ProductivityApps
Latest
Google makes Docs, Drive and Calendar more productive
If you spend your work days toiling in Google's productivity apps, the first thing you might notice today is that Google for Work is now called "G Suite". Once you get past the new label, you might also notice a slew of smart updates across the board that ought to save you time and keep your workflow moving.
Any.do adds collaboration, sharing features to its to-do app
Productivity-focused app Any.do, which is available on iOS, Android and the web, has gained popularity largely because, well, it helps people get things done. But, with households and businesses being about more than just one particular user, the to-do application knows that catering itself to only a single person per account isn't enough. Accordingly, Any.do is introducing its Team Management and Group Sharing features, allowing you to create, distribute and assign tasks among a number of different people -- with as many as you want, in fact, so long as you have a new Premium account, which costs $5 per month (though right now there's a promo for $3 monthly).
Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year
Break out the party streamers and balloons -- if only in an orderly fashion, because this is the day Office 2013 has been released to manufacturing. The completion swings Microsoft's attention towards a rollout staggered over the next few months. Wider availability will have to wait until the first quarter of 2013 -- such synchronicity with your branding, Microsoft -- but companies who've sprung for volume licensing will get access as early as mid-November to December 1st, depending on whether or not they're embracing a Software Assurance plan. In the meantime, Microsoft is offering an easy path for anxious workers by promising a free copy of Office 2013 to everyone who buys Office 2010 from October 19th onwards. The upgraded software might not be cheap for those who aren't already buying a Windows RT tablet, but it's likely to be an important piece of the puzzle for anyone hunting down a touchscreen Windows 8 PC.
CloudOn's productivity app heads to 60 additional countries, new features announced
You know how they say that when it rains, it pours? Well, right now it's really, really pouring at CloudOn's HQ. Keeping up with last month's global expansion, the outfit has announced it's launching its bestseller Android and iPad application in 60 more countries, including big-name markets like Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras in Latin America, as well as Australia, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey across the various ponds. What's more, the editing (and creating) cloud-based app is adding a fresh voice dictation feature, along with new drag-and-drop tidbits for moving files around with more ease -- in addition to these, though, CloudOn told us exclusively you'll soon be able to add annotations / comments to all your docs, and that notes will soon be custom tailored for mobile devices. Feel free to dig into the PR down below, where you'll find the full list of over 70 nations in which the application's now live.
Daily iPhone App: Drafts lets you save short snippets of text
Drafts from Agile Tortoise is the ideal digital notepad for the person who wants to capture a thought before it's gone. It has a simple UI that doesn't get in the way of its primary function, which is jotting down notes. The app opens to an empty draft that's ready for you to record your latest thoughts, type out the draft of a tweet or prep some markdown code. Drafts's emphasis is on quick and easy notes that can be shared on Twitter, email, or copied to the clipboard. It also supports markdown so you're not limited to plain text. Drafts has several small but handy features. The app keeps track of both your word and character count, which is extremely useful when you are composing a character-limited tweet or a text message. There's also a search function that'll help you find the important note you created last month. If you own the companion app Terminology, you can highlight a word in Drafts and easily look up its definition and usage. Drafts is available in the iOS App Store for US$0.99. It works on the iPhone and requires iOS 5.0.
Google Docs presentations slides out of preview, adds import and comment options (video)
The slide-making masses have spoken and Google's dutifully listened. After launching presentations for Docs as a preview last October, the search giant's making that editor ready for prime time with a few user-suggested tweaks in tow. In addition to the recently introduced slew of transitions, themes, tables and collaborative options, Mountain View's now tossing in the ability to make, edit and resolve comments, send email notifications, as well as control read / write privileges for outside users. And don't worry about your old documents getting lost in the shuffle; a new import setting will enable those visual gems to benefit from this new facelift. Check out the source below for a fuller walk-through or catch the instructional vid after the break.
Google Docs presentation gets redone, wants to power your next keynote
Curiously absent from last year's Google Docs overhaul was any news on the presentation front. That changes today, with Mountain View flipping live a preview of its next-gen slide making tool. After enabling it in settings, you too can experience over 50 new features, including updated collaboration, the ability to animate slides with transitions and a bevy of fresh new themes. And just like Mountain View's other properties, the latest release now comes dressed the company's newfound design ethos. Made it this far? Well, you might as-well hop on over to the source for more details, but before you do, promise us you'll drop us a line if you make a 450-slide whopper, cool?
Office 365 ditches the beta tag, ready to take on Google Apps
We know what you're thinking -- you like the idea of Google Apps, but the Mountain View crew kind of creeps you out. Well, don't worry, Microsoft has your back. After making its beta debut last year, Office 365 is officially ready to spread its wings and offer its productivity web app wares to the business-minded masses. For $6 per-user, per-month small businesses get access to Microsoft Office Web Apps, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync video conferencing and can take advantage of the suite's integration with WP7 once Mango lands. Larger, enterprise plans start at $10 per user while adding support for desktop Office products and Lync VoIP solutions as you climb the pricing ladder. Really there's not much more to say except, check out the full PR after the break.
