Saving Quotes With Evernote [Workflows]
I still maintain that the iPhone was one of the best purchases I ever made. That's going to sound strange coming from a guy whose life calling is incarnational mission among the poor and marginalized, but I'd be prepared to defend it if necessary. For one thing this single device has replaced several other potential gadgets and gizmos our family would likely use on a regular basis: it is our camera, our video recorder, our gaming device, our home stereo, our eReader and much more. Secondly, the pricing structure here in the UK is actually much more reasonable than the non-competitive pricing plans offered by the Apple+AT&T combo in the US.
Okay, justifications aside, let me share with you some of my favorite and most-used apps from 2010, in no particular order. (One note: links below will directly open the iTunes app store. Oh, and most of these should work fine on an iPod Touch too, so keep reading even if you don't have an iPhone!)
1) Omnifocus for iPhone
I could probably do a whole write up on how I capture, organize and track all the tasks I have listed within the multiple projects I'm managing at one time. But for now I'll just say that OmniFocus has become "command central" for all my project and action lists. Yes, it is primarily a Mac platform, and yes there are other options out there (which I've tried), but the iPhone app is pretty slick and automatically synchronizes "through the cloud" with the desktop client. If you're a GTD enthusiast and you're ready to bump your game to the next level, this is the one for you. Don't let the complexity of Omnifocus in general throw you off - there's a whole mindset behind the software which takes some getting used to before mastery. I'd suggest reading David Allen's Getting Things Done, or better yet Making It All Work to immerse yourself - then dive into Omnifocus and make use of some of their helpful screencast tutorials to get you off and running.
2) Reeder
Maybe you haven't quite gotten the hang of subscribing to your friends' blogs through RSS using a free tool like Google Reader. I understand - sounds complicated, right? The thing is, isn't it a pain to check everybody's blog all the time to see if they've updated recently? Plus organizing all those bookmarks? Once I got the hang of just clicking the "Subscribe" button on websites and organizing things in Google Reader, the data deluge became much more manageable. Reeder for iPhone (by the way, they've got a sweet Mac desktop version in beta right now) pulls all that data from your Google Reader account and puts it on your phone in an attractive, minimalistic view that just lets you read your favorite content without distraction. Plus it incorporates some very easy other services you might be into, like saving to Instapaper, mailing to Evernote, etc. Definitely give it a try!
The Prince fam has been solid Vonage fans for several years now (since 2004 or 2005 even?) It's what allows us to make free, unlimited calls to our friends and families in the US using a VOIP service similar to Skype - only it functions through our telephone lines (and phones) rather than our computers. Vonage also lets our friends and families dial our long-held 415 number and ring us here in England at no international charges to them. Pretty neat. Since we're already Vonage customers, the mobile app allows me to make unlimited, free calls to the US from my iPhone anywhere where I have available wifi access. In other words, if I'm at home or at work I can dial up someone in the US and not be charged a penny - as well as not have it count against my mobile minutes either. It's a great money saver. (Oh, and Vonage and Facebook recently teamed up to offer a nifty service where you can call your FB friends for free using this app as well - pretty sweet. Check out http://www.vonagemobile.com/ to see what I'm talking about).
It's not often I chose an app based purely on aesthetics, but Egretlist comes close. They basically created one of the slickest, most visually stunning integrations with Evernote (one of my favorite clipping, storing and filing services) I've ever seen. If you like making lists, or are a moleskin journal junkie, you'll love this one. To get a better feel for Evernote in general, poke around on their website (and they're on many platforms as well; I'm looking at YOU PC-using friends!). Basically, Egretlist has made tedious checklists (like my "packing-for-travel" list) fun and easy to use.
I realize I'm using all kinds of weird telephony workflows here, but essentially when you live in one country but a lot of your work (and family/friends!) are in other countries, you get creative with how to call people or be called without breaking the bank. Enter Google Voice, which is not available outside the US but then again, what if you happen to have a US based phone number because of Vonage or Skype? Teehee! There are some limitations to what you can do with GoogleVoice for iPhone when you're not in the US (like it won't dial out from my mobile), but the way I use it most is for free, unlimited texting to US-based numbers without paying a single cent in either country. That's right . . . FREE. So if you don't want to bother with google voice but just want to turn your phone into an unlimited texting machine, give it a try. (Also, there are several other great alternatives to the free google app - one of my favorites is called GV Connect).
BONUS: GAMES!
I probably sound like all work and no play (what with the money-saving telephony tricks and the obsession with productivity), so just to round things out a bit, here are some of the highly addictive iOS games I, ahem, I mean my kids and I enjoy playing together.