MyTechOpinion.com» mobile device http://www.mytechopinion.com Technology for Real Estate Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:03:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Blackberry vs. iPhone: One Technoman’s Experience http://www.mytechopinion.com/2008/08/blackberry-vs-iphone-one-technoman%e2%80%99s-experience.html http://www.mytechopinion.com/2008/08/blackberry-vs-iphone-one-technoman%e2%80%99s-experience.html#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:46:44 +0000 Reggie http://www.mytechopinion.com/?p=228 It may go with saying that I’m one of those individuals who waited outside AT&T for my new iPhone. But this was not just a simple switch from one technology to another.  My Blackberry has been a godsend over the years. I truly loved the mobile device. Email and calendar couldn’t have been easier. The device had always been stable.  But what was it that made me want to switch? Before I answer that, let me back peddle a bit!

Luckily NikNik got the iPhone at the same time!

Luckily for me, NikNik and I got our phones at the same time.  Although mine had terrible reception from the start.  But the issue was strange; I would go from 5 bars to no service very quickly.  When I compared it with NikNik’s, the difference was night and day. Her iPhone had great reception.  I immediately went to AT&T to let them know that I had a defective phone. However the salesman at the counter told me it was a bad SIM card. So he added a new SIM card and sent me off on my way. Within 5 minutes I knew my iPhone was not fixed. I still had “NO SERVICE!”  So now I’m back at AT&T for the 3rd time in as many days so we could take a closer look at my iPhone reception problems. This time the sales associate tells me that I will need to purchase another iPhone and I can get reimbursed when it arrives. They’ll simply swap devices. But because of the current demand it may take 21 days. This got me a little annoyed, so I asked the sales guy to do something for me since I was without a reasonable working phone.   He replied that I could buy another phone and return it when the iPhone arrived. (Great…let me buy 3 phones so 1 can have one working?! ) I didn’t like this suggestion much. I decided instead to get through the next few weeks without a properly working phone. It was challenging, to say the least. Many calls went to voicemail. But that all changed late last week when my new iPhone arrived; now I’m happy to say the iPhone works perfectly. I now have great reception.

Although with my phone working, my immediate thoughts went out to other consumers who may have a similarly defective phone and not even know it. If I could not have compared my phone with Nik’s I would have thought the iPhone reception was weak in general!  But that’s not the case, once working the iPhone has been an amazing and innovative change in mobile smartphone technology.  Which brings me to my last thought, is it right for you?

Do I recommend iPhone or Blackberry technology for real estate agents?

This is a tough question because of so many different personality types out there.  To start if you are a teckie real estate agent there is probably no stopping you…as a matter of fact you probably already own the smartphone. Although if you are looking for stability and time tested solution the blackberry is still a great vehicle for you. You may want to wait a few more months for demand to die out and then you can easily move into the device. And if the unfortunate should happen like you purchase a defective phone at least you will not being waiting 21 days for a new one to be shipped to you.

Things I love about the iPhone:

  1. It’s beautiful
  2. Huge screen w/ accelerometer
  3. Real Internet with 3G (where available…seriously)
  4. Push email with Microsoft Exchange support (crucial)
  5. Convergence of multiple devices (laptop, camera, iPod, phone)
  6. Multi-Touch….LOVE THIS!
  7. Wi-Fi
  8. The app store
  9. Perfect convergence between work life and personal

Things I loved about my Blackberry Curve:

  1. Keyboard
  2. Durable case
  3. Camera w/Flash
  4. Light-weight
  5. Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)

Below is a basic matrix for comparison between the iPhone and the Curve.
(Note soon Blackberry will release their BOLD which would be a better comparison.)

Price w/Contract $299 $99
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 in x 0.5 in x 4.6 in 2.4 in x 0.6 in x 4.2 in
Weight 4.7 oz 3.9 oz
Display type 3.5 in 2.5 in TFT active matrix
Max resolution 480 x 320 320 x 240
Talk time Up to 600 min Up to 240 min  (Varies by Model)
Memory 16 GB 64 MB Flash
Service provider AT&T T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon1
Data services SMS, E-Mail, Voice mail MMS, SMS, WWW, E-Mail
Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR Varies by carrier. See below.
Built-in devices Camera, Digital Player Camera, Digital Player 2
GPS GPS receiver GPS receiver 3
Messaging / Data Features PDF support, Microsoft Word support, Microsoft Excel support Microsoft Office basic

1 T-Mobile Curve 8320, AT&T Curve 8310, Sprint Curve 8330, Verizon Curve 8330.

2 T-Mobile Curve 8320 offers IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 while the AT&T Curve 8310, Verizon Curve 8330 and Sprint Curve 8330 offer only Bluetooth 2.0.

3 Curve 8310 offers GPS receiver.  The T-Mobile Curve 8320, Verizon Curve 8330 and Sprint Curve 8330 do not offer GPS.

]]> http://www.mytechopinion.com/2008/08/blackberry-vs-iphone-one-technoman%e2%80%99s-experience.html/feed 18 Jott for Blackberry – The Secret To Speaking Your Emails http://www.mytechopinion.com/2008/06/jott-for-blackberry-the-secret-to-speaking-your-emails.html http://www.mytechopinion.com/2008/06/jott-for-blackberry-the-secret-to-speaking-your-emails.html#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:02:29 +0000 Reggie http://www.mytechopinion.com/?p=204 In March I started using Jott for Blackberry beta, in hopes that I could save time by replying to email with my voice via my Blackberry. To my surprise this voice to email application was remarkable and accurate. Although as I’ve been talking with real estate agents I’m learning that many have not heard of this useful technology. That’s unfortunate because as a busy real estate agent you are probably sending many emails while out of the office and maybe even while you are on the road. Needless to say, emailing while driving can be dangerous.  If that email needs to be sent immediately, using Jott for Blackberry you can simply attach your Bluetooth headset and speak your email while keeping both hands on the steering wheel. (We are not endorsing emailing while driving…simply sharing the technology. )

How do I get started?
To start, Jott for Blackberry supports series 8800, 8300 (Curve), and 8100 (Pearl) models. If you are using one of these devices, simply visit www.jott.com/bb on your mobile phone and download the application. Note that once Jott for Blackberry is installed you will need an active Jott account to use the service. Easily get an account by visiting Jott online or from your mobile device after downloading the application.

Once Jott for Blackberry has been installed, you are ready to start sending emails by voice. Locate an email you would like to reply to and choose “Reply with Jott” or “Reply to All with Jott” from the top of the reply menu. Next Jott will speak a welcome message and ask you to press any key (except hang up) to begin recording. Then speak your email and keep it to less than 30 seconds in length.  Once finished speaking your email, simply hold down any button to send. You will also have an option to preview the recorded audio before sending the message. You’ll notice that within a few minutes of sending the voice message it will be converted to text and your recipients(s) will have been emailed from you. The email will contain the text version of your audio, a message saying “sent with Jott” and the audio file. You will also receive a copy of the email for your records.

If you are looking for audit trails of sent and received Jott emails for your real estate business, consider using the Jott Gadget for your iGoogle homepage. With this gadget you’ll be able to easily view the last 7 Jott’s sent and last 7 Jotts received right on your homepage. Learn more about iGoogle Gadget for Jott here.

*Keep in mind that once Jott for Blackberry gets out of beta it will turn into a paid service. But for now this technology is free to use.

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