Mobile Apps is one of the great tools to *channel
your creativity and there are a wide variety of available applications that can help you create works of art or get inspired.
*Be sure to let all your Mobile Device Clients know this...so they'll keep getting back to you!
The following list showcases
ten most popular applications for social networking, travel, news, photography, productivity and more.
1. Facebook
Once an unpopular
app, but now – as of version 3 – a social-network-aware swan, Facebook is a triumph. The revised grid-based ‘home screens’ provide speedy access to regularly
visited sections (news feed, notifications, and so on) and pages, and the experience is such that it in many ways beats the
browser version.
2. Stanza
Kindle’s grabbed many ‘electronic book’ headlines, but an iPhone or iPod touch is a perfectly competent
alternative – at least if you have the right app to hand. Stanza enables you to download books from various sources (many of which offer free titles), and you can transfer
your own ePub, PDF or eReader titles from the free Stanza Desktop.
3. Dropbox
Plenty of apps exist for transferring content between
your computer and your device, but Dropbox is free and
easier to use than most of its contemporaries. Dump files you want to sync in a folder on your computer and Dropbox for your
device will enable you to access them, download them for offline viewing, and, in many cases, view them.
4. Timelines
Timelines is a
time logging app that allows you to keep track of your time using an intuitive interface. Simply tap to pick a ‘timecode’
and tap again to initiate that timecode. You can view colour-coded bar charts of your ‘timesheet’ to see an overview
of your time spent and ‘notes’ to help you see exactly what you did on a given day. All reports are produced in
HTML, which you can easily export, print off or send by email. This is a very useful tool to have if you are involved in projects
that require efficient time keeping.
5. Skype
It’s imperfect and annoyingly lacks push notifications, but Skype is still an essential download. The interface is pleasingly simple
and usable, enabling anyone with a Skype account to make free calls to other Skype users and cheap calls to anywhere in the
world. If you’re on Pay and Go, this is particularly handy, but the app also enables iPod touch users to utilise their
devices for calls.
6. Evernote
Evernote is an application and web service that lets you capture, store and synchronize all information on your PDA, PC
and online. Now, you can Create text notes and quickly access and search them whenever you like. It allows you to send snapshots,
capture web clippings, store voice notes, images and files.
7. Google Maps Mobile
Google Maps is a free app which lets you determine your current location with or without GPS using
Maps. Just visit m.google.com/maps on your mobile.
8. TonePad
Virtual pianos and guitars are all very well, but purely digital
musical toys are more suited to Apple handhelds. Tonepad is
the best of them, using a grid-based interface that enables you to turn notes on and off and compose pleasing and harmonious
loops; your creations can be edited, saved and uploaded to share with other users.
9. Thomson Reuters News Pro
There are many free
news apps, but Reuters News Pro offers a breadth of coverage that makes it a winner. Preferences enable you to tailor the
app’s output to the UK, and the toolbar provides swift access to news, pictures, videos and stock markets coverage.
10. RunKeeper Free
The prospect of Nike+ but better and for free might sound unlikely, but that’s what RunKeeper Free provides. The app
uses an iPhone’s GPS capabilities to track your jogging route, and provides mapping and details of pace and calories
burned. Activities can be shared online, and treadmill runs can be entered manually.
The flagship Android and iPhone devices are the models that dominate
mobile Internet traffic, according to new data from AdMob. Among Apple devices, the iPhone 3GS had by far the most use at
39 percent of all its hardware; the Motorola Droid had almost as much control of Android phones at 32 percent of all Google’s
traffic. Apple remained the leader and held on to 46 percent of traffic worldwide after Android and Symbian gained slightly
to reach 25 and 21 percent each.
Among
iPhone devices, the analysts found a relatively even split between the second-generation iPod touch (25 percent of all Apple
traffic) and the iPhone 3G (20 percent). The HTC Hero was the next most popular in Android phones at 19 percent. The devices
occupying the bottom of the ranks were in stark contrast, however: while the original iPhone logically accounted for just
two percent due to its age, the critically well-received Nexus One also occupied just as little market share. Google’s
strategy of only selling the Nexus One through its own site, and refusing to advertise beyond its search page, is believed
to have hurt the phone’s chances.
The study also
highlighted the fragmentation of Android that has created problems for app development on the platform. While HTC and Motorola
have near total control of Android at 43 and 44 percent each, only 35 percent of all phones are running either Android 2.0
or 2.1. The largest portion, 38 percent, is now running the nearly year-old Android 1.5, while 26 percent is running 1.6.
Apple’s relatively tight control its platform in turn has kept it
relatively in sync, as nearly all devices, 95 percent, run some form of iPhone 3 firmware. The stats also show that nearly
all of the current iPhone and iPod user base will support iPhone 4 as only the original iPhone and iPod touch are ineligible.
