There is a great list of 20 iPhone productivity on the Web Design Schools site that should help you weed through the many choices you have on Apples App Store.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I used one of the 3G iPhones for a while and I think they are awesome devices – and part of the allure is the robust (and growing) set of choices for applications. I used some of the apps mentioned in this article but many were new to me, and they may be new to you, as well.
Why am I not using the iPhone any more?
A friend of mine reminded me yesterday that I never wrote anything here about why I dropped my iPhone 3G and went to a Blackberry (I’m now using a Blackberry Bold, which I really like).
Here is the short reason: Many of the business-oriented tasks I perform frequently were very difficult to achieve on the iPhone since it’s not tailored for business use. Here are my top 3:
- I couldn’t cut & paste. I often send excerpts from articles, emails, etc. from my mobile device so this was very inconvenient. This is very easy on my Blackberry.
- I couldn’t invite others to appointments (i.e. initiate meeting requests). Sure I could create an appointment, respond to calendar invites, and such on the iPhone but I could not invite others to meetings. In contrast, on the Blackberry I can do all of this and I can click a button to find the next available time slot in which all of my invitees are available.
- I couldn’t attach / forward contact information to others. I often need to send virtual business card information (mine and others’) to people and this couldn’t be done on my iPhone. This is a long-time function on Blackberry devices.
So that’s the short scoop on why I no longer use an iPhone. I can still use many of the cool apps, by the way. I upgraded my iPod Touch to the latest firmware which allows me to use any app in the App Store that isn’t exclusively for the iPhone.
Read More Happy new year, everyone! After an enjoyable break the week and a half or so, I’m jumping into the new year which, for me, means lots of reflecting and planning for the future.
I’ve read a couple of awesome books in the past couple of weeks and will be posting reviews here in the next week. Meanwhile, if you’re prone to setting goals at this time of year, here are a few randomly selected resources to get your juices flowing:
- If you’ve written your resolutions but are concerned about keeping them, you owe it to yourself to read the (always insightful) Gretchen Rubin’s post on the magic formula for keeping your New Year’s resolutions.
- If becoming more physically fit is on your list, you can get a free (and equipment-free) regimen that is just excellent at the “hundred pushups” site.
- In the only post I wrote during my absence, I have an idea for how to make two lists to increase your productive focus in 2009. It’s over on Joyful Jubilant Learning.
- Finally, you’ve procrastinated this long (or are just prolonging the experience) there are some “best practices” for setting resolutions at Persistence Unlimited that may help.
Here’s to an awesome 2009!
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Here are some links of interest I’ve gathered in the past 24 hours, as shared on Twitter (you can follow me, if you like).
I’m just getting more active in sharing links via Twitter – what do you think? Leave a comment with your feedback.
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This week in the Portland, Oregon area we’ve had some crummy weather and it’s been difficult to get out and about due to snow and ice. As a result, I’ve developed a new appreciation for things I can do remotely. Some examples:
Get my bills: Most of my bills can be viewed or received online now. With mail delays, this is very good (and I don’t have to walk down the street to the mailbox when it’s crummy outside). - Pay my bills: Through my bank’s online bill pay service, I can pay my bills without leaving the house. I also have a number of them set up for “autopay,” which is a big help.
- Work from home: The nature of my job is such that I can handle phone calls, web-based meetings, project collaboration, and so forth anyplace I can get a high-speed internet connection. Very useful (in fact, I think I’m sometimes *more* productive when I work from home).
- Do my Christmas shopping: Thanks to Amazon Prime, I have been able to do almost all of my Christmas gift shopping from the comfort of my own home – and I get free, 2-day shipping on most items. They’ll even gift wrap for you. Talk about a stress reliever.
Most of this wasn’t possible until relatively recently, and I’m sure glad we can do them now.
There are still some things that you can’t do remotely, of course, but these things have been amazingly helpful this week. The other things I’ve learned from my weather constraints this week include:
- Weather forecasting is an inexact science, even with all our cool technology.
- I really appreciate regular garbage pickup.
- I really enjoy having heat and high-speed internet.
- My newspaper carrier is awesome – hasn’t missed a day!
- Even though I can work from home, I enjoy seeing people face to face at the office.
What about you – any things you do remotely to make your life easier?
Related items
Read MoreYesterday, I posted an article on the JJL site called “Where’s the fire?” and it is starting to gather some excellent advice in the form of comments. Go check it out – and stay tuned for a review later this week of an awesome book I’m finishing up – I’ll be posting it here on this blog.
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