Discussion on:

The 20 best iPhone apps of 2011 for productive geeks

Hi Jason,

It's a nice list, thanks!

Dobango's play2Win iPhone app is a unique app that combines best of Groupon and Zynga.

This app is location aware. You see lots of offers like Free Lady Gaga CD or $25 Subway Sandwich Gift card. Each offer is a 30 second game like Wheel of fortune. You play a game and battle for free offers. Once you win, you can brag your win on facebook or Twitter.

Don't just play. Play 2 Win at Dobango's Play2Win iPhone app at http://www.dobango.com

You're Joking right?

Gratis Annonser Norge

Lady Gaga???
Forgive me, but I laughed at this.

Have you ever listened to the Greatest Hits of the giant music bands and singers?

Maybe you want to try hits from AC-DC, Aerosmith, Air Supply, ..., Bad Company, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Blondie, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, The Carpenters, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Chicago, CCR, Def Leppard, Dio - Heaven & Hell, Don McLean (bye bye Miss American Pie), Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Heart, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Jett, Journey, Pink Floyd, .........., Queen, Styx, Van Halen, The Who, ... and the list could go on & on & on ...

These bands produced REAL MUSIC, and sang REAL songs, not irritating noise.

You may want to try to listen to some of their hits to appreciate real music, and you probably will be glad you did.

I was expecting lots more technical type apps.

GPS gadgets, pedometers, grocery apps, photoshop and redlaser make you more productive as a geek how?? What about apps to remotely monitor servers, access file systems, manage and update project information, troubleshoot network issues, check sql/ java/ .Net syntax etc??

So you can quickly navigate to a grocery store and find out if the food you are buying is gluten free and send a post a picture of you doing this onto the web ... mmmm ... interesting geek job you must have.

think that list should have been called "the 20 best iphone apps of 2011 for productive cool people"

Why cant we be both?

Yeah I see what you mean. Since people that use to be called Geeks have morphed into "IT Professionals" since the internet/computers are now cool and allows people to make alot of money. Check out this list for a different spin on the best Apps for Geeks vs. IT Professionals http://iPhoneAppsForIT.com or http://www.iphoneapps365.com/category/iphone-apps-for-information-technology/

Great article and useful apps - but I have a few more that I use more than these...

iCurrency Pad - http://www.sollico.com/icurrency.html great and simple app for those of us who travel or need to be aware of currency rates

PONS SnapTranslate - from menus to worrying letters in a language you aren't comfortable in this is an amazing little app that scans printed text AND translates it to the language required... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyL9cQmTFbo

7.0 Megapixel Camera +ZOOM By CrowdCaf?? Dead easy to use with some surprisingly good quality results - a must for those of us with older iphones - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/7.0-megapixel-camera-zoom/id340035727?mt=8

Two apps which I find invaluable are:

- Opera Mini, the browser for iPhone/iPad which does away with all the limitations of Safari
- Xport Contacts which lets you backup all your iPhone contacts in one go and export them to your PC or Mac in a matter of seconds

Yelp - a necessity to find local restaurants, hotels, services, etc with reviews so you know where to go and where not to go.

Photosynth - create 360 degree panorama's.

GPS Drive - excellent GPS navigator. Pay by the year or by the month.

My wife is a fan of radio commentary. She listens to all sorts. However, many of these stations are on AM which does not recieve well where I live. The iPhone plus TuneIn or IHeart Radio and viola'. Problem solved. Now she can travel all over. These type of apps could be XM killers.

An app called "Close Calls" was just uploaded on 8/25 and is both a time management and contact management tool. Busted appointments and call review are now in your iPhone not just your thoughts. Efficiency is the goal and I think for sales types Close Calls delivers.

I've been using ListPro for a long time and now there's an app, works great making misc lists, shopping, parts, health, custom and more lists.
Also KeePass 2 for passwords.
Alarmed for Reminders, timers, and wake-ups.
Google Earth
PDFReader (many document types)

Thanks for your tips, Jason. As a "geek", I also like to work more efficiently outside the office...and always like to learn something different! I use a few of your suggestions, plus some "paid for" apps...like Guitar Mach, Cleartune, Flighttrack, Bloomberg, and Word Warp when I am mindlessly waiting.....

LogMeIn Ignition lets me log into all of my computers from my phone. I can even turn them on (using wake on LAN.) I use this more than any other app on my phone. I used it to turn off computers when I went on vacation this year and left them running to finish some tasks. The response is fantastic on it. Once it has support for Linux it will a near perfect product.

Not that I have an iPhone *yet* but Omnifocus is pretty awesome as far as keeping me on track everyday... and from what I have heard the app for the iPhone is pretty sweet

Logmein ignition is a must.

Quick Office Pro HD is a must (for Ipad) I don't know if this app is available for iphone.

iAnnotate is the best pdf reader/editor outhere too.

I liked the article but was disappointed that most of them where/are for the iPhone. Last time I checked, the Android is outselling the iPhone.

Here are some of my favorite Android apps I use all the time:

1. SportPal - it tracks your running, walking, hiking, skiing, rollerskating via GPS. You can upload your results to Facebook or Twitter and even export the info in a GPX format and import it into Google Earth.

2. Calorie Counter - This is an amazing FREE program. It keeps track of your food intake (providing you enter it). It has a Barcode scan feature that when you can the UPC code, it will automatically enter the nutritional information for you. If it isn't listed, you can enter the info yourself.

3. Out Of Milk - is a great grocery list program. You can barcode scan your pantry of items you are running low on and it will add the item for you.

4. HeyTell - My son actually introduced this to me. You can send VOICE messages (not voice mail and not translated voice into text), this will take your voice and send it to the recipient. It is like the "Walkie-talkie" that some phones can do....thing is....doesn't COST because it uses text, so if you have unlimited texting...this is a must.

4. MyBackup - This is INVALUABLE. You can backup everything onto your SD card and if you have to restore your phone after you factory reset it (or get a replacement if you damaged your phone), it will save frustration and time. I know the CLOUD will back up your programs, but I found this to be faster and to me, more secure in knowing I have the latest data. You can set it to automatically backup in the middle of the night.

5. Double twist - I love this program because I can set my playlists up in iTunes (hours of time spent creating my mixes, compliations). I hook my Android (Thuinderbolt), and then pick SYNC and it transfers the music and creates the playlists for me.

6. GasBuddy - Gives you gas prices of the local stations around you.

7. BUMP - Great to transfer contact information, pictures, apps between co-workers, family and friends...and you can use it between a DROID --> iPhone or iPhone --> Droid

8. Dilbert - Do I need to explain this one!

I have many more, but these are my favorite ones

is coming next week. Look for it next Tuesday (9/13).

Your list should be "productivity" items for IT folks. Not grocery shopping, not best gas prices. How do I improve productivity in a 40 machine shop?

Really only #4 comes close.

This is a great App that saves you time and money when buying makeup. The App allows you to apply virtual makeup to a virtual you.

1. JotNot - handy for taking pics of docs or whiteboards, crop the pics and save to PDF

2. Meetup - keep track of tech meetups

3. Colloquy - IRC client (paid)

4. Prompt - ssh client (paid)

5. SugarSync - similar to Dropbox. I used Dropbox originally but grew concerned about its security robustness.

6. SimpleGeo - location app with geo/political stats and visual indicators for nearby businesses

There are so many great productivity apps out there for nerds like us haha!

I'm a huge fan of ActionMethd by The 99% peeps. As well as, like you mentioned, Evernote. bangin.

Hi,
There is one very simple and free app that I found it NECESSARY it is Autoshutter and lets you to take a photo automatically in a configurable number of seconds.

It was in the 'New and worthy of note' section for 4 weeks.

I personally perfer TripCase over TripIt when I'm in transit.

Checkout Minus, it is a new cloud based storage solution. 10GB free. Better than the 2 or 1 that DB gives you. Dont get me wrong I will keep my DB but who doesnt need another 10GB of free storage to share files? minus.com

the "Join.me" app which is an extension to the website "join.me"

Its great for when a friend or family member says "I don't understand what my comptuer is doing?!?!?"
I can simply ask them to go to the website download and install the client then they give me the numbers at the top of the screen and I can see what they are talking about and even take control if I need to! Its brill!

PocketClould

I use this all the time to RDP into servers and home computers. Its user interface is great with the ability to use almost any key and program shortcuts. It connects not only via RDP but via VMserver and any kind of VNC connection as well!
In fact one time I was away from my server with no one to reboot it and one of my processes had gone rogue and was using 99% of my processing power and windows wouldn't even connect. To save me a journey back to the server I tried this app and it was slow but I was able to end the process!

Check out Downcast in the iTunes store. A great podcatcher app that is activley maintained

This was written about two weeks before your post Jason.

http://thegreatgeekmanual.com/blog/top-10-iphone-apps-for-productive-geeks

1. Wunderlist - Free
2.iTap RDP - Paid
3. Photosynth - Free

Check out DrinkedIn - ok, it might not be Dropbox, but at the end of the workday, it's indispensable for Happy Hour...

For travellers TransFire is excellent - it has a huge selection of languages to translate to and will provide a phonetic translation for those unable to read languages with different character sets (e.g. Arabic, Russian, Chinese etc)

I also think LogMeIn Ignition is essential for people who work away a lot.

iHub is great for tracking investments and ClockPro (although it has some bugs) is good for keeping track of different time zones.

play2Win has a roster of really fun games like spin2Win.

you play a game and win stuff like iTunes gift card.

app is location aware so you only see offers meaningful to you

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/play2win/id432643192?mt=8

My gf and I just downloaded this app last week. It lets you text 911, send them photos, your address, and GPS coordinates. Previously, I had no idea that I couldn't use my iPhone texting app to get help from 911! My gf really likes the idea of getting help without making any noise. Here's the link for the app store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/advanced-911/id455783722?mt=8

Great list... about Podcaster, you write:

"Sure, you can use iTunes and the built-in iPod app to listen to podcasts, but if youre an avid podcast listener (I regularly follow This Week in Tech, Buzz Out Loud, and Tech News Today) then the app Podcaster offers a better experience. You can download over the air (so that you dont have to constantly sync to a computer to get the latest episodes), you can skip forward and backward 30 seconds, you can increase playback speed to 1.5 times normal speed, and the app is even compatible with AirPlay."

I could be wrong... but can't you already do all those things with the iTunes store app (download podcasts directly) and iTunes app (skip back 30 seconds, anyway... as well as increase playback speed to 2x... and play anything to Airplay) on the iPod/iPhone?

It's all there already.

This's the first time I hear that geeks, productive ones especially, use the iPhone!

I looked around me, and the only ones who have an iPhone are the non-technical people, and they only know how to use 1% to 5% of the phone's features.

I have yet to find one geek using an iPhone.
Geeks are busy doing REAL work, and NOT sitting half the day pushing buttons, playing games, texting their other half, and just killing time on their iPhone, as I see it on a daily basis.

Geeks use real software and hardware to solve real world issue, or to improve products that people use.
Does MatLab or SimuLink, for example, ring a bell?

Past generation landed us on the moon, in the 1960s, with no PC or iPhone, or even the existence of Apple.

Our current generation, sadly, listens to what's so called "Lady Gaga", and may eventually land us on a landfill. Just think of how non-competitive, and non-productive we have become!

China is not just coming, it had arrived a long time ago!
What a shame!

Simple, clean. I use it all the time.

This is one of my favourites. I don't need a full-blown project management system and Wunderlist serves me just nicely to manage client work, my own business tasks and even my 'To-Dos' within my own Personal Life simply by creating tasks within relevant Lists. Goodbye to numerous paper lists around my house & office!
http://www.6wunderkinder.com

MotionX GPS Drive tops Navigon Mobile Navigator especially for the price.

There are many I-phone & Android application for different use. When it comes to Small Business it???s critical to access all you contacts, customer issues, and to locate the campaigns you have design. OfficeClip (http://www.officeclip.com) gives the leverage to accomplish all these needs and makes easy to track all your business details at one place. Availsble for smart phones also.

I have to disagree on the GPS App. I use Sygic Europe which is by far the best I have come across.