The Best Mobile Apps for Business in London

Being able to work while on the move is an essential part of business life in London. Thankfully, the current generation of smartphones such as the iPhone, Blackberry and the Android series allow people to work from almost anywhere in the city, thanks to the large catalogue of mobile apps for business currently available.

The three most important categories of mobile business apps are networking, productivity and travel – all of which are essential for ensuring you stay connected when away from your London office space.

Networking

• LinkedIn – By now, almost everyone has heard of the business social network LinkedIn and how useful it can be for networking. The official Blackberry and iPhone apps (NB: there are also unofficial ones for Android) allow you to take your business networking contacts on the road with you, and contain all the functionality you’d expect to find on the LinkedIn website, right in the palm of your hand. The best feature on the app is the Bluetooth connectivity in the ‘In Person’ mode, which lets you connect with other LinkedIn app-using professionals around you.
• Happening – Without people, networking becomes slightly tricky. Fortunately, the Happening iPhone app has been developed to let you know what is going on around you, from conferences to meetings, concerts, public events and everything in between. Drawing on the Yahoo! Upcoming database of events, Happening displays geographically relevant events in chronological order, allowing you to easily choose the right one for you.

Productivity

• Pocket Informant – Available on the three major platforms listed above, Pocket Informant is one of, if not the best productivity apps on the market. A fully-loaded task manager and calendar tool, this app has it all for the businessperson looking to plan their hectic schedules, including synching with Google Calendar, event location mapping and support for multiple calendar display formats.
• Evernote – Remembering something whilst away from your desk can be annoying, as you’re not always armed with a pen and paper to jot it down on. Fortunately, Evernote’s smartphone app (available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android) allows you to snap pictures, record voice, clip a Web page or tap in some text and store it on a central server which you can then access from anywhere, linking all your devices together. Simple but very effective.

Travel

• Tube Map – It’s useless being able to work from anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going, or how to get back to your London office space. Helpfully, TubeMap is at hand to guide you around the intricacies of London’s Underground system. For a free iPhone app, it’s remarkably featured-packed with live line status updates, A-to-B route planner (with options to choose between either fastest route or fewest changes) and a handy station finder. An essential mobile business app for London commuters.
• TripAdvisor – The TripAdvisor Android and iPhone apps provide a fantastic level of service for those who are in London on business and are looking for a place to stay, local attractions or somewhere to eat. This app combines most of the features found on the website of the same name, with user-submitted content in the form of reviews, tips and suggestions making up the bulk of the app. The GPS-enabled ‘Find Me’ functionality is particularly useful if you’re not sure exactly where you are too.

Do you have a favourite mobile app for business in London, or disagree with any of the choices we’ve made? Leave us a comment and let us know.