I had the distinct pleasure of chatting at a TELUS small business event in downtown Toronto last week, about some of the smartphone apps I use on a regular basis.

It wasn't tough to narrow my favourites down to a half-dozen downloads -- ones that focused on productivity and business -- but I also wanted to show some of the best free apps available (or close to it), as well as ones available for most smartphone platforms.

The following are a few recommendations to help you stay organized, productive and informed while on the go.

Dropbox

Create one central and secure place to hold all your "stuff" and access it all on multiple devices – this is the idea behind Dropbox (for BlackBerry, iOS and Android), the increasingly popular cloud solution to storing, accessing and sharing your digital life while on the go. Instead of emailing your info or media from one device to another, or physically copying it onto a disc or USB key, you can wirelessly upload or download your documents – and even stream music and movies right from Dropbox. Similarly, instead of clogging someone's inbox with a huge file, send them a link to access what they need. The basic (2GB) account is free, but you can upgrade to 50GB or 100GB for $9.99/month or $19.99/month, respectively.

Splashtop Remote Desktop

As the name suggests, the $0.99-cent Splashtop Remote -- for iOS, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook -- lets you log in to another computer wirelessly from your tablet to see and control the remote PC or Mac as if you were sitting in front of it. It's not the first solution to do this, mind you, but Splashtop does one better by letting you stream full-motion video and audio from your computer to the smartphone or tablets. Splashtop Remote also lets you access your desktop's Web browser to surf to sites with Flash -- something that's not as easy on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Evernote

Ideal for on-the-go entrepreneurs or small business associates, the free Evernote (available on all major platforms) is a handy app for typing notes, sketching ideas (think restaurant napkin), copying URLs, pasting photos and recording audio on, say, a million dollar idea you want to archive on your smartphone. All notes automatically sync to the web/desktop version of Evernote, so it’s easy to access your information anywhere. Evernote can even take a picture of book or magazine text and convert it to text; this is a great way to save receipts and business cards and make it searchable by keyword.

Siri

The real reason to pick up an iPhone 4S, Siri is a built-in "personal assistant" app that lets you talk to your smartphone and you'll hear a female voice answer your questions or confirm she can perform the tasks you ask of her. For example, you can dictate email and texts to colleagues, ask Siri to check your calendar for appointments, create reminders and notes on the fly, check stock prices and market information, and help you get directions or find locations – such as restaurants, gas stations, hotels or bank machines – while traveling in the U.S. (this feature isn't supported in Canada just yet).

iTranslate

Available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry, the free iTranslate can help you translate words and phrases from more than 50 languages, and is capable of speaking languages to you in multiple languages so you can hear what the pronunciations sounds like. If desired, send your translations to an email address, mobile phone, memo pad or Twitter and Facebook. An optional in-app purchase lets you speak into the smartphone for a direct translation or engage in real-time text conversations with others and your English words and seen in the other person's native tongue.

Find my phone

Finally, it's critical to set up your phone for remote tracking or wiping, in case it's lost or stolen. Free examples include Find My iPhone (for iOS), BlackBerry Protect and Find my Droid (Android). These apps work in a similar way: track the smartphone's whereabouts via its GPS radio, send a note to its (such as "If you find this, all me at XXX") or sound a loud alarm (in case it's lost in the couch cushions) or remotely see the smartphone on a map; it's not recommended to try and recover a stolen device on your own – instead contact the authorities with the information. If you have critical information on the device you can also remotely wipe the data clean, which is always a good idea as a precautionary measure.

You don't often see the words "free" and "Microsoft Office" in the same sentence – especially when it comes to iPad apps that let you access your Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the go – but a new download called CloudOn does let you create, view, and edit Microsoft Office files directly on your tablet.

Before we get into the details, there are a couple of catches. You need a Dropbox account to store and access your files, but at least you can sign up for free. And if the name of the app didn't give it away, CloudOn requires an Internet connection to use, as all your files are stored online via Dropbox. Even though you can open an email attachment on your iPad though CloudOn, you still need an Internet connection to perform the task.

If you can get past these conditions, CloudOn can be a handy productivity tool.

I tested the app by first uploading a bunch of Microsoft Word and Excel files on my PC, and then launching the app on the iPad. You're first prompted to type in your Dropbox login information (including password) before you see your files. You can select to log you on automatically going forward or you can be prompted to enter the password each time.

Now you can tap on the file you'd like to open, such as abc.docx, and you'll see it full screen in landscape view. All of the Office options, tabs and pull-down menus at the top of the screen will be familiar to you. But once you launch the keyboard to edit the document, be aware it takes up a lot of the screen real estate -- too bad you can't view or edit files in portrait view. I tried to open a PDF document but it wasn't supported, nor can you access other types of files, such as music, photos or videos.

You can also create Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your iPad, which are then saved to your Dropbox account to be accessed later on (even on multiple devices, if desired). It's also possible to rename and delete documents from within Dropbox; spell check, track changes and insert comments; and view and edit animation and transition sequences in your PowerPoint presentations.

Despite its limitations, CloudOn is a completely free way to give you Microsoft Office to go on your iPad, whether you're on Wi-Fi or 3G. While not perfect, it's hard to argue with a free solution that lets you access, manage, edit and create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

As we continue to look back at the top biz tech trends in 2011, here we reexamine the growing role of video for your business -- for both B2C and B2B initiatives -- and how it relates to mobility, social media, telecommuting and SEO strategy, among other current trends. This post was originally published in the spring of 2011 here at Telus' Talking Business blog.

It could be argued video has become an incredibly important tool for your growing small-to-midsized business, whether it's providing streaming video for websites and social networks or using live video for real-time conferencing and collaboration between remote employees.

And as more of your customers rely on wireless devices like smartphones and tablets, video is no longer limited to computers, either.

"Video is indeed becoming more pervasive in the enterprise," says Phil Karcher, a researcher at Forrester Research. "Tools like online video platforms make it easy for marketers to embed video on their websites and syndicate content to their YouTube and Facebook pages."

However, there are a few challenges in keeping up with the Joneses -- from taxing network resources to privacy and security concerns. Is video really worth it for your business? Consider the following:

The value of video

Even though it takes some planning and careful execution, Forrester Research says your business can't afford not to embrace online video. Why, you ask? Video is 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results than text-related pages on the same topic.

Unlike television, radio and newspapers, online video also lives forever, is forever searchable and helps create a personal connection with the viewer, as it can generate discussion and debate between commenters. As opposed to other media, Internet video can also be viewed whenever, wherever -- whether the viewer uses a computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a portable media player or an Internet-connected television.

Video conference for productivity

Companies are also recognizing the added value of video conferencing, says John Bartlett, principal of NetForecast, a consulting firm that benchmarks, analyzes and helps improve performance of networked data, voice and video apps. "It's a better way to establish and enhance a relationship," says Bartlett. "Video enables the ability to read body language when communicating with a client and provides a more efficient way to collaborate with colleagues."

However, video conferencing presents a bigger issue for your network, says Karcher. "The major gating factor is the network's ability to handle two-way video, which is more sensitive than one-way streaming video," explains Karcher. "Desktop videoconferencing puts a lot of pressure on the network backbone, therefore companies that add more video to the network need to think about tools to manage bandwidth and assure reliable performance."

Choosing a network for your video needs

Depending on your company's needs, size and budget, you'll have to decide if a regular Ethernet connection can handle everything, or if you should invest in a dedicated enterprise-grade pipe to handle your business's video and other applications.

"Companies need to understand the impact on the network," explains Bartlett. "If Skype is acceptable to you, then your regular broadband connection might be fine. But an enterprise network, while more expensive, will give you more bandwidth and better-quality video".

Privacy and security concerns for video

Don't embrace video without a security strategy in place, cautions Bartlett. You'll need a secure firewall, and you must "consider tools or services for encrypting video calls so the man in the middle can't listen in," he says.

"You need to think of how it affects content management, compliance and security -- and you will need tools to search, secure, track and report on video too," adds Bartlett.

Readers, what's your take on this? Can you talk from experience and tell us how video has helped (or hindered) your business? Does it give you an edge over the competition? Any tips on reducing costs yet still maximizing video technology? Let us know what you think. If you like, follow me on Twitter: @marc_saltzman

As we wind down the year, it's a fitting time for Telus Talks Business contributors to thank you for reading, sharing and commenting on our posts. We hope you've enjoyed clicking or tapping through our small business-focused content as much as we've had fun writing it.

It's also a good opportunity to look back at the top tech trends in 2011, be it tablets and smartphones, app proliferation, cloud computing, virtualization, 4G/LTE, voice control and the consumer-ization of IT, to name a few that come to mind.

One of the posts I received the most email on this year was on QR codes.

In case you missed my original post, I chatted about the growing phenomenon in Canada and elsewhere, the varied applications for it and what you need to get going.

Ah, QC codes. You see them everywhere: in newspapers, on real estate signs, at museums and on the back of business cards. You flash one before boarding an airplane and scan one when leaving a rock concert.

They're called QR Codes, or "Quick Response" codes, and they're everywhere. If you've spent any time shopping, traveling, socializing or even walking around town these days, you no doubt have seen these mysterious black and white dotted squares – and people scanning them with their smartphones.

Consider them a kind of 2D barcode that has a number of advantages over traditional (lined) barcodes: they can store a lot more information (more than 7,000 numeric characters versus 20); they can be scanned quickly from any angle; and they're designed for consumers and businesses alike.

OK, so what do they do?

Once a QR code is scanned, it can take you directly to a website, launch a related YouTube video, add a name to your contacts list or download a MP3 or other content to your phone.

For example, if you liked reading an article in your local newspaper, you might see a QR code at the end of the piece. When scanned, it opens up a website with more information on the subject in question (such as a full-length interview with the person profiled). In this capacity, QR codes bridge the gap between old media and the online world.

Or your airline can text you a QR code to your phone. Hold it up as a digital boarding pass so it can be scanned as you board the plane. No paper needed.

Walking by a restaurant? Scan the QR code in the window, and it opens up the establishment's menu, hours of operation and perhaps a video message from the owner.

If you're off to a musical, a QR code on the back of your ticket might download a track or two from the official soundtrack.

You get the idea.

There are countless applications for QR codes, all designed to make exchanging information easier than manually typing everything in – and it's much faster, too, as scanning just takes a second or two.

QR codes started in Japan almost two decades ago, and while they've been popular in Asia and parts of Europe for a few years now, they're beginning to catch on in North America now that smartphones are becoming more ubiquitous.

What do I need?

All you need to scan QR codes is a smartphone with a camera (almost all have one) and software that can interpret what the code means and act on it.

In some cases, a QR code reader will be preinstalled on the smartphone, but there are many free ones to download for your smartphone if it's not. For example, there's Barcode Scanner for Android, QR Reader for iPhone, QR Code Scanner Pro for BlackBerry and BeeTagg for Windows Phone 7 and Nokia smartphones. There's also Google Googles, ShopSavvy and QuickMark QR Code Reader.

Some QR code readers will be built into existing apps, too, such as Research in Motion's BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). If you want to add someone to your contact list, scanning their smartphone's QR code is much faster than manually typing in their PIN number.

The future

QR codes are rising in popularity in Canada and the U.S., and for companies, they're an inexpensive way to deliver additional information, media and contact information to customers (or potential customers).

There are many websites that let you create QR codes for free, such as the one here or you can watch videos on how to do it elsewhere.

Another technology is also gaining popularity called NFCs, or Near-Field Communications. Soon, you'll be able to swipe your smartphone on a sensor in order to open up a website, download media or make a secure payment while on the go. Because NFCs are a wireless technology, the advantage over QR codes is you don't need to open a QR app to scan a code with your camera – it's just a quick swipe.

Imagine leaving a movie theatre in the near future and you stop to look at a poster for an upcoming film you're interested in. You might be able to swipe your phone on the poster's frame and a high-definition trailer for the flick will download to your device.

Of course, there is more of an investment to be made as a wireless sensor, or terminal, is required by those who want to use NFCs to get their word out -- not to mention NFCs won't be possible on a newspaper page (QR codes makes more sense here). But expect to hear a lot more about NFCs in 2012 – especially when it comes to making payments on vending machines and at stores.

While viewing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations on an iPad isn't anything new, many of the apps that let you do this aren't very stable, lack animations or are bundled with pricier apps that also let you create presentations (such as Apple's Keynote or Quickoffice Pro HD).

If it's a reliable presentation viewer you need, a new and free app called SlideShark should do the trick.

Brainshark's 15MB app lets you view and show PowerPoint presentations on your iPad -- or to whatever source it's connected to, such as a TV or projector, via the HDMI connector (for iPad 2 users).

While the app works very well, loading the presentation onto the iPad might be an inconvenience for some. You see, you first need to visit slideshark.com on your personal computer and register for a free account. Once this is completed, you'll upload a PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx) to your password-protected online account, which gives you up to 100MB of storage in total. After the upload it takes a couple of minutes to convert the slides into an iPad-optimized viewing format, which will then be available on your Internet-connected iPad a minute or so after that.

Once the PowerPoint is on your iPad you can tap to launch it full-screen, slide your finger up from the bottom to see all slides in the presentation (displayed as thumbnails) and tap or swipe to advance. A nine-slide tutorial presentation is already included with the app to teach you how to get the most out of it.

I uploaded two presentations -- one, a 22-slide .pptx file and an older 14-page .ppt deck without any animation -- and both worked like a charm. Uploading, converting and downloading between the PC and iPad took two or three minutes in total, and it looked great on the iPad. Too bad you can't drag and drop files between the tablet and computer via iTunes, as it needs to be formatted for SlideShark first.

At least the recently-updated app lets you tap and hold on PowerPoint files in emails to load them into SlideShark. Alternatively, you can do this by tapping the arrow+rectangle button in cloud storage services like iCloud, Dropbox or Box -- or by clicking the "Open in" button in the top right corner when viewing a PowerPoint in the native iPad viewer.

While SlideShark preserves animations, fonts, graphics and colours -- something you don't often find in other presentation viewers for the iPad -- not all PowerPoint features are supported, such as embedded videos, slide transitions and hyperlinks. Or yet, anyway.

Shortcomings aside, SlideShark is a free and powerful tool for those who want a seamless way to view and share PowerPoint presentation on their iPad.

Many on-the-go iPad users have discovered the touch screen tablet can be an effective tool for jotting down notes, sketching images and fleshing out ideas.

Plus, the super-thin device is easy to tote around as it's just over a pound, it turns on right away and can last more than 10 hours between charges.

Whether it's used in a boardroom, classroom or family room, note-taking apps are popular downloads from the iTunes App Store, and can be used with a fingertip, optional stylus pen, virtual keyboard or external keyboard.

If you're in the market for affordable note-taking apps with powerful features, look no further than these two picks.

PhatPad

While many offer the same core features, a new note-taking app called PhatPad ($4.99) includes handwriting recognition technology that can transcribe your "chicken scratch" into digital text.

And it works well, too. On the blank canvas, simply tap the pencil icon, use your fingertip or stylus pen to print on the screen. And it supports cursive writing, too. When you're done you can highlight the text and select "Convert to Text." Within a second or so you'll see the words as text, which you can then send as an e-mail, archive, export to PDF, print or send to a cloud service (such as Google Docs, Dropbox or Evernote).

Once your words are displayed as text, you'll see lined yellow "paper" at the bottom of the screen to add or edit your text with more handwriting. If you make a mistake while handwriting you can tap the "undo" button or enable an "erase" gesture from the options menu. It took me awhile to find out how to pull up a virtual keyboard as it's not on by default, but I found it helped edit converted text faster than handwriting. Or you can use the keyboard with this app instead of handwriting altogether, of course.

Other features found in PhatPad include: multiple pen colours, tip widths and opaqueness options (ideal for drawing); the ability to import photos or text from other sources; shortcuts that can help you draw shapes (circles, squares, triangles) or organize content into grids; and a voice memo recording feature that lets you add audio to any note you create.

The app also has a presentation mode, so you can record actions -- such as drawing a million-dollar idea and explaining what you're doing verbally -- and then share later on.

Once connected to a computer via USB cable, you can also drag and drop notes to and from the iPad inside of iTunes. Notes are automatically saved as PDF files. There is no support for iCloud at this time, but there are the aforementioned services and you can also share via Wi-Fi to compatible devices in the same wireless network.

All your notes are organized well inside the app, listed alphabetically or by date, plus you can search for keywords using the small window.

While $5 is a bit pricey for a note-taking app, PhatPad is an ideal purchase for those who still like to write instead of type, as it successfully fuses the old "paper and pen" experience with the digital age.

Knowtes

Some might argue the iPad is better at consuming media rather than creating content -- but perhaps they just haven't found the right apps?

Just ask the more than a million businesspersons, students and journalists who've downloaded Knowtes, a powerful note-taking tool ($1.99) that can be used to write research papers, blog posts or office memos.

On the surface, Knowtes (pro­nounced "notes") looks like a blank digital canvas in which to write or draw your ideas. An onscreen keyboard glides out from the bottom of the screen, which can be used in portrait or landscape mode (or with an external keyboard). As with other word processors, you can change font type, size and colour, and there's a counter for characters, words and number of lines.

At any time you can also tap the Sketch button to use one of four coloured markers with your fin­gertip on the white screen -- or import a photo to sketch on top of it, if desired. Each new document you create can be seen as a yellow sticky note at the bottom of the screen with the date and/or name of the document. Need to find a note quickly? Use search words, such as "new app idea," in the small window to pull up the relevant notes.

So far, these features might not appear that different than other note-taking apps but this tool has a lot more going for it.

For one, you can pull up a built-in web browser on the lower half of the screen and copy-and-paste content or links onto your canvas. And the formatting is automatically stripped out for your convenience. Or for those who like to multitask, you can simultaneously read news, play a game of Solitaire or check your Facebook wall while crank­ing out an essay. The brows­er lets you add bookmarks, save web pages to a reading list (to view offline) and you can annotate websites with the drawing tool.

Knowtes also offers a built-in language converter via Google Trans­late, supporting more than 28 languages. Want to convert a German website into English or an English document into Spanish? The conversion is fast and easy to use, but an Internet connection is required for this feature.

Finally, this free app supports multiple file types, including .epub, .pdf, .ppt, .doc, rtf, .pages, .zip, .rar, .xls, .numbers and even media (such as .avi video files). Speaking of files, you can export your documents via email, in iTunes (drag-and-drop functionality) or sync with various cloud services and other websites, including Evernote, In­stapaper, Google Read­er, Twitter, Facebook and others. Coming in the next update is the ability to save and share your document as a PDF and support to open documents in other apps (such as Dropbox).

There's not much to complain about with this feature-rich app, so iPad owners should make a mental "knowte" to download this from the App Store.

As we continue with our Small Business Month coverage, this blog post focuses on a powerful and free tool for stay organized while on the go.

One of 200-odd new features packed into Apple's iOS 5 update is Reminders, an app designed to be a quick and easy way to set yourself a reminder -- without having to open the Calendar to add an entry.

In fact, you can also use your voice to set a reminder via the awesome "Siri" feature found in the iPhone 4S smartphone, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Reminders, which now appears on the first page of your apps, lets you type a quick note – such as "Don't forget to email Mary Jones regarding contract details" – and your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will ring to alert you at a particular time and date of your choosing (say, at 2pm on Thursday).

Reminders are displayed as a list (oldest on top) or displayed by date with an optional calendar view. Or you can search by keyword. Just as with calendar entries, reminders can also be repeated daily, weekly, every two weeks, monthly or annually. You can also add some notes to each reminder, if desired, as well as set the priority to low, medium or high.

Reminders also work when synched over the new iCloud service or via iCal or Outlook when the iOS device is connected to a computer's USB port. That way, all your changes are copied onto all your devices.

The Reminders app also offers location-based alerts, therefore you can set a geographical location for each reminder. For example, you can have an alert sound and display a reminder whenever you leave or arrive at a particular location, such as your office, home or other address you have in your Contacts. Want to remember to get a safety deposit box the next time you're at your bank? Whenever you pull into the parking lot your iPhone or 3D-enabled iPad can remind you to ask about it. In other words, you can now set reminders by time or place.

But Reminders really shines on iPhone 4S as you can take advantage of "Siri," the voice-activated personal assistant built into the smartphone. Talk to Siri at any time by pressing and holding the Home button or lifting the phone up to your ear. With Siri, you can say "Remind me to call John Smith at 9am" and you'll hear the female-like voice say "Here's your reminder for this Monday at 9am" and she'll show you a note that says "Call John Smith."

Also part of the iOS 5 update, reminders will also show up on the lock screen when it chimes and upcoming notes are viewable on the new Notifications menu by simply swiping down the screen in any app or on the home screen.

Reminders is a quick an convenient tool for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners – especially for iPhone 4S users thanks to its voice-activated Siri support.