Getting Down to Business with your iPhone

My Personal List of the Top 10 Best iPhone Apps for Business*

After my post about the best "free" fun & useful apps that you may want to consider for your iPhone, I was asked "what about "business-specific" apps to help get work done while on the go?" So I decided to do some digging and found the most used iPhone apps for business purposes. Here's what I found -

When you're traveling, it's not always easy to find a place to work, get out your laptop, wait till it starts up, let alone try to locate a convenient outlet to 'plug into'. All of a sudden "mobile" isn't one of the words you would use to describe your working environment. What about relying more on your iPhone for basic business tasks, such as grabbing data from your company’s computer systems, managing a Web site, and even viewing, editing, and storing Word and Excel files? You can do all that and more with some of the apps available for download to your iPhone and it could be a valuable piece of work equipment that offers more benefits to you and your organization than originally thought.

Need to keep track of reciepts, manage your meetings, or log your mileage? Well, "there's an app for that!" After researching the best mobile business apps that iPhone has to offer, I put together another one of my "Top Ten" lists and am bringing them to you here, in this post. Who knows, maybe on your next business trip you’ll be able to leave your laptop bag behind.

1. Box.net - http://bit.ly/qfAL9i (File Transfer app) 
If you want more than just file transfer app, Box.net has an iPhone client that lets you share your documents in its online storage space. You can also upload photos from your iPhone and add collaborators by folder too. I like Box because your files can also be seen on your LinkedIn page and you can incorporate a vast library of "Open Box" add-on applications. However, Box isn't perfect - these add-on applications aren't included in the iPhone app; you have to make use of the Web client. And the iPhone app is missing some of the more interesting controls that are found in the Box Web client, such as being able to create a unique URL for ad-hoc file sharing. (Free)


2. Bump - http://macw.us/r9geQP (Contact app)
Bump exchanges your contact information with someone else over Bluetooth by literally bumping your phone into theirs. Never again do you need to go through "Here's my number. Call me right now so I can save yours”. Now you can trade numbers with a simple fistpound. Love it! (Free)

3. Dropbox - http://cnet.co/pGhBu8 (File Sharing app)Dropbox is a great way to back up your data online and easily share files between computers and users. If you find you email files to yourself on a regular basis, carry a USB drive around,and want to have access to your most important files from anywhere then Dropbox is a fantastic service and one you should check out. It will make the syncing of files between your computers so easy you will not know how you lived without it. (Free)

4. Evernote http://bit.ly/qlJyI4 (Productivity app)
Keep track of everything that happens in your life with this app. Evernote lets you gather notes, voice memos, ideas, or snapshots on your iPhone, and syncs them with your computer (PC or Mac). Very useful for creative minds, Evernote keeps your ideas organized and easy to review later. The best thing is the harmonious synchronization it provides, as it adds all of your iPhone notes and items to the service’s Web version as well as to its PC and Mac applications. The app also offers a voice-recording module and takes advantage of the iPhone’s camera to snap photos of things you want to remember. (Free)

5. FileMagnet http://cnet.co/ReqallApp (File Sharing app)
There are a number of file-sharing apps available in the iTunes App Store, and my favorite is FileMagnet. You need both the iPhone app as well as a desktop companion client to communicate to your iPhone. Both your desktop and your iPhone have to be connected over the same local Wi-Fi network, and you need iTunes as well (which presumably isn't an issue). Once you install the desktop client, you can push files from your desktop over to the iPhone by simply dragging them from the Finder or Windows Explorer and dropping them into to the FileMagnet window. FileMagnet can automatically manage the connection between the desktop and iPhone for you as well. It includes viewers for many popular file types, such as PDF, HTML, and Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can store as many files as you have room for on your iPhone, and they can be as large as you have space for. ($4.99)

6. Genius Scan http://cnet.co/oRVaYR (Scanner app)
Need a pocket scanner on the go for those important documents, business cards, and more? This is the app for you. It has been in the top ten apps and featured by Apple in almost all the Apps stores around the world. It’s a great addition to your arsenal of business apps. (Free)

7. LinkedIn http://bit.ly/nbTLmx (Contact Management)For many people, LinkedIn is a useful Web service. The LinkedIn iPhone app really lets the power of LinkedIn shine. For starters, the app lets you get rid of business cards and vanquish printed resumes. Who hasn't arrived back at the office with a pile of disorganized and creased business cards? Having access to the ultimate social network for professionals straight from your iPhone means you no longer have to swap business cards with people--you can just add each other on LinkedIn, on the spot. You’ll never lose another business card--and therefore lose a valuable contact--again. It also lets you view your entire network, and you can send and receive LinkedIn updates so that others know what you are working on. (Free)

8. Microsoft OneNote http://cnet.co/o07bfT (Note-Taking)
Microsoft has taken a big step towards their mobile policy this year and has officially released the version of OneNote app for iPhone. OneNote allows the user to take quick notes on the go. (Free)

9. PDF Reader Pro http://macw.us/ro9KDU (Productivity)
Useful app to upload desired PDF files to your iPhone with the help of Wi-Fi system. It can also provide big screen document view. Many experts around the world recommend it as one of the most useful business apps currently on the market. You can handle document manager, PDF viewer, Outlining as well as bookmarking easily and voted the absolute best file viewing app available! ($1.99)

10. ReQall http://macw.us/r5CoJO (Note-Taking app)
To-do list applications abound in the iTunes App Store, but ReQall for the iPhone is a veritable list-making and reminder-creating suite. It combines to-do lists, shopping lists, and voice memos, and it syncs them to your online ReQall account so that you can access them from outside your iPhone. The service will even convert your voice notes to written ones, a handy spin for impatient touch-screen typists. ReQall is also useful for groups or work situations, provided your friends or coworkers sign up for the free service as well; a People tab lets you share your entries with selected contacts. ReQall also alerts you to items on your to-do lists in several ways, thanks to integrated functionality with instant-messaging clients (AIM and Yahoo Messenger), Firefox, text messaging, and e-mail. You can get reminder blasts through each of those media, as well as pop-up reminders on your iPhone screen.

*Note: All of the researched, recommended apps were gathered from Computerworld, PCWorld, CNET, MacWorld, Business Insider and CIO.com.