Setting up meetings, arranging for collaborations on projects and so on means handling a lots of documents on a handful of devices. And typing out long lists or mails on a smart phone keyboard is hard but not so much on a tablet’s keyboard. So, here are three free apps this fortnight geared at making you more productive with your tablet.
Textilus
For the iPad, the Textilus is a powerful, highly customisable app that lets users quickly set up and start writing/editing, with the support of more than 30 languages and 60 fonts. The app also integrates with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice and Scrivener, and syncs content with Dropbox, Evernote, Scrivener and iCloud.
On-screen navigation is very easy and the interface doesn’t come across as cluttered. This despite there being around 25 toolbar buttons to work with your document. There’s also an assist called the ‘Magic Cursor’ for document navigation, with which you simply swipe your fingers in different directions to move the cursor or select words, etc. Last, searching within the app is also made-easy with Google, Wikipedia and thesaurus support.
What more do you need? Get writing!
TextEdit
TextEdit has been Apple’s replacement for SimpleText on its OS X devices. Its features are similar to Textilus’s, but with added simplicity, a somewhat smoother experience (because you’re not distracted by Textilus’s overload of options), and the ability to deal with HTML files and audio-visual content within the app itself. And with OS X Mountain Lion, you can also dictate to TextEdit.
Kingsoft Office Writer
Kingsoft is like an extended WordPad for tablets, with minimal features but a clean work environment and the ability to work with documents of almost any format — and this includes pulling in your emails, too, apart from other multimedia content. Kingsoft is also friendlier for creating and editing “official”-looking stuff, such as office presentations. Creating tables is intuitive and you can create multiple sections with the tabs option so that all that you’re working with is in one app. However, do mind the giant toolbar — and if you’d like to get rid of it, set the app to full-screen before you start.
Add-ons
Other apps that let you make the best of your tablet — and go with these productivity options — are Feedly and Readability (for reading), Paper (for taking quick notes and doodling), TED (with the option to download videos and watch offline), Waze (to find your way with community-sourced maps), and Flipboard (to discover new, beautiful content). For a good mobile keyboard, the Logitech K810 is worth a look. Have fun!
