iPhone Apps for Business Productivity
Mashable.com has a great list of work productivity-related iPhone apps with a bit of an overblown title. These apps are ideal for the busy entpreneur, manager and others, and fall into the categories of virtual assistant, to-do/ reminder lists, flight updates, web meetings, password managers, expense trackers and a few others.
While most of the apps listed do cost money, a few of the valuable ones are free:
- AT&T virtual receptionist, which apparently includes a free toll-free number.
- Fuze Meeting, which is similar to WebEx but free, includes instant messages, video sharing, desktop sharing, conference calling. Did we say it’s free? Now you never have an excuse to skip a meeting. Ever. Unless your carrier doesn’t have coverage where you are, or there’s no Wi-Fi. Or you “accidentally” turn off your phone and “forget” about it.
- UPS Mobile. Got an account with UPS? Get an UPS ID (register online) and you can initiate pickups and deliveries, see rates and track your packages.
See Mashable for more info.
iPhone Now #2 Smartphone in the U.S.
ComputerWorld reported this past week that Apple’s iPhone has now taken the #2 slot in the U.S. for number of smartphones, beating out Windows Mobile-based devices but still behind RIM Blackberry devices. According to the report, there are about 6M more RIM smartphone users than that of Apple iPhone. The iPhone is also reportedly doing well in Japan.
iPhone App Review: TimeLines
Update
My original review of the Timelines time logging app is below, but after a few more weeks of use, I’ve decided to write an update to this review.
As you’ll see in the original review below, I was very excited about Timelines, especially because I found the interface gorgeous and the graphical breakdown of time codes enough to satisfy my data visualization fetish. My disappointment was that the interface was not entirely intuitive. However, out of fairness, I have to admit that I used the app without really making much of an effort to more than browse the instructions and video primer. But now, after a few more weeks of use, I’m finding that I actually enjoy the Timelines app. It’s still quirky and “sticky” in funny ways, but other than that I get out of it what I want in a time logging tool.
Original Review
The TimeLines time logging app for the iPhone and iPod Touch looks fantastic and seems great in theory, but in actuality, it’s the first iPhone app I’ve paid for that I’ve been disappointed in and felt like I wasted my money. So far, I’ve found it difficult to use, lacking in instructions, difficult to correct.
That said, I love the visuals and the charting potential, but the unusual way of entering times and durations for project tasks/ activities is very awkward at first and “sticky” in a bad way. And if you need to change one task’s duration, it could have a domino effect on subsequent tasks in the timeline.
To improve this app and make it worth the US$4.99, a number of things have to be improved:
Foremost is the funny way the current vertical bar of color sits underneath the point you stop at. Take a look at the screensnap above. The final vertical bar for (task ‘Code 3′) ends 15 minutes below the point that the ‘break’ bar sits at. Visually, the break bar suggests that a task ends there, so why is it sitting 15 min above the task code bars bottom? But wait, it gets odder. If you leave the app and come back, there’ll be a ‘break’ bar at the bottom of the final task, but the break bar of 15 min earlier will still be there (see snap below). Instructions to this regard would help.
Another big issue I have is that if you define, say, 10 different task/time codes but a given day does not use them all, all the codes still show up on the left. That might mean you have to scroll down needlessly to see durations for various time codes. What happens if you have, say, 20 different time codes? To be a more efficient app, only the codes in use for the given day should be visible. Of course, the current screen makes it easier to enter durations for a given task code, but harder to view overall. So to facilitate the improved viewing of durations, Cronologic will have to change the way task codes are selected.
I really hope they improve this app. It looks like it has a lot of potential. (A free, basic version would have been nice, with maybe only 2 or 3 time codes allowed.) But for now, I’ll log my work tasks as I’ve been doing: in a Google spreadsheet.
How to be a Net Celebrity Using an iPhone and UStream.tv
Combine the iPhone with UStream.tv’s free iPhone livestreaming app, and you too can be an Internet celebrity, broadcasting live from your living, bedroom, dungeon,or wherever. You will need a (free) UStream.tv account, which you can sign up for from the iPhone app, or on the UStream.tv website.
Now what can you do with this setup? Here are a few ideas:
- Livecast conversations with a celeb you’ve just met.
- Share once-in-a-lifetime moments with friends and family.
- Share a live review of a show or movie you’ve just seen or a restaurant you’ve just visited.
- Do a live “unboxing” video of some gadget you’ve just picked up.
- Do quick tutorials, cooking tips, etc.
The video below is a snap of the app recording video. The video can be viewed live over on your UStream.tv channel. If you save the broadcast and upload it to your UStream.tv profile, the video can be viewed on demand at any later time.
Want to read more? Check out iPhoneography, Apple Insider and TUAW. Download the UStream.tv broadcast app from the Apple Apps Store.
Trouble Waking Up? Use the iPhone Alarm Clock App in a Creative Way
If you’re like me and have trouble getting up in the mornings, get creative with the default Clock app on your iPhone. What I do is set two alarms about 10, 15 or 30 minutes apart, with different sounds for each. For me, a deeper sound such as a drum works better, but I mix it up with a Xylophone or Harp sound. In fact, what works best for me is a softer sound for the 1st alarm, and a more insistent sound for the 2nd alarm.
As far as timing, the 2nd alarm is set for the time that I don’t want to get up past. Give it try.