Best Mobile Apps For Busy Professionals

Laptops appear to be falling out of favor as the mobile business weapon of choice if we're to believe the latest survey results from a company called RingCentral. More than half--51%--said they'd rather take a tablet with them on the road than have to lug around a laptop.

To whit, 29% of the mobile professionals surveyed said they own a tablet, though the survey doesn't specify whether or not those tablets were employer-provided. RingCentral's data shows that of those who do own tablets, 62% qualify as heavy users, picking them up multiple times per day to do things such as check email, browse the Web, and look at presentations.

Nielsen reported on Wednesday that, despite their popularity, only 5% of the U.S. population owns a tablet computer. That's still 15 million people, though.

Smartphones, however, remain the battle-tested armament for mobile professionals out in the road.

According to RingCentral, half of the mobile professionals surveyed say they use their smartphone for calls as much as they use their landline. Nearly half of respondents admitted to being addicted to their smartphone, with 64% saying they use their smartphone more this year than last year. No one stays out of touch, as 85% of respondents said they use their smartphones multiple times per day.

Sadly, 58% of respondents said they'd take an urgent call while in the lavatory, and 49% said they check their smartphones before getting out of bed in the morning. (RingCentral indicates that these same people grab their phones before planting a good morning kiss on the lips of their spouse/significant other.)

Which devices are they using? Interestingly, 34% of respondents said that they use the iPhone for business, 29% reported using an Android device, and 15% admitted their fixation with BlackBerries.

As noted by other studies, email is the number one use of smartphones, with 47% saying that the ability to check and respond to email anywhere, anytime, is the very best thing about their beloved preciousssss.

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