Free application suite that will change the way we work.

I have been following Zoho for last year or so and they never fail to impress me with the range of online applications they have launched. This is one Indian web2.0 start-up that is taking some serious strides in the Web Based Office tools arena. There are number of players in this area, Google docs, Nivio, GOffice, ContactOffice, OfficeZilla and many more. This area is already getting crowded, but Zoho has managed to keep itself on top with their quality Applications. Just recently they launched Zoho notebook, which is still in beta, but they have managed to make me switch from Google Notebook instantly. One look at the feature list and you will know what I am talking about.
If you have used Google notebook, add to it quality editing features (video, image, html, Audio etc..), neat collaboration and sharing, drawing features, much user friendliness and you will get Zoho Notebook. If you have not already given it a try, You should do it right away.
My only reservation- and it is mostly from Indian perspective – is the amount of bandwidth Zoho applications may require to run on the Internet. Most of Internet users in India are still on dial-up (73% at last count), and it may be difficult for them to access it comfortably. I really cannot give too much of insight on this as I have a good broadband line and for me it is a non-issue. I would appreciate readers input on how these applications operate on dial-up and slower bandwidth.

I am planning to review the applications I have used on this blog. Here are the list if all applications that they are currently having. Most of them are Free.

Free to use	In Beta or Fee Based
Zoho Writer Online word processor with collaboration features. No download, No install, just sign up to create documents. 100% free	Zoho Projects Project management software to create, manage & collaborate online. Free for 1 project. For more, price starts at $5
Zoho Sheet Online alternative to traditional spreadsheet applications with powerful features like charting, collaboration & more. 100% free	Zoho CRM Elegant & Affordable On-Demand CRM Solution Free upto 3 users. For more, price starts at $12
Zoho Show Online presentation tool to create, edit, publish, and show presentations. 100% free	Zoho Mail (private beta) A web-based collaboration groupware that includes Email Client, Documents, Calendar and more. On-Demand
Zoho Wiki Wiki that is as easy to use as a word processor with group concept, versions, sub-pages and more … 100% free	Zoho Meeting (private beta) Web Conferencing – Meet Online & Showcase your Product.
Zoho Notebook (beta) Create, Aggregate and Collaborate on multiple types of content online.	Site 24×7 Website Monitoring Service. Free for 2 websites. For more, price starts at $0.5
Zoho Polls Rating. Survey. Polling – Online. 100% free	Zoho Challenge The easiest way to evaluate candidates online. Free upto 25 candidates. For more, price starts at $199
Zoho Creator Create Online Database Applications in minutes. Build Forms, Collect Data and Manage. 100% free
Zoho Planner Online organizer to maintain your todo?s, reminders, notes, attachments etc. 100% free
Zoho Creator Create Online Database Applications in minutes. Build Forms, Collect Data and Manage. 100% free
Zoho Chat Unique and intuitive way to make group decisions faster. 100% free

Zoho Meeting and Zoho Wiki are recently added to their suit of applications. I am planning to give them a try shortly.

I am a sucker for polls, it makes a interesting visual decision based graph. I created this poll using Zoho in less than a minute, You dont even need to login !