As I’ve always said, one of the things that makes students a unique breed is the perpetual state of mobility we’re in. Whether we’re going to class, parties or the library, our time spent in one place is often limited.
That’s why the mobility of our productivity is so important- we have to be able to bring our lives with us as much as possible. For many people, that used to mean owning and carrying a laptop.
Now, it increasingly means owning an iPhone. With the wonder that is the Application Store, you can now do more than ever on the go, right from your iPhone or iPod Touch. As students, we need the added flexibility and anywhere-productivity that the iPhone allows (that’s the line to sell to your parents…)
Here are seven applications for every student’s iPhone or iPod Touch:
Pandora
You have to listen to music, right? The great Web radio application, Pandora, works just as well from your iPhone. Start with a song or an artist, and get a never-ending playlists of songs you’ll love. Great for background music, studying music, or music to jam to to keep you awake during an all-nighter. You can save playlists or create them on the fly- having Pandora is like having a personally-tailored radio station, right at your fingertips.
NimBuzz
Instant Messaging is a staple of most students’ computer screens. With Nimbuzz, your IM contacts can come with you anywhere you go. Nimbuzz aggregates your accounts from Skype, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Google Talk and many others. All the messaging you could possibly want to do, you can do with Nimbuzz. There’s a Web app, a desktop app, and apps for many mobile phones- including the iPhone. With Nimbuzz, all your friends are just a click away.
This one’s a no-brainer- Facebook‘s the best way to communicate with people in your social world. The application’s not the best, but Facebook is such a critical tool to managing your events, friends, photos and goings-on that it’s increasingly difficult to do anything without Facebook. For me, my whole social life is becoming centered around Facebook- right down to the chat application letting you leverage your Facebook contacts to talk instantly with your friends.
A2ZPro
At least one of these has to be school-related, right? A2ZPro is a super-converter of an application, perfect for anyone in the math or science fields- or just anyone who needs to figure out how many cups are in a quart after all. There are 154 things between which you can convert, and you can add any one that’s not already included. You can customize the list to your liking, and all the converting you could need is right in front of you.
Remember the Milk
We’ve all got stuff to do, right? Remember The Milk’s iPhone application lets you add, edit, and manage your tasks either on or offline. The best part, particularly for students, is the “Nearby” feature- you can view all the tasks, errands, etc. that take place near wherever you currently are. It’s perfect for anyone who’s mobile, but still needs to be able to get things done.
Twitterfon
Twitter, in addition to being the easiest way to waste a ton of time on the Web, has potential to be hugely useful. It’s a great way to find interesting things to read, get questions answered, or communicate with other people similar to you. Twitterfon‘s also the free Twitter app of choice- offering easy way to read and write tweets, and organize your messages, replies, and friends. If you can avoid the time-drain that Twitter can be, it’s a powerful way to manage your information and learn a lot at the same time. (I should mention- this isn’t the only Twitter app out there, or even my favorite, but it’s the best free one there is. If you want my favorite, try Tweetie.)
Stanza
Reading. Apparently that’s a critical part of school. With Stanza, you’ll have an e-book reader available right on your iPhone. You can download books, either for a fraction of their print price or often nothing at all, and read them at your leisure, right from your iPhone. There is a huge, and growing, list of books to read- both school-like and otherwise. With Stanza, you might not need a Kindle, an eReader, or anything else!
Your iPhone or iPod Touch really can be your one-stop productivity and fun spot as a student, all without costing you another penny.
What iPhone or iPod Touch apps do you use?