One of the most common reasons people buy an iPad is to increase their productivity, says People 1st, a Bay Area IT company. They review and recommend a few of the many available apps.

San Francisco Bay Area IT consultants People 1st use iPads in business and their daily lives, and have found many ways to use iPads to increase their efficiency. But with all the apps out there that claim to increase efficiency, which ones are worth buying? People 1st recommends a few that are useful and, as a bonus, all cost $5 or less.

"I bought an iPad in December and love using it,” says People 1st Principal Matt Fabela. He has found a notable increase in productivity since he got it. He says he finds the following apps especially helpful when conducting business:

DocuSign (Free)
People 1st says forget about printing up and making copies of paper contracts: DocuSign is the latest way to get deals done. The app allows a customer to review and sign an order on the spot using the Safari browser, and save it on their cloud-based server. The iPad 2 version includes nifty features like the ability to take a picture of a document with the iPad’s camera and sign it electronically.

iA Writer
This app helps speed up the typing process by providing a virtual keyboard that uses a traditional typewriter-style keyboard and also includes arrow keys. It’s designed for people who want to type longer documents on their iPad without having to toggle back and forth between keyboard screens to input punctuation.

Salesforce Chatter (Free)
Designed for users of Salesforce, this app lets users post status updates, photos, links and even PowerPoint presentations, keeping executives up to date on the latest sales-related news.

SoundNote ($5)
SoundNote is a system for taking notes during meetings that allows users to record audio and take notes simultaneously. If a user’s notes are unclear, they simply tap on a word, and the app will pull up the corresponding section of the audio track.

“One of the applications I use is SoundNote, which allows me to take notes but most importantly to audio record meetings,” says Fabela. “This is a useful tool and I recommend it to anyone who has to remember action items or other details from a meeting."

WordBook XL ($3)
Anyone who reads and writes on their iPad will occasionally need an English dictionary or thesaurus. This app has both, and allows users to bookmark words. Another great feature is its pop-up spelling engine.

Source : prweb