I feel a little late to the party to cover this but, here goes: There are plenty of apps now in Apple’s iTunes iPhone App store, but unlike brainstorming, quantity over quality should have been ruled out. Many Apple sites and blogs have their top 10 lists, but I’d rather just tell you which ones I’ve found useful. In part 2, I’ll go into the games I have found not only fun, but absurdly addicting. This time though, it is all about the Productivity!
Things - David Allen’s Getting Things Done time management system is one of the best around to keep me organized and sane. Things is modeled after the GTD system and does a beautiful job. It hits all the right notes for me – simple, clean, and follows 95% of what the GTD system offers. I’m still waiting for the version they were to release ($39.00) but this one does the trick for me. Things syncs to my desktop, making my GTD ecosystem cohesive and as one.
Wordpress - The crew at Wordpress got this one right with their first try. I use Wordpress for this blog and others, I even tutor clients on how to use it. Without Marsedit, Wordpress can be kinda clunky and slow. Sure we now have Google’s Turbo, but not for the iPhone.
Thankfully, we know have Wordpress for the iPhone. Oy! That means I have no excuse for not blogging consistently, I can do it from anywhere. The UIE is gorgeous, as you’d come to expect from anything made for OS X. I think the best part is the ability to write entries anytime, anywhere, and save them as local drafts. That alone would be worth the price, if they ever do charge for it.
Instapaper - I constantly find great articles and research resources on the web I’d like to read, but when I find them I just don’t have the time to read them on the spot. Instapaper fits the bill, saving web pages for you to read on the go and you don’t need an internet connection. You have the option to view the pages as they actually look on the web or as plain text. It is free, but for an inexpensive $10.00 you can upgrade to Pro which has Tilt Scrolling, among other good morsels to make it even more helpful. I did not find on the free version this surprising jewel – syncing with your desktop!
1password - I never imagined that my once small stack of Post-Its with my web usernames and passwords would grow to the size they are today. As each day passes in our Internet 24/7 lives, the more log-in information we collect. 1Password makes logging into any web site a breeze. Starting with the desktop version, they simplified this process, and anytime you log in, 1Password asks you whether you’d like that information saved. After that, you’ll never forget another log-in again.
Evernote - This app began as a desktop app, just as 1Password did. The thing that makes Evernote rock is that you can put anything in it so you NEVER forget. Here’s some examples of what this sharp program allows you to do: gives you the capability to copy entire web pages by manually copy and pasting, taking a screen shot of a web site and storing it, throw photos, text, color swatches, wine labels, anything you like – and the best part is the “take a photo note.” You can choose “iSight Note” and find anything that has some text on it, hold it up to your desktop camera (I use my iMac’s iSight.) Save it and do a search for what text was on that item – This sucker READS text on anything, truly cool and helpful. I’ve used some magazine pages, just because I didn’t want to tear them out. One particular use for me is my Whiteboard in my office – Just in case I forget to transfer anything that’s there, I take a pic of it before I erase it and start brainstorming again.
More on Evernote will be coming in my complete review of the app coming soon.