According to a recent Gartner study, this year mobile phones will overtake PCs and the most frequently used way to access the internet. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that making phone calls with a smartphone is only the fifth most popular use for the device. With more than 1.7 million applications that have been downloaded 65 billion times, how can you determine which applications you should consider adding to your library?
In our Mobile App Series TechRecs we feature the apps that we believe would be most beneficial to you when running your business. This month we will cover Uber, AutomateIt, and Super Swiss Army Knife.
Uber
When travelling for business, you can waste precious time trying to hail a cab on a busy city street. Hiring a car and driver for the trip is a luxury that most small business owners couldn’t even consider. With Uber your on-demand, private driver is only a click away. Available in select cities in the United States and around the world, Uber allows you to request a sedan, hybrid or SUV for larger parties using your locations feature on your phone. With fees comparable to standard city cab fares, your fees will automatically be charged to your registered credit card and no tipping is needed. Receipts are automatically emailed to you eliminating the task of keeping up with those irksome tiny cab receipts.
Available for both iPhones and Androids, the Uber app is free.
AutomateIt
Android smartphones have just gotten a little smarter with the activity recognition app, AutomateIt. This app allows you to automate actions on your phone by setting certain criteria to trigger the action. Imagine you get a text from a friend asking where you are. AutomateIt could be set up to automatically send a reply with your phone’s location. The app can trigger your phone to go into vibrate mode during meetings scheduled on your calendar, and can even turn your WiFi on and off as needed as conditions change. Have you ever misplaced your phone and you can’t find it because you left it on vibrate? AutomateIt can unmute your phone by SMS to help you find it.
Currently AutomateIt is only available for free in the Google Play store.
Super Swiss Army Knife
No this application doesn’t turn your phone into a knife, so don’t download it planning to cut yourself free from a fallen rock as one jokester commented in a review. The app does offer an arsenal of handy tools neatly in one place, hence the name Super Swiss Army Knife. You can use the app to transform your phone into a flashlight, a ruler, a distance measure and even a protractor. Click on the plumb and the app opens your camera with a plumb line and graph. Other tools include a compass, and even a magnifying glass, giving you just about everything you would use on the actual Swiss Army knife, except of course, the knife part.
Super Swiss Army Knife is free on Google Play.
Is there an app you would like for us to review? If so, let us know! If you are interested in learning how mobile technology can help your business contact us for a FREE technology assessment.
We are a big proponent of integrated “deskless” technology. In fact, our RevITup Business Care Series includes FREE smart device management for 1 smartphone and 1 tablet for each user. We love finding apps to make you productive!