10 iPhone Apps for Trainers

iPhone vs. iPhone 3G

Image by Ricky Romero via Flickr

The iPhone really has changed the game as far as wireless phones go. I love my iPhone, but I also carry a blackberry, don’t ask….

I use my iPhone a lot so I feel I have a good idea of what apps are worth it and what apps aren’t. The truth about the app store’s 85,000 is that probably only 1,000 are actually useful or entertaining. There are a lot of similar apps, but usually only one really works well. So without further adieu’ here are 10 apps that I think Trainers (or coaches if that is what you are called) will get a lot of use out of.

  1. Presenter Pro: Rating: 4 stars, Price: $1.99. If you want to get better as a presenter or public speaker, this app really has it all. Before every presentation I go through it with Presenter Pro. It gives you great tips and ideas about how to make your presentation skills better. It even has video and audio examples to give you a better idea of what they are teaching you. The price really pays for itself really quickly. I love this app and ever trainer should have it.
  2. Voice Memos: This is the app that comes with the 3.1 software for your iPhone. Its free and will always work. I use this a lot to create notes that I don’t have time to write down. What is great about this app is that you can send the voice memo to yourself via email or even to a co-worker, boss, or client in mms or email format as well. If there are times where I don’t want to send an email or text because I might be misunderstood, but I don’t have time to be on a phone call I use this app. I can say exactly what I mean and send it off to whoever I need it to go to, even groups of people.
  3. AT&T Navigator: Rating: 3 Stars, Cost: $9.99 a month: Yes it costs 9.99 a month…so that is around $120 a year for this service. However, it is always up to date and gives you traffic updates on the fly. There are a lot gps programs out there but I still haven’t found one I like more than this one. The voice is easy to understand and so far the traffic notifications have saved my butt more times than I can count. If you have a gps app you like better, let me know. But this is an award winning navigation app and I love it. Nothing is worse than not being able to find the hotel or location that you have a training at in 5 minutes. Mapquest can be wrong, and some gps apps aren’t updated for the newest streets, do yourself a favor and get this app.
  4. Bing: Rating 3 1/2 stars, Cost: Free: This app is just gorgeous, I just love using it for my searching needs. Trainers have to search for interesting facts all the time. There will always be the one student who gives you an question you just can’t answer. Bing is a great way to look for that information. The voice search works great, better than google’s I think.
  5. Google: Rating: 3 1/2 stars, Cost: Free: Everyone has to have this app. From google-411 to documents you can get access to all of your google products in one location. I personally use google reader to get rss feeds from my favorite training/business/tech sites all in one place. The google mobile app makes it easy for me to have all of that in one location.
  6. Pandora: Rating: 3 1/2 stars, Cost: Free: I really wish I had this app back in the day when I did super large trainings. Nothing is worse than a silent room to a bunch of people that don’t know each other. A little music goes a long way to encourage conversation and at least remove the awkwardness out of the room. You can also use it to signify break times; music is on..break is still on. Use your phone and some speakers to do this if or use it on your laptop…works either way.
  7. Things: Rating: 3 1/2 stars, Cost: 9.99: Best “To-Do” app period. I love the way it works, the way it looks, and everything else about it. I use this every day. Plus with the push notifications now I know when I have a new task because a red 1 pops up on my screen. A trainer usually has 500 things going on at once. You are training one group while prepping for another all while developing a new training for the group of people you are currently training…phew! You need to have a task list, and for me the outlook task option just isn’t enough. The $9.99 is a little steep, but if you have a mac you can get the desktop version as well and sync between the two. That makes it a much better buy.
  8. Documents To Go: Rating: 3 1/2 stars, Cost: 11.99: Yes it is kind of pricey, but if you work for a company that is windows based this app is a must have. Desktop sync, edit and view attachments and office documents, do I really need to go on? This app will make it easier for you to keep connected with your windows world company but still enjoy the use of your iPhone. I need this and that is why I use it; it is on my Blackberry as well. FYI.
  9. i-Clicker: Rating: 3 stars, Cost: 9.99: Come on…your up there with your iphone using it as a clicker…cool right? There are a lot of clicker type apps out there. I have used this one and was resonably happy with it. What I like is that it shows you the powerpoint on your screen and that is really handy for presentations you haven’t made yourself…I tend to be forgetful of the material sometimes.  Here is a youtube video of it in action. It is super neat.

  10. PDF Reader: Rating: 4 stars, Cost: .99: If you are like me you get sent pdf files all the time. Also if you are like me, they tend to be big and unreadable on your wireless device. Fret no more! PDF Reader Pro will let you read big pdf files without any trouble. That alone makes it worth far more than the asking price. Turn your trainings into pdf’s and have them with you on your phone, sounds good right?

I hope these apps give you a start on developing an iPhone that actually is useful in the work world. They really helped me as a trainer have tools that other smartphone offer on a device I really enjoy. Are you a trainer? Let me know what apps you use for your particular job. I would love to post it on this blog to share with the community. Hit me up below.

I am a trainer & I have an iPhone, those are my qualifications for this post. If you have an app you think would be valuable, send me an email at mike@combsy.com or leave a comment.


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posted: 09 December 30
under: Training & Development