Honestly I always think when offered a new app for my iPhone that I should add it especially when I get a free offer.  Realistically, I probably only use about 5 per cent of the apps that I have.  Some are quite useful but I think the problem is with so many you forget what you have and what you can use when.   Those that you only need to set once and then they do the work for you are probably the best in my case.  The thing is there are so many productivity apps, how do you choose the best ones?

What I have done is go look for the ones that customers have rated highest online. Currently the two top rated iPhone apps are Search and Timewerks.

Search:  search helps you find just about anything on your phone and on the internet.  If you are looking for specific sms you can use search to locate it.  (I sometimes spend half an hour looking for an sms to find an address or details on a meeting.)

Timewerks:  This app provides you with multiple stopwatches.  So if you are baking, on medication that needs to be taken every hour and needing to leave for a meeting etc you can set a stopwatch to alert you for every task.  This app also calculates your sales tax and rates. 

Google Mobile App: This app allows you to search Google using your voice. 

TimeLogger: This app also lets you set multiple timers which helps you prioritize your daily tasks.

eWallet: This app allows you to store all your passwords and pin codes so you need never forget essential codes again.  The encryption software keeps your codes safe from other people uncovering all your codes.

FileMagnet:  This allows you to copy files from your PC to your iPhone and use your iPhone as a portable drive.

OmniFocus:  This is a high level task management app which supports text, image and voice tasks.

Things:  This app lets you organise your to dos, notes, dates and projects. 

YouNote: This app makes tagging notes very simple.   You can also draw notes and book mark pages on the web with YouNote.

LockBox: is like eWallet but free. 

Mocha VNC Lite: is an app that allows you to control your PC form your iPhone.  It is not easy to set up but once installed it is great to use.

Cooliris: this free app helps you search for images.

YPMobile: is a great substitute for the yellow pages.  If you often need to find businesses or services this is the app to have.

Instapaper: This app lets you make copies of online articles offline in a format that is easy to read.

BookShelf:  Is an eBook reader app.

Read Demon: Is another eBook reader app but there is a difference as it provides speed reading lessons.

Insomnia: is an app that stops your iPhone from sleeping allowing apps to continue running when the screen is off.   This is very useful when you are busy loading something.

There are dozens more productivity apps that may be very useful to you.  I think it is perhaps better not to grab every app you can get but rather to pick your apps according to what is useful to you.

This is a guest post by Smarta. Looking to Work from home and start a business? We can help!