This article highlights the top 15 (free!) Android apps for productivity.

A few favorites include:

• Note Everything – Put all your voice, photo, text and checklist notes in one place and organize with folders.

• Voice Recorder – Perfect for making notes to yourself, dictating speeches or memos – especially while driving.

• GDocs – Allows you to edit and view your Google documents.

• Evernote – Create to-do lists, take snapshots of websites, store photos and more.

Do you have a favorite Android app that has improved your productivity or simply makes your life easier?

The study looked at 24,436 IBM employees in 75 countries to determine at what point 25 percent of those employees said work was interfering with personal and family life. Office workers said their tipping point was 38 hours a week. Employees who had a flexible schedule and the option to telecommute, they could work 57 hours per week before reporting a conflict between work and family balance.

Nineteen hours is a pretty significant difference and truly proves the benefits of flextime and telecommuting.  Many workers appreciate being able to set their own schedules and simply complete their work – whether they do it at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m.

Employers have long been caught up in the concept of set work hours and “punching the clock,” but this study helps prove employees do better when given the flexibility to work and to work from home – and they even work more.

According to one of the BYU researchers, “A down economy may actually give impetus to flexibility because most options save money or are cost-neutral. Flexible work options are associated with higher job satisfaction, boosting morale when it may be suffering in a down economy.”

Do your employees telecommute? Do you offer flextime?

The study looked at 24,436 IBM employees in 75 countries to determine at what point 25 percent of those employees said work was interfering with personal and family life. Office workers said their tipping point was 38 hours a week. Employees who had a flexible schedule and the option to telecommute, they could work 57 hours per week before reporting a conflict between work and family balance.

Nineteen hours is a pretty significant difference and truly proves the benefits of flextime and telecommuting.  Many workers appreciate being able to set their own schedules and simply complete their work – whether they do it at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m.

Employers have long been caught up in the concept of set work hours and “punching the clock,” but this study helps prove employees do better when given the flexibility to work and to work from home – and they even work more.

According to one of the BYU researchers, “A down economy may actually give impetus to flexibility because most options save money or are cost-neutral. Flexible work options are associated with higher job satisfaction, boosting morale when it may be suffering in a down economy.”

Do your employees telecommute? Do you offer flextime?

One of the toughest situations for businesses is figuring out the best way to handle negative comments and criticism. Yelp.com, a website where consumers can review businesses, has certainly taught many a business how to handle a disgruntled customer.

Yelp has come under fire for some of its tactics as businesses claim the site has biased reviews and that ratings and placement are based on whether a company advertises on the site. Yelp is responding to the criticisms and making some changes, including forming a Small Business Advisory Council.

But Yelp isn’t the only place where unhappy customers can air their grievances. It’s easy to complain on Facebook and Twitter, leave a “don’t go here” tip on Foursquare or make a YouTube video (remember “United Breaks Guitars” from last summer?)

So, what’s a business to do? First and foremost, pay attention. Don’t wait for 8 million people to view a YouTube video before you even know what’s going on. That means keeping tabs on your brand – have a presence on social media, set up Google Alerts for your company.

Respond as best you can. If the customer has a legitimate complaint, work quickly to resolve the problem. Occasionally, there are those customers that complain just because they like to complain. In those instances, you can’t do much and it may not even be worth responding – you don’t want to get into a public tit-for-tat with a customer.

Here’s an article from Inc. magazine that offers some other great tips for responding to criticism. It focuses on Yelp, but the rules can apply to any public forum where businesses are being critical.

How do you respond to negative comments online? Is it worth responding?

Back in February, we asked our Twitter followers if they had a magic phone, who would they call? The response was incredible with people giving a variety of interesting answers from family and friends to celebrities and fictional characters. Three random winners were selected to receive an Amazon Kindle.

Our magic phone Twitter game was so much fun, we’re doing it again May 10-14. The concept is the same but we’ve tweaked the rules just a bit:

Step 1: Follow Spirit Telecom @NoStaticST.

Step 2: Head over to our Facebook page and become a friend. http://budurl.com/p73j

Step 3: Tweet the following message: If I had a #magicphone, I’d call ____. Who would you call @______ @________? Win a Flip Slide Camera: http://budurl.com/6pyd

Step 4: Answer the question and also tag two friends to answer. Be sure to include the hashtag #magicphone and a link to this blog post with all the instructions.

You’ll receive one entry per day for tweeting about the magic phone. Each day, we’ll select a winner to receive a Spirit Telecom logo’d prize. At the end of Friday, May 14, everyone who has tweeted about the magic phone will be entered into the grand prize drawing for a Flip Slide, a 4-hour HD video camera. The maximum number of times you can be entered to win the grand prize is five (assuming you tweet once a day Monday through Friday).

And finally, have fun! Call your best friend, your favorite singer or TV star, an old flame or famous person from history. Try tagging celebrities or other big tweeters using their Twitter handle.

Happy dialing (er, tweeting)!

UPDATE: We had such a great time with this game on Tuesday, Feb. 9 that we are keeping the fun going through Wednesday, Feb. 10. So, start asking your followers, who they would call with a magic phone?

If you had a magic phone, who would you call – past or present? That’s the question we’re asking the Twitter world on Tuesday, Feb. 9. And, if you happen to be tweeting your answer at just the right time, you could win one of two Amazon Kindles.

Here’s how it works:

• Follow Spirit Telecom @NoStaticST.
• Tweet the following message: If I had a #magicphone, I’d call ____. Who would you call @______ @________? Win a Kindle: http://budurl.com/4278
• As you’re tweeting, answer the question and also tag two friends to answer.
• Be sure to include the hashtag #magicphone and a link to this blog post with all the instructions.
• Feel free to tag celebrities or other big tweeters using their Twitter handle.
• Have fun with it! You might call your mom, a celebrity, an old flame or your best friend. We just want to make Tuesday a little more exciting and find out who’s on your personal calling wish list.

At two random times on Feb. 9, we’ll see who is tweeting about the #magicphone at that time (or closest to that time). If you’re the lucky one, you win an Amazon Kindle. It’s that easy.

So, get your dialing finger, er, in this case, your typing fingers ready and think about who you would call with a magic phone.

Innovation can be scary because, at the core, it’s about taking a risk. And taking a risk during a recession can appear almost foolhardy. But when times are tough, it’s all the more reason to innovate. How else will your company stay ahead, stay fresh and stay out front – especially when the economic tide turns.

So while your business is still in survival mode, how exactly do you set aside the time to innovate.

• Recognize the importance of innovation and that without new ideas your business will be left behind. Once you make innovation as important as cultivating new clients, you’ll make it a priority.
• Create an atmosphere for innovation. Take your team off site for a brainstorming session. You don’t need a fancy overnight retreat, but maybe just an outdoor meeting at a park or over sandwiches at a local restaurant. Sometimes a change of scenery is good for sparking ideas.
• Set up an ideas board – a white board or bulletin board where employees write down quick thoughts or notes or post inspiring photos or articles.
• Take a risk. Do everything you can to jump on a good idea and make it happen. If you don’t, someone else will.

How is your company innovating? Has it been hard to innovate because of the economy or has innovation become even more critical to your business?