Crucial Android apps for your office

Android users everywhere have their own top productivity hacks, whether they are solo flyers or working with a group. You tablet can easily be your office on the go, hooking you up with old standards like MS Office and Outlook, and newer must-haves like Evernote and Slack. It seems as if everyone has a top picks list, so we’re going to stick with our own top choices, and then you can square them with those other lists and see what works the best for you and your own personal work style.

• AirDroid: Access your phone from your PC or Mac, and use all your apps just as if you were using them from your phone, except with a full keyboard! Makeuseof.com’s review states that
  while they have tried other mirroring apps, none has worked as well
• Any.Do: As The Verge notes, some of the best features are still reserved for paying users, but it’s worth it! The market for to-do apps is jammed with free apps barely more functional than a notepad and paper, but Any.Do earns it’s fees with unlimited collaborations and larger file size uploads.
• Blue Jeans: It’s the best app there is for video conferencing no matter where you are. It’s simple, lightweight on your RAM and processor, and it’s intuitive. It’s not a scaled down model of a desktop app, but a real standalone app that works. Hey, we’re not the only ones that think so. They have a pretty exciting live video streaming service called Blue Jeans Primetime that lets interactive video participation for audience up to 3,000 people.
• Drupe: All your messaging apps and contacts on one screen, with a dialer that lets you decide how to initiate the call. For those with multiple communication methods like Whatsapp, Skype, SMS, FB Messenger and others, this is a godsend.
• Evernote: Have you ever noticed that all those search results that say, “18 Apps to Replace Evernote!” or “App X versus Evernote!” Here’s the thing, they are all comparing these apps to Evernote and that should tell you something. It’s flexible, adaptable, scalable, and used by anyone from students to C-level executives. If you are looking for max productivity, by all means shell out for the premium subscription, but plenty of folks do just fine with the free basic account.
• Expensify: Billing itself as “Expense reports that don’t suck!” Come on, any app that can make expense reports not suck would earn a worshipful user base of road warriors – and it has! This is best in the paid version, and it’s for people who do a lot of traveling with a lot of expenses to organize.
• Fleksy Keyboard: Big, fast, and customizable, and more importantly – free! New deep linking to other apps lets you access them directly from Fleksy. The big keys and super autocorrect mean that your fat-fingered typing will be legible and coherent, too.
• Office Suite 8: When Lifehacker calls Mobisystems Office Suite 8 the best office suite for Android, you can bet what you should sit up and take notice. As with most software-as-service, there’s a free version and a premium version, but when your Android device is your office, it’s well worth the cash. Try the free version first, and then splash the cash, since the free version is a very good way to get a feel for the app and how it works with you.
• Pocket: You do have an offline life, and whether it’s airplane mode, lack of a signal, or a “not now” folder, Pocket’s the app to beat – especially with a five star rating from CNET. Formerly
  known as Read It Later, this app you can stuff long reads or videos in the folder and access them later. It’s great for commuters or travelers, and needs to be on your phone.
• Slack: It’s not a front to back collaboration tool, but it is a great app for messaging. It’s more of a messaging platform for groups with added file sharing. This tool is not for everyone, and it’s not one size fits all, but when it’s right for your group, you’ll wonder how you did without it.
• TripIt: When the Travel Channel loves you, you’ve got it knocked. For frequent flyers, this is the app to have. You can organize all your plans in one place, just by forwarding or auto-importing your confirmation emails. Never lose a confirmation number again, and pull up past trips with ease.

Mobile use is on the rise, with even students using Smartphones and tablets for schoolwork according to Statista. While laptops and desktops predominate, mobile device use is going native, just as computers and laptops have entered almost every office and home since the mid-nineties. In time, mobile and hybrid devices can be expected to become as normal as the dialup modem and AOL were back in the day. For those already using them to untether from their desks, they are an indispensable part of working life.

Featured Image: Flickr