Smart phones

[Team Leith Training]

How do these help you with your business, apart from the obvious making calls, sending text, and email

Are there any apps you use which make it easier to run? Help you keep ahead of the game?
I like the ability to check my bank balance while out and above plus the XE (foreign exchange) app i find invaluable when making purchases in another currency.

What are your though/ views/ experiences?

 

[snoon]

I used to use the Salesforce app when I worked in the corporate world but now I'm in SME I basically just use it for app's we're testing - no other 'business' use except calls, txts and email.

 

[lukeh1101]

Same, I keep looking for apps to help me organise my work/life but in the end I seem to always fall back on a good old paper diary. Gmail is getting there, the ability to keep everything synced is a bonus, but still weary of losing everything should I press the wrong button.

Im on andoid btw (Samsung Galaxy Note). If anyone has any good productivity apps to share, let me know!

Also, if anyone knows how to make apps I have one idea which I think would be very simple, yet cant find anything similar on the play store!.

 

[andygambles]

Mainly used for Email, Calendar and Safari.

Other Apps include

Helpdesk - so can reply to tickets
GDrive - view docs
Banking - Check my money
Pingdom - Website uptime
Scanner Pro - Photograph invoices/reciepts and save as PDFs to GDrive
SIP Phone - Office Extension
Navmii - SatNav

Other Apps mainly for entertainment

 

[MBE1]

I use spreadsheets and payments for credit cards, run five different businesses through my Galaxy S2, an invaluable business tool.

 

[davek17]

Now we sell rugged PDA's here so i'm biased I guess. Rugged kit is designed to run key business applications remotely so a good example is Parcel delivery. How do you think you're able to track a parcel without a Rugged PDA scanning the parcels through their life cycle!

Secondly what about remote job scheduling applications? These will run on many Rugged or smart style phones and allow workers to get, accept, report and close off jobs. All remotely, all without paper and all without them having to visit the office every day fighting through the rush hour. The fuel and time savings and the added flexibility given to workers is huge if implemented right.

On a more personal level, i'm an iPhone user. I would die without email on the go. Twitter, Facebook and our own helpdesk system applications allow me and co-workers to deliver fantastic service to our customers anytime/anywhere.

The BBC App keeps me up to date with the latest news, the Kindle reader app allows me to access my whole book collection on the move anytime whilst itunes does the same for my music. Oh and the Virgin Media app allows you to set recordings you missed for your TV at home!. My web browser takes care of the rest of my growing need for information!

Skype saves me money on calls, XE gives me up to date stock and currency values and Angry Birds keeps my neighbours kids happy for hours when i'm asked to step in and look after them (the high scores are all still mine though!!!)

 

[Swapnil007]

Usually use phone for calling, texting, playing games, and surfing and downloading over the internet not using it mostly for business purpose, I haven't heard of any valuable business related app yet but will like to know in future if any body has it and works great for him.

 

[amphis software]

the XBox games on my Nokia Lumia 900 keep my son happy.

Nokia Drive (free sat nav) gets me where I need to be.

Microsoft Office enables me to create and edit Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and use OneNote.

There's free music with Nokia Mix Radio.

There's a front-facing camera for Skype video calls.

And Kindle for reading books.

And the 4.3" AMOLED screen is just fantastic when I'm browsing the web.

All the usual stuff, voice activation, amazing on-screen keyboard which suggests words to you so you never have to type a complete word. Facebook integration, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

I couldn't manage without it.

Tom

 

[APC Nexday Overnite Ltd]

We thought about issuing our drivers with iphones. Each place they take a photo of is mapped. So we could have them take a picture of customer's door rather than just noting a door colour this would prove beyond all doubt that they had been.
Mapping- the maps feature on iphone this could be massively beneficial but could also pose it's own risks as well such as drivers using them whilst on the move.
Google/Internet - Whilst on the move they could google an address/company they're struggling to deliver to and obtain useful contact info such as telephone numbers etc.
Iphones also have a "find my iphone" feature this we could use for tracking the driver's whereabouts and finding the nearest driver for a collection.
I think there's quite a few uses they could provide but they're not cheap and the phone's we use HAVE to be rugged. I know through personal experience that iphones aren't rugged.

 

[Team Leith Training]

i must admit i am finding my iphone invaluable now in the field.

Ace suggestion above for photographing and scanning receipts, that will save me a ton of time in the field even make sending off expenses abroad a lot easier especially if i can get my phone on wifi.

Also added my google drive to the phone, never knew i could do that, plus an opportunity to attach docs from it to email.

Extras i use, not sure if listed are

XE, on the spot currency converter, i use before making purchases.
Plus i have the usual banking apps so i can check balances in the field.

Now i just need a learn dutch app

 

[astutiumRob]

Im on andoid btw (Samsung Galaxy Note). If anyone has any good productivity apps to share, let me know!

SIPDroid for connecting to my hosted asterisk for free calls between staff
Connectbot for SSH when out and about
Dolphin because almost everything I do is web based
Dolphin Morning Coffee to open all my tabs
Remote RDP Pro to get at my Windows VPS
Teamviewer for when a client gets stuck
Google Maps is just so useful
London Tube Map in case I have to travel
The Deadline for dragging family/friends into tasks
Mindjet although the latest updates have lowered my usage of it
Printbot just because sometimes a hard copy is vital
Tripit but only when someone else is organising the trip

 

[frida_adams]

if you need apps for your personal use like checking bank balance or something else. every bank have their application you can download it and can use properly.

 

[LeAnn79]

Quickoffice Pro is a suitable mobile office suite.CamCard- store all the business cards into the smartphone. Touch Down helps to sync the tasks on the device such as calendars and email. Another useful app is Call Reminder Notes.

 

[crystalballltd]

We provide a number of Business Mobile Apps that help companies increase productivity, reduce costs and become compliant with government legislation.

Mobile Lone Worker Protection - Provide mobile based personal security for your lone workers.
Mobile Tracking - report on GPS locations & journey details of remote workers.
Mobile GeoTag - document site visits with geographically tagged photos, notes, electronic signatures, location time & date stamped.
Mobile Monitor - real-time monitoring of all mobile call & sms activity.

Our apps work on Android, Blackberry, Windows Symbian operating systems. (With iOS coming soon)

 

[british steve]

In and outdoor WiFi installation surveys and hotspot testing.

 

[Page]

email me on android

reduces key presses to do the job and I have the info where I want it in my email inbox