Albert Einstein’s fear of a generation of idiots being raised because of an eventual over-dependence on technology has amounted to nothing more than just that: a fear.
Technology–so far– has done quite a lot to improve our lives. Take smartphones as an example. Who would’ve thought that the device we originally used to call and text others can now be used in a myriad of ways?
The smartphone has become an indispensable business tool because you can use it to send and receive emails, share files, conduct meetings, read, write and edit documents, keep track of all appointments etc.
But that’s not all it can do. You might be surprised at the other cool things you can do with your smartphone. Take a look at the different smartphone apps that will let you take care of different business-related tasks:
SCAN DOCUMENTS
You can be on the street or in a meeting and still scan and send copies of important documents quickly with smartphone apps like Genius Scan, Shoeboxed and JotNot.
What’s cool about these is they are integrated with Google Docs, Evernote, Dropbox and Box.net so you can share and create backup copies.
One app in particular, Card Munch, is very handy when you meet different professionals who give you their business cards. Use this app to scan the cards and add them as contacts and even connect with them on LinkedIn.
HAVE MEETINGS NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE
Need to meet with clients or update progress from team members but you barely spend time at the office? Smartphone apps like GoToMeeting are very useful and so is Skype. Here are other video chat applications you can use for business meetings– ooVoo, Tango, Google Hangouts, Viber and Camfrog among others.
ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
How cool would it be if you can accept and process payments even without the usual POS terminal? Your smartphone can actually do that. That should make accepting payments very convenient even when you’re on-the-go.
Choose from the following apps for business– Square, Paypal, Inner Fence, LevelUp and Dwolla among others.
Most apps come with a card reader that goes into either the jack or charger dock where the card is swiped but innovations have made it possible to forego the hardware. Dwolla and PayPal require customers to log in and transfer funds directly to the merchant accounts. LevelUp scans QR codes to initiate payment.
SIGN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Always out of the office but have lots of papers to sign? Mobile apps like SignNow ($15 per user per month) and SignEasy ($4 to $8 per month) are perfect because you can sign and send documents as quickly as they come no matter where you are. No need to print or wait ‘til you get to the office.
MAKE PRESENTATIONS TO CLIENTS
You no longer need a laptop or desktop computer to make presentations as long as you have your smartphone.
It’s very easy to download or send presentations from the computer to your phone. You can Bluetooth, email, send via USB or simply store it in Dropbox or other cloud storage. iPhones, iPads, Android phones and Windows phones all can view, present and create slideshows using these apps for business– Keynote ($9.99), QuickOffice Pro ($14.99) Haiku Deck (FREE) SlideShark (FREE) and SlideIdea (FREE)
Some of these also work for Android phones. Other Android apps perfect for viewing, creating and presenting presentations include– ThinkFree (FREE), PowerPoint Open Office Remote (FREE) and KingSoft Office (FREE)
These smartphone apps for business are definitely going to lighten things up both figuratively and literally. All you need is right in your palm. No need to bring heavy laptops or go back to the office to take care of stuff — they’ll let you do things you never thought you can do with a phone.