Even as the iPad gains popularity as a lightweight laptop replacement, people still need to do work on their smartphone. To help you on those occasions, InfoWorld.com has selected the productivity suite every business iPhone should have, but individual employees will have plenty of specialty needs that require specialty apps. (Note that these apps also work on the iPod Touch.)
To help companies direct their employees to the apps that can help fulfill those niche needs, InfoWorld has come up with the following categorized list of productivity-oriented business apps. You can get additional iPhone (and iPad) app recommendations from InfoWorld's "no-junk" iPhone app finder, which lists more than 250 apps in 23 categories, including file managers, IT tools, news and information, print and fax, real estate, and security.
[ InfoWorld reveals the best productivity apps for your business iPhone users and for business iPad users. | Learn how to manage iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys, and other smartphones in InfoWorld's 20-page Mobile Management Deep Dive PDF special report. ]
The categories are:
- Email and calendar
- To-do and task management
- Databases
- Mind-mapping and whiteboarding
- Conferencing
- File management and printing
- Cloud storage and FTP
- Remote access
- SharePoint access
- ERP and CRM access
- Analytics
- Business travel
- Business miscellany
I've included links to the apps' download pages at the U.S. iTunes Store; note that prices are subject to change and were current when this article was originally published.
If your company uses Lotus Notes, you'll need IBM's free Lotus Notes Traveler Companion app, which can connect to the version 8.5.1 or later of the Lotus Notes server and act as the client for email, calendaring, and contacts management.
If your company uses Novell's GroupWise, use the $6 GW Mail app from Ghost Pattern Software to connect to GroupWise Server versions 6 through 8 for email access -- if WebAccess is enabled on GroupWise. Ghost Pattern has the free GW Lite app to test compatibility. (You can use Apple's Mail app instead if your IT group installs the new Data Synchronizer Mobility Pack add-on to its GroupWise 8 server.) Ghost Pattern has the $4 GW Calendar app to let you manage your GroupWise calendar; it too requires WebAccess be enabled on the GroupWise server.
If you want to create form letters, consider Christian Fries' $4 Mailer. It lets you create email templates that you can then fill in. You can also attach various kinds of files directly to your messages.
EuroSmartz's $3 CalPrint for iPhone lets you print your calendars, as well as organize them and their tasks. It pulls in appointments from the iPhone's Calendar app, so you don't have to maintain a separate calendar.