Evernote – capture notes and sync across all devices. Stay organized.
Evernote represents the best of the iPad to me. I’ve spent the last year and a half getting myself paperless and into Evernote, and somehow knew this was the reason. I keep everything in here, and I reference it often. The iPad is the perfect size and form factor for everything from looking up recipes in the kitchen to reviewing meeting notes in a coffee shop, along with countless other uses.
Dropbox
All my staff use Dropbox, and with the iPad, I can access any of their working files for review or to show to a client in a meeting. Combined with GoodReader and the iWork suite, this is a mobile worker’s dream come true. (If you’re not already a Dropbox user, you can sign up here: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTU0MTQxMzk – and by using that link, we both get some extra space for free.)
GoodReader for iPad
One of the limitations of the iPad is that once you’ve modified files on it, it’s a little tough to get them back where you opened them from. GoodReader allows you to set up Dropbox as a destination, along with FTP servers and a variety of other destinations. It truly makes it possible to use the iPad in lieu of a laptop on the road on any other remote work setting.
Pages
Yes, paying $10 a pop seems like a lot, but they’re great pieces of software, and they really make the iPad a productivity device.
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Numbers
If, like me, it’s hard for you to imagine a workday without a spreadsheet, you need Numbers.
Keynote
It’s wonderful to be able to sit in a coffee shop or bar, sip a drink, and conceptualize a presentation that you might make to a prospect. Sure, you could do that with a laptop, but the touchscreen interaction makes it feel like I’ve removed a step in capturing my thoughts.
OmniGraffle
Yes, it’s $50. And yes, if you’ll use it, it’s worth it. Here again, the touchscreen interface is a game-changer for capturing ideas. I find myself diagramming and sketching a lot more abstract ideas with this than I ever do on my laptop. I’ve probably already gotten $50 worth of value out of getting clarity in my thinking around my business, and I’ve only had the app for a week.
Penultimate
One more argument in the case for “touchscreen beats mouse or keyboard” but here we can also argue superiority to pen and paper. Imagine being able to sketch, label, and jot as if you’re doodling on paper, but to just as easily be able to wipe the slate clean, erase a section, redo a line, and all without wasting paper. Also, to bring this full-circle to my paperless lifestyle in Evernote, if I capture my notes in this app, I can keep them handy without ever having to scan them in. It’s a time-saver and it just makes sense.
