It’s almost impossible to think of a faster growing industry than the mobile application sector. In just 12 months the market has been transformed from virtually non-existent to a sector worth billions of dollars.
The undisputed leader of the sector is Apple. In the last 12 months, its App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has recorded 1.5 billion downloads and hosts over 65,000 applications. Giants such as Microsoft, Nokia and LG are scrambling to keep up.
But the rapid development of the market has created a problem. With so many apps available, ranging from business apps, novelty programs and everyday utilities, it’s becoming harder and harder to navigate the mass of content.
For entrepreneurs and businesses owners with iPhones or other smartphones, taking the time to investigate the App Store for the best programs is likely to take a few solid hours to find anything useful.
With that in mind, SmartCompany has compiled 20 of the best apps on the App Store, with 10 for businesses and another 10 for entrepreneurs in their day-to-day lives.
Business:
1. Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite – $15.99
The iPhone already has an in-built feature for viewing files such as PDFs and Word documents, but only if these are emailed as an attachment. With the Quickoffice Mobile Suite, users can view, change and even send documents over email without the need of sending them as attachments first.
The price is quite high (most apps are worth around $1) but the ability to edit such regularly used file types is more than worth the price. And with the addition of cut, copy and paste in the iPhone 3.0 software update, this app isn’t just a good buy for executives on the run – it’s essential.
2. Whiteboard – $1.19
Whiteboard is exactly that – a whiteboard. Users can draw and make notes in their iPhone screen, while separate users can enter a session by logging via Wi-Fi. Easy to use and useful for when you’re on the road.
Whiteboard sessions can be saved as photos, and photos from your iPhone’s album can be placed into a session.
3. Things – $12.99
“Things” is essentially a to-do app, but is so comprehensive and easy to use that it is worth the $12.99 price tag. Users create events and tasks, then categorise, prioritise and store them in separate folders and categories.
Events and tasks can also be assigned dates, with upcoming events moved forward until they eventually appear in the “today” category. A summary of how many events or tasks a user has that day appears on the home screen, similar to the new email or SMS alerts.
And whenever you open the app, all tasks that were completed the previous day are moved to the “logbook”.
4. Trips – $12.99
For companies with staff on the road, this app will keep flight data and itinerary information, as well as a log of kilometers travelled. The app also logs event information, hotel check-in and meeting details.
If a company has several staff travelling internationally on a frequent basis, it can just update several iPhones with the travel information and hand them to the travelling employees, with no paperwork necessary.
5. Analytics App – $7.99
For small businesses with an online component, this app allows you to track page impressions, unique browsers and all the data within your Google Analytics account.
Data can be placed into a report style, with graphics and charts, while the information provided shows details for visits, page views, bounce rate and time on site.
6. Jobs – $2.49
Created by Australian developer Marc Edwards from development house Bjango, this application is perfect for freelancers and contractors. The app lets you input the amount of money per hour that is being paid for a job, and includes a timer that calculates exactly how much money you are owed.
7. Evernote – Free
Ever have an idea with nothing to write it down? This app allows users to create text, picture and voice notes for users on the go. Features include the ability to synchronise notes on your desktop, search notes by the location in which they were taken and the ability to tag pictures with text.
8. iXpenseIt – $5.99
The App Store is filled with programs designed to help you plan your finances and budget properly, but iXpenseIt is the best designed app for keeping track of expenditures.
It allows detailed budgets for individual expenditures, offers expense summaries in bar graph form, customisable icons for each of your budget categories, full text search for within the app itself and the ability to email report data as an excel file attachment.
The app also provides secure password support, so if your iPhone falls into the wrong hands none of your company’s or personal financial data will be exposed.
9. Keynote Remote – $1.19
There isn’t anything fancy about this app, it’s just a remote. But it’s a good remote. It allows users to switch through Keynote presentations and previews upcoming slides.
10. TomTom – TBA
One of the hottest iPhone apps hasn’t even been released. At the Apple World Wide Developer’s Conference last month, the company allowed several third-party developers to show off what they had already developed for the new iPhone 3GS device.
One of those developers was GPS solutions manufacturer TomTom. The company’s turn-by-turn GPS software will come to the iPhone in the coming weeks, while the accompanying “car kit” will enhance the GPS signal, play music over a car stereo and provide hands-free support.
This app will not be cheap. The car kit alone is expected to fetch over $100, while the TomTom app is likely to include over 1GB of download, indicating an expensive buy. But if you’ve ever played with a TomTom GPS unit, you’ll know the iPhone app will likely be worth the price.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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