25 Practical Windows 8 Tablet Apps for Business Users

If you have a Surface tablet by Microsoft (or any brand of Windows 8 tablet for that matter) then you’re probably in need of a few good apps to improve the experience—especially if you use your tablet for both business and pleasure. Here are 25 practical apps that will help you work smarter on a Windows 8 tablet.

Related: The How-To Guide to Windows 8

Based in Nova Scotia, Canada, Vangie Beal has been covering small business, electronic commerce and Internet technology for more than a decade. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Using OneNote, you can take notes and save them to the cloud for anytime, anywhere access. Features include to-do lists with check boxes, options to email notes to friends and the ability to send information from other apps directly into OneNote.

OneNote is also a free app from Microsoft.

Quick Encrypt is text encryption software that can be used to encrypt passwords, credit card numbers, login IDs, social security numbers, email passwords and more. You can encrypt and decrypt any text with a user-defined password.

Quick Encrypt (by Two Square Systems) is free.

Tips: The Do’s and Don’ts of Safeguarding Cloud-based Data with Encryption

QuickList is task management app that takes care of to-do lists, projects, work items and purchase lists. In the app you can create, view and manage your daily, weekly and future activities and see up to five timeframes in one screen. Activities you haven’t marked as completed will automatically roll over to tomorrow, and you can schedule a to-do list for any time in the future.

QuickList (by Knowitsome Apps) is $1.49.

The Remote Desktop app lets you connect to a remote PC to access files and work. The app shows all remote connections and opens them with a single touch. You can customize settings for all your connections. Other features include connecting to multiple remote desktops, automatic detection and optimization of connection quality.

Remote Desktop is a free Microsoft app.

Need a virtual, talking buddy? Speaktoit Assistant uses natural language processing technology to answer questions, find information, launch apps and connect you to different Web services. Use your voice to navigate on your tablet, open websites, get the latest weather report, manage your calendar, play music and do other tasks.

Speaktoit Assistant (by Speaktoit) is free.

World Time Clock is a good app for busy professionals who need to communicate with colleagues in other countries. The app lets you choose the cities important to your agenda and view international country calling codes. The app allows you to add up to 40 cities to your favorites list for quick access.

World Time Clock (by Reflected Sun) is $2.49. A seven-day free trial is available.