Event Planning iPad App Megalist

ipad event planningAre you one of the many event planners who wonders what life was like before you iPad? I can’t tell you how many event planning conferences I go to and observe planners clutching their ipads as they hustle from session to session or use it to voraciously type their notes or communicate with their online friends. I am one of you.

The Event Planning Tools Megalist I posted last month was a big hit. So, I thought I’d share a handful of iPad apps that no event planner should live without. Here goes:

ORGANIZATION

  • iDisk – I use MobileMe to easily share files across all of my devices. Yes, you can also do this through iTunes, but with MobileMe, I can access my files from anywhere (even if I don’t have my devices with me). I can also make certain files public for easy file sharing and don’t have to worry about storing large files. Take it to the cloud!
  • Dropbox – For those who don’t have MobileMe (iDisk) <- I use this app a lot for large file transfers and have added this based on a number of reader comments 🙂
  • ContactsP – Searching for contacts on your iPad is a bit of a challenge. ContactsP lets you easily search from any field in your contact list. You can also create lists of contacts and send emails to the entire list without having to add contacts one by one. It will also send you push notification when your contact celebrates their birthday or other momentous occasions. Huge time saver.
  • Evernote – I use Evernote religiously to store great information I find around the web, create reminders for myself, record voice notes when I’m on the go from my iPhone, clip interesting quotes and data from articles, eBooks, etc. I often jokingly refer to Evernote as my brain. This great iPad app lets you view and add notes. This is a must for busy planners on the go.
  • InformantHD – I’ve tried many different Calendar & To Do apps and this one is the most comprehensive in my opinion. It’ also won Best in Show at MacWorld 2011.
  • iStorageHD – Lets you organize all of your documents into tabbed files (just like a filing cabinet). It also lets you access those files from anywhere.
  • ACTPrinter – Ever wondered why you always end up printing those so-called electronic tickets, boarding passes, …? No more!Wasted a sheet of paper to remember that “will call” pickup number? Stop wasting paper! Maybe you just want to read documents on the go. ACTPrinter is a virtual printer that lets you ‘print’ documents to view later, when you don’t have wifi access.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

  • MyPad – The best iPad app for viewing your Facebook accounts.
  • Tweetdeck – Manage your twitter accounts from your iPad.
  • Gist – Last year I spoke about Gist and raved about its ability to manage your social connections in one place for free! I have since gone to more comprehensive social CRM tools, but this is still a great, free option for many businesses.
  • LinkedIn – Manage your LinkedIn profiles from your iPad.
  • WordPress – Yes, you can even update your WordPress blog.
  • Flipboard – A beautiful way of displaying content shared in your social networks. It looks just like a digital magazine, but your friends are the editors.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & ENGAGEMENT

  • SignMyPad – Need to get a client’s sign off on a revision on site? You no longer have to worry about printing out a document & scanning it. SignMyPad lets your client sign a change order, contract or any other document right from your iPad.
  • Chimpadeedoo – If you have a MailChimp account, you can use this app to grow your email database. CAN-SPAM regulations state that you can’t use emails from people who have not explicitly opted in to your mass communications. So, with this app you can create a beautiful email opt in page and let people enter their addresses directly at your event.

TALENT

  • Aweditorium – Let’s you serendipitously find amazing indy artists. A wonderful time-passer and a great way to happen upon talent you might never have heard of.
  • SoundHound – Hear a song and want to do more research on it? SoundHound is a music recognition tool that identifies the song and artist and includes a link to download the music from iTunes.

TRAVEL

  • OpenTable – Book a reservation at a hot restaurant right from your iPad.
  • AroundMe – If you’re traveling somewhere unfamiliar, this app uses your location to tell you what is around you (i.e. restaurants, gas stations, pharmacies, etc).
  • Accuweather – A basic app to give you weather information when you travel.
  • Weatherbug – Our business is often at the whim of the weather. This app lets you drill down on some amazing details including live camera shots within 100 miles from your area, “Find Me” lets you bypass entering your information to give you weather details based on your GPS location, you can even see cloud patterns to estimate incoming weather conditions.
  • LogMeIn – Have you ever been somewhere and thought, “Oh no! I forgot to download that file!!”. I have and it really sucks. LogMeIn is an app that lets you log in remotely to your desktop computer from anywhere and control it from wherever you are. I’ve used it twice in an emergency. Definitely worthy of the price tag.
  • TouchLCD – A great speaking alarm for the iPad.
  • TripDeck / TripIt – Two great tools for sharing your travel schedule with your friends, finding out when & where your connections are traveling and storing your travel itinerary, tickets and confirmation numbers.
  • Currency (XE) – Lets you do currency exchanges – super helpful when traveling.

READING / WATCHING

  • iBooks – I use this app to store all of my eBooks and continued reading PDF documents. It also allows you to populate your books right from the iBookstore.
  • TED – I love this app which lets you search from amazing TED talks and watch inspiring videos.
  • GoodReader – A superfast PDF reader for your iPad. What I love about this app is that it also allows you to highlight and markup PDFs – want to write yourself notes, come back to a particular section of your document – now you can.
  • TunIn Radio – Lets you listen and record radio stations from around the world.
  • FLUD – This app aggregates amazing content from sources like Gizmodo, Fast Company and engadget in one visually inspiring interface.

COMMUNICATIONS

  • NoteShelf – I’ve tried many note taking apps and I like this one the best because it has a hand guard (when you rest your palm on the screen, it doesn’t mess up your notes), you can write in different colors, highlight, import pictures, zoom in to your writing, and you can export your notes to Evernote or Dropbox! As a side, I highly recommend buying the Griffin Stylus for the iPad (I got mine from BestBuy) – it’s a lot better than using your fingertip.
  • Dragon Dictation – A great voice recognition app that lets you dictate and it will convert to type. As with any voice recognition software, it’s not 100% perfect, but can be a great on-the-go solution for taking notes.

PLANNING

  • Mark On Call – I love this app for space planning. It lets you create rooms, item checklists and include details like windows, doors, chairs and decor items simply.
  • SuperPlanner – I wrote a review on this app a while back. It is an iPhone app, but also works on the iPad.
  • My Measures – This tool lets you superimpose measurements directly on pictures (even more useful on the iPhone where you can take pictures).

PRESENTING

  • Prompster – A great app for speakers that eliminates cue cards, flash cards & scripts.
  • Prezi – An app that lets you control your prezi presentation from you iPad.

READER ADDITIONS

What tools can’t you live without?

Thank you to Carolyn Ray for inspiring this post.