Mobile Devices Can Enhance Productivity

And one more thing: Evernote can scan pictures you take and identify the words and numbers on the images, so those receipts are actually searchable!

MyMeasures

MyMeasures is a fantastic app that allows you to place measurements on actual pictures. This may look like some fantastic virtual reality trick, but it’s actually quite simple to use. You just use your favorite device to take a picture of a space, use your trusty tape measure to measure out any dimensions that you need, and then simply draw them on the image with your fingers. With just a little practice, this image can be created in a matter of minutes.

Taking pictures of a space is always a great idea, and this app takes it one giant step forward. How many times have you been on the phone with the office, an installer or a contractor and struggled to describe something involving dimensions? Often it’s so hard to explain where you’re measuring from. With this app, you can snap a picture, put some dimensions on, and text or email the picture right from your phone or tablet. And did I mention that you can send your measures right to Evernote, too?

Drawing apps

As any kitchen designer knows, you take a lot of notes. Many of these notes are on the back of napkins, scraps of paper or even pieces of wood at a job site. These notes can be the most important part of a job. In my quest to become paperless and mobile, I knew there had to be a way to make use of my nice iPad screen to take notes.

I started trolling through the App Store to find a sketching app that would suit my needs. There are hundreds of drawing apps, some great, some not.

The first task I wanted to accomplish was doing field dimensions on the iPad. Aside from using MyMeasures, sometimes you just need to sketch out a room. Adobe Ideas accomplishes this so well because it allows a drawing canvas that is larger than the iPad screen. You use two fingers to flick it around. This makes it easy to sketch out large spaces and to draw in little details.

PenUltimate

I use this app for taking meeting notes. It works just like a lined notepad. The speed at which it reacts to your finger or stylus is amazing. It really feels like you’re writing on actual paper.

This app can even tell the difference between your wrist and where you are writing, a must if you don’t want errant lines all over your notes. A flick of your fingers will get you to the next blank page.

Paper by FiftyThree Inc.

This is a fantastic app for those of us who are artistic with a pen and paper. This app allows you to create some really artistic hand renderings of projects. The app is simple, fast and fun to use.

For those of you who are more serious artists, you may want to try AutoDesk’s SketchBook. If Paper was the Leatherman of drawing apps, SketchBook would be the dream garage for the artist.

AutoCAD WS

This is a pretty innovative app from AutoDesk. It works on the computer, Web, tablet and smartphone. It allows AutoCAD drawings to be viewed on any of the aforementioned devices. All you do is simply upload an AutoCad drawing to the app.

Once it’s there, it’s stored in the cloud and you can view it on any of your devices. You can even add simple notes and edits to a drawing. Most kitchen designers don’t have the full version of AutoCAD because of the price, but almost every architect does have it. It’s hard when they send you a file and you can’t open it. Well, now you can, and you don’t need to know how to use AutoCAD. Since all of the drawings are stored in the cloud by AutoDesk themselves, you’ll always be able to open any file. Best of all, this app is the low, low price of free!

The big reset button has been pushed on computing over the last few years. For the first time in a long time, developers have had the opportunity to start from scratch and come up with some truly innovative apps. None of these apps would have been possible if it weren’t for this new generation of smartphones and tablets.

Many of us already have smartphones and tablets, and if you aren’t making great use of them, you should be. They are fantastic devices, and represent the beginning of the next revolution in computing.