Best Business Apps for Android

The Android operating system that is taking over the smartphone market is becoming increasingly popular among business professionals. But where do you look to find the best apps to fill your specific need? You could go to the Android Market, but it's often hard to find the app you need by simply browsing. Here is a list of the top 10 best business apps, from Forbes.com

1) ALOQA - Aloqa is an app that is a must have if you travel a lot. Even if you don't, it's quite handy. What it essentially does is take your location and based on the things you like, it will show you on a map where those things and places are. So if you're in a meeting with a client, and someone suggests heading out for coffee, you can simply look at your Aloqua map, and if there's a Starbucks in the area, you'll know exactly where to go. It also lets you know the location of gas stations, movie theaters, parks, wifi hotspots, restaurants and your business contacts.

2)GoAruna - GoAruna allows your phone to link up with your desktop for simple file sharing. This app is a two-parter, there's a desktop application to easily upload your files to a cloud-based storage device. Your Android phone can be used to download and upload files to and from your phone without the hassle of connecting it to your computer.

3)Mobile Defense - This is a must have security app for your phone. What mobile defense allows you to, should your phone ever be lost or stolen, remotely lock, backup, locate or wipe your Android phone.

4)Quote Pro - Quote Pro allows you to check multiple portfolios with the swipe of your finger. It provides advanced stock chart and details, news feeds, and quotes from yahoo. Quotes are delayed by 20 minutes, but prices are refreshed every 10 seconds.

5) Hoccer - Hoccer is an app that literally allows you to throw information at someone or, if you're so inclined, a large group of people. If you want to exchange your contact information, you simply flick your wrist at the person your sending it too, similar to a Frisbee, and the transaction is done. You can also "Hoc" your texts, pictures, a file, even an entire presentation!

6) Evernote - Evernote is an app that allows you to literally save files, notes, even voice recordings all in one place. You can access your account with your Android phone and via the internet.

7) Seesmic - Seesmic is a great twitter app to have in your arsenal. It allows you to quickly access multiple twitter accounts so you can switch from your business twitter account to your personal account with the swipe of your finger. It also allows you to use your bit.ly account, to track your link data. The interface is nice and smooth and very easy to use.

8)BuzzDeck - This is an app that allows you to take all the websites you use to gather your daily news and integrates them into one central location. You can get news and updates from over 1,200 sites and make a customized feed to only get the news and information you want.

9) K-9 Email - K-9 is an open sourced email client for your Android phone. It has more features and controls than the default email app on Android. You can configure to IMAP, POP3, and WebDAV email protocols, search multiple inboxes, and my personal favorite feature: you can change the frequency it checks for new mail.

10) Google Voice - Google Voice is a great app! It allows all of your phone numbers to be synced with one central number. It will transcribe your voicemails and send them to you in an email. "Other features include listening to messages while they are being left, recording calls, making low-cost international calls and blocking annoying callers by marking them as spam."

There's so much Android can do, and the Android Market is full of great apps for business as well as personal use. I suggest starting with these 10 apps to help you work on the go.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

CNN Apps for iPod/iPhone

CNN has announced new international news apps available for the iPhone and iPod touch. The apps are available at the Apple App Store and provide you with the ability to follow news by topic, upload iReports, watch video, and more. CNN already has a domestic app available for download.

Features include push notification, regionalisation and personalisation tools, and more. News from around the globe can be viewed through text, video, and photos, as well as content uploaded through iReport from users.

Nick Wrenn, Vice President of digital services for CNN International said of the apps, "Our users, including many business travelers, understand that the world is a highly connected place. Our aim with the CNN App is to serve their mobile needs, putting relevant news, analysis and video right at their fingertips in a form that is both personally relevant and easy to use."

Here is a more detailed look at what the apps have to offer:

• "My CNN" allows users to follow a story or topic and get alerts when something new related to that topic or story is published.
• Users can save stories to read offline.
• Readers can choose a particular area such as Middle East, Africa, Asia, or Europe to get news from.
• iReport allows users to upload video and pictures to CNN's user-generated news community, weigh in on other news stories, and view what others have to say or post.
• The app features easy to navigate news headlines from several categories, including "Top Stories," various regions of the world, business, travel, tech, sports, and entertainment.
• Stories are easy to view and easy to share via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Videos are available on demand.

For more information, visit the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPod touch or CNN.com. The international app is free.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

HelvetiNote App for iPad: Best Note Taking App Available

The iPad is a fabulous piece of equipment that is useful for many things including: checking your e-mail from the comfort of your bed, watching a movie on a long flight, or simply entertaining yourself on the subway. You are most likely fascinated with vast amount of state of the art applications this sleek little device provides. You may also find yourself quite disappointed in the performance of the note taking app that comes standard with the purchase of your iPad in comparison to the other apps your iPad provides. That is why Apple has been working to bring you their newest note taking app, HelvetiNote.

The Standard note taking app that comes with the iPad is somewhat useful, but it seriously lacks in note taking features. HelvetiNote is much more efficient. It is set up to get the thoughts out of your head and onto your iPad. The app is simple in its functionality and is aimed to replace the Notes app on your iPad with its smart, elegant, Helvetica-font-oriented interface.

HelvetiNote is an incredibly simple app to use. To begin creating a note you simply tap the screen and type away. The process is both quick and straightforward, and the app works in both landscape and portrait mode. Portrait mode allows you to view more of your note as you jot down your thoughts. However, if you like having more room to type, you would certainly opt for the landscape view. It offers a nice roomy keyboard and still allows you a view of your note that’s just not quite as generous as portrait mode.

While you are typing out your note, you can choose to have the toolbar open on the screen or hidden away. The toolbar includes a search field, an option to add new notes, and a button to hide the toolbar. The toolbar also displays all of your created notes, cataloged in chronological order. When the toolbar is hidden, the note itself takes over the whole display. The background takes on the appearance of a lined piece of notebook paper and places the title that you have chosen for the note at the top.

One of the most attention-grabbing features of HelvetiNote is its sketch mode. Located in the upper right hand corner of the display screen are two little buttons that permit you to toggle between text input and sketch. While in text mode you can type away your thoughts, then at a touch of a button you can flip over to sketch mode and draw out a diagram within your note. Sketching is quite simple you just use your figure and you can sketch anywhere in your note. If you make a mistake, no need to worry you simply tap the eraser or press a button that will remove the entire sketch without causing any harm to your text.

One of the biggest disappointments about HelvetiNote is that the text doesn’t recognize a sketch and will type right over top of a drawing. Likewise, you can sketch over text. It would have been nice if Apple could have made it so text was aware of the sketch and could avoid it on its own, but overall it is a small inconvenience.

Another let-down about HelvetiNote is that it doesn’t sync apps with your desktop or any other service. This didn’t really bother me but some people did find it disappointing. However there is a button in the lower right hand corner to e-mail your notes.

Overall HelvetiNote is an excellent note-taking app. It’s well designed, easy to use, and has lots of great features that make it very enjoyable to work with. It’s perfect for taking notes in meetings and classes or just jotting down your thoughts when inspiration hits. Also, it’s an excellent value from the Apple store at only $2.99.

Looking to try out an iPad? Check out rentacomputer.com where you can easily rent an iPad or call and talk to a tech travel agent today at 800-736-8772.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

Never Be Late Again with the iHome+Sleep App

Do you find yourself getting to work late or missing important deadlines? What about when you're on the road? Does that hotel wake-up call really wake you up? If you're looking for a new alarm clock with lots of other neat features, iHome+Sleep is the app for you!

Made by iHome, a popular iPod and iPhone accessory brand, iHome+Sleep has a lot to offer. You can create multiple bedtime and wake-up settings with alarms, wake and sleep music, social networking updates, personal reminders, and more. Basically, you can create your own sleep profiles. In addition, the app can be used with some of iHome's hardware or "App-Enhanced" products.

You can also choose music to wake up to from your iPod library, get the weather with the weather widget from The Weather Channel, check up on your sleep stats, and even use it with Facebook and Twitter.

But according to iHome, the app is not yet finished. In the weeks and months ahead, the company will be adding even more features. These will include the ability to sleep and wake-up to internet radio stations, background alarms with multi-task support, improved alarm settings, an improved menu, separate wake and sleep volume/fade settings, and iPhone landscape mode, among others.

You can currently get the free app for your iPod or iPhone, but in the future, iHome plans to make it available for the iPad, as well. For more information, visit iHomeAudio.com.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

BMW's New iDevice Makes Your Commute Entertaining

BMW is stepping things up a notch when it comes to listening to your iPod in your car. Sure, there are several ways to do that in many cars now, but BMW's next-generation iDevice will let you control your apps while you drive, from your dashboard. Or, just to be safe, when you're sitting in a parking lot or your driveway, right? Perhaps your passenger could do the controlling?

Anyway, the new iDrive allows you connect your iPod or iPhone through the iPod out connector and in turn, you'll be able to get data from your media players. If you check out the video below, you'll see that it's really a very gorgeous-looking new feature and would really come in handy during long commutes. It almost makes me wish I still drove 45 minutes to work each day! OK, not really, but it is that neat!

As for safety, it's probably a lot safer than switching songs on your actual iPod while driving because it's a lot bigger and located on the dash. You won't have to worry about messing around with your touchscreen or the wheel on your iPod. On the other hand, BMW may see this as an easy way to avoid putting a fancy entertainment system in its new cars.

Check out the video for more information about the plans to integrate BMW cars and your iPod or iPhone.




Check out these related stories:
1. BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car
2. Emergency Stop Assistance from BMW
3. The PoolPod: Floating Waterproof Wireless iPod Speakers

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

The GO! Sleeve Keeps Your iPad Safe

The new GO! iPad Sleeve from Shin Norie has just been released. It is a protective sleeve that is made out of waterproof all-weather fabric that will keep your iPad safe and sound. The Cross-Climate performance fabric is perfect for the sleeve. It is soft and breathable, while keeping out water and allowing heat to escape. You will never have to worry about the elements getting to your iPad again.

The sleeve is generously sized. There is plenty of room to accommodate the iPad, even if its in the Apple iPad Case, and it gives it plenty of protection with the foam padding and microfleece lining. The microfleece even helps to clean off the iPad’s screen every time to put the device into the case or pull it out. The GO! Sleeve uses a Velcro flap and a ZipSeal closure to keep your iPad protected.

The GO! Sleeve is available in several different colors and designs. You can get your sleeve with either a red or gray stripe design or a red or gray arrow design. You can also choose to customize your sleeve by taking advantage of the company’s free one color personalization offer that includes text and/or graphics. The Go! iPad Sleeve is now available from the Shin Norie online store for $49.95. This sleeve is the perfect way to make sure that your iPad is safe whenever you’re on the go.

Click here for more information about Apple's iPad and here for iPad Rentals Nationwide.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.