Productivity Apps

[JackNaylorPE]

For the last few years, my sons would occassionaly bring over their i-Phones and say "Hey, Dad, my phone can do this".....my response has always been "My phone's (Treo 650) been doing that for 6 years." But w/ HP buying Palm and my dissatisfaction with the Pre and Pre+, especially after the long wait for as GSM update of any kind, when the Treo finally died 2 weeks ago, I just didn't see much of a future there.

So now I have a lotta apps to replace and figured I'd sarry on over from TreoCentral to here for the same kinda advice I used to give there. I read the "Top Five" apps list and was disappointed as most of the posts are geared towards entertaining oneself. What I'd like to find out are the "best in class" productivity apps. I have listed below what I am using now and what I have seen or read about that might fit the bill on the iPhone4.....suggestions from experienced users most welcome.

TomTom for Treo -> TomTom for i-Phone

TreoAlarm -> ????
(Turns phone off at beddie bye time, on at wakie time, sounds alarms and downloads weather report.)

TimeManagerPro -> Webis Pocket Informant ?
(By Little Red Spider, great calendar app)

DateDiff & DayCalc -> ???
(Helps me maintain contract requirements by calculating days between dates or given me a date say 180 days from today)

Diet & Excercise Ass't for Palm -> Diet & Excercise Ass't for iPhone
(from Keyoe)

Directory Assistant -> ???
(Phone number lookup)

Flight Status -> Flight Status

Docs2Go -> ???
(Read and Edits Office Suite Files)

Metro -> Metro
(Public Transportation)

eReader -> eReader

TideTool -> Marine Day Tides
(gives me tide information in most coastal US cities)

Stopwatch -> BA Net Stopwatch
(obvious)

AutoCAD DWG file viewer ?

That should keep me occupied for a while. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Yikes .... anyone use the iPhone with a focus on productivity as opposed to entertainment ?

How about an iPhone equivalent for any of the Natara apps ?

Natara Software - Productivity Applications for the Palm Computing Platform and the Pocket PC OS

 

[clsales]

Hi JackNaylorPE,

You may want to check out DejaOffice, an integrated suite of contacts, calendar tasks and notes apps for iPhone and iPad. DejaOffice offers Palm-specific features such as private records (password protected) and color-coded categories.

While it doesn't necessarily address any of your specific needs listed above, DejaOffice was designed with old Treo die-hards in mind. We here at CompanionLink have talked to hundreds of old Palm users who upgraded to the newest smartphones and were frustrated that these new devices severely lack the necessary business and productivity functionality. We recognized the need for better business software on the iPhone, and thus DejaOffice was born.

DejaOffice is available at no cost from the App Store. It can be used standalone, or you can use DejaOffice with CompanionLink on the PC to sync the iPhone with Palm Desktop, Outlook and others. You can download a 14-day free trial of CompanionLink at companionlink.com/iphone

More info about DejaOffice can be found at dejaoffice.com

Cheers!

P.S. You mentioned Docs2Go - I think Dataviz makes Docs2Go for the iPhone as well (that's one less app you'll have to replace!)

 

[GadgetGuru72#IM]

See my comments below in RED.

For the last few years, my sons would occassionaly bring over their i-Phones and say "Hey, Dad, my phone can do this".....my response has always been "My phone's (Treo 650) been doing that for 6 years." But w/ HP buying Palm and my dissatisfaction with the Pre and Pre+, especially after the long wait for as GSM update of any kind, when the Treo finally died 2 weeks ago, I just didn't see much of a future there.

So now I have a lotta apps to replace and figured I'd sarry on over from TreoCentral to here for the same kinda advice I used to give there. I read the "Top Five" apps list and was disappointed as most of the posts are geared towards entertaining oneself. What I'd like to find out are the "best in class" productivity apps. I have listed below what I am using now and what I have seen or read about that might fit the bill on the iPhone4.....suggestions from experienced users most welcome.

TomTom for Treo -> TomTom for i-Phone

TreoAlarm -> ????
(Turns phone off at beddie bye time, on at wakie time, sounds alarms and downloads weather report.)

TimeManagerPro -> Webis Pocket Informant ?
(By Little Red Spider, great calendar app)

DateDiff & DayCalc -> ???
(Helps me maintain contract requirements by calculating days between dates or given me a date say 180 days from today)

Diet & Excercise Ass't for Palm -> Diet & Excercise Ass't for iPhone
(from Keyoe)

I love Tap&Track as a diet and exercise assistant. I've been using it more about 9 months and think it's fantastic.

Directory Assistant -> ???
(Phone number lookup)

There are tons, and most are free. Yellow Pages makes one.

Flight Status -> Flight Status

Docs2Go -> ???
(Read and Edits Office Suite Files)

DataViz makes Docs2Go for the iPhone. It's incredible. I use it every day.

Metro -> Metro
(Public Transportation)

eReader -> eReader

TideTool -> Marine Day Tides
(gives me tide information in most coastal US cities)

Stopwatch -> BA Net Stopwatch
(obvious)

The iPhone has a built-in stopwatch. I don't know what you plan to use it for or how feature-rich it needs to be, but the built-in stopwatch has always worked fine for me.

AutoCAD DWG file viewer ?

That should keep me occupied for a while. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Hi JackNaylorPE,

You may want to check out DejaOffice, an integrated suite of contacts, calendar tasks and notes apps for iPhone and iPad. DejaOffice offers Palm-specific features such as private records (password protected) and color-coded categories.

While it doesn't necessarily address any of your specific needs listed above, DejaOffice was designed with old Treo die-hards in mind. We here at CompanionLink have talked to hundreds of old Palm users who upgraded to the newest smartphones and were frustrated that these new devices severely lack the necessary business and productivity functionality. We recognized the need for better business software on the iPhone, and thus DejaOffice was born.

DejaOffice is available at no cost from the App Store. It can be used standalone, or you can use DejaOffice with CompanionLink on the PC to sync the iPhone with Palm Desktop, Outlook and others. You can download a 14-day free trial of CompanionLink at companionlink.com/iphone

More info about DejaOffice can be found at dejaoffice.com

Cheers!

P.S. You mentioned Docs2Go - I think Dataviz makes Docs2Go for the iPhone as well (that's one less app you'll have to replace!)

Deja looks interesting.... tho the part I didn't get was your comment about "standalone" .... as a standalone, will it sync normally thru the iPhone sync channels or is the CompanionLink the ONLY way to sync stuff. What I'd really like is something that syncs w/ Lotus Organizer. 20 years later and no one has come close to matching the ease, logic an elegance of this program.

And yes, I went looking for DocsToGo ...was easier to find after I dropped the "2"

 

[JackNaylorPE]

See my comments below in RED.

I'm pretty stuck on the Keyoe app....been using it for 6 years.

See above, when I dropped the Docs2Go and went looking for DocsToGo, things got ez . Tho I'd be happier with something that recognized the whole world isn't MS based (Open Office / Symphony User).

As for the stopwatch app, the one I have runs 3 independent stopwatches.

Also need a scientific calculator, don't expect it to be hard to find.....other than, like Directory Assistant, there are dozens of similar iPhone apps .... I'm trying to get the benefit of everyone else's experience and not have to cull the herd meself

 

[Fausty82]

Directory Assistant -> ???
(Phone number lookup)

Poynt is excellent for location based services as well as providing phone number lookup as well as REVERSE number lookup... a serious MUST HAVE.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here's a big one. My first real day of iPhone use was Monday. Charged it up Sunday nite, used some WiFi ... went thru my normal workday, by the time I got back home at around 10 pm, iPhone was almost dead. Note: I do not use the iPhone for entertainment.....didn't listen to any music, take or look at any photos, viewed no movies, very little Safari activity (4 pages) .... took maybe 8 calls and had another 10 go to voice mail.

By comparison, I'd charge up my Treo 650 once a week. I certainly realize that leaving WiFi on all day was the primary cause of the quick drain. However, the primary reason that my Treo only needed a weekly charge was TreoAlarm. This app would turn off all of the radios at night at 11 pm and turn them back on in the morning (7 am). It doesn't really sound like a big thing .... I would imagine just put the phone in Airplane Mode at the selected "I'm not answering the phone anyway after this hour" time and turning it on again at the "Yes, I'll take your call now hour".

So the big question, does this app exist ?

 

[Alli]

Jack, if you only charged your Treo 650 once a week you must have left it off. I had an extended battery in my 650 and still had to charge it daily.

 

[emily0605]

The default iPhone calculator turns into a scientific one if you turn the phone to landscape view. I'm not sure of anything like you're describing for the alarms. When I had a winmo phone I could set the peak and off peak sync times to not retrieve email while I slept. My iPhone does. I don't really care as long as it doesn't alert so I just turned off the email alert. I need to do the same to my husbands new phone!

I hope you find what you are looking for! I love my iPhone. More than I should love a gadget!

 

[Brickman]

I will give this a shot since I came from a Palm Treo 755P. My answers are in italics.

TomTom for Treo -> TomTom for i-Phone

Yes. Look for:
TomTom U.S.A.
CoPilot Live

TreoAlarm -> ????
(Turns phone off at beddie bye time, on at wakie time, sounds alarms and downloads weather report.)

Not sure about this one. May have to dig a little more, but I think it may be unique to the PalmOS. There are tons of Weathers Apps though that update via WiFi. I use AccuWeather.

TimeManagerPro -> Webis Pocket Informant ?
(By Little Red Spider, great calendar app)

Pocket Informant for iPhone
Agendus
OmniFocus...Just to name a few. I personally use a combination of Apps for my PIM needs.

DateDiff & DayCalc -> ???
(Helps me maintain contract requirements by calculating days between dates or given me a date say 180 days from today)

Not sure about this one either since I never used it on my Treo but the built in Calendar is simple but useful. Again a search in the App Store and I bet there is one in there.

Diet & Excercise Ass't for Palm -> Diet & Excercise Ass't for iPhone
(from Keyoe)

Tons and Tons and Tons. They even have one that is good for Diabetics.

Directory Assistant -> ???
(Phone number lookup)

[I]TryDa. Used it on my Treo and love it on my iPhone!![/I]

Flight Status -> Flight Status

Flight Status Live
Flight Tracker Pro
Check out Siri. It is different but very useful overall with travel.

Docs2Go -> ???
(Read and Edits Office Suite Files)

Of Course! There is D2G and QuickOffice as well. There are several other file and storage apps as well.

Metro -> Metro
(Public Transportation)

I live in the "sticks" of Alabama so I am not much help here but I have heard others talk about these apps just not sure what they are.

eReader -> eReader

eReader
Kindle
Barnes & Noble
Classics


TideTool -> Marine Day Tides
(gives me tide information in most coastal US cities)

Sure there is. You will just have to look through the App Store.

Stopwatch -> BA Net Stopwatch
(obvious)

[I]Built in Clock has a stop Watch as well as lap Timer
[/I]
AutoCAD DWG file viewer ?

[I]Ck out Drawvis Free. It reads DXF files which AutoCad 2008 can save down to. It is a good one to start with. There are others though.[/I]

That should keep me occupied for a while. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I used my Treo 755P as my Primary work device for years but when it died and I migrated to the iPhone. With a little searching through the App Store, I have been able to replace all of my old Palm Apps with iPhone Apps. YMMV.

My iPhone is my primary business device for my small business now even above Desktop.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Again, I am not using it to entertain myself just as a productivity tool. I'm in the car, it's my phone....I'm on a construction site, it's my phone.....I need to run some calcs, view a file, it's my phone. But I do have an office and a hotel room when on the road and I can simply be more effective with something that lets me type w/ all my fingers and gives me 1920 x 1200 worth of screen real estate.

But I am not watching movies, listen to music or thumb type answer to 20 e-mails a day with it because I can do that much more efficiently with a full size KB and a laptop. Sure I have a funny sound clip or 3 and a few interesting 10 second videos. I don't see it as a primary tool, it is simply a tool which can be used in a pinch when a better one isn't available.....kind a like a swiss army knife can be useful in a pinch but I am sure you have a better can opener, better knife, better scissors and better screwdriver within a few minutes reach. To my mind, trying to use a phone for everything is like trying to build a house with one of these:

Giant Knife 16999 Wenger Swiss Army Knife

I take probably 10-15 calls a day on the cell phone....most conversations last under a minute and are to the effect "I'll have my office send over the latest draft, look it over ..... I'll be in my office in 45 minutes, we'll discuss it in detail then."

The phone was in fact on 24/7 .....the radio was shut off by Treo Aalrm between 11 pm and 8 am weekdays .... 1 am to 10 am weekends.....Treo Alarm sounded an alarm to wake me up and activated the radio same time it activated me

I also made sure to fully discharge the battery at least once each month and recharge it to a full charge to recalibrate the charging rate so it wouldn't over / under charge the battery....but a week was never a problem. I'd get thru a whole week's vacation w/o ever taking the charger out of the glove box.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The default iPhone calculator turns into a scientific one if you turn the phone to landscape view.

RTFM'd last nite and found that out

Seems most of the stuff I added to the Treo, although they were all free, are built into the iPhone. Putting the phone into airplane mode while one sleeps seems like an easy programming effort and will be surprised if no one seems to have tackled it.

 

[RhinoTLC]

Battery life

I've used the iPhone for two generations now and the number one battery waster is push email. Change that to check messages once per hour and your average battery life will soar. It also is good productivity practice to limit your times per day you check email. Immediate communications should be phone or text message, group your email checking and responses to 2-3 periods per day, and you will be amazed by the change in your ability to focus on what you want to get done versus reacting to every item over email.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I never use push e-mail and haven't even set up mail on this thing yet .

I check my e-mail at 10 am every morning....that's it unless I get a call telling mne soemthing important on the way.

 

[McIPhone]

This is a walk down memory lane, I remember many of you from Treo Central. I was McTreo in those days. I went WM for the last few years. My new iPhone4 arrived today. Good to be back with some good people here on the forums.

All the best,

Mac (no hijack intended.)

 

[Duvi]

Jack, if you only charged your Treo 650 once a week you must have left it off. I had an extended battery in my 650 and still had to charge it daily.

I was thinking the same. Mine never made it
to the end of the night. I was lucky to get it
to the EoB.

 

[Alli]

Hi Mac! I think there are a lot of us here who started out on T|C.

 

[Duvi]

This is a walk down memory lane, I remember many of you from Treo Central. I was McTreo in those days. I went WM for the last few years. My new iPhone4 arrived today. Good to be back with some good people here on the forums.

All the best,

Mac (no hijack intended.)

Welcome. I was Jayden0606 and switched
my name to Duvi. I didn't post much, so
you may or may not remember me.

 

[jonathanwills]

hello guys,
Nice list thanks for sharing... Would like to add Future Scheduler app for iPhone..