As I write this, I’m sitting in seat 28E on a US Airways flight. Many of my fellow passengers are connected to the GoGo wi-fi, which runs $4.95 for the leg, but I’m just using Microsoft Word. When I first bought a laptop I envisioned the freedom of working from anywhere, including 30,000 feet above the ground. I had three spare batteries, and fantasized about all the work I … [Read more...]
Not Hip to Be Square?
Hundreds of iPhone app developers are in "sit around and wait" mode over porting their apps and services to webOS. For many, action could be prompted by webOS users' requests for their services. For some, it's their lack of knowledge concerning Palm's available "porting" tools leading to the delays. Then, there's the guys who simply don't want to risk spending time developing … [Read more...]
Nielsen Tells Us Not To Ignore Mobile Devices
Earlier this month Nielsen produced a report detailing what Americans do online with their computers, laptops and mobile devices. The data collection company produced charts and graphs based on responses from a pool of 5,000– with a different group of respondents chosen each month. Disclaimer: My thoughts on statistics aren't a secret and I've written about how they can fool … [Read more...]
No Thanks, Best Buy, et al
This week, Mashable reported on Best Buy's latest social media marketing campaign: auto checking in customers who have an iPhone. According to the article, Best Buy will use shopkick to auto-login shoppers not via GPS, but rather, via a store sensor. Those running the shopkick app on iPhone and Android (to be released soon) devices will earn rewards. Last week I talked about … [Read more...]
We Need Standards For Sharing Contacts on Mobile Devices
With the smartphone market exploding, there's tremendous competition amongst manufacturers and carriers, not to mention loyalists of device types. When will we be able to use the devices we want and still communicate with each other effectively? In years past I used PalmOS (Treos). Most of my colleagues used the same OS, so sharing contact information (digital business cards) … [Read more...]
Save Time By Subscribing to RSS Feeds
Last month I talked about providing RSS feeds for your site or blog, in order to gain more readers and visitors. These feeds can actually save you an immense amount of time when it comes to keeping abreast of industry news. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) allows users to subscribe to information articles (like blog posts, news reports and reviews) and peruse posts in a separate … [Read more...]
Don’t Miss the Boat on Location-Based Social Networks
Forrester Research on Monday released an in-depth report on location-based mobile apps. AdvertisingAge broke down the results, which report that only four percent (4%) of online adults in the US have used apps to connect to services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Location-based social networks (LBSNs) allows consumers to "check in" at a business. These networks use GPS to … [Read more...]
Microsoft Tag: The QR Code on Steroids
Last time, I talked about using QR Codes to help push mobile business. These “scancodes” can direct users to web sites, provide contact information and even connect to wireless devices. But, they’re limited. Enter: Microsoft Tag – a colorful, visually appealing code that offers more than just the basics. With Microsoft Tag you can create custom tags that allow you to … [Read more...]
Using QR Codes to Push Mobile Business
Still delaying a mobile version of your online store or web site? If my previous post hasn't convinced you, maybe QR Codes will. After all, people are already using them to find hidden goodies - like Calvin Klien's uncensored video showing off their new jeans. A Quick Response (QR) Code is a two-dimensional scan code that is similar to UPCs and other barcodes. However, rather … [Read more...]
Which Smartphone is for You? 10 Tips…
In the world of business and ecommerce, smartphones are steadily becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. The ability to handle email, support correspondence and task delegation while out of the office is not only appealing, but makes everything run more smoothly by eliminating time gaps while tending to outside duties. Deciding which smartphone is right for you and your … [Read more...]
Want Your Router Hacked?
If you missed step one of securing your network, you just may fall victim to a hack that's getting released into the wild next week. Seismic's Craig Heffner says he's got a way to hack into millions of routers and he's going to share it with the masses during the Black Hat 2010 conference July 28-29, 2010. What's that first step? Changing the default administrator password, of … [Read more...]
There is No iPhone Killer
Part of my THE WAY I SEE IT series, where I quick-hit a few topics per week. Apple has made its mark on the smartphone market, and the iPhone won't be "killed" by another device any time soon. More than 3 million iPhone 4's were sold, and even if that number was just one-third, they'd still make money. Apple has a broad number of devotees, so the iPhone isn't going anywhere … [Read more...]