More so, people wanted to know what I thought about HP waving the white flag.

I’ve had difficulty getting all my thoughts together. Partly because I’m in mourning. Partly because there are so many “what ifs” running through my mind I can’t get them sorted.

Do I feel dissed over HP’s decision? You bet. After all, like many here, I’m not just a Palm/webOS user, but a loyal advocate. I grew my business with many tools, including Palm products. I’ve used webOS to further streamline small business consulting operations. This, despite the fact that nearly 75% of my clients and colleagues use iOS, and the remaining use Android. I’ve been the lone webOS user at many small conferences, at Starbucks, even at the local bar. I’m the one who tells my husband to wait in the frozen foods aisle for a minute because, “I just saw someone texting on a Pre!”

Over the past few days I’ve received several messages, and one in particular sums them all up:

“It looks like it is time for you to join the iPad team! What are you waiting for?”

Well, I’m waiting for plenty of things…

• Disposable money. $600 worth.
• True multitasking.
• Flash. I’ve heard all the arguments, but if you had to incur the cost hundreds of thousands of small business and band sites do in order to have Flash content converted properly, you’d understand why it’s an important feature to have – at least today – on mobile devices.
• The ability to do what I want, how I want. iOS5 is going to be slick as heck. But, you know what? I want all those syncing features they tout sans cloud.

But there’s another key reason I’m not switching any time soon…

I don’t have to.

My devices work. Why spend money needlessly?

Despite the TouchPad being discontinued, it will still talk to wireless printers, still run Flash components and sync data.

Even if webOS itself is nixed, there are loyal developers and the Homebrew community who – unlike big business – will stick around until it gasps its last breath. These guys have never been paid the recognition they’re truly worth. They do what they do because they love the platform and have an affinity for making the rest of our experiences better. To them, jumping off the ship even while sinking is cowardice. Rather, they play the captain, stay with the ship and bail water as best they are able.

HP says the company will continue webOS software development, and hopes to partner with a hardware manufacturer. Some speculate it’s too late for that, and, perhaps it is. But this webOS user will keep forging onward until the powers-that-be, or her devices, just totally give out.

For those freaking out over the madness that is HP and webOS, I can only offer this one piece of advice. It comes from my husband – who’s said it to me hundreds of times as I’ve often (and, quite excitedly) try to make webOS the topic of conversation:

“Hon, it is just a device. It’s not like you couldn’t manage your life before it existed.”

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/08/24.
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Post tags: HP TouchPad, smartphone, Technology, webOS

When HP announced the launch of the TouchPad, I was eager to get my hands on the device. Not that I saw it as an absolute necessity, but rather a great add-on to my productivity suite of gadgets and software. Most of my friends and colleagues tote around iPads and Android devices, but I don’t like the restrictions set forth by Apple, nor the security issues with Google’s OS. Still, laying out hundreds of dollars for a device that would – for now – merely accompany my webOS smartphone was difficult to justify.

Then HP offered to send me a 32GB TouchPad to put to good, small business use. The only agreement was that I would write about the device from time to time. Who was I to refuse?

Rest assured, no promises of “praise only” comments were made.

With that, I’m declaring Wednesdays “webOS Wednesday” – whether posting here or at other outlets, I’ll be sharing my findings each week.

If you’re looking for ways to increase productivity and streamline communications, I invite you to come along for the ride. If you currently use another tablet, that’s fine – you’ll still gain some ideas on working more seamlessly.

To kick things off, I’ll share the #1 feature of webOS and the TouchPad: Multitasking. You can run multiple apps in pure form. That means web sites will load while you’re playing a game or writing an email.

Just how many apps can you run at once? I run 7-10 simultaneously (which I think would be the tops for many), but this video created by webOSroundup.com hits 31 (many HD) before the device poops out.

Oh, and that netbook? For now, it’s on standby as I get to know my new TouchPad. So far, I’ve been able to do everything I need while on-the-go.

You can follow all my posts on the HP TouchPad at the webOS Wednesday page.

Disclaimer: HP has provided me with a 32GB TouchPad and wireless keyboard for personal and business use, with the agreement that I will share my experience with the devices.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/08/10.
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Post tags: android, iPad, productivity, Technology, webOS

Keeping up on the latest technology isn’t as easy as we’d like. Fortunately, there are some key sites that keep us in-the-know. From the latest mobile devices to computer software, these guys feed us the news, reviews and opinions of key players in the industry.

Note: I much prefer getting my tech news via RSS. However, if you don’t mind getting fed the headlines as they happen in your Twitter stream, give them a follow.

• Engadget (@engadget) These guys write a great deal about mobile devices. Why should you care? Because you want to know how to better cater to customers. Also, why not use reviews and data to make your own decisions? Visit site ->
• Mashable (@mashable) While their Twitter account posts everything “Mashable”, there are great tech articles posted daily. Or, you can avoid the extra stuff and just visit the Tech & Gadgets section of the Mashable web site.
• Gizmodo (@gizmodo) This controversial source (their the ones who possessed the stolen iPhone) for tech news covers a broad spectrum. Learn about the latest Windows and Mac OS, including browsers and release notes, as well as the latest in smartphones and tablets. Visit site ->
• Wired (@wired) Wired covers a variety of topics – cars, multimedia, entertainment and tech. I find most all their articles interesting, but if you want to read specific topics, they have web site sections for Tech Biz and Gadgets.
• Lance Ulanoff (@lanceulanoff) He’s the editor-in-chief for PCMag.com. He also follows other tech stories and shares accordingly. Lance keeps me updated on the latest in PC and Mac news, as well as mobile devices and other gadgets. You can read all his PCMag.com articles here.

As always, there are plenty of folk worthy of mention. My picks are based on current trends and my experience. Got a must-follow tech-related account to share? Comment below.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/29.
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Post tags: #FF5, smartphone, Technology

In order for true multitasking to work, four elements must be present…

Read more at webOSroundup

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/14.
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Post tags: Technology, webOS

You may be eager to update your online store to use the latest technology. By doing so, however, you just might be crippling your customer base.

With all the latest and greatest Web features, browsers are constantly needing to be updated to keep pace. The problem with that, though, is that online shoppers might not be ready for these new bells and whistles. Keep this in mind when introducing new technology to your website.

Earlier this year, one online store upgraded the site’s JavaScript functionality, rendering previous versions of Internet Explorer useless. Shoppers are now prompted with a message to upgrade their browsers. While the site is stellar in its design and offerings, I can only imagine how many sales are being lost because of the upgrade requirement.

Recent stats for an online store show that more than half its visitors run some flavor of Internet Explorer. Of that, 8.6% still run IE 6, and just over 23% run IE 7. That's nearly 1/3 of IE users running outdated versions...

Just as requiring Flash installation back when it wasn’t a standard impeded the shopping experience, requiring an upgrade that could take more than – well, any amount of time, really – is a good way to lose business to competitors.

Laugh all you want, but I still strive to make websites function with IE6 – because stats for many clients show that a decent percentage of shoppers are still running the older browser, especially those overseas. While certain graphic formats, such as PNG, may render a bit differently, the core experience is retained. Sure, I’m working at phasing out IE6 configurations on new site launches, but only because there are security elements required for stores to pass PA-DSS compliancy tests. Still, any online store should be able to render properly at least two versions back on most browsers.

Then, there’s accessibility software, such as JAWS, utilized by the blind and visually impaired. Yes, I know it’s personal (my husband can’t see a thing and uses screenreading software on his laptop), but you need to recognize that there are millions of blind and low-vision folks surfing the web. Wouldn’t it be great if those customers didn’t have to rely on family or someone sighted because they can’t shop your store for a gift for their wife or children? As more and more sites are configured not to run in previous browser versions, the more sites there are which Joe cannot navigate. Whenever this happens, it requires a major upgrade in the screen reading software (and trust me, it isn’t cheap). All this, because some sites (and not techie ones) think it’s necessary to use the same functionality as, say, a financial institution.

Online shoppers, like the rest of us, don’t like fixing what isn’t broken. Ask around, and you’ll find most of them hate being forced to upgrade or install software just to reach a web site when a good portion of the others they visit load just fine. Not all newer site designs are going to look stellar in 3-year-old environments, but they should still be shopable.

Keep in mind that many computer users run what was already installed on the system the day they brought it home. Unless someone they know presses them to upgrade, they often leave the system as it was configured from the factory. So, if that means forgoing some “sleek” updates, which can, most of the time, be done by other means anyway, then so be it. Bash Amazon all you want, but that site loads in a wide variety of versions of browsers.

By the way, as I type this, I’m struggling to start an online chat with big tech company. Apparently none of the browsers I’m running are the right flavor. Guess I gotta pick up the phone…

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/04.
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Post tags: browsers, Ecommerce, Technology, web design

If you’ve ever tried to hop online during a conference or convention, you’ve probably experienced the molasses-slow chug of data transfer. This June, Steve Jobs asked a room full of journalists to turn off their WiFi connections so he could continue his presentation.

Verizon Wireless' MiFi gives me a fast, secure connection from virtually anywhere.

I’ve been using my own connection via Verizon Wireless for a few years now. Though I’ve always been pleased by the ability to connect from anywhere, the MiFI 2200 took the cake. I was thrilled to read Wired’s thumbs-up approval, and applaud them for recognizing what I already knew. This device is sleek, fast and easy to connect.

Don’t take my word for it though. Last February, while at a conference in Las Vegas, a rather influential colleague mocked me for paying $60 a month for Verizon’s 5GB service. He pulled out his iPhone and said, “All you need is this”.

I scoffed again, as I’d already heard the lectures for using a Palm Treo (I ran the 755 at the time). I simply shrugged and replied, “It’s never failed me. It’s cheaper than hotel connections, and it’s secure.”

The next morning he called me over to a table. We were scheduled to give a presentation in about an hour, and he was up in arms.

“Let me connect to that thing,” he said, holding up his iPhone. “I just can’t get a connection in here.”

And thus, my point was made. A separate device built specifically for connecting to the Internet will almost always be superior to tethering and mobile hotspots. Not only that, but while I consistently hear others complain about poor conference-wide connections, I just keep on working. And when the WiFi at Starbucks goes down? No problem.

I’ve let others hop onto my connection – last month an author desperately trying to research shared my device, and I’ve been known to let others in airports get online as well.

So, for that, I say stop mocking my $60/month service when it works virtually anywhere, almost 100% of the time – even when others can’t get a signal. Be nice, and perhaps I’ll let you piggy back off me when you need it the most.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/03.
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Post tags: Technology, WiFi, wireless

A battery backup is an alternate power supply for your electronics. We use them on our computers, which keeps them running about five minutes after power interruption. Most times the power is back on within seconds, but for lengthier outages being able to perform a proper system shutdown can prevent data corruption.

I’ll write more details on all this later, but for right now, inquiring minds… Have you installed battery backups in your office or home? If so, which one? And has it saved you more than once?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/09/27.
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Post tags: data corruption, Technology

This past weekend I had a conversation via Twitter with Square co-founder Tristan O’Tierney. Through several tweets, O’Tierney explained that his company (which gives iPhone and Android users the ability to swipe credit cards on their devices) saw webOS as a flawed system, showing no true signs of success.

“We’re still playing wait and see with webOS. Not many signs it will be successful yet.”

My goal was to advise O’Tierney, as I do many other app developers, that Palm has tools in place to save on development time and port apps to an additional audience, requiring a smaller financial investment. The Return on Investment (ROI) on an already-developed iPhone app is much lower because porting it to webOS does not require a complete rebuild.

O’Tierney then explained how webOS had a significantly smaller user base, then ended the conversation with this:

“Like SJ says: pick the winners early, save yourself a lot of trouble in the future.”

The statement is nothing new. Many startups and currently-successful founders and CEOs utter these words to the masses, especially to investors. However, such a statement is often used to excuse companies who are ignoring millions of other potential customers.

In 2007, when the iPhone was first announced, Blackberries and Treos were the big players. What would O’Tierney have done then? Would he have abandoned the most popular devices in order to focus on one that cost way more in terms of production and to the users themselves? Would he have abandoned those devices – that had very loyal user bases – and jumped in with both feet to concentrate solely on the iPhone?

Focusing on iPhone development first tends to make sense for any company wanting to hit the ground running. It has, by far, the largest pay-for-app user base, and is widely used by key business folk. Next in line is Android, and, after that, it’s pretty much a free-for-all depending on which developer you talk to. These companies, though, are missing the bigger picture when it comes to building a solid business plan.

The goal for companies seeking the broadest audience shouldn’t be developing for only the “big” platforms, but for all possible OS devices. Why? Because “little guys” matter, sometimes even more.

Square, for example, could be missing out on some rather large clients – ones that could account for a decent percentage of transaction fees. After all, replacing portable, yet expensive, machines with smartphones is very appealing to companies who sell products and services at conferences and conventions. It’s also appealing to locally owned restaurants that deliver.

There’s more, though. Companies like Square needn’t be ignorant of potential competitors. I advised O’Tierney that there’s already competition in the works. The thought that every Square-using iPhone toter would stay with them simply isn’t logical when other services may offer better integration with existing bank accounts, and better reporting methods. The fact Square hasn’t infiltrated the same platforms as, say, Foursquare, Gowalla and even Oprah mobile makes the argument to bring in additional, competing services more compelling.

Cornering every smartphone with a service doesn’t guarantee others won’t enter the arena, but it can lessen the impact if you have loyal customers across all platforms.

Another myth about picking the “winners”, as O’Tierney said, is that there’s no guarantee they won’t be the big fish tomorrow. Argue all you want that nothing can outperform the iPhone, but no one can predict the future. In fact, Square, like any other company, was formed despite a huge risk that users – despite any surveys or studies – would even want to swipe cards on their devices, or that they’d trust Square, an unknown, with their money. So, Square took a risk, and in turn, asked users to take a risk. But when it comes to welcoming in a smaller number of risk takers? That’s a whole other story.

I love Square’s core business model, and would love to see it cater to every possible user. Unfortunately, like many other companies, their current success has made them think the rest of us don’t really matter.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/09/08.
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Post tags: mobile apps, smartphone, Technology, webOS

Disclaimer: My thoughts on statistics aren’t a secret and I’ve written about how they can fool us. Just the same, Nielsen’s report is interesting in several respects.

According to the report, we spend nearly a third of our time online, with more than 22% of that time devoted to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

More interesting, though, is the company’s findings for mobile device use. According to Nielsen, email is still the most popular activity on smartphones and feature-rich cell phones. I find the results somewhat surprising, mostly because research I’ve done across non-business users leans toward social media being the primary action on smartphones, with a decent number of folk reporting they haven’t even configured email accounts on their mobile devices.

According to Nielsen, we're spending the bulk of our smartphone time composing and receiving emails. But are these findings skewed by the survey of specific types of users? Or are more users not making clear via social networks how much they spend using their devices for social media as opposed to email?

Perhaps a vast number of respondents are business users. This matters not, though, because the simple fact that people are reading and composing email with their devices shows us that email marketing campaigns are still a great way to communicate with current and potential customers. This also means, however, that we need to focus more on making sure the emails being sent are properly rendered across all devices.

The report also tells us what we should already know – people sure like to Tweet and update their Facebook profiles via their smartphone. Actually, the bulk of my online friends upload pics more via smartphones than computers.

Also not surprising is the usage of video sites, like YouTube. Apps make videos load more quickly than surfing mobile sites, and most devices have a means to upload video to the YouTube servers as well.

Overall, the report is pretty compelling in what it covers. While it wouldn’t be wise to simply take the numbers at face value, we also cannot ignore that smartphones are being used to complete many of the same tasks people already do on their desktops. If you had any reservations about  paying more attention to a mobile-friendly site for your online business, this should serve as a reminder that mobile access is a significant part of the “big picture” when it comes to the future of the web.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/08/31.
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Post tags: email, mobile commerce, smartphone, social media, statistics, Technology

I’ve learned a great deal from my parents, and one key lesson is that I don’t let companies tell me how I’m going to work with their devices; I tell them.

Companies need to follow Oprah's lead and vie to reach the broadest audience possible.

Where did we (society) go wrong? Of that I cannot be certain, but I can say when it comes to smartphones, it was when the first iPhone rolled out of the factory and into consumers’ hands. Before that, the big battle was between RIM (Blackberry) and Palm (i.e. Treos). Forget the number of users – I’m talking about our demands for development, which is something greatly lacking today. In fact, there were more cutting-edge apps and hardware add-ons for Palm devices than there is now; same goes for the Blackberry.

Today, it seems as if everything is developed for the iPhone, then ported to Android. You’d think other smartphones would be next, but a great many companies are stopping there.

For example, Square turns an iPhone or Android device into a card-swiping, payment-collecting machine. The interface and functionality is very slick. When I asked the company about their plans to develop for webOS I was told there currently weren’t any.

Square is but one example of a company (and there are many) that is ignoring webOS and other competing devices, and the most common reason is the number of users who would partake in the service on a particular smartphone. I argue that companies who don’t look at the broadest audience are going to lose future business to those who do. I also argue that the majority of users who complain about the lack of apps then jump ship are just as much at fault.

Could it be that it’s far easier to throw one’s hands in the air and settle for another device, even if we know it’s not ideal for us, than it is to petition companies to offer us the goods? I see door-walking tweets every day, despite the person wishing they “could” stay with their current device.

Let’s be honest. Unless your specific employer or legal requirements force you to use a different device, you can’t say you’re forced to move. If you want to use a particular smartphone, then send these companies a clear message (and I don’t mean by shouting, kicking and screaming). Simply tell them:

I’m not changing devices to use your product. If you don’t plan to create a version for my device, I’ll have no choice but to seek out a competitor.

Will they listen? That depends on their true goals. But I’ll say this… Square is crazy not to develop for the rest of the market, because it’s only a matter of time before someone else steps up to the plate. That someone else may even do it better, and convert current iPhone and Android users, too.

Including Square, there’s more than a dozen services I want to use on my Palm Pre Plus – I mean, I want to give these businesses my money – but I’m not altering my entire work environment to get them. To be honest, I don’t even “need” most of these services; they really just make things easier.

And that, my friends, is the message we need to send these guys. If not, then we’re just proving them right – that we’re willing to give up things we truly want in order to use something they offer on a different platform. Me? I’m talking with not only my voice, but also my wallet.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/08/13.
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Post tags: android, iphone, smartphone, Technology, webOS