iPad Apps Reviews

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9 Top Tips on How To Use Your iPad Remotely & Effectively

The way that many people work is changing . . . you can’t even have a rest whilst you’re out of the office these days, oh no, thanks to the iPad you can take your work with you, wherever you go, or even stay at home and do it. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Well, I suppose realistically speaking there are arguments both for and against, but who could argue against the iPad?  No, thought not . . .  This does, however, bring up the argument that worker productivity needs to be maintained, oh yes, there’s nowhere to hide.  Here are a few ideas of how you can stay in control of your iPad, instead of letting the iPad completely take over your life (I know, it’s too late for some but we’ll try).

1. Battery Back-ups – there’s nothing worse than your iPad running out of juice . . . just when you’ve got something really important to attend to. Okay, you know that you shouldn’t have spent all that time playing Angry Birds until you’d had a chance to re-charge, but hey, you’re only human. That’s why it’s such a good idea to carry a reliable battery back-up which is strong enough to give your iPad a bump start if necessary. There are plenty to choose from.
2. Separate Work from Play – we all know that it’s too much to ask for you not to use your iPad for your own entertainment, even if it’s supposed to be strictly business, so that’s why it’s a good idea to keep everything which is not work related in separate folders. Just keep your business stuff open on the home-screen so that it will have priority, and you won’t keep getting interrupted by, shall we say, personal distractions which can be just too tempting.
3. Keep a Keyboard – iPads are great for tons of stuff, but they’re not really that brilliant if you’ve got a lot of data input type stuff to do. If you carry a Bluetooth keyboard it’ll make all that type of stuff so much quicker and easier to achieve. There are plenty of options so take a look around.
4. Find my iPad – is brilliant, just so long as it’s enabled. Losing your iPad would severely suck, but Apple do everything they can to help you. Once “Find my iPad” is enabled Apple can help you to locate any misplaced iPads through MobileMe, and if it’s on a train halfway to San Francisco (and you’re not) then your iPad could alternatively be wiped clean keeping any sensitive work (or personal) data away from prying eyes. There have been cases reported in the news of government officials leaving laptops and iPads in the back of a cab / train / at the airport . . . containing information which is supposed to be “Top Secret”. I bet they wish they’d had this option.
5. Keep it Locked – this is even more fundamentally important than “Find my iPad”, make sure that your iPad is set to need a passcode when it wakes up (a bit like I need a coffee before there’s any chance of productivity).  It’s simple to set up, go into Settings -> General -> Passcode Lock. The iPad will use a 4 digit number default password but you can change it to something which is easier for you to remember (and more difficult for someone else to crack) which has letters and numbers.  Try to be a little creative . . .
6. Keep Connected - your iPad isn’t going to be much use for remote productivity if you can’t get, and stay connected. A reliable data connection is absolutely vital. If your iPad has 3G capability then just check to confirm that the plan is active and ready for action with the carrier of your choice, making sure, of course, that this particular carrier offers the service in the places where you will need to use your iPad. If not you could have a back-up plan and purchase a SIM card for the place you’ll be working.  If you have a Verizon iPad you can go a little further, so even if you travel internationally (you jet-setter) you could find a provider which offers a mobile  WiFi hotspot solution.
7. Buy a Good Headset – You can use your iPad for just about everything, but of course it can’t be perfect for everything can it, which is why, if you’re going to use your iPad for phone calls and voice chat it’s a good idea to invest in a headset, that way you’ll be able to take and make telephone calls using VoIP apps and even be able to join in video conferences like the ones available on iPad 2.
8. DropBox Apps – and similar can really make it easy to transfer files. You can receive them, change them, save them and send them, or do whatever you want with them. It’s a great way to stay connected and even tells you when something new has been dropped into your dropbox.
9. Keep it Covered – there are some great cases around which can protect your iPad while you’re on the move, some of them incorporate a stand which means that you can use both hands – doubling your productivity!