iPad CPA

2011-10-20T09:49:00.001-07:00

Val Steed’s List of Top Ten iPad Apps

10/20/2011

1. GoodReader

GoodReader is a well-known document reader. I prefer good reader to any other one as it is cheap, fast, and easy to work. I can easily annotate a PDF and store the annotations in the file or as a separate file.

2. Dropbox

Free for up to 2GB Dropbox is probably the best synchronization tool I have ever used. I have it loaded on my iPad, laptop, and desktop. All files sync in seconds and are available across all systems. Be sure to have strong Windows passwords and invoke the security keys on the iPad. I seconds I can create a file on my desk system, access it in Dropbox on my iPad then open it in GoodReader.

3. Speed Test – OOKLA

Free speed test. There are many speed test apps so be sure to get the right one. Only the one from OOKLA is this good. Great graphics and reliable results. You would be surprised at how often the speed of your internet connection changes.

4. FaceTime

No doubt one of the best communication tools ever invented. The only issue is that the person on the other end of FaceTime must have an iPad or iPhone 4 or newer. Despite the face this is an Apple app and comes with your iPad do not overlook it’s power and capabilities.

5. Photobucket

2GB of free cloud storage and an interface that works great across all devices. The key to Photobucket is that it becomes your library of photos and videos that you can easily link to for Facebook, LinkedIn or any other website posting.

6. MLB.com

I am a baseball fan so this ranks high on my list despite the fact that you have to buy an annual subscription to the service each year for around $15. You get to see any game not blocked by blackouts in HD (internet connection permitting).

7. Intellicast HD Weather

I guess I am part Eubank (local joke). Truth is, I love weather and especially like to know what I am headed for when traveling. This is the best of the weather apps to date as it gives you HD radar. Try zooming in/out and you can examine the world in detail even ocean beds!

8. Keynote

Not free, Apple app. This is a pay for app that is the PowerPoint of the Apple line. If you want to do presentations from your iPad this is the tool. Create the presentation in PowerPoint on your PC, transfer the file with Dropbox, open with Keynote, and present. Viloa, it is that easy but it will cost you $ 9.99

9. Dragon Dictation

Free app. Best voice recongnition to date. You talk, it types, this can help with email responses especially when they become lengthy on the iPad.

10. Concur

The app is free, the account with Concur will not be free. You can get a personal free account for you by signing up for the Concur Accountants program. See http://www.cpafirmsoftware.com/cpaprograms.html click on the Concur Accountants Program and join. Then you can use this app on your iPad to help track and report expenses. We have our whole company signed up and this is a great tool.

iPad 2

2011-05-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

iPad 2,

I held off upgrading for a while so I could evaluate reasons to move from an iPad 1 to an iPad 2. I have now moved up to an iPad 2 based on the following considerations.

Business

1. Ability to project entire iPad screen to audiences.

2. Many mobile apps now emerging for the CPA firm market.

3. Faster, lighter, clearer

Personal

4. FaceTime

5. Easier to carry

Overall, I am extremely pleased and surprised that the iPad 2 feels so different and runs so much better. This was touted as a small upgrade based on certain features but I feel like it is a substantial upgrade based on size, speed, and the one killer feature the projection to audiences.

Definitely recommend and upgrade to anyone and a new buy to a non iPad user.

Thomson Reuters Enables Seamless iPad™ Access for Virtual Office CS® and SaaS Customers

2011-03-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 8, 2011—Users of Thomson Reuters cloud offerings now have a new way to access their CS Professional Suite^® applications and data, thanks to a new release that offers support for the Apple iPad tablet.

iPad users will have full, secure access to Software as a Service (SaaS) for CS Professional Suite^® and the Virtual Office CS environment, providing easy access to staff portals and client files within FileCabinet CS^®

The new functionality is a better fit for today’s computing environment, which is expanding beyond traditional PCs to offer users a variety of tools for different mobile environments, according to Scott Fleszar, vice president of strategic marketing for the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. He said the new capabilities offer a way to meet the rising expectations of increasingly tech-savvy Gen X and Gen Y clients.

“The massive success of the iPad is certainly no secret, but what has surprised a lot of people is its popularity as a business tool,” Fleszar said. “More and more firms are discovering how valuable they can be at meetings, during client appointments, at client sites, or in situations where it’s just not practical to carry a full-sized laptop. And this new release ensures that our users can take full advantage of that convenience. The instant-on feature of the iPad and its convenient size and portability are freeing professionals from the need to lug larger computing devices as well as paper documents and collateral.”

In addition to using iPads to access apps and data, CS Professional Suite users have access to

Mobile CS on iPhones and iPads for convenient mobile access to Practice CS data.

For more information about Virtual Office CS, SaaS for the CS Professional Suite, and other Thomson Reuters web services offerings, visit CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Web-Services.

, including source documents, tax returns, and financial statements.

Photobucket

2011-03-07T12:35:00.001-08:00

While I am late to the online photo game it is because I have not liked any site so far. I have tried Picasa, Office Live, etc. I have now settled on Photobucket and love it. Easy to manage, store, share, move and much more. I am very happy with this solution and now am looking to use my iPad to help manage photos. Viewing and managing photos on the iPad is super.

Angry Birds

2011-01-04T04:41:00.000-08:00

O.K., o.k. I caved in and bought Angry Birds for the iPad. I am not much for games at all but this one is very fun and it also has the ability to distract kids when needed. Only game I am recommending to date.

iPad OS 4.2.1

2010-12-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

The new iPad OS upgrade is very well worth the grief. I did have an iTunes lockup while updating but that could have been my Internet connection. Multi-tasking with the iPad is great, beyond handly, and wonderful. What can I say!

Flipboard

2010-08-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

The new social networking app of day is Flipboard. Works very well and the other links are nice but I am not sure it deserves all the attention from folks like USA Today, etc.

Transfer Files to iPad

2010-06-01T20:44:00.001-07:00

Ed Zollar recommended GoodReader app. Combine that with iTunes and you can easily transfer files. Load iTunes, hook up the iPad, click on your iPad icon, then the Apps tab and select your app for files. Mine is GoodReader. Now, don't forget to scroll down with the far right scroll to File Sharing, again click on your app and you should be able to transfer files now. :-) I now have many PDFs right on he iPad.

Skydrive & Other Web Portals No Go!

2010-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have now tried Skydrive, OfficeLive Workspace, Sharefile, all with no success at transferring files to the iPad. I can view the files on Sharefile.com and any file attached to email but I still cannot download the file. Reading some posts it looks like right now the only way to get the file physically to the iPad is to use iTunes. :-(

Another CPA using an iPad

2010-05-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

This is a very nice article on using the iPad as a CPA. Ed Zollars has done a nice job here. This was published by the Arizona Society of CPAs. http://ascpa.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/the-cpas-guide-to-the-ipad/

Flash - Hello Steve Jobs!

2010-05-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

Mr. Jobs,

I sincerely respect almost everything you have done to date. I now take exception with your position on Flash. I have been an Apple user since 1987. Yup, worked directly with Apple back in the days of John Sculley. My point is I am not your average Apple critic so please listen.

YOUR POSITION ON FLASH IS WRONG AND WILL HURT iPad USERS LIKE ME!

Apple has a rich tradition of running anything Windows can run/open and in most cases better. Flash should not only run on iPad it should FLY!

Wake up!

Dr. Bob Spencer on the iPad

2010-05-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

The following is posted with permission from Dr. Bob Spencer http://www.bobspencer.com/.

The iPad for business movement, like most things these days, is evolving more quickly than expected (remember the Netscape year – 9 months? Well the new product life now is estimated at 6 months!).

Below are links for Citrix on iPad as well as a demonstration on VMWare VDI via Citix for remote Windows application processing. Two excellent options to run Windows based apps via the iPad as well as iPhone (yes, Citrix app via iPhone – maybe not practical for accounting apps, but works nicely for account/sales reps in the field that need to look up account info/balances or place an order!)

I have received lots of interest and comments about the iPad and was it business ready - and the answer is for some uses and growing daily.

I am testing the iPad Keyboard Doc as well as the VGA adaptor and Camera media adaptors to see how far we can push those. From my prospective, I would love to be able to present from my iPad to my projector in seminars. I can tell you that the iPad Keyboard Doc works very well for data entry (Pages, Spreadsheet updates etc.) which would make the Citrix approach more viable.

Always keep in mind that the iPad is not a replacement for the desktop or laptop for most office workers. The iPad is not a volume data entry or computing device – it is a light entry and information retrieval device.

Which unit should you buy? With the type of apps coming down the road - and there is a lot of them! I am telling people to not short themselves, if you can afford it and plan to use it for business, get the 3G 64 model, even if you don't plan on using the 3G.

Finally, if you are not sure about mixing the Apple and PC worlds - hang in there until late June and early July and you will be Tablets and Slates from a number of PC providers as well as Cell Phone companies running Windows 7, Google Android and Chrome, WebOS and more. Fun times ahead!

As a side note, I do not plan to subscribe to the 3G network service initially, but that is because I have Sprint broadband and a MIFI card; the MIFI uses my Sprint service (Verizon has something similar, but not ATT) and is a credit card size device that is a true WIFI switch that supports up to five active users, so my laptop, iPhone, and my iPad all can use it to access the web at the same time.

If you want 3G service for when you travel, you have options. The ATT service for the iPad is not an annual contract but month to month, and you can take the basic service for on the road, and then use WIFI when it is available to keep cost down. If you need more usage one month over another, you can also up the monthly fee for one month only, and then go back to the minimal as needed. Or, drop the service altogether for the off months and use it during the heavy travel season. Pretty flexible. But, as noted I do not plan to subscribe because the MIFI is awesome.

Sprint also has the Overdrive device; which is similar, but supports 4G where available. I tried that one first, but as with the USB version of 4G which I tried, I was not happy with it. If you are in a 3G area only, service was choppy and the device seemed to keep trying to find a 4G connection which degraded the 3G side. Just my experience and general comment.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1753162278?bctid=79213259001

http://blog.ziggytek.com/2010/04/25/ipad-how-to-run-windows-xp-via-vmware-video/

Dr. Bob 5.23.10

Favorite Apps

2010-05-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of iPad not iPhone apps that work great:

AccuWeather
MLB At Bat 2010
Pandora
RealRacingHD
USA Today
iReader
Kindle
NPR
Editor's Choice (NY Times)

You can still run iPhone apps on an iPad just select 2X:

SitOrSquat
Japanese
Ballistic FTE
Boston.com
iConvert
CNN
ESPN
Facebook

Apps that are stink!

WSJ (Wall Street Journal - really requires subscription to read articles!)

Welcome

2010-05-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

The iPad is one of the coolest devices Apple has created in years. Very clear screen and lightweight. I consider this my Kindle purchase as I never did get a Kindle and was waiting for the color Kindle. Many have already told me that reading a Kindle in bright light is much better than reading the iPad even at full screen brightness. I have not done much with the reader yet other than reading USA Today and Boston Globe on the iPad. It works great in regular room light and might be an excellent reader tool. That is to be tested soon.

So far I have found the iPad great for video replay, web browing, checking email, calendar & contacts. Not sure about the business value yet. Also you can easily run any iPhone app just runs small so you need to select 2X and make it full screen. That is great. What is not great is all the companies that want too much for their apps on the iPad such as CNN & ESPN. Favorite app so far for the iPad is MLB Baseball (Red Sox fan)!

I will continue to post new items as I get them. For now, I must say this is the coolest hardware device I have owned since the iPhone but cool does not justify $900 and a $30 monthly data plan (unlimited). I do not recommend you sign up for a data plan that is NOT unlimited. Any pay by the megabyte plan will bite you in the end.

Stay tuned.