The Freebies
Sunrise
Having been a big hit in 2013 Sunrise looks like it can build on its success for this year. It is lightweight in its design and is rather easy on eye. Aside from its aesthetic beauty it is also fast and effective at managing schedules. It syncs with Google Calendar and iCloud and even has timezone support which will adjust your meetings automatically if you are travelling a lot. It can pick up your social media events and even gather information from LinkedIn for that quick brush up on individuals before meetings. The best bit, it’s free on iOS.
Tempo
Tempo really is a great aid for those with lots of meetings. It lists everyone invited into each meeting and makes getting additional information on that person easy as it draws in information from LinkedIn and other social networks. Tempo is very good at finding relevant documents associated with specific events, for example if there is an agenda for a meeting it will be attached to the event and all you have to do is give it the quick once over before your meeting starts. It’s also great at keeping travel information such as flight and airport details. Free on iOS
Cal
This app is quite new but comes with a great task manager. It syncs comfortably with existing calendars but really helps you get those business tasks done. The social integration is one of the easiest and most effective I have seen but it also links with contacts and maps which can prove very useful. The Android version also comes with a handy widget which can sit on your home screen. Available on iOS and Android for free.
Donna
This is another attempt at the personal assistant in your pocket which will sync Exchange, Google, iCal and Yahoo email accounts. Donna notifies you of appointments, can dial into your conference calls and can even tell you about the weather and the best way to get to your meetings. If you are running late she will even notify all the meeting participants of your tardiness. Move over Siri, there is a new sheriff in town! Free on iOS 7 only.
Paid For
Business Calendar Pro
It’s a difficult decision paying for apps these days as we see so much offered for free. Are the paid for calendar apps any better than the free versions we see above? Business Calendar Pro is giving it a good go anyway. Firstly the functionality seems to be endless and there isn’t a lot you can’t do with this app. It syncs with all of your existing calendars and is very intuitive, events can be dragged and dropped at will and adding tasks or events is simple. It isn’t the prettiest app out there but it more than makes up for it in features. Available on Android for £3.95
aCalendar
Again, aCalendar seems to do everything you would expect from a calendar app. What it does particularly well is present information in a palatable way which you can easily choose. In the overview of information you can see events/ tasks in a daily, weekly or monthly format and comes with a rather advanced colour coded system which even the most astute toddler would be proud of. One of the stand out features of aCalendar is being able to transfer events via NFC which could prove useful. Available on Android for £2.49
For Fun!
Dude, Your Car
There isn’t anything much funnier in this world than watching a man’s face when you break the news that something terrible has happened to their car. Dude, Your Car allows you to execute the perfect prank on your work colleagues. By taking a photo of the car in question the app will allow you to photoshop in scratches, clamps or even flames leaving you to sit back and watch the panic spread across their face. That has got to be worth £0.99 on iOS