As you continue to bury yourself in planning your marketing budgets and activities for 2010, it’s important to not only take a step back and look at how you can improve your department’s efficiency but your own as well. While smartphones are meant to serve as the perfect extension of your office laptop, the iPhone can be somewhat lacking in native functionality and features to truly serve as your portable office. Luckily, the wonder phone makes up for it in applications to customize the device to your needs and wants. Whether you’re looking for an app or two to help relieve some of the everyday stresses of work or you’re shooting for a complete digital makeover to coincide with your 2010 resolution to make your life more streamlined, these iPhone apps have your marketing productivity needs covered.

Using BlackBerry or Windows Mobile?

Don’t worry we’ve got you covered too. Check out our BlackBerry and Windows Mobile posts.

1. Dropbox – Anyone using multiple computers to work knows what kind of pain it can be. Either you’re having problems with the VPN or you’re e-mailing work-in-progress to yourself at the end of the day. Luckily, Dropbox has a solution for you. The program simply puts a folder in your “My Documents” folder and instantly uploads anything that enters the folder to its servers and then syncs it with any other computer you’ve authorized.
Of course, that alone isn’t that impressive and is a pretty common feature. What’s truly interesting is the iPhone app to accompany the software. After installing the app, you can review any and all documents in the Dropbox folder. It’s perfect for reviewing image proofs or copy while you’re waiting for a meeting to start or when you’re sitting in the dreaded dentist waiting room.
2. IMExchange – If you’re using Exchange at your office, you’ve no doubt discovered the greatness that is the iPhone’s handling of e-mail, calendars and contacts, but you hardcore Outlook users might have noticed that you’re tasks and notes didn’t quite make the transition. Luckily, as Apple likes to say, there’s an app for that. While tasks-sync apps are a dime a dozen, IMExchange’s support for categories puts it ahead of the pack. And while it may be a touch more expensive than a lot of the other offerings, its ability to set your out-of-office message directly from your iPhone makes it more than worth it and a necessary add-on for any iPhone Exchange users who are in and out of the office.
3. FTP on the Go – Anyone involved with Web site development or management needs this app. FTP on the Go enables you to access your FTP server directly from your iPhone anywhere in the world, make changes using the built-in text editor and upload the changes straight to the server and Web site. It’s an absolute life-saver and can make you look like the world’s best employee when the CEO notices something wrong with the site while you’re at lunch and you’re able to fix it remotely within 10 minutes.

4. Analytics – In modern marketing, there’s nothing better than having Web site metrics and measurable on hand at all times, which is what the Analytics app strives to do. While it only works if you’re running Google Analytics on your site, its complete set of features, functionality and reporting will have you installing the free Web site measurement tool right alongside your paid analytics toolset in no time. We use Google Analytics alongside our paid analytics toolset for a number of clients just to have the real-time access to site metrics and measurable for client meetings and presentations. Plus, it’s completely worth the two seconds it takes to get Google Analytics up and running. Being able to review and monitor real-time Web site metrics and then present them as they are happening can be incredibly powerful. Combine this toolset with FTP on the Go, and you have total access to your Web site anytime, anywhere.

5. Privus Mobile – As your iPhone becomes your primary communications tool, you’ll notice that you’re getting more and more calls from random numbers you may or may not recognize. Privus Mobile allows you retrieve the caller details behind most U.S. phone numbers and then save that information straight to your contacts (which if you’re using Exchange will go straight to your Outlook contacts as well). While it can’t provide you with the caller details as the call is coming in due to Apple restricting background processes on the iPhone, it will allow you to manage your call log more effectively and efficiently. One of the side benefits, since it’s using a more thorough caller information database than most carriers, you can even use Privus Mobile to find the caller information for your landline and office calls when traditional Caller ID just shows “Anonymous” or “Unknown.”