Six Smart Apps for Smart MBA Students

Earlier this year, the Washington Post published a quiz based on research that used app-usage to determine personal attributes of smart-phone users. According to the study, a person's age, sex, marital status, and income can be predicted based on the types of apps downloaded and used on a regular basis. Smart MBA students need apps and technology that maximize productivity, streamline communication, and minimize stress. And though the quiz, and the research that fueled it, can't determine your career field, if it could these six apps would be a clear indication that you study business.

1. Elevatr
Elevatr is an app designed to make your business ideas a reality. Available in the App Store for $4.99, this app helps you plan and share your eureka moments. It's a great way to brainstorm business ideas, create a business model, and foster entrepreneurship. The app uses a simple step-process to guide your idea from inspiration to start-up and its Twitter-style character-limit for your idea forces innovators to identify the essentials of a business plan. It can also be used collaboratively, allowing you to get feedback and share your ideas.

2. Audio Memos
Dictaphones and tape-recorders are so last century, but business students still need to revisit inspiring lectures, review notes from class and record a brainstorming session for group projects. Enter Audio Memos, a free app available for Apple and Andriod devices. Besides recording just about anything audible (clearly!), Audio Memos lets users edit and bookmark recordings, and can be enhanced to include iCloud synching and other useful add-ons like voice activation. An added plus: the app pauses automatically if your phone receives an in-coming call!

3. Text Grabber
As an MBA student you may want to send or make a copy of a document quickly, but you don't have access to a scanner or copier? No problem. With Text Grabber your phone's camera can scan, edit, and send text from any location. The app can also capture text in foreign languages and can translate to and from more than sixty languages. Text Grabber also includes a handy text-to-speech function and makes sharing information easy with other platforms like Facebook, Evernote, and email.

4. WhatsApp
MBA Business students need to stay connected, but they also need to be mobile. WhatsApp helps people stay in touch no matter where they are and takes the complication out of international communication. The app allows group conversations, voice messages, direct phone calls, and file-sharing and works on both Apple and Android devices. The voice message function is particularly useful for busy students – it combines the convenience and brevity of a text message with the (almost) hands-free function of direct conversation. And conversations are saved chronologically, so you can always go back and review a message, find a file, or revisit ideas.

5. Roambi Analytics
Data can be complicated but Roambi, n data analysis tool, can simplify your information and help you present it in accessible, meaningful ways, even when you don't have access to a computer. The app is available for Apple devices and is compatible with a number of data sources including databases, spreadsheets, and even websites. The app uses the data you input to create charts, graphs, and visuals that will make your information easy to understand.

6. Prezi
Presentations are the bread-and-butter of business school, but they can be difficult to create and share without a laptop or computer. Enter Prezi – the on-the-go presentation workhorse. Prezi gives you all the tools needed to create and share exciting, informative, and professional presentations using just an iPad. Presentations can be designed online or your iPad and then shared from just about anywhere. Plus, you can edit your presentation in real-time, so it's a great tool for collaborative work. Prezi users have access to all their presentations at all times, which means you can capitalize on networking opportunities and pitch your ideas no matter where you are.