We’ll start this list of the best iPad business apps by apologizing in advance if you feel we don’t have you covered on every possible work need. The hundreds of different professions that are available to dabble in mean we could have you moping about being left out if your work takes you off the beaten path. Do check out this collection and see if it features anything you’d want to download for your tablet.
1. Keynote:
Kicking off the lineup of iPad business apps with your presentation needs in mind, we bring you Keynote. After downloading it, you can start by choosing a template from any of the 12 available ones. A dozen is not very much in terms of choice, but the selection of templates should suffice for most people. If you’re using the tool on Mac already, do note that this is not the full-blown version you’re familiar with. That being said, the utility is best for creating presentations on the move.
Automatic syncing to iCloud means you can pick up where you left off on another compatible device. The program allows you to play freely with slide masters, fonts, inserting your own images, animations and more. The changes you make to presentations are saved automatically and the coolest thing is that you can have these tweaks undone even the next time you open your project. You may employ the utility to view and edit Microsoft PowerPoint works too. Files can be imported from the internet, WebDAV services, Mail or a computer with iTunes File Sharing.
Price: $9.99
2. PrintCentral:
Let’s say you spend part of your day printing out stuff – what you need here is PrintCentral. It expands the capabilities of the iOS tablet, enabling you to take it more seriously as a work companion than you would normally do. Now you don’t need an AirPrint enabled printer just because you want to get more productivity out of your iDevice. The iPad business tool works with most Wi-Fi printers without calling for any additional software.
You can even print out documents from a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB or network-connected device by downloading WePrint onto a Mac or PC it’s hooked up with. Of the various things you can make hard copies of, text messages, contacts and shipping labels are part of the bargain. There’s also a powerful email featured built into the interface, allowing you to conveniently check out your stream of messages from a single inbox.
Price: $8.99
3. Pages:
Need to make a project, flyer, card, poster, letter or report using a word processor which will deliver you a reasonable amount of control over the images you need to insert within the document? Pages is a smart option that lets you start by opting for a template from the 16 pre-loaded ones. You will be able to edit Pages ’09, plain text files and Microsoft Word documents. The import options are the same as that of Keynote and automatic backups are made possible via iCloud.
Whatever you create can be exported through Mail as a Word, Pages ’09 or PDF file. If you have a Dropbox account, copying the content to its locker is as simple as commanding Pages to open in this cloud storage mode. The word processor enables you to keep tabs on page, paragraph and character counts, apart from providing the facility to stir footnotes or endnotes as well as 3D bar, area, line or pie charts into the mix.
Price: $9.99
4. Numbers:
Completing the set of iWork tools which make it to our list is Numbers, a spreadsheet solution. It isn’t designed to look like Microsoft’s Excel, but if you’ve played around with Excel, you won’t have trouble with this one. The software lets you make a proper, visually cohesive chart of almost anything you’d want to keep tabs on, with 16 pre-loaded templates including Running Log, Budget and Travel Planner.
There are various ways of planning your documents, the most interesting of which is the 3D feature in charts. You can make your data easier to comprehend by adding in 2D or 3D pie charts, columns, line charts, area charts and so on. Or you could also overlay one chart on top of another to present extra details. You’ll see that the utility takes full advantage of the iOS device’s touchscreen to help you create spreadsheets in the most intuitive manner possible.
Price: $9.99
5. Skype
It’s true that Skype may only be as good as the internet connection you have. But it’s great for making calls or pulling together group meetings at lower monthly costs than your network operator can offer. You can avail of the video/voice calling and instant messaging facility for free if you’re attempting to chat up a contact who uses the service too and is signed into their account. You can also pay for a Skype number that pals can call on from their mobile or landline.
While the basic service is advertised as free, you would need a paid subscription or Credit in order to dial up a phone number. Also, you cannot host a group video call without paying for a Premium account. So if conference calls are on your mind, we’d advise signing up for the Premium plan. With this, you even get live customer care support, PC-to-phone connectivity and discounts of up to 30% on certain webcam models.
Price: Free or $8.99 monthly Premium account, if not subscriptions or Credit
6. Hootsuite:
As companies start eying ways to expand their brand awareness and growth opportunities, social media is being used by practically every entity from the local delicatessen to the budding entrepreneur to the biggest names in various industries. If you’re working at social media optimization for your own brand or for your company, juggling several accounts becomes a tough task. We give you Hootsuite, the one solution to rule them all – LinkedIn, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook and even Google+ or Facebook Pages.
While you can download this contender in our iPad business apps lineup for $0, you will need to sign up for a free or paid account in order to use it. The free one will only permit one person to handle all the social networks hooked up to it. You can set it to automatically update your SNS streams with RSS or Atom feeds from you website or blog. You can schedule messages to be sent out according to the time it’d have the most impact with audiences and even refer to analytics reports on your efforts.
Price: You’ll need a free account or $8.99 monthly Pro account
7. iThoughts HD
Feel like the schedules, ideas and decisions which go around in your mind while working, are snowballing into one giant mess that will implode any moment? Thank CMS for iThoughtsHD, a mind mapping utility to assist you with the task of staying on top of your schedule without forgetting about useful ideas along the way. Solving problems, studying, organizing data, making decisions and more get easier when you have a simplified method to staying focused.
You can export your maps to Powerpoint, Keynote, Pages, Word, PDF or PNG with HTML. You can send and open attachments in mails, use cut/copy/paste between maps, Note, Safari or Mail and even export tasks to ToodleDo or Outlook. Some of the key features built into the capabilities cover doodling, password protection, embeddable documents, search across maps for topics, notes, links, map names and much more.
Price: $9.99
8. Corkulous Pro:
Uncorking the eighth option in our array, here’s an alternative to the idea generation solution we just talked about. Imagine a real cork board on which you can group together ideas, notes, doodles, photos, contacts, tasks and so on. Now take away the physical aspect of it all and Corkulous is what you get. It’s ideal for serving basic mind mapping, message center, reminder, goal manager, lesson planning or similar requirements.
You can have multiple boards as well as sub-boards on which to collect your ideas or make plans. If there’s something on your board that you wish to share with others, you can mail snapshots of the interface as pictures or PDFs. There’s support for Dropbox and iCloud integration as well as iTunes File Sharing accommodation for exporting your cork board PDFs.
Price: $4.99
9. Dropbox:
When you want access to your files from just about anywhere, which cloud storage facility are you going to choose? iCloud is limited by its lack of interest in other platforms, Google Drive has yet to embrace BlackBerry and Linux. Dropbox does nicely in this department with its ability to get along with iOS, Mac, Android, BlackBerry, Linux, Kindle Fire and Windows.
The cloud locker deals out 2GB of free space when you download it. If you agree to auto-save videos and photos to the service, you can avail of 3GB of extra room. So essentially, you get to hoard 5GB of data without shelling out anything. But if your requirements are far greater than this, you could consider coughing up $100 for 100GB memory yearly. You may share links to big files you’d rather not send via mail or even view files listed as Favorites even in the offline mode.
Price: Free (2GB space), $99.99 a year for 100GB storage
10. FTP On The Go Pro:
Webmasters and IT professionals ahoy! Headlight Software has put up a cool FTP client in iTunes. If you’re away from the desk and have a pressing need to edit a file, upload images or view documents on your server, this is the right fix. HTML, CSS, PHP, JS, ASP and other file sorts can be managed using the integrated editor. Documents formatted in JPG, DOC, XLS, PDF or PPT styles may also be inspected from within the UI.
There are several key enhancements targeted at the iOS slab in particular. These include the choice to peruse and edit multiple files simultaneously, quick scrolling and a Code custom keyboard. You can even unzip files without exiting the interface, create ZIP archives, resize images when you want to upload them, import files from mail or share access to stored files.
Price: $9.99
11. Adobe Photoshop Touch:
We’re sure you’re not surprised by the addition of Photoshop to this list. A lot of professionals who have to deal with pictures on a daily basis depend on Adobe’s offering for creating or editing images. It naturally made sense for the company to build a touch-friendly one for iOS device users who keep going at it while on the move. So Photoshop Touch for the second and third generation tablets came about.
The main functionality of the original software has been brought to this platform too. You won’t find elements like selections tools, filters or layers missing from the UI. There’s support for up to 12MP files so that the quality is not compromised and Google Search has been incorporated in order to assist you with the job of obtaining pictures. What’s more, if you sign up for free Adobe Creative Cloud membership, you’ll be on the receiving end of 2GB online storage, automatic syncing of projects and the convenience to sync between slate and desktop PC.
Price: $9.99
12. Bento 4:
On the lookout for a powerful and comprehensive database utility to lend a hand while you plan events, keep tabs on ongoing projects, deal with to-do lists or arrange contact details? Bento 4 will have your back. It lands pre-loaded with 25 nicely designed templates covering Contacts, To Do Items, Diet Log, Inventory, Expenses, Even Planning, Time Billing, Recipes and more.
You will be able to download additional templates for free by connecting to the developers Template Exchange site. Once you’ve picked a layout, organizing the concerned information is as easy as pie. The software accommodates all kinds of additions covering text, addresses, numbers, voice memos, GPS locations, durations, ratings, images, encrypted data, check boxes and more. Do note that Mac iCal data cannot be imported and events or tasks from the pre-installed tool are not accessible from within the UI.
Price: $9.99
13. LogMeIn:
You’re not the only one wishing you had access to your desktop each time you go to a meeting and remember about some file you’ve left behind. If backing up your content to the cloud and then accessing it from any other device isn’t working out for you, LogMeIn should be of assistance. While the company also has a cloud locker service called Cubby, offering remote access is what it does most efficiently.
With this tool on your tablet, you gain admission to files stored on any of your Mac or Windows PCs running its free or paid version. You can control you computer remotely, edit files right from your touchscreen and run any compatible program on your Mac or PC as if you were seated in front of it. Should you choose to upgrade to a Pro account, HD audio and video streaming, remote printing to an AirPrint device, My Cloud Bank integration and more will be available too.
Price: Free, Pro upgrade starts at $12.99
14. Dragon Dictation:
Lastly, want to save time by dictating to your device rather than typing out messages or mails? Give Dragon Dictation a spin. It also comes in pretty handy for those sort of situations in which your hands really cannot give the keyboard all the attention it needs. Developer Nuance claims that you’ll be able to go almost 5 times faster than on the virtual keypad.
You may even post status messages to social networking services right from the UI, set reminders or send notes without having to deal with the keyboard. The utility supports many languages besides English, though simultaneously dictating in more than one tongue is not part of the bargain. Also, you may have trouble sometimes if you belt out complicated lines or words not used in everyday speech. But overall, it’s a very useful solution for hands-free text input.
Price: Free
Conclusion:
What did you think of the iPad business apps we’ve lined up above? The options we’ve listed cover most primary work requirements, though we daresay you may be making good use of several other productivity-oriented software on a daily basis. Can you think of any that shouldn’t have been excluded from this collection? Do give us a shout about it in the comments section below.
