Smart with a smartphone

Recently I started using an iPhone 4 as we're into the business of iPhone apps development. I really like the technology stack used for developing iPhone apps. However, I was wandering whether there is a real value of the phone in day-to-day life compared to the relatively high cost of the device. Ability to check mails any time, take a picture and shoot a video, listening to music while on the road and sparing otherwise unproductive time engaged in an interesting activity (read a book, play a game) sound interesting, but do not account for the high price. There should be lot more uses for a smartphone in the current day's life. Gradually I started downloading more and more apps and inventing ways of integrating them to my way of living which, as I think, improved my quality of life at least by a small fraction. Following are my favorite apps and how I practically use them.

1. Notes

Now I do not borrow papers to meetings, trainings, etc. "Notes" app in iPhone provides a simple interface to type important stuff and recall easily. However, I need more integration to this such as an easy search and link with my mind maps.

2. SimpleMind 

A great mind mapping app to quickly put thoughts into mind maps. Mind mapping is a very productive modern way of organizing and recording knowledge for easier recall and processing. I expect more from mind mapping apps. It will be really nice to have ability to combine mind maps and selectively show / hide content. A community mind map may be a great idea to share knowledge.

3. Mom Planner

Simple app to write tasks on start of day and mark as and when its done. Before using the iPhone I used to write down the tasks (both professional and personal) I'm supposed to complete within the day in a paper. This is a very effective way of managing daily tasks due to 2 reasons. First, it helps you to remind the tasks. Second, something written is always more effective and likely to be done than one just kept in mind. Now the smartphone provides an easier interface for this with many more capabilities than a paper.

4. Daily Deeds

This is an app targeted on people who want to develop little good habits and track the improvements. You can track what you did each day in favor of the new good habit and keep a record in a goal-oriented fashion.

5. Google maps

Very useful to find places when driving. One flaw is that the places in Sri Lanka are not properly geo-coded yet, so you cannot enter an address and find the geographic location correctly. However, it is still useful for finding roads.

6. Eurocenter maps

This is a map application we developed for offline maps. Great when there is no internet connection. In addition it has the capability to record paths you traversed. I tend to forget places I visit just once, so this is really smart functionality.

7. Flash light 

Usage is obvious.

8. Calorie counter

Useful to find the approximate calorie count in restaurant food. This might be more useful in a country with a better food culture where you get exactly what you ordered in a restaurant. However, it is still useful in Sri Lanka too, to get a rough idea about the caloric load of food before ordering in a good restaurant.

9. Dictionary

I use a normal dictionary app called "English" and a wordnet dictionary app named "Wordweb". Both are highly useful. The wordnet dictionary helps to view the semantic relationships between words in the form of a taxonomy.

10. RunKeeper

This is an app to record the duration, length and calorie consumption in jogging sessions. It uses GPS to record the path and provides a simple interface to save the data both locally and into the web. Most interesting part is that it is done as a social networking activity so that I get connected with the other guys living in geographically closer locations who use the same app. You see the progression of each other's activities. This is a great way to motivate yourself to go for a workout.

11. Knots

A quick guide for tying various knots.

Although there are hundreds of thousands of apps available, only a very small fraction of them is useful for a particular person's life obviously. It highly depends on his or her interests and the way of living. I'm eager to know how others use smartphones productively in their lives. Currently I use only utility apps, but the business apps can add a lot too. Apparently smartphones together with social networking will revolutionize the people's lives. It is logical to expect to see more and more people using smartphones as an essential tool in their daily lives. The prices should go down and the data connections have to be more ubiquitous. Meanwhile, I will try do my homework to be ready for that new shift.