Smartphone technology is advancing at a rapid clip, and for every task you need to complete remotely, there probably is “an app for that!” Apps are being released at the rate of over 500 per day, so if there is no app today, it likely is just a matter of time before your specific need is met.
Today, there are amazing Android apps for business owners and users to save you time and money while supercharging your productivity. Best news of all is that this computing power is typically free or just a few dollars.
Here are my five top picks for the latest Android apps that really make a difference for business users.
Evernote
I know, Evernote has been around forever. But, if you have not checked it out lately, you are missing out on a lot. It was completely redesigned last year and is now so easy to use and store anything you need to remember. Short notes or long, everything is stored in the cloud and synced, so you never have to worry about where you saved that note. You can add tags or save in multiple folders for easy organization and retrieval. All of this means you can grab quick bites off the Internet, add your own thoughts and store it all for later. This is a great tool for bloggers; your business does have a blog, right? Evernote is free and available for multiple platforms.
CallFlakes
This app follows up your phone calls for you—really! When you hang up after a call, the app offers you six different follow-up options: text, email, meeting, share, call, or reminders, along with an internet search button to Google something immediately. Just a few taps of the buttons and you have your follow-up set and will not forget to do it. You can even add things instantly to your calendar. This app rocks for people who do lots of business by phone. CallFlakes is a free app.
Robin (Siri Killer)
Several alternatives to iPhones Siri have been developed for Android users. The most popular is Robin. She is a virtual assistant in your phone; you can ask for weather info, gas prices, parking or traffic updates, even driving directions or for the best Italian place nearby. Robin is making waves in this area, and this app will likely push more and better upgrades to virtual personal assistants. Your Robin virtual assistant is blissfully free!
Bump
Throw away the business cards—now exchanging information is just a matter of bumping phones. While this app has been around awhile, it is newly redesigned and now allows you to bump images from your smartphone to your PC, no cords required. You can swap content with nearby mobile devices over either Wi-Fi or a data network. Bump is free, and available for multiple platforms.
SkyDrive
SkyDrive is a cloud storage service from Microsoft; it gives you the largest free storage space in this segment, 7 GB. The service is similar to Google Drive and DropBox, and is useful to access files, photos and documents with a few taps on your phone. SkyDrive is free and available for multiple platforms.
Those are my favorite business productivity apps right now, and they help me get lots more work done. Am I missing any good ones? Which apps help you be more productive?
Denise Gabbard writes often about small business, branding and online work.
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Ravi
February 17, 2013 at 9:07 am
I guess Users will be very confused about Choosing Between Evernote And Skydrive. What is better option according to You?
Denise Gabbard
February 18, 2013 at 2:29 am
Hi Ravi– Thanks for reading my post and leaving a comment. Honestly, I use both of these apps— Evernote I use for grabbing snippets when I am surfing online that I might want to use for an article, and SkyDrive I use to store completed work, or big files. I am glad they are both available and FREE:)
Prakash
February 17, 2013 at 3:34 pm
These all are new to me. I like evernote and Robin. As I am using Speektoit vertual assistant this time. But now I will try Robin.
Thanks for such nice android apps.
Denise Gabbard
February 18, 2013 at 2:32 am
Hi Prakash–I am glad I could show you something new! I love my Android devices and am so glad there are now so many great apps to help us all out. You will love Robin.
Jack
February 18, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Bump is a good app for exchanging business info -it requires that the other person has Bump as well on their phone. All that’s then needed is to literally bump the phones to each other and Voila!
Denise Gabbard
March 10, 2013 at 2:28 am
HI Jack– I went to a local networking event recently, and I can tell you that Bump is becoming pretty popular:) It really is such a simple app that it is hard not to love it.
Evan
February 21, 2013 at 8:10 am
I use CallFlakes app and would recommend it to everyone who really use the phone only for business.. Sometimes it becomes irritated when after a chat with Mom e.g the phone gives you this message and subconsciously you associate your private contacts with the business.. Well, maybe it is only about me…
Denise Gabbard
March 10, 2013 at 2:33 am
Hi Evan—I know what you mean and it annoyed me a little at first. After using it for several weeks I can say I don’t even really pay attention to it when I take a personal call. I love the followup capabilities….just wish I could add voicemails to it.
Mark Milligan
March 5, 2013 at 7:31 am
Very nice list, i have used some of them Evernote and Skydrive. And good to know about CallFlakes. Very nice article, thanks for sharing Denise Gabbard.
Denise Gabbard
March 10, 2013 at 2:35 am
Thanks for checking it out, Mark— any apps you use that we should add to the list?