The Amazon Kindle App is very simple and seamlessly links to your Amazon account.

eCommerce – Should online stores be thinking about website usability from a mobile access POV

I was asked the other day if it would be a good idea to produce a shops brochure as an iPhone App. After taking off my iPhone evangelist hat I replied objectively. More and more people are accessing the Internet in new ways but successful apps work because they allow users to quickly and easily perform a task that they would normally do or feel comfortable doing on a laptop.

So back to the question, is it really realistic that every user would install an app for each of the stores they occasionally shop? I doubt it! And although the iPhone dominates the Market they still only account for a portion and unless you are prepared to develop for blackberry, android etc you will only be reaching out to a small proportion of shoppers.

While I have never been a fan .mobi idea of developing sites specific for mobile phone browsers as mobile phones, screen aspect ratios differ across every mobile devices, with increasing devices being able to cope with full screen browsing I would be inclined to look at the build of the main site, optimise the pages for fast download and take a long hard look at the checkout.

In these early stages of online mobile development I would not rule out in investing in getting the catalogue onto mobile devices but possibly a PDF that can be opened on most smart phones with links to your recently optimised web pages is the way to go at this stage. Think about layout of the PDF, file size, usability and linking. This file will also have the added viral advantage of being emailed and viewed at leisure without an Internet connection.

Also see iPhone apps or Online apps? What is the future as new smartphones emerge?

Favourite and most used iPhone Apps for December

December_iPhone_AppsBy far my most used App of this month is Copilot Live and the recent improvements to iPod control within the Sat Nav makes it all the better. But this month I wanted to mention a couple of novelty Apps I have been playing with.

Timelapser is a nice litle time lapse / stop motion software that produces a nice little video. I liked it so much I bought a gorilla pod for my iPhone.

GS Lite, not played with it much but a nice to have for simple blue or green screen effects.

NB TotalFit, works with Mapmyrun and apparently is based on the iMapmyrun App, it has all the little extras like voice feedback that you meed to pay extra for on the premium version of iMapmyrun.

Natwest, I didn’t think it would be long before a bank jumped on the App badwagon and luckily my was first apart from the company that tried to produce an app for a bank that no-one has heard of. Natwest is a very handy and has taken anoter routine job of mine off the laptop and onto the phone.

Flixter, now I have a Ciniworld season ticket thanks to the PruHealth plan the flixter app is perfect for seeing what’s on, rating and trailers.

TV Guide, I don’t get much of time to watch TV but this app is very easy to use and allows you to glance over all the channels very efficiently, with one touch providing more details.

And of course WordPress 2 which without I would be writing these blog posts with on the train most mornings.

iPhone apps or Online apps? What is the future as new smartphones emerge?

iPhone_App_BrowserI am very much into my iPhone apps but a website I visited the other day made me stop and think. I always check the weather on Windguru but it not always accurate, so I went to the XC Weather site using safari to have a second look. XC advertised their new iPhone app on the homepage but with a web address rather than a link to the iTunes store.

I stopped to think and realised that soon at this rate I would have an app for nearly every website I visited on a regular basis and that would be ridiculous! The thing about XC Weathers development was that although just a webpage, it looked and behaved just like an app. From the vendors point of view, as other mobile phone catch up (lol) then the need for development in order to satisfy the entire Market will be high. With an efficient browser and bookmarking the tried and tested web application might not be such a bad idea.

An issue may arise with the software / website accessing key functions on the mobile phone such as the GPS which sets applications on the iPhone far apart from any website but i’m sure it’s very easily overcome.

I was never a fan of web design for specific devices and actually got frustrated when my iPhone reverted to a .mobi when I wanted to browse the original site. I thought .mobi was a minefield of errors but with the iPhone setting such a precedent and with with full screen browsing it might be a way to go!

Augmented reality Apps… Cool but do they really have a practical function?

Augmented_Reality_iPhoneI have been very excited recently about the arrival of augmented reality Apps for my 3GS and this week I installed the Layers App. Very cool indeed but it as I went through the various databases of information I did wonder if it had a practical function. Certain functions such as the Wiki and other informational sources probably have no added value by being able to hold your phone up and obtain directional and distance data and so to for the Twitter functions, fun at first but do we really care where the tweets are coming from? I bet not one person initiates face to face dialogue as a result of a nearby tweet. The concept does however come into it’s own when it comes to the directional data. The local tube stops, banks etc is handy to be able to see on the screen rather than on maps, figuring out which direction is north, which way you are facing and which way you then need to walk. I have watched the Augmented Reality Sat Nav App video on YouTube and again it looks very cool but I have to say, even as a techy who loves the concept, I am sceptical at this stage!

My (08.09) favourite iPhone Apps, Social Media, Sat Nav, Remote Access and more…

The launch of the iPhone 3GS has brought about many new and more advanced apps. On my 3G my most used apps were (in order) email, maps, iRail, twitterific, wordpress, facebook, eBay, aroundme. These are the apps that I found to be a massive timesaver and helped streamline my life. I could do my emails, blogging and stay up to date with my Twitter followings on the train and even check my eBay. Getting out of London at the weekends and having maps in my pocket meant that I rarely got lost, in conjunction with AroundMe I rarely even spent time looking for things.

Current Favourites
Using maps for directions has evolved, I now use Copilot Live, I used to have this on a Touch Diamond and to be honest put my Tom Tom away after a while. I have written about other 3D Sat Nav apps available at the App Store. Also I am a big fan of the remote access app, LogMeIn Ignition, although slow (possibly down to network and WiFi speeds) the concept is sound and I’m sure as soon as O2 upgrade their the 3G network and if I hardwire into the modem I might not be editing video from my iPhone but I will be conducting most other tasks. Also, look into Internet Tethering, o2 now support it and I’m sure it will be quicker and more reliable as it was developed by Apple but it does carry a monthly bolt on charge price depending on your data needs.

A few nice to haves
A few websites I often visit have developed iPhone apps, I don’t use these on a daily basis but they are useful to have in my pocket. Wikipedia, always good as a quick reference and very easy to use. Google Earth, better in a WiFi area but often very handy. Rightmove saves some time looming at houses and also provides a location tool so if anyone ever asks you, I wonder what house prices are like in this area? You can tell them.

The intelligent thing about these apps is that the developers have thought about why you should use the app rather than just navigate to the site using Safari.

Future Apps
The introduction of the video camera to the iPhone has opened the door for real time apps and I am especially looking forward to the augmented reality stuff. Here’s a few teasers. London Tube Signs, Twitter real time location tweets and even a Sat Nav that displays the route on reality not a 3D generated image.

More 3D Sat Nav software apps for the iphone including Copilot Live and Navigon MobileNavigator

iPhone App Sat Nav Blog Series
Finally! A 3D Sat Nav application for the iPhone – Sygic Mobile Maps Europe
More 3D Sat Nav software apps for the iphone including Copilot Live and Navigon MobileNavigator
And then there was Tom Tom – iPhone App, 3D Navigation

Since my post at the time I discovered the Sygic Mobile Maps Europe, 3D sat nav app, there seems to be more popping up on the app store including a roumour that Tom Tom will not be far behind. Also prices are getting competative which is nice considering the cost of the iPhone in the first place. The second one I noticed was Navigon MobileNavigator I can’t provide a review as I have not installed them all on my phone but here is the interface below and you can make your own mind up onthe app store.

Navigon_Mobile_Navigator

The 3rd and one I can comment further on is Copilot Live, I used to have their software on a htc touch diamond, I have to say I was very pleased with it and that’s coming from someone who was an ex tom tom owner, again have look at the interface below and make your own mind up, I think it looks great!

iphone-copilot-liveiphone-3d

Roll on Tom Tom’s App, i’m looking forward to seeing what they produce.

Setting up yahoo pop mail account in Apple Macs Mail program

If I ever figure something out that took me a while to google, I’ll write a short blog and hopefully save someone some time.

I recently bought an iPhone and for convenience, as the phone is set up to function better with A Yahoo mail account, I decided to move away from my old hotmail account. Probably best as over time the amount of junk it built up was getting annoying.

So I still wanted to pick up my mail on my MacBook pro but am not a fan setting up multiple mail programs on one machine so I went about setting up the yahoo account. Even using the automatic settings I was still recieving an error during connection. I wasted a few hours googling and changng settings but still no luck. Before I go through my working settings, go to your Yahoo mail online choose options then … Check the box that reads enable pop mail and bingo! Half the battle is won.

My working settings are -

mail_pop_settings

And outgoing settings -

mail_smtp_settings