In much the same way that developers have written a significant number of mind mapping apps for the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch platform, similar apps are starting to emerge for the Android smartphone operating system. Here are two of the most popular: Mind Map Memo and Thinking Space. One looks very promising, the other one, not so much.

SmartDraw is a software program that is designed to help the average person to create great-looking diagrams, quickly and easily. But in my last job, I had very few opportunities to use it, so I really didn’t get a chance to use the latest version, SmartDraw 2010, for some real business applications. All that changed in January.

Dan Roam, author of the popular visual thinking book, The Back of the Napkin, has just published a workbook called Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures.

If you want to engage in a deeper study of the principles, applications and possibilities of visual mapping, here are 8 books that I have personally read and recommend.

Headspace is a visual outliner for the iPhone and iPod Touch that offers some cool 3D effects and the ability to link disparate topics to one another. In this review, we’ll take a look at the most notable features of this visually stunning application, as well as make you aware of several minor shortcomings.

What causes crises in many businesses? Poor communications. How can we improve communications? By sharing information visually.

It should come as no surprise to the readers of this blog that many of history’s greatest thinkers were big believers in visual thinking. A case in point was one of the most prolific inventors and artists in Western civilization, Leonardo da Vinci.

If you are interested in learning more about the larger context within which visual mapping fits, then you will really enjoy Malcolm Craig’s excellent book, Thinking Visually: Business Applications of 14 Core Diagrams.

If you utilize images, graphics, or visualization for learning and communication, or if you want to learn how to apply visualization techniques to your business, then you really ought to consider attending VizThink Europe.

Last week, I told you about Dave Gray’s fascinating new book about visual thinking, Marks and Meaning. Today, I’d live to dig a bit deeper, taking a closer look at a concept from it called “successive approximation” that can help you to become a better visual mapper.