.:Top 10 Productivity Apps for iPhone & iPad

Skyfire is a web browser for iPhone and iPad that provides several online features critically missing from iOS Safari. The most notable of these is the ability to view Flash content. With Skyfire you can finally feast your eyes on all of the valuable content behind those annoying, blank, gray squares seen in Safari. Also notable is a feature that allows the browser to load pages as an iPhone, iPad, or Desktop. This comes in handy when trying to get at content left out of the mobile version of some websites. A feature that hides Skyfire’s top and bottom menus frees up more screen space for content viewing. Finally, Skyfire seamlessly integrates Facebook, Twitter and many other online social hubs. There are two annoying limitations that keep me from completely dropping Safari. The most intrusive is an absence of the Open in… tool available in Safari. The loss of this feature makes it impossible to pull PDF documents and other such content for use in other Apps. The second annoying limitation is an absence of password memory. These limitations by no means discourage me from using Skyfire for its strengths, but they do keep this App from being my one stop for web browsing on iPhone & iPad.

Skyfire for iPhone:

Skyfire for iPad:

Roboform

I’ve been using Roboform for years and it just keeps getting better. Now with Roboform Everywhere, I can securely store all of my critical information, including contact, financial, and usernames/passwords in the Roboform cloud and then access it on my Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and online. Roboform is compatible with all major browsers and enhances browser functionality by automatically filling out online forms and by navigating to and automatically signing into any content for which I have saved a log-in. Changes made on my Mac, PC or online are synced across all my devises. Roboform for iPad and iPhone has several annoying limitations. One is the lack of an editing feature. Another is incompatibility with Safari or Skyfire. I must either copy and paste data from Roboform into one of these other browsers or use the limited browser built into the app. The ability to securely share and conveniently use my critical information with Roboform has saved me countless hours over the years.  Roboform is a must-have.

Roboform for iPhone:

Roboform for iPad:

Dropbox

Let’s face it, sharing content between Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad and you name it remains a major obstacle. Dropbox provides an elegant solution to this problem. Dropbox may be installed on any of the devices listed above. Content may be saved in Dropbox exactly the same way it is saved in folders; Cut & Paste, Drag & Drop. Once there, it is instantly available on any of the other devices on which I have Dropbox installed and online. Dropbox provides 2GB of space free of charge and additional space may be purchased. That was easy!

Dropbox for iPhone:

Dropbox for iPad:

Bluewaves > File Transfer

When the iPhone 4 came out offering a wifi hotspot capability, and the iPad II came out offering a wifi only version, I finally made the jump and bought an iPad II. My thinking is that if I’m going to be traveling and away from wifi for a while, I can turn on tethering temporarily for internet on my laptop and iPad. This works great, except for in instances when I need content that is online on my iPad but am away from wifi here at home. Bluewaves > File Transfer fills this gap. With the app installed on both my iPhone and my iPad I can transfer any content on iPhone via Bluetooth to my iPad. No wifi required. Bluewaves has worked smoothly every time I have used it. Taking into account the lower cost of the wifi only iPad II and the monthly savings in service fees, the internet sharing concept Bluewaves enables is saving me a pile of money!

Bluewaves > File Transfer for iPhone & iPad:

Quickoffice Pro & Quickoffice Pro HD

Quickoffice® Pro & Quickoffice® Pro HD Provide A Powerful Mobile Office Solution in Your Pocket. Quickoffice® Pro is the essential Microsoft® Office productivity tool for your iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad that offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for advanced editing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with an integrated file management solution with convenient access to multiple cloud service providers including MobileMe, Dropbox, Google® Docs, Box, Huddle, SugarSync, Evernote, and Catch. New sharing features allow you to publish your content using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yammer, Slideshare, Scribd, and Docstoc.

Quickoffice for iPhone:

Quickoffice for iPad:

Square

Accept credit cards and cash on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with the free Square Card Reader. It's only 2.75% per swipe for Visa, American Express, MasterCard and Discover. No contracts, monthly fees or merchant accounts. Funds are deposited into your bank account the next day. Square makes it easy for anyone to accept payments, anywhere. Buyers can sign right on the device and then receive a receipt via email or text message. Square sends a free card reader in the mail after you set up your square account online. Payments may also be taken over the phone or without the card reader.

Square for iPhone:

Square for iPad:

Kindle

I’ve been reading on a Kindle from Amazon for over 2 years now. You will find my Leadership in Literature section right here on this website. It is based on a study of leadership and history books I have read and taken notes on using Kindle. Reading books on Kindle is many times more effective than reading paper books. A built in dictionary for looking up unfamiliar words, the ability to highlight and annotate, the ability to go back and search through these annotations later, key word searching, and the ability to carry a whole library of books in the palm of your hand are just a few of the reasons why. I have Kindle on my Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and I have a Kindle. Amazon syncs all my books along with their highlights, annotations and furthest page read so that I see the same thing on all of these devices. Kindle for iPad and iPhone is an attractive app that offers all the functionality available in Kindle. My iPad is now my preffered Kindle reading platform. I use Kindle on my iPhone for referencing books. Kindle is an essential tool.

Kindle for iPhone:

Kindle for iPad:

iThoughts & iThoughts HD Mindmapping

Mindmapping is an excellent method of taking notes. It promotes memory by visually depicting connections and relationships. iThoughts HD on iPad is so easy to use and pleasing to the eye that the device and menu melt away. I use it daily in all my meetings. It greatly enhances my efficiency, recall, and organization, facilitating effective participation in planning, briefing, and work groups. One limitation is a lack of support for including images in iThoughts mindmaps. Repeatedly, I have found myself wanting to capture a sketch, graphic, or handout in my notes. I use iThoughts HD on my iPad for taking notes and iThoughts on my iPhone for reference. Finally! Digital mindmapping that can be done anywhere, anytime.

iThoughts for iPhone:

iThoughts for iPad:

iAnnotate PDF

iAnnotate PDF is powerful enough to handle book length documents and one page graphics alike. Its built in library allows organized storage of all my PDF documents. iAnnotate PDF allows me to highlight and annotate right on my PDF documents while maintaining their published formatting, images, graphics, everything. I have used this tool countless times to prepare presentations with PDF documents for reference. I also use it on scanned hand outs for taking notes in classes and meetings. iAnnotate PDF is for iPad only. A similar tool for iPhone would be useful, although the small screen would make much of the functionality of iAnnotate PDF difficult to use. iAnnotate makes attractive, portable PDF touchable.

iAnnotate PDF for iPad:

Scanner Pro

Scanner Pro transforms iPhone and iPad into portable scanners in your pocket. It lets you scan multipage documents, email them and even upload to Dropbox, MobileMe iDisk or any other WebDAV enabled server. Evernote integration is there, too. I hate paper and handouts. In every meeting or class I go to, at least one person hands me something on paper. Most of it is useless, but every once in a while there is something I want to hold on to. I run a nearly paperless shop, so these odds and ends become a real problem. Scanner Pro is the answer to this problem. It turns the iPhone or iPad camera into a full featured scanner. Use the app to take a picture of the document or graphic, adjust the corners, and the app corrects for distortion and exposure, providing a scanner quality copy of the document. The copy can then be opened using other apps, such as iAnnotate for annotation and storage. Scanner Pro is designed for iPhone. It works just as well on iPad, but there is no HD version of the interface. Scanner Pro provides the missing link to a paperless lifestyle.

iAnnotate PDF for iPhone & iPad: