Ten Essential Business iPhone Apps

The iPhone. It is already being dubbed one of the greatest devices of the 21st century. And since Apple opened the iPhone to third-party developers and applications the possibilities and tools have exploded. Here is a look at 10 essential iPhone business applications that will help you get the most

Company: Readdle
Application: Readdledocs
Price: $14.99

It might seem a little pricey for an iPhone application, but that’s no reason to overlook this all-in-one document reader. With Readdledocs, you’ll have the ability to open PDFs, any Microsoft Office file, and RTF files. It also supports GIF and JPEG photo formats. By setting up an account on the Readdle Web site, you will be able to store and access the files you uploaded to Readdle Storage. Readdledocs also includes a built-in Web browser, giving you the convenience to save HTML documents from the Web. If you want more storage space you can create a free Appstore account and have up to 512Mb of storage. Be aware, however, that due to iPhone document viewer limitations, documents larger than 5Mb will not be viewable.

Company: MochaSoft
Application: Remote Desktop
Price: $5.99

This is a must-have for anyone running XP Professional. With Mocha Remote Desktop you can access your work computer with full security through Wi-Fi or the 3G or EDGE network. This is the perfect application for people who aren’t at their desks often, travel a lot, or need to get into their computers on the weekend when the office is closed. You will see your desktop, programs, and resources displayed on your iPhone just as you would if you were looking at your computer. If you'd like to give it a test drive first, Mocha Remote Desktop Lite is free, with only a few features missing, such as certain right-mouse-button support, text macro support, and the ability to handle 20 different host configurations.

Company: Headlight Software Inc.
Application: FTP on the Go
Price: $9.99

If you are an IT professional or Webmaster, FTP on the Go can help you fix problems on the fly. FTP on the Go allows you to securely access your business Web site and fix any text problems with its built-in text editor. Find-and-replace features allow you to quickly access problems and correct them with a simple tap of the Save button. Upload photos using the photo library on your iPhone, and if you handle a number of sites, FTP on the Go gives you the freedom to bookmark them for faster access. Stay connected to your site with this great, low-priced application.

Company: NA
Application: Audio Notes
Price: $2.99

Put down the pen and paper and sit back at the next meeting while your iPhone takes the notes. With Audio Notes you can record audio or voice notes even while your phone is in sleep mode. With the tap of a button you can pause and transcribe the important points of the meeting on paper and tap it again to resume recording. Have important notes you can't find? With Audio Notes you can change the icons to help organize or categorize your notes. But the most impressive feature is the ability to export your notes through an FTP server onto your computer. Available for many of the most used languages, this app will help you to never miss another word in a meeting again.

Company: EpIPhone Coders’ Guild
Application: iSpend
Price: 15.99

iSpend is great for anyone who needs to keep track of business or travel expenses. Gone are the days of looking though receipts and logging your purchases into a book or even a laptop. With its simple interface you can log expense reports and create custom categories with time, date, and costs while out of the office. One very convenient feature, the outliner expense log view, allows you to collapse entire categories into one, only showing the total. If you work in a freelance position, this is a great application to have for tax purposes. Don’t ever forget another dime you’ve spent while on the road.

Company: Wooji Juice
Application: Stage Hand
Price: $7.99

Instead of giving your next keynote presentation and pausing to change slides by hitting a button on your laptop, download Stage Hand and control it with your iPhone. This handy application will have you looking like Steve Jobs himself as you walk back and forth across the stage clicking through your presentation slides from your iPhone. Need a little help remembering part of your presentation? No problem. Stage Hand has notes for your current slide; tilt the iPhone horizontally and you will see the current slide, so you can keep your eyes on the audience and avoid turning your back to them. Packed with a number of user-friendly features, such as the ability to highlight items on a slide with your finger (much like using a laser pointer), this application goes beyond your standard clicker.

Company: mBox
Application: mBox Fax and Voice
Price: Free; $8.95/mo. service fee

Don’t miss any faxes again with mBox. This virtual fax machine and voice answering service supplies you with a unique telephone number that allows you to receive faxes anywhere, any time. When a fax comes through, mBox determines whether it’s a voice message or a fax and processes it appropriately. It is then sent to your e-mail for your viewing. Although the application for your iPhone is free, the service will run you $8.95 per month. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial at the site and test it out.

Company: Makayama
Application: Voice Dial
Price: $14.99

Are you in sales? Do you make or take a lot of calls while driving? If so, Makayama has iPhone’s missing link. As simple as the name, Voice Dial gives you the freedom to speak a client's name and automatically dial him or her when you don’t have time to scroll through your phonebook. Setup is simple: Speak into the recorder and it automatically stores that person’s name with their appropriate contact information. You will truly appreciate this application with the time it saves for dialing and when you have your hands full.

Company: The Web Machine Shop
Application: Hey Taxi
Price: 99 cents

Stop hustling for a taxi when you're on the road. Hey Taxi will help you reserve a cab no matter where you're traveling, by taking advantage of the iPhone's global positioning system. Hey Taxi uses Google Maps to locate the three closest cab companies to your current location, and with its visual map you can choose the cab with the shortest response time, thanks to Hey Taxi's rating chart. You can also bookmark your favorite cabs for quicker pickup and type in an alternate address to make future reservations.

Company: Soda
Application: Country and Area Codes
Price: $4.99

This application is a great travel companion, giving you the ability to access all major country, state, and city dialing prefixes. This application comes in handy especially for frequent international travelers. Simply select the country, state, or city you are in and the country or city you’re calling to and input the local telephone number, and this application will calculate the required number and dial it for you. With 240 country codes and 2,500 city codes, you can rest assured that you’ll never waste time trying to figure out what you should be dialing from where you are.