Numerics
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Numerics Business Dashboard adds features, goes freemium
I praised Numerics in a review earlier this year. The app lets you build business-oriented displays which can be easily constructed using plugins that will display data in numeric or graphic form. You can choose a variety of data sources like Google Analytics, Salesforce, Basecamp and many others. From there, the app offers a series of templates to give you a compelling design for your data, or it can allow you to have multiple dashboards and swipe between them. The app used to be US$19.99 but now it has moved to a freemium model. Users of the first version will get a lifetime upgrade for free. The current edition is free, but you can buy an advanced widgets pack for $9.99. Other widget packs will be sold as a one-time purchase, priced depending upon the service and kind of widgets in the pack. The system is easy to use, and can create the kind of display that used to require specialized programming. Numerics is worth a second look, as they have added many new data sources, and now include a custom JSON integration provider that can consume and render nine unique types of widgets out of custom data from any business system with minimal programming on the business system end. I tried creating some pages using stock prices and Google Analytics data. It's easy to do, and the results look polished. Check the app store for details on the kinds of data this app can integrate. Numerics is a universal app, but for display would be best suited to an iPad or using AirPlay to display it on a large monitor. Numerics requires iOS 7 or later.
Numerics: A customizable business dashboard app for iOS
What's a dashboard app? It's designed for business users so they can display different bits of institutional information on a single screen. Think of it like the dashboard of your car, or an informational flat screen at an airport. Numerics (US$19.99) lets you mix and match data from a variety of sources, like Basecamp, Facebook, Google Analytics, Salesforce, stock info (from Yahoo), Zendesk and more, with additional data sources coming. Think of Numerics as sort of a toolkit to let you design your custom display. The app comes with hundreds of pre-designed widgets based on 20 sources of business data. Data can be displayed as numbers or turned into attractive charts and graphs. Colors and other attributes are under user control. Numeric allows users to design multiple dashboards and then swipe between them, and the app features zooming on an individual widget as well as the setting of notifications and background updates. I tried creating some screens around stock prices and web statistics from Google, and it was easy to do. There is a complete help system built in. One nice feature is that Numerics supports Airplay Mirroring or HDMI connections so you can get your custom dashboard on the big screen in the conference room, an office or your desk. For businesses that need this kind of display, Numerics will be very popular. A similar app called Status Board is also offered through the App Store. It's half the price, but mirroring to external displays is an in-app purchase that makes the price the same as Numerics. Status Board is designed for the iPad, while Numerics works on any iOS device. There are differences in the content available between the apps, so if you are interested check out what each app offers. To get an idea what the Numerics screens look like, take a look at the embedded slideshow above. Numerics is a clever idea for those seeking this kind of display. It's easy to use, very customizable, and inexpensive. The developers say it will grow, evolve and more data sources will be added on a regular basis. Numerics is universal and requires iOS 7 or later.
