Tablets Off to a Big Start in 2012

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Sue

Did Santa bring you a new tablet or e-reader?  If so, you’re not alone.  Pew released figures this week showing tablet and e-reader ownership doubled in the month spanning the holidays.  Ownership jumped from 18% of U.S. adults owning either a tablet or e-reader in December, up to 29% in January.   The availability of new, less expensive devices like the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet definitely drove a fair share of these sales, but higher-end tablets like the iPad are still going strong.

This rise in popularity has generated plenty of online coverage of the tablet market.  Here are a few interesting finds:

Tablet users spend more per online purchase

In 2011, Forrester reported that tablets accounted for 20 percent of e-commerce sales, even though only 9 percent of shoppers owned tablets at that time.   Adobe Digital Marketing Insights recently studied visits to 150 different retail sites and learned that tablet users spend 54% more per purchase than smartphone users, and 21% more than desktop and laptop users.

It certainly seems like now would be a good time to ensure your e-commerce site is optimized for tablet users.

Tablet users are heavy consumers of news and content

Late last October, a study was released showing more than half of tablet users access news content every day, with 77 percent indicating they read more news content than they did prior to purchasing a tablet. The average user spends around 90 minutes per day on their tablet.

Making the time to create informative, non-promotional content for your customers should be more of a marketing priority now than ever before.

The tablet market may be splitting in two

Some analysts doubt Kindle Fire’s success out of the gate spells trouble for Apple’s iPad.  The iPad will likely continue its reign at the high-end of the market, with the Fire and Nook helping to expand the lower end.  Yesterday, a blogger on Mashable Tech predicted this market split will generate more demand at the lower end and open the door for other players to break into the tablet market.

Do you see the rise in tablet popularity impacting your life or business? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

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Thanks to You, Our 2011 Has Been Pretty Memorable

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Jason

We hope you received our holiday greeting last week.  If not, you can take a look here.  (It’s worth the click—we had fun with it, as we do most of our projects.) Putting together our greeting as a team, we realized how many exciting things have happened at Far Reach this past year.

When we started Far Reach almost five years ago, we believed there was huge potential for a company that worked smart, really listened to its clients, and made its employees top priority.  Even so, we had no idea how quickly, even in a difficult economy, Far Reach would take off.

In 2011, we doubled in size from seven employees to fourteen.  We received some very meaningful honors—our own employees nominated us as an Employer of Choice, and we were finalists for two prestigious awards from our peers at Technology Association of Iowa.    We also gave back to the Cedar Valley in as many ways as we could—most recently by adopting a family for the holidays through Lowell Elementary in Waterloo.  It only seems right to send some of the support and generosity we’ve been fortunate enough to receive, right back into the community that gave it to us.

We head into 2012 with more excitement than we’ve had about any new year since we started.  We have a few changes in the works, and can’t wait to share them with you.   Thanks for working with us, recommending us, reading our posts, and all the other ways you’ve shown support for Far Reach in 2011.  Here’s to an even more memorable 2012!

 

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Silverlight 5 Supported Through 2021

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Chris

MS Silverlight 5We’ve written in the past about Microsoft® SilverlightTM as a viable and essential platform for building line of business applications.  After promising a new version by the end of the year, Microsoft released Silverlight 5 on December 9.   There are a couple of excellent blog posts offering an overview of Silverlight 5’s new features here and here.

Rumors this is the final version of Silverlight have been circulating, which Microsoft has neither confirmed nor denied.   These rumors have caused some to speculate Silverlight is on the way out.  Microsoft, however, released the news they will support Silverlight 5 through 2021 and, as they do with all Major Tool versions, will provide a minimum of 12 months’ notification prior to the end of support.  This seems to indicate Silverlight 5 is indeed the last version, but we don’t think it means Silverlight is doomed.

Has our view on the viability of Silverlight changed?  We continue to see Silverlight as our tool of choice when it comes to Line of Business applications.  We feel pretty secure about Silverlight moving forward, used in the right situations,  given the fact it will be supported through 2021 and also knowing third party vendors (like Telerik) will continue to provide products for Silverlight.

What are your thoughts on the viability of Silverlight moving forward?   Do you plan to continue developing with Silverlight?  Let us know your plans.

 

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Let’s Bring BarCamp to the Cedar Valley

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Chad

BarCamp is a world-wide network of unconferences.  Participants in these events provide all of the content, with all sessions open and participatory.  You can read more here about what happens at BarCamp.  The first BarCamps were focused on early-stage web applications and other technology issues.  Now, they cover everything from entrepreneurship to health care.

On December 3, I had the chance to attend the second annual BarCamp Des Moines at the Des Moines Public Library.  I spent the day with 60-80 enthusiastic other attendees, sharing energy and ideas.  I got a lot out of the experience, and now, a couple of weeks later, three ideas have really stuck with me:

Push the limits of your networking comfort zone:   (From the presentation by Matthew Smith.)  Matthew’s presentation was “Process for Coming Up with Ideas.”  He said his source of creativity comes from the interesting people he surrounds himself with.  He discussed how many people’s circles of friends have few intersections on a Venn Diagram.  He pointed out how easy it is to stay within the 2-3 circles where we’re most comfortable; with people who grew up like/where we did, who do the kind of work we do, and who think most like we do.  However, when we move beyond these comfort zones, networking with new groups, we open ourselves up to so many more sources of insight, inspiration, and expertise.

Investing in entrepreneurship makes more sense than most investments.  (From a presentation by Sayer P. Martin.)  As an entrepreneur myself, I see the value in this idea. What did surprise me were some statistics Sayer shared suggesting the return on stock market investments has only kept up with inflation over the past 100 years.  Even before hearing Sayer, investing in Far Reach was no-brainer for me.  Do I want to invest in myself with people and a company I know and trust, or the alternative?

Horizontal organizations work better than vertical ones.  (From a presentation by Dan Shipton.) Dan’s presentation was on the handling of ideas.   Two concepts he mentioned were “committees of one” and “horizontal organization”.   Basically, when it comes to product management, you need to have a single person responsible for the product—a “committee of one”–but your organization needs to be structured in such a way that everyone is free to share their ideas and feedback with that person (horizontal organization).

These are ideas that hit home for me, and ones I plan to explore in terms of our work at Far Reach.  In November, several Startup Drinks attendees decided we wanted to bring a BarCamp to the Cedar Valley.  After attending BarCamp Des Moines I am even more inspired and motivated to make it happen.  Want to participate?  Leave us a comment or drop us a line and we’ll make sure you get pulled into the conversation.

And, make sure you also get out there and increase the number of circles in your Venn Diagrams.  Here are some links to networking opportunites in the Cedar Valley:

Networking Opportunities for IT Professionals in the Cedar Valley

Other Networking Opportunities in the Cedar Valley

Startup Drinks Cedar Valley

Cedar Valley Creatives

New Gen Rotary

 

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Comparing Mobile Payment Options

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Sue

Comparing Mobile Payment Options

Last time, we covered some great reasons for taking the plunge with mobile payment.   Now, we’ll fill you in on several of the mobile payment options out there.   All of these services accomplish the goal of making and/or accepting payments on the go. However, cost and features vary, so let’s do some comparison.

First, we’ll outline some of the basic elements of these services.  (Click on the chart to get a closer look):

Now, just a bit more detail on each:

Paypal is one of the most recognizable names in web payment given its connection to eBay. As you can see above, its PayPal Mobile service continues to allow individuals and businesses to exchange payment utilizing cash or credit.  There are some useful features including “bumping” phones to exchange payment, snapping a photo of a check to make a deposit, and “split the bill” capabilities.  On the payment acceptance end of the deal, you’re going to pay $.30 per transaction, plus a percentage based on volume.

Intuit GoPayment is primarily focused on providing an easy way to accept credit card payment from any location.   They provide a free card reader that can be plugged into the mobile devices listed above, and take a percentage of every credit card transaction.  You can use the service without the free reader (entering card numbers manually), but you’ll pay more per transaction.

Square is similar to Intuit in that it provides a free card reading device that makes accepting credit cards simple wherever you may be.  In addition, they’ve also implemented a mobile app for individuals to use on the payment-making side.  Users can store credit card data in their Square Card Case account and easily make payments at participating merchants.

Dwolla is a cash-only payment service born of its founder’s frustration with the burden of credit card fees for small business.   Dwolla is building a loyal consumer following with its timely David vs. Goliath image.  Merchants see the marketing advantage of its built-in social sharing features.  But, what’s the ultimate advantage for merchants? Accepting payment via the Dwolla network is cheaper than any other service.  Transactions of $10 and up (and we mean up—there’s no limit) are $.25.  Under $10, they’re free (a recent change).  Shifting the consumer credit card mindset in a new direction presents challenges, but Dwolla has generated national coverage lately—here, here, and here, for example.  And, they’re making a big announcement on December 15.  We’ll be paying attention.

Google Wallet has a giant name behind it but, unfortunately, not the infrastructure (yet) to make it a viable option for everyone.  It utilizes Near Field Communication (NFC) which is only available on a few mobile devices.  Merchants also need a contactless card reader that uses NFC technology.

Hopefully this rundown will help you make an informed decision when it comes to your mobile payment options.   In the spirit of full disclosure, Far Reach worked with Dwolla earlier this year on the development of their Android mobile app, and we just released an update of the Windows Phone 7 app. However, we’ve also recommended other mobile payment services to our clients based on their needs.  Which one makes the most sense for you?

 

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Mobile Payment–Why it Makes Sense

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Sue

In prior posts, we discussed the rapid rise in mobile technology usage.  On Tuesday, we took the discussion on the road to our local Rotary Club.  We also chatted recently about mobile technology on a myEntre.net webinar.

Tuesday’s discussion focused specifically on mobile payment:  the benefits, the current options, and what’s ahead.   There are big advantages for both consumers and businesses who utilize mobile payment.  Here are just a few:

Mobile Payment Benefits for Consumers

Convenience:  Do the smart phone users you know go anywhere without their phones?  Mine waits for me right outside the shower, is my dinner companion, and spends the night on my nightstand. (Some say I have issues, but I doubt I’m that unusual.) People might leave their purse or jacket at home occasionally, but you can bet if they have a smart phone, it’s on them all the time.  Mobile payment lets consumers meld their phone with their wallet into one convenient tool that’s always with them.

Access to deals and offers:   Many mobile payment providers and the merchants who utilize them create special offers targeted directly at their mobile payment customers.  In addition to the convenience of having the ability to pay with their smart phone, mobile payment users have easy access to great deals at the moment they need them.  (How many times have you left that pizza coupon at home?)

Social networking:  Social check-in is built into the mobile apps of several mobile payment providers.  Consumers can keep track of friends, announce their whereabouts, and share special offers with just one click when they use their phone to pay for something.

Ability to exchange funds with other individuals:  Some platforms let you send cash or credit payments not only to businesses, but to other individuals.  Does your brother conveniently forget to pay you for mom’s Christmas present because he doesn’t carry a checkbook or cash?  He won’t be able to dodge that bullet any longer.

Mobile Payment Benefits for Business

Ability to accept payment away from their home base:  Hosting a booth at a conference, festival or other event?  Need an easy way to accept payment?  Mobile payment offers businesses a simple, secure means for accepting payment away from their offices or storefronts.  Our friends at the Sturgis Falls celebration jumped on board with mobile payment last summer.  In some cases, it’s as simple as swiping a credit card on a nifty little peripheral for your smart phone or tablet.

Branding:  In a previous post, we mentioned the importance of mobile technology adoption for companies whose image requires they be seen as cutting edge.  Offering your customers the option of mobile payment is a great way to show you’re ahead of the curve.  In addition, your most tech-savvy customers will feel as though you’re offering them a perk.

Social/location marketing:  As mentioned above, social check-in is built into some mobile payment apps.  Your customer buys something from your business, checks in, and the purchase is tweeted, updated, and posted for all of their social media followers to see.  In other words, you make a sale, and then you get some social media love. How’s that for some free marketing? Pretty slick.

Set-up can be (depending on the platform) quick and simple:  Some mobile payment providers offer you the equipment you need to get started quickly and at no cost.  Others require nothing more than equipment you likely already have, and can get you up and running the same day.  Not all platforms are this simple, but in an upcoming post we’ll fill you in on what you need to get started with a variety of current platforms.

Cost savings:  Several mobile payment providers won’t cost any more than what you’re already paying to accept credit cards.  One provider will even save you significantly by charging a mere $.25 per transaction, regardless of the transaction size.  (Have we mentioned how much we love Dwolla?  More on that next time.)

In an upcoming post, we’ll cover a variety of the mobile payment platforms available today.   In the meantime, we hope you’ll share your thoughts on mobile payment.  Are you willing to give it a try with your own purchases?  Think it might benefit your business?  Tell us about it.

 

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Looking Back on Pitch & Grow

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Kate

What is Pitch & Grow?

Pitch and Grow

Image courtesy of TAI

A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I attended Pitch & Grow V at the Des Moines Social Club. Organized by the Technology Association of Iowa, Pitch & Grow is an event at which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, businesses, and/or products to a panel of peer professionals consisting of local venture capitalists, IT executives, lawyers, accountants, and other entrepreneurs in front of an audience and get feedback on how to refine and fine-tune their presentations. These events are held throughout the state at various times during the year.

Why did we participate?

Nu SquaredAfter a couple of years of nudging by Leann Jacobson, President of TAI, we finally had something we thought worthy of pitching in our soon-to-be-launched product for vision therapists, Nu Vision, from our new company, Nu Squared.

Since we’ll be launching the product (the result of a partnership with Chris’ brother Joe and Joe’s wife, Nadira) later this month at the COVD conference in Las Vegas, we thought it would be a perfect time to practice our sales pitch and get some feedback.

What did we get out of it?

We found the whole Pitch & Grow experience extremely valuable. From the preparation that forced us to think exhaustively about what makes our product valuable, to actually presenting it to real people, to the amazing feedback we got from the panel and the audience, and the new connections we made with other entrepreneurs, everything about it was worthwhile.

We’ve since taken the feedback about what to include and what not to include in a pitch as well as what to expect when selling a product at a trade show and devised a plan to not only sell the product, but how to support it, price it, and market it.

I feel like this experience has propelled us forward and put us in a much better position to effectively launch the product. Had we not pitched, I think it’s very likely we would have spent months or years learning these things the hard way.

The bottom line

We would recommend Pitch & Grow to anyone looking to take an idea or a business to the next level. The feedback you’ll get and the connections you’ll make are invaluable. We will definitely do it again.

Our thanks go out to the panel and those in the audience who cared enough to tell us what they thought. We can’t tell you how much your feedback is appreciated.

And, finally, thanks to the great people at the Technology Association of Iowa and all the sponsors for putting together such a great event. Your tireless work on behalf of technology entrepreneurs in Iowa does not go unnoticed!

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Building a Team That Works (Well)

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Kate

Back in April, Far Reach celebrated its fourth anniversary.  At that time, we blogged about the key things we’ve learned in our first four years.   We shared one of our company mantras in that post: surround yourself with smart people you like.

We were incredibly honored to find out a couple of weeks ago that our team nominated us for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier’s Employer of Choice award.  You may have seen in Monday’s publication that we were chosen as one of this year’s winners.

How do you build a team that’s passionate and productive?  Foster an environment that brings out the best in every employee and makes them look forward to coming to work every day?  (Well, hey, almost every day. Nobody’s perfect, right?)

You don’t do it by creating an “Office Space” type of environment. That movie has a cult following of cube dwellers (and, admittedly, former cube dwellers) for a reason.

Motivation

Photo courtesy of pescatello*

Here’s what we do:

1.)   Set high expectations by getting into the trenches yourself.  We expect a lot out of our employees, but never more than what we’d ask of ourselves as partners.  We work side-by-side on projects with our employees, brainstorm together, and park ourselves in the same open office area as our team members.  No corner offices here—we’ve all got the same equipment and the same amount of space.  There’s a very strong sense of “we’re in this together” in the Far Reach office, both physically and metaphorically.

 2.)   Don’t force structure, rules, and formality when there isn’t a need for them.  We don’t believe in dress codes, formal hierarchy, and a lot of employee policies.  We deal with issues as they arise (which is almost never).  We treat our employees like grown ups who know what is and isn’t appropriate.  They, in turn, act like grown ups. (Surprise, surprise.)

 3.)   Give employees the flexibility they need to live their lives; they’ll become more devoted to their work, not less.  We think work should be an organic part of a person’s day instead of an inflexible force around which everything else must revolve. Our employees have the option of working flextime and working from home when needed, and we encourage them to take time to volunteer and be active in the community. We think this flexibility makes them more productive, not less so.  Our employees respect the role that work plays in their lives because Far Reach respects the fact that they have lives.

 4.)  Build fun, casual, team-building experiences into the regular routine. Company picnics and holiday parties are great, but there’s something to be said about “team-member-only” bonding that gives everyone a break from the normal workday.  Once a month we take an afternoon and do lunch and a movie, attend local events, or just order pizza and play Wii in the office.  On paper, can we really afford the time devoted to these activities?  Of course not.  But we’ve become a stronger, tighter team because of them and no one will convince us that getting to know our team members as people isn’t worth the price of a few billable hours.

So, what’s the underlying theme for us when it comes to our employees?  Hire smart and then manage with trust, not fear.   The management style we’ve outlined above works because we’re incredibly careful about selecting our team.  We only hire people who share our passion and company values.  Derek, James, Jen, Logan, Mike, and Todd, we’ve definitely hired smart and we trust that you’ll continue exceeding our expectations for years to come.

And to our blog readers, does Far Reach sound like the kind of place where you’d like to devote your energy?  Contact us.  You just never know—you might be the perfect fit for our growing team.

*pescatello on flickr

 

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HTML5 – Will it Really Make Native Apps Obsolete?

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Far Reach
HTML5

Image via Wikipedia

Given the recent release of Amazon’s new HTML5 Cloud Reader web app, we thought it made sense to address HTML5, especially since we’ve been talking so much about mobile technology lately.

For a few years now, there’s been quite a bit of debate about whether HTML5 will make native mobile apps (i.e., apps designed specifically for the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, etc.) obsolete.  What do we think? Eh, maybe, but not completely and not any time soon.

So, what’s fueling this debate?  Or, taking it back one step even further, what exactly is HTML5?

HTML5 Explained

HTML5 is the fifth version of the HTML language that provides the basic building blocks of web pages. It will be the first version to support multimedia without plugins and has the ability to be “understood” by all computers and devices. In addition, HTML5 web apps can be accessed and used on any device via a web browser, much like a mobile website. These web apps also provide the capability for offline access and usage via application cache, meaning you don’t have to have a network connection to use them.

Given that HTML5 could allow you to develop a single web app rather than multiple native apps, some have predicted the impending demise of the native app.

Getting back to Amazon’s recent release, it’s likely the primary reason they took the web app route was to bypass the 30% cut that Apple takes on transactions made via iOS native apps in the App Store.  The ability to bypass app stores presents an additional advantage for companies that use mobile apps to engage consumers in purchase transactions.

HTML5’s Pitfalls

HTML5 sounds pretty great, right?  Less development time = less expense, simplification, etc.   However, HTML5 is not without its downside.  There was an excellent article posted on InfoWorld earlier this month that went into great detail on the limitations of HTML5.  There are a few we want to highlight:

  1. Security issues.  HTML5 web apps are set up in a way that ultra-savvy users could tamper with processing scripts, which might allow unauthorized access. Variables could be altered in a way that would allow hackers to access perks, discounts, etc. for which they really aren’t eligible.
  2. Synchronization challenges.  We mentioned that HTML5 allows for offline app usage.  However, the InfoWorld post sums up the issue with this quite nicely, “If a Web app is connected to the Internet, it can continually save data to the cloud. When it’s offline, changes aren’t always stored in the cloud. When someone switches browsers or uses a different machine, copies begin to proliferate and the difficulties of synchronization rear their head.”
  3. Functionality does not rival that of a native app (not yet anyway). We’ve read several reviews of the Amazon Cloud Reader app.  Most say that it’s pretty good, but it’s no native app.  It will be a while yet before web apps can offer the speed and features of a native app.  So, even though Amazon is saving themselves that 30% cut for Apple by opting for a web app, it’s important to remember that consumers use native apps because they’re easy, fast and convenient.
  4. You lose the marketing benefits of being featured in app stores.  If you’re Amazon, then maybe you don’t need app stores to help push your app.  However, if you’re a smaller company, new and potential customers are probably more likely to find you if you’re featured in an app store.
  5. HTML5 is not quite ready for “prime-time.”  The final reason we’re not 100% gung-ho on abandoning mobile apps for HTML5 web apps is that it’s just too early.  Developers are obviously able to use HTML5, but the latest we’ve read is that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) — the group charged with creating HTML5 – says that HTML5 won’t be fully complete until 2014.

Our Recommendation on HTML5 vs. Native Apps

Given where HTML5 is as of today, we stand by our earlier recommendations on mobile platforms.   If you’ve followed our advice so far and determined that mobile apps make sense for you, we think you’re wise and safe to go that route in the near future.  However, as we seem to say quite often when writing about mobile technology, stay tuned!

Has the buzz about HTML5 caused you to reconsider native app development for your company?  We hope you’ll chime in with your thoughts on this debate.

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Useful Mobile Productivity Apps

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Far Reach

To wrap up our series on mobile technology, we thought we’d talk about some great mobile apps already out there, available for you to download.  Our Far Reach team members have quite a few favorite apps they use to stay on top of work, travel, and life in general.  As you can imagine, few places on earth are geekier (and you know that’s a good thing, right?) than an office full of developers.

Here’s how the Far Reach crew responded to the question, “Which apps help you get more done?”

Jason (aka the Big Kahuna) uses quite a few apps to keep him on track.   He shared three of his favorites:

Cube Time & Expense Tracker Pro helps you quickly record the time you spend working on project-related tasks.  Jason commented, “I really like the timer functionality that is provided – simply start the timer when you begin working on a task and when finished, stop the timer and the time is automatically recorded. One other nice feature is the ability to flag time as billable or non-billable.” Available for iPad, iPhone, and Android

Action Method is a great app for managing tasks and increasing productivity. With this app you can quickly add tasks, organize them by project, assign due dates, and delegate to others. “One of my favorite features, the “Focus List,” allows me to tag tasks that I need to focus on today and it won’t let me tag more than 5 tasks at a time,” Jason says.  “It must be that I lose focus after 5 tasks. This is a great tool to help me have a bias towards action.“  Available for iPad, iPhone, and Android

FLUD is a personal newsreader.  You can add the feeds from your favorite news sites and blogs and FLUD will aggregate for you. One great feature is the ability to connect with your Google Reader account.  Content can easily be shared using Twitter, Facebook, or Email.  Jason promises, “The user interface is amazing…it has to be seen to be believed.”  Available for iPad, iPhone, and currently in beta for Android

Chris, our very own WP7 devotee and a guy who seemingly never runs out of steam, shared two apps that keep him going:

Basecamp is an online project management system that uses message boards to share document files and easily communicate with team members and clients.  Basecamp allows you to assign project tasks, lists, and milestones and can sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal.   While Basecamp has a mobile site that allows you to access the most important features on the go, a number of related mobile apps are also available.  Chris uses Envision on his Windows phone to work in Basecamp and there are a number of other apps in alternate platforms that allow you to do the same thing.  Envision is available for WP7.  Similar Basecamp apps are available via app markets for additional mobile platforms. 

DropboxDropbox’s online service helps you keep your important files accessible and in sync no matter where you happen to be working.  Dropbox is accessible via your desktop machine or on mobile devices.  Chris and several other Far Reach Team members use this app, which only takes a few minutes to set up and is free of charge if you store less than 2G of data.   Larger plans are available as well.   Available for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry

As the woman who does a little bit of everything around our office, (or as we like to say, the person who does the stuff no one else wants to) Kate keeps her wide array of tasks and projects in line with the help of these apps:

EvernoteEvernote lets you keep track of virtually anything, wherever you might be. This combination software/Web-based service can store text, photos and voice recordings and is automatically synced across your computer, smartphone or electronic tablet.  Mobile apps for this service are offered on nearly every mobile platform.  You can gather information from the Web, email, and peripherals.  The best part is you can organize it all with annotations and tags, making your information incredibly easy to find.   This is a great resource for writers and researchers or busy people who manage multiple projects.  Available for iPad, iPhone, Android, Android tablet, WP7, Blackberry, Palm Pre/Pixi

TripitTripIt offers a simple way to organize your travel by giving you access to all of your travel plans on your phone, tablet, calendar, or online.  You simply forward your travel confirmations to your Tripit email account and Tripit creates a “smartinerary” that offers driving directions, maps, and sharing capabilities.  Available for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry

Jen, one of our newest team members and a mom with a lot to juggle, initially confessed that her favorite productivity apps are games–“The kids play, I get stuff done.”  But, she does have a couple of go-to’s for herself:

ASAP ListsASAP Lists allows you to create, archive, and retrieve all of those lists you need to make—shopping, packing, etc.  You can enter lists by text or voice.  You can also archive or retrieve entire categories or individual items on your lists.  ASAP Lists allows you to share a text version of your list with friends and co-workers.  Available for Android

DwollaDwolla is an online service that lets you pay cash for goods and services offered by participating businesses or send/receive money to/from individuals without extra fees.  Dwolla offers a mobile app for several platforms, which allows you to use your smartphone to manage Dwolla transactions on the go.  Available for iPhone, Android, WP7

Todd is out and about on projects quite a bit but is never without an Internet connection, thanks to his favorite mobile app:

PdaNetPdaNet lets you use your smartphone’s high-speed data connection to access the Internet on your laptop when you find yourself without wifi.  Some mobile providers aren’t fond of this practice—“tethering”–so this recommendation comes with the caveat that you familiarize yourself with your provider’s policies before you tether up.  Available for iPhone (if you’re willing to jailbreak), Android, PalmOS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile

And, last but not least, James, like Jen, not only uses his phone for work, but also to keep the youngest members of his family occupied now and then.  His favorite app keeps all of his mobile files and apps organized and backed-up, just in case.

Astro File ManagerASTRO File Manager lets you manage files on your phone without connecting to your computer, including copy, paste, move, delete, open with other apps, create folders, etc.  You can also select multiple files to perform actions and search.  Astro offers the ability to backup the installer files (APK) to SD card so you can free up low internal phone memory without rooting the phone.   If you want to reuse the app, you just reinstall if from backup.  James also noted, “Astro is handy if an app you like disappears from the Market.  Just last night a favorite game of my daughter’s was disabled in the most recent Market update.  I was able to easily reinstall it from backup.”  Available for Android

What mobile apps are you using to stay organized and connected wherever you go?  Have you tried any of the apps we suggested?  We hope you’ll feel compelled to share your own recommendations and reviews.

 

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