Best iPad apps for business travellers

Published on Wednesday 22 February 2012 19:34

Many apps are designed for business travellers, and they can range from a convenience to a godsend. Here are a few of the best, according to Andrew Collier

THE SCOTSMAN FOR iPAD

Yes, I’m biased, but this is a strong product which keeps you in touch with events, news and comment from Scotland, with high-quality content from the Scotsman updated throughout the day. You can leaf through the pages of the paper, or view a range of different channels featuring the best of news, sport, business, comment and opinion. There’s also lifestyle and arts coverage as well as a heritage channel featuring history and images of Scotland. With this app loaded up, you’ll always be in touch and never feel homesick. (free to download and for first 30 days, then monthly subscription of £7.99)

APPBOX PRO

This powerful little critter describes itself as “a Swiss Army knife for your digital life” and that sums it up beautifully. It’s actually a whole collection of different apps within a single wrapper. Some of them — for instance, the System Info widget and Battery Life, which shows how many minutes of power are remaining — provide helpful info on how your mobile device is performing. Others are just plain useful by themselves such as a currency converter, an electronic spirit level, a wallet to hold passwords and even the ability to use the front camera to see yourself on the screen as if in a mirror. Victorinox, eat your heart out. (£1.49)

BBC iPLAYER

The Beeb’s free-to-use telly on demand service has become so popular that it’s known as the Device which Nearly Broke Bandwidth. So many people now use it that you wonder why the internet doesn’t slow to a constant crawl. It’s been available for some time for the iPad, and is now there for iPhone users too. All the BBC’s main channels are featured, as is radio. Programmes are generally viewable for a week after TV transmission. There are, though, a couple of restraining factors. One is that, if your bandwidth availability is less than perfect, programmes can stop and stutter like a demented woodpecker. Another is that, due to licensing issues, you can’t view the programmes if you’re outside the UK. (free)

EDINBURGH AIRPORT

Make your journey through Scotland’s busiest airport easy with this helpful and useful app which includes flight tracking; a planner to get to and from the airport via public transport; an integrated Google map with directions for drivers; and a comprehensive terminal map with hotspots for shopping and eating. There’s even a parking widget that helps eliminate the last-minute stress of finding a car space. Travellers can reserve a spot straight from their phone and tag the exact location of their vehicle. Just the thing if your brain is fuddled after that week of meetings in Dubai. (free)

FLIGHTBOARD

It’s fine being able to track arriving and departing flights from Edinburgh Airport, but what about when you’re passing through terminals elsewhere? There are two options — search for an app for every single airport you pass through, or buy this dinky widget which allows you, as its name implies, to look at flight boards for any airport in the world worth mentioning. It’s nice to look at, with flight status shown in different colours. A pro version (£2.99) has terminal maps and weather information along with push alerts for flights. So if you know you’re hopelessly late and the gate is about to close, it’s considerate enough to remind you of that. (£2.49)

MY TRAINS

A bit like FlightBoard but for UK rail services, this gives you live, real-time departure and arrival boards from all the stations across Britain. You can set your home station, and a live progress indicator tells you where a particular train is, if it’s expected on time and even which platform it will be arriving at.

One useful feature if you’re in strange territory is Next Train Home, which uses GPS plotting to tell you where the nearest station is and how to get there. (£2.99)

VOICE RECORDER HD

Forget the dictaphone, this marvellous little app is useful for recording anything. Simple to use, it just requires one click to pick up a conversation and another to stop and save. Its only flaw is that it’s supposed to sync with Dropbox in order to move your voice files quickly to other devices. If the file is too big, though, it won’t work — you can still sync but only via a cable and iTunes. If the makers got that sorted, this would be unbeatable. (£1.49)

RINGGO, EDINBUS & CITYCABS

Three separate apps which are genuinely useful in saving time and effort in moving around and parking in our all-too-choked capital. Ringgo allows you to find street parking nearby and — this is the really clever bit — allows you to pay for it using your credit card, so avoiding the hassle of ticket machines. EdinBus tracks Lothian Buses services around the city, giving you information on your nearest stops and when the next bus is due. If you’re in a hurry, Citycabs allows you to book a taxi directly from your mobile device – you can even plot your cab approaching. (all free)

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samialee

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 04:07 PM

Hello! I often use my iPad at work especially for meetings. I used as note taking application EverNote and then Awesome Note for a long time and their ability to sync but both had a disadvantage ; the lack of features to accommodate tasks, to-do and make monitoring. So I was seeking an alternative application to save time for my meeting. I have almost tested all the apps on Notes ToDo on the Appstore and I must admit I am still surprised they do not fit with a pro use. I have discovered Beesy, an note taking and management app ToDo which apparently include taking notes with a business way. I have tried for a month and until now i'm really satisfied by Beesy. It's really efficient and maybe the only disadavantage is you need a bit time to use it efficiently. I love shortcuts of Beesy's icons in order to use it quicky and easily add notes. Also, the advantage is to submit easily by email minutes about my different meeting. If you are interested you can google "Beesy" of go to the application's website http:www.beesapps.combeesy-ipad-to-do I strongly recommend you Beesy because you can start appreciating meeting again and yu save a lot of time a work. All the best, Sam

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