Most people are familiar with applications like Gmail, Google Drive and Google Voice, but there are so many other useful ones out there that can help make you more productive and keep you more organized as well.
These are some of our picks for the best and most useful applications available for both iPhone and Android.
Evernote
If you need something for note-taking and archiving purposes, Evernote is a great choice. Each digital note can be created with formatted text, a piece of a webpage, a photograph,a voice memo, or even a handwritten note. You can also place file attachments within notes. It’s a wonderful tool to keep things you need to remember in a place where they are easy to access, since all of the notes are indexed and easy to comb through. It can also be downloaded for Windows or Mac and is free with premium and business versions available if you need them.
OneNote
For those who need some kind of note-taking program but don’t seem to click with Evernote, another option is OneNote, which is similar to in that you have your notebooks and notes where you can store all of the information you need. In addition to being available through iPhone and Android, it’s also available on Windows phone, Windows, and Mac. The best part? Even though it’s also part of Microsoft Office, you can download OneNote by itself for free from Microsoft.
Dropbox
Have you ever been out on the go and realized you needed a file that was located on your home computer, but all you had was your laptop or just your phone? Dropbox can help. It’s a cloud application that you use like any other folder on your computer and is also accessible on-the-go through your mobile device. Any files that are saved in the Dropbox are automatically synced online and to any other devices that are connected to the account. A free plan comes with 2GB of space, but if you need more than that, there are paid versions as well.
Hootsuite
For those social media gurus who are looking for a fun and easy way to schedule posts on various social media sites, Hootsuite is a management tool that does this for you and is available as a mobile application but can also be accessed through your web browser. It has a free version, which allows you to add up to three social media accounts, and paid versions for those who have more than three accounts to manage.
Sunrise
Sunrise Calendar is an aesthetically-pleasing calendar application that syncs with Google Calendar, iCloud, and Microsoft Exchange. One of its coolest features is the way it pulls information directly from LinkedIn, so if you have a meeting scheduled with someone, their picture and profile pop up along with the meeting on the calendar, saving you valuable time on research. It’s also available for iPad, Windows, and Mac and is totally free to download.
Asana
Are you someone who has to keep a to-do list next to you at all times to remember all the projects you have to get done? You should try out Asana, an application designed to enable teamwork on your tasks by allowing users to collaborate on shared tasks and can also be used as a personal to-do list as well. In addition to using it through your mobile device, Asana can also be used within a browser and you can use it for free and upgrade to premium only if you need it later.
Todoist
If Asana doesn’t appeal to you but you’re interested in a to-do list application or some kind of project management, why not try out Todoist? Like Asana, it allows for cloud-based task-management. You can access tasks virtually anywhere with apps and extensions for up to thirteen platforms and allows its users to collaborate on tasks and projects. It has a free version for personal use, as well as a premium version.
Acompli
Acompli describes itself as an easy-to-use email app that allows you to attach file easily, swipe or defer emails, and schedule meetings effortlessly. It includes a fully-integrated calendar and it brings your most important emails to the top of your inbox and places less relevant email in your “other” inbox. You can also schedule emails to return to the inbox at a later time and it’s free to use.
Previously known as Read It Later, Pocket manages a list of articles from the internet that the user has chosen to save in their application to read at a later time, which can be very convenient for someone who enjoys browsing the web but doesn’t always have time to read everything of interest. You can save articles directly from the browser, Twitter, Flipboard, Pulse, or Zite. It can also be downloaded for Windows or Mac and is free to use.
There are hundreds of applications available for boosting productivity and helping people with their work. What are some of your favorite apps?