App-titude: Five smartphone business apps that can replace your desktop computer


              FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2014, file photo, a Samsung Galaxy S5 is demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile phone trade show in Barcelona, Spain. A new privacy proposal up for a vote in October 2016 will require broadband providers like Verizon and Comcast to get your permission before sharing with advertisers the websites or apps you’ve been using on your phone or computer. The Federal Communication Commission plans to vote on it Oct. 27. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2014, file photo, a Samsung Galaxy S5 is demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile phone trade show in Barcelona, Spain. A new privacy proposal up for a vote in October 2016 will require broadband providers like Verizon and Comcast to get your permission before sharing with advertisers the websites or apps you’ve been using on your phone or computer. The Federal Communication Commission plans to vote on it Oct. 27. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

The smart phone is shaping up as the one all-purpose gadget that can replace everything from the camera to the MP3 player to the landline phone.

Add business desktop computer to the list of devices that the smartphone may slay, since more and more apps are out there to meet business needs.

For example, instead of using a spreadsheet to schedule employees - an app can do that.

One of the leading scheduling apps is When I Work, which is used by such businesses as Cold Stone Creamery, Comfort Inn and Walgreens. When I Work promises it can "save an average of eight hours per week on employee scheduling and attendance," "handle changes with ease," and "increase employee accountability."

When it comes to tracking travel expenses, Expensify is an app that brands itself as producing "expense reports that don't suck!" The app lets users scan receipts for dinner, log mileage driven with a touch of the smartphone's screen, and it automatically reconciles corporate credit card statements with receipts.

Tripit is one of a number of apps that put all of a business traveler's plans in one place, including flight numbers and connecting flights, hotel reservations - even recommended places to visit during a trip.

Putting everything in one place also is the idea behind such apps as Trello and Evernote, which are used to capture, organize and save everything from web pages to voice memos to pages of digital text. Both apps, which have free and premium versions, can make it easier for employees who aren't in the same office - or even on the same continent - to collaborate on projects.

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