The iPhone, created by Apple, is no ordinary phone. Yes, you can make calls, send texts and surf the internet, but for a business this phone can offer you a lot more. The iPhone is called a “smartphone,” and can offer applications that help you not just conduct business, but grow and manage. There are productivity applications and bookkeeping tools, and it can even act as a wireless signal so you can connect to the internet wherever you have phone coverage.
The phone alone comes with some very useful tools that can help with productivity. The newest iPhone 4S’s feature is called Siri. Siri is an “intelligent personal assistant” that understands what you say and acts as a dictation device. She can remind you to call clients, give you driving directions and send a text message to a client letting them know you’re running late; all without pushing a button. It also comes with the Microsoft Exchange, which gives you the ability to send and receive email messages with the touch of a button, lets you view your calendar and view documents on your phone. Because of the view screen, viewing documents is easy and productive.
But the real productivity comes from the applications. There are over 75,000 applications for the iPhone. Many of these are business applications that allow your customers the convenience of finding your products in the city, or making quick purchases through their iPhones. Businesses can create iPhone-friendly websites, so that iPhone users can access their information with ease. These sites may also include a few popular shortcut buttons, to help mobile users navigate the site.
Here are some very helpful business applications:
iTerminal: This application let’s you accept credit card payments wherever you are. The app costs $25 per month and each transaction costs 30 cents plus 2.29% of the total. FlightTrack Pro: This handy application is for frequent fliers. It keeps track of delayed flights, closures, airport arrival times, temperature, botched reservations, and last minute gate changes. It can also check your gate numbers and more! $4.99-$9.99 per month mbPointer: This turns your iphone into a power point presentation pointer. This only costs $2.99 Evernote: A free application that helps keep track of your life and organizes your ideas. It lets you gather notes, voice memos, snapshots and more, and then syncs them with your computer. Bento: An application that helps you take client information with you on the road, track trip expenses, create to-do lists, manage membership lists, or plan events. It’s billed as a “Productivity” tool and costs $4.99.
These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to business applications for the iPhone. It’s clear that businesses can have a leg up by using just a couple of these handy tools. So in a nutshell, the iPhone can make life a little easier especially when you’re on the go.