Smartphone Apps to Save you Time and Money (Part 2)

Last month, we took a look at the smartphone apps that will help you save time and money with gas, GPS navigation and mapping, productivity and time tracking, contact management, note taking, travel planning, invoicing and credit card payments. This month, we will look additional categories such as marketing, finance, document management, product management, security and news.

Marketing

“Keeping in contact with our magazine clients and readers is vital and even though email is still effective, many are using social media more and more to read what is happening in real time,” says Mike Macrone, advertising rep for North American Sweeper Magazine. “That is why Twitter and Facebook are so important to our business and since I’m always on the go, using both on my Blackberry is the best way to stay in touch.”

“Both apps were pre-installed on my Blackberry and easy to setup (just remember you need to have existing accounts with Facebook and Twitter before everything is setup).”

“Similar to email on a Blackberry, both apps are deeply integrated into the phone, which means whenever I receive a “Reply” in Twitter or someone likes one of our posts on Facebook, I receive an instant alert notifying me. This is a major positive and helps to keep me up on what is going on.”

Twitter—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Twitter makes it easy to stay up-to-date with your followers and Tweet updates that even include a photo. You have almost complete access to Twitter on your phone, meaning you can see what is trending and even search in real-time.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, North American Sweeper.

Facebook—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—While Facebook does the same as Twitter, I do have one major issue with the Facebook app, which is, I can only use the app through my account and not my business ‘Page.’ This is a major stumbling block, as I want to cultivate and keep in contact with followers/friends on my business activity. Now, there is talk that Facebook is working on improving their mobile apps in the near future, so I’m looking forward to seeing things improve for more business activity.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, North American Sweeper.

LinkedIn—(free) iPhone/iPad, Andriod, Blackberry—Allows you to view your entire network as well as send and receive updates. Ranked as one of PC Magazine’s Top 10 business apps.

Finance

MSP Cost Analysis Calculator—($.99) iPhone/iPad—You can show your client their true cost of fixing something versus replacing it.

Bills Monitor—(free) iPhone—Log your bills in this app, you can track or check them, it will remind you to pay your bill after setting its reminding days. This has been billed as a top app.

Mint.com Personal Finance Tool—(free) iPhone, Android—Great reviews by Lifehacker, App Store Rewind, PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, Kiplinger’s Must-Have Money Apps. Allows you to track, budget and manage your money in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts, and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your finances organized.

DataMan—(free) iPhone/iPad—Track your data usage in real time and works with different carriers. Pro version gives you real-time background alerts and can alert you the moment you exceed your usage threshold. According to my account with AT&T, I used more data in a single month than DataMan said I did. I’m not sure which is correct, but I’m guessing that the data that AT&T says I used is the one that counts with them.
Review by Jennifer Taylor.

expensify.com/mobile—(free) iPhone, iPad, Android, WebOS, BlackBerry—Log mileage, file expense reports, and upload a limited number of receipts using your phone’s camera (a smart scanning system automatically extracts information like the date and the amount charged).

Abukai—($39 and up after free 30-day trail)—iPhone, Blackberry and Android—Expense reports are filed in three easy steps: take a picture of your receipt from a smartphone, submit it, and receive your finished expense report. Editor’s Choice winning app.

Document Management

LogMeIn—(free) iPhone/iPad—Access all of your computers over WiFi or 3G.

IDocuments Organizer—(free) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to manage documents, photos and information.

PocketCloud—($.99) Andriod 2.1 or higher—Allows users to create a personal cloud by providing a unified view of all your remote computers from a mobile device. It also provides for unlimited video, phone and audio transfers, opening remote files and creating or deleting folders and files.

Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite—($12.99 – on sale) iPhone—Allows you to view and edit MS Office documents.

Air Sharing—($9.99) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to use your iPhone/iPad as an external drive. You can “mount” remote file servers including Google Docs and others.

Project Management

Encamp—($9.99) iPhone—Gives you access to Basecamp’s features (project management tool) such as projects, messages, to-do lists and milestones. You can see an overview as well as your active and archived projects. You can also view files attached to your Basecamp projects.

Security

Pocket—(free) Andriod—Securely stores sensitive information such as bank information, passwords, prescriptions, locker combinations, etc. The information is only accessible via a master password that cannot be accessed locally.

CPI Security Intouch—(free app, but security packages vary) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Allows you to arm and disarm your burglar alarm; receive email and text notifications when someone enters or leaves the room; control energy sources; monitor who is going in and out of the house; and more. If you set it up with their inTouch Video system, you can see who is going in and out of your home, office or warehouse.

News

News apps—(most are free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Most major newspapers and media outlets have a mobile version that will keep you up-to-date on breaking news.

If you didn’t see an app you like, then I have a website that you might want to check out. BestVendor.com is a free website that allows you to see the preferred apps and technology of your peers and other businesses. You do need a LinkedIn account to sign in and you need to share three of your favorite work apps.

Let us know if you found an app that has saved you time or money, jennifer@nasweeper.com.

Story by Jennifer Taylor