My 3 ‘Can’t-Live-Without’ iPhone apps

I thought I’d take a break from the topic of investment and fundraising for a while and instead  start the New Year on a lighter note by spending a little time reflecting on three of my ‘must have‘ apps. I’ve picked on these three because they really are cornerstone apps for me and vitally important to the way I work; on-the-go and across several devices. Below is an outline of my top three but I would really like to hear some of yours too.

1 Password (£5.49):  This one is totally indispensable for me. These days we all have so many passwords to remember and we need access to them across several devices. I hold and use somewhere between 50-75 passwords for website access and all manor of logins. The high level of encryption and the excellent data management make 1PW an app that is definitely a must have for me. When I upload or change a password on one device then it is synced automatically across the others. The key feature of this app is that all you ever need remember is ‘one password.’ Even though you might make a different log-in for each website, this application recognises the URL and feeds in the log-in details automatically, as long as you give it your 1PW master password. There are other neat futures too, like the ability to store wallet information such as bank or bank card information (really handy when you are out and asked for some verification information), or the ability in a PC browser to recognise the website and let you type your 1PW password to open up the access without launching the application. However, the cost to have the application across all devices (laptop, mobile and tablet) is over £40. For me, still worth it for such a vital application.

Dropbox (Free):  For around 6 years now I’ve been storing ‘everything’ in the cloud. My hard drive has only been used for nothing but storage of the files and apps that it was born with on its OS installation birthday. I used to use iDisc before Apple knocked it on the head mid-2012. For a while I found myself scrambling around as iCloud was not going to support file storage and synchronisation. I was nervous about transferring everything over to Dropbox but I’m pleased to say it’s been up to the job. Making things even better, these these days many application makers build in the option to synchronise or back-up to Dropbox. Everything I do is in the cloud; no more saving things on hard drives.

Pocket Scanner (£1.49):  This one is sooooo useful. I mainly use if for scanning important documents when I am on-the-go then emailing the resulting PDF back to my email for safe keeping, storage or to view at a more convenient time.

I’d also like to take some time here to acknowledge some really rather naff apps that should be a lot better. I love Linked In and use it daily but the iOS app for me is truly naff, with no consistency with website product. A mention here also to every WiFi printer app I’ve ever used.

I’d be interested to know what is the most expensive app on your phone. Mine is not a business app but an ornithology app I brought a few years ago to encourage me to get out a little more and go for more walks. For a few years I got into bird spotting with an app weighing in at around £13.

Got time to tell me the most expensive app on your phone, or what apps have become totally indispensable for you? Any that are truly useless and frustrating?