With the release of Apple’s latest and greatest iPhones, critics predicted sales would continue to drop due to lack of design innovation over previous releases. According to recent reports these predictions have been proven wrong, with estimated sales of 55.3 million iPhones during the final quarter of 2013, up from 47.8 million during the same period last year. As the smart phone market continues to grow, so too do the apps you can use on them, including a glut of applications that are designed to run a business more efficiently. In our Mobile Apps Series TechRecs, we feature the apps that we think are the most innovative or are the most beneficial for small and medium sized business owners. This month we will cover Voxer PTT, JumpCam and Agent.
Voxer PTT
When working with a team on a jobsite or even in different parts of your office space, do you ever find yourself wishing for an old-school walkie talkie? If team members are moving around a lot, instant messaging or texting can be time consuming and calling smartphones repeatedly can burn a lot of cell minutes. Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT (push to talk) is a free app for Android, for iOS and for Windows Phone 8 that puts a push-to-talk button on the smartphone that works over Wi-Fi or any data connection. It can call or send voice, text, images or audio files one-to-one or to groups, create messages offline and send notifications when new messages arrive.
JumpCam
Adding video clips with information about your company and it’s culture, client testimonials and handy “how-to” tips are a great way to increase engagement with prospects on your website or on YouTube. JumpCam is a free app for Android and iOS that allows you to record several video clips, edit and add visual & sound effects and seamlessly stitch them together into a single vignette. Videos can be embedded in a website, or shared to social media sites through the app. The app is suprisingly simple to use and the finished results look like you hired a pro.
Agent
We all know how dangerous it is to text while driving. Unfortunately in today’s increasingly mobile working world, not responding to a important message until you find a place to pull over can make the difference between winning and losing a project. The Agent app for Android automatically detects when a phone is moving over 25 miles per hour or is connected to a Bluetooth network. Calls and text messages get an automatic text response, but text messages are read to you as they come in. The app can also be syched with your calendar, automatically silencing your phone during meetings to curtail interruptions. During sleeping hours, the app silences the phone but will automatically turn back on if someone from a specified list of contacts calls. Agent app is available in the Google Play store for $1.99.
Is there an app you would like for us to review? If so, let us know! If you are interested in learning how mobile technology can help your business contact us for a FREE technology assessment. We are a big proponent of integrated “deskless” technology. In fact, our RevITup Business Care Series includes FREE smart device management for 1 smartphone and 1 tablet for each user. We love finding apps to make you productive!