Ed Lucente is a Sr. Product Marketing Manager at AT&T. You can find more blog content from Ed and other experts on emerging technologies on the AT&T Networking Exchange Blog. AT&T has sponsored the following blog post.

IT professionals like selecting compute or storage resources in the cloud using an intuitive, self-service portal and convenient configuration aids. AT&T’s Cloud Architect is a good example that appears to have addressed these two primary features.

This wide array of configuration options is what I think IT professionals and others will find most striking about Cloud Architect. It is important to have the structure to support all major hypervisors, including VMware, Citrix and Microsoft. A multitude of operating systems are supported, like CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and 2003, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Ubuntu Linux. Deployment models cover public, private, dedicated and “bare metal” servers.

Perhaps most intriguing is how rapidly applications can be deployed. Within five minutes, deployment for public or private instances and bare metal servers can occur. Dedicated servers deploy within two-to-four hours.

I’m curious, however, to see how AT&T and other leading cloud service providers, like Verizon-Terremark, Amazon Web Services and Rackspace, take steps to create even greater value for themselves and their customers through the combination of their IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) capabilities and SaaS (Software as a Service) or mobile apps. Surely, “pure IaaS providers” risk being commoditized and put out of business otherwise.

Ponder these IDC predictions for 2012 to see what I’m getting at:

1. Cloud services adoption will exceed $36 billion, up 28% in 2012, growing four times faster than the industry overall. Almost two-thirds of spending will be on IT and SaaS applications, but only one-quarter will be on IaaS.
2. Almost half of all mobile apps developed in 2012 will be connected to, and integrated with, key cloud application platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Windows Azure, Force.com, etc.
3. Almost three-quarters of all mobile apps developed in 2012 will be integrated with enterprise application services, including Oracle, Microsoft and SAP.

So what does this mean for service providers, like AT&T, Verizon-Terremark, Rackspace or Amazon Web Services?

I think it means that in order to thrive in the cloud over the next several years, service providers will need to create their own fertile ecosystems, where mobile- and web-based app developers seek an innovative environment and community. IDC believes that these ecosystems need to provide toolkits and support services to developers also. I agree, but I think an enormous amount of value can be unlocked for all parties — developers, customers and service providers — when SaaS solutions are integrated with service providers’ cloud services into compelling bundles.

Click here for more information on AT&T’s Cloud Architect.

We’d like to hear from you. For example, do you think diverse buyer types will embrace AT&T’s Cloud Architect? How do you define a fertile ecosystem? We look forward to your comments (below).

As well, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket is a great Android smartphone. It’s got a huge screen, 4G connectivity, massive 1GB of RAM, 8 megapixel camera, and a gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus display. Basically, everything you’d expect from a high-end smartphone.

The best part? In a few months, BOTH of these devices will be getting the upgrade to Android’s latest operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung confirmed this in a blog post last month, with both devices making the list of product they’ll be upgrading to Android 4.0 in the first quarter of 2012.

This is a limited time offer and applies to AT&T Premier members only, so check it out today and see if you qualify.

Thorsten Heins

RIM’s big announcement on Sunday, where they named their former COO of Products and Sales Thorsten Heins as President and CEO, may not be the seismic change that Blackberry fans have hoped for.  Many voices of the blogoshpere are openly wondering about the decision to appoint someone who has been long ingrained with the RIM culture, especially with many speculating that what RIM really needs is a big shake-up to stay competitive with “the other fruit company”.

It’s no secret that RIM has lost substantial market share recently. Some have switched to Google’s Android, but even more have swapped for Apple’s sexy consumer-oriented iPhone 4S.  The Blackberry interface has publicly lagged when compared to Apple’s slick and user-friendly features (like Siri, for example).  Apple is known as the master of the “big show”: updates to the popular iOS and hardware are released regularly and with much fanfare, and their fans wait with bated breath.  RIM’s OS fiasco has been just the opposite; if people have been holding their breath waiting for a Blackberry 10, they‘re likely turning purple as the product has missed its shipping date several times.

Additionally, Apple and Android have embraced open platforms that allow millions of developers to create apps for the platform, and RIM’s closed system seems geriatric in comparison.  To be competitive in this market, RIM should embrace the developer community and leverage their as-yet-untapped creativity.

With all this said, is RIM dead?  Queue “taps” and bow your heads.  But not so fast, my friend!  To quote Monty Python: RIM isn’t dead, it’s probably just “resting”.  As a matter of fact, my wife is being issued a new Blackberry this week at her new job. She’s just one of the millions of other people in the finance industry, or who works in sales, that can’t properly do business without real-time email updates.  So, keep in mind that Blackberry still has two crucial things going for it: 1) Push email 2) The Glacial Pace of Corporate IT.

Push email seems so simple, right?  As soon as I get an email, just push an encrypted version to my phone and alert me.  This feature is so simple that I was certain every phone would have it by now; but the bottom line is, they just don’t.  There are a lot of hacks to try to emulate this feature, like polling for email at regular intervals, or bolt-on alert systems, but all fall short of RIM’s simple yet uber-practical business solution.  This is a real strength of RIM’s, and there’s a lot of market share reliant on this technological edge they provide.

The glacial pace of corporate IT may also work wildly in RIM’s favor.  A large corporate IT department cannot keep pace with the changes and updates of the faster moving technologies, and therefore they can’t be used in big business solutions.  This, coupled with security concerns in these more open platforms, makes RIM still the logical choice for big companies.

What does it all mean?  Not as much as you would think.  RIM will hang around, still being very profitable as long as they have big companies.  And as long as they are around and have cash flow, they always have the opportunity to make big moves that could bring back their former glory.  One great new feature, one game changing handset, and they are on top again.  However, rumors that they may shift focus to the consumer market indicates that RIM may not be playing to their business-focused strengths. Don’t count the Canadians out quite yet – with some decent leadership and innovation, RIM definitely still has the potential to surprise and impress us.

The FBI even put out a warning to let people know what to watch out for. This recent scam doesn’t surprise me at all. It only takes these scanners to get .05% of people on email for it to be worth their time. And think how much easier it is today. I mean, I hardly ever go into a bank anymore. With online banking I can do almost everything, from checking my balance, transferring funds to paying my bills. And with hot new apps from banks like Chase, PNC and USAA I can even scan my checks with my phone and deposit them straight into my account.

But with all of these great new features rolling out across bank websites and apps, the security issue is becoming more important than ever. Read more over at @HLNtv.

The bottom line is that traditional textbooks present several major problems for students, from high prices to heavy backpacks. You remember the back pain and the lack of value the book had when the semester was over? Digital publishing, however, has taken too long to spark the e-learning expectations in education. Yes, I know e-reading devices like Amazon’s Kindle have been around but paper textbooks are still the definitive resource for students. Read more at @HLNtv.

We all vow to make our dollars go farther at the start of every year, but it isn’t always easy-and we don’t always succeed. AT&T Premier makes it easier to do both.

If you qualify for Premier benefits-and many business and government employees, military personnel, students, and teachers do-you can enjoy discounts on qualified wireless service, exclusive Web-only savings on smartphones and other devices, and more. You can always choose a free phone, too, like the Pantech Breeze III(tm), Pantech Link(tm) II, or Samsung a777.*

Take a second to see if you qualify. It’s quick, easy, and painless. Like your wireless bills could be, going forward.

*2-year agreement on qualified voice plan required. Additional restrictions apply.

With Notification Control, you can adjust your settings from a number of services all in one location.

The cool thing about Notification Control is that you don’t have to go down the list to authorize NC to access each and every service you want to manage. If you’re already logged in to those accounts, NC will jettison you right to the correct page where you can change your settings. So far, the list of services you can access by using NC include:

…You know, all the important ones. According to the website, if there is a service you want to add that’s not on the list, you can easily send a message with your request. So I suggest bookmarking Notification Control and very quickly rid your email inbox of notification that you probably already receive on all your mobile devices.

[via: TNW]

Ed Lucente is a Sr. Product Marketing Manager at AT&T. You can find more blog content from Ed and other experts on emerging technologies on the AT&T Networking Exchange Blog. AT&T has sponsored the following blog post.

Introduction

There’s plenty of talk about the benefits of business analytics — the analysis of “Big Data” to spot insightful trends, patterns, or correlations — for large enterprises in industry sectors like financial services, healthcare, and retail (see examples of analytics applications below). I’m surprised, though, that little attention has been given to the potential value that big data analytics can unleash for small businesses as well.

Thesis

Since small businesses are typically more resource-constrained than larger businesses — due to smaller IT budgets, fewer IT professionals, or limited cash — wouldn’t small businesses stand to gain the most if they had economical and convenient analytical capabilities to improve their understanding of customer buying habits and preferences or supply chain constraints. After all, small businesses are much more nimble than large enterprises and would be able to modify their business models and practices more quickly.

In 2012, I’m betting that three drivers will accelerate the adoption of business analytics applications by small businesses:

1)    Continued adoption of cloud deployments from trusted service providers;

2)    Innovative analytics cloud appliances;

3)    Lower entry prices for a wide variety of business analytics solutions.

Even more, as they adopt business analytics solutions via the cloud (http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Family/hosting-services/cloud/), small businesses may take their greatest leap ahead ever in operational efficiencies, customer satisfaction, and competitiveness.

Defining Big Data

What’s Big Data? According to Wikipedia, Big Data:

are data sets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, sharing, analytics, and visualizing. This trend continues because of the benefits of working with larger and larger data sets allowing analysts to spot business trends, prevent diseases, and combat crime. Though a moving target, current limits are on the order of terabytes, exabytes, and zettabytes of data.

Frank Moss, former director of the MIT Media Lab, describes Big Data in more specific terms:

Computers, smart phones, GPS devices, embedded microprocessors, sensors —– all connected by the mobile Internet —– are forming a ‘societal nervous system’ that is generating a cloud of data about people that is growing at an exponential rate. Every time we perform a search, tweet, send an email, post a blog, comment on one, use a cell phone, shop online, update our profile on a social networking site, use a credit card, or even go to the gym, we leave behind a mountain of data, a digital footprint, that provides a treasure trove of information about our lifestyles, financial activities, health habits, social interactions, and much more.

Big Data Predictions for 2012

IDC just released their predictions for 2012 and among them is that Big Data will be the next big thing after mobile:

Big Data will join mobile and cloud as the next “must have” competency as the volume of digital content grows to 2.7ZB (1ZB = 1 billion terabytes) in 2012, up 48% from 2011, rocketing toward 8ZB by 2015. There will be lots of Big Data–driven mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity.

IDC forecasts that the global market for analytics applications will grow from $25.5 billion in 2010 to $34 billion in 2014 (http://ow.ly/83HsX), and many IT companies are pursuing business analytics solutions.

Analytics Cloud Appliances Uncover Business Problems

Applications in business analytics have the power to formulate pattern recognitions such that trends can be identified and acted upon from huge sets of public or private data. Analytics cloud appliances integrate business analytics software with hardware to uncover correlations or patterns of behavior never before imagined, such as consumer buying trends in clothing stores or the probability of success for particular hospital procedures. Analytics cloud appliances can be tailored to specific industry applications as well. Perhaps most important, business analytics applications provide approximate solutions to business problems that cannot be solved “exactly.” This helps business leaders to re-think best practices and to transform their business models in order to meet changing market demands.

Big Data Applications

SAS Software, a business analytics player, sponsored a white paper outlining common applications where problems can be resolved through big data analysis (below).

Conclusion

Business analytics applications are valuable tools that can help businesses of all sizes make faster, smarter decisions to ensure innovative business models. They help spotlight clever ways to improve business processes and serve customers better — ahead of the competition.

We’d like to hear from you. For example, do you think small businesses will embrace Big Data in 2012 given today’s broadband capacity, availability, and expense? For a wider discussion regarding big data and bandwidth, please refer to Matt Prigge’s article in InfoWorld.com. We look forward to your comments (below).

Gorilla Glass 2, the latest incarnation of the glass, is 20% thinner than the current product. That should allow for thinner, sleeker devices to be created with the glass as well as enhanced touch sensitivity from your fingers being closer to the touch sensitivity elements.

To prove Gorilla Glass 2 can stand up to the task, Mr. Pesansky puts it on the workbench to demonstrate just how strong Gorilla Glass 2 really is:

Part 2:

Part 2:

There’s no doubt that Microsoft is battling RIM for last place in the smartphone market. Even Android, once a laughing stock for it’s complete lack of apps, is today a solid #2 platform behind Apple in terms of both quantity and quality of apps. De La Vega’s quote struck me because it finally admitted something we in the industry all know: Microsoft is in no position to compete with Apple on apps. Apple customers are paying customers, and they buy apps in droves. Apple’s App Store is the most profitable mobile marketplace by a long shot, attracting the hottest developers and most exciting apps first.

But can people replace apps as the new metric by which a phone platform is judged? How would that even work? A phone, by nature, is designed to connect people. Exciting new social media apps have launched exclusively and successfully on Apple’s platform, including huge hits like Instagram. So what do Microsoft and Nokia mean when they talk about people? Tight Facebook integration for one. The world’s largest social network has it’s own experience on the Lumia 900.

But it has to mean more than that, doesn’t it? The #1 feature of the Nokia Lumia 900 that Microsoft was promoting today was the camera, boasting a Carl Zeiss lens, f/2.2 aperture, and a 22mm focal length. Of course, since those numbers are completely irrelevant to users, they had to demonstrate what they meant, and in order to do it they used a picture of people sitting around a table eating dinner. So clearly, Nokia is following in Apple’s footsteps. When the iPhone 4S was announced, one of the top features that came with it was an even better camera. But does a top notch camera mean you’ll be better connected with people? Maybe, and the Windows software underlying the phone is definitely supposed to help—Microsoft is so sure that it’s the fastest phone for doing simple tasks like sharing pictures on Facebook that they’re running a contest here at #CES when they’ll give you $100 if you can do a task faster on your phone than they can on the Lumia.

The tiles interface of the Windows Phone platform must be another thing they’re talking about, since you can literally add people to your homescreen and then see whenever that specific person has an update from social media. So maybe there’s something to this idea, but with Apple solidly in the lead in terms of App revenue and Android (specifically Samsung) completely dominating in terms of Smartphone marketshare, it remains to be see what place Nokia will be able to carve for itself in the competitive smartphone marketplace.

There’s a lot of info to unpack from the Nokia announcement, and we’re going hands-on with the phone soon, so stay tuned—we’ll get to the bottom of this!

The cool thing about SugarSync is once you’ve selected the files/folders you want to sync and they are in fact uploaded, you can also choose to download those files on any compatible device for access even if you are offline.

Android-specific features include the ability to AutoSync photos and videos. As soon as you shoot them, you can choose to automagically sync them to the cloud instead of uploading them after the fact. That just adds another layer of surety to the fact that no matter what device you are using, you can rest assured that your photos/videos will be available everywhere.

I think  apps like SugarSync being brought to the Kindle Fire is big because it can be looked at as more than just a “Kindle to read books on that can also access web”. Some of the same reasoning behind purchasing a more expensive iPad or native Android tablet (productivity) can possibly be achieved at almost half the cost by purchasing a Kindle Fire.

Time will tell if more developers tweak their apps to look good on a Kindle Fire. The fact that consumers are gobbling these things up is definitely giving them something to think about. Until then, check out SugarSync in the Amazon Appstore and let us know what you think in the comments section.

But with the Windows Phone platform currently battling for last place, how does Nokia expect to be able to a) break back into the American market and b) win mindshare from deeply entrenched platforms like iPhone and Android?

Nokia has a few ideas. Number one is the camera. A huge part of the iPhone 4S pitch a few months ago was that it boasted the best camera on any smartphone, and Nokia is clearly aiming to take down the market leader. Offering a top-of-the-line Carl Zeiss lens, f/2.2 aperture to let in a ton of light, and a 22mm lens to get some wide angle shots.

Number two is what Nokia and Microsoft are calling “differentiated apps.” Differentiated here seems to mean two different things. One is that they’re apps designed with the Windows Metro UI in mind, so they’re made to look & fit in perfectly with the phone. Also, they’re often exclusive apps that Nokia has personally worked with developers on. For example, the Nokia worked with CNN to create a version of the iReport app thats includes features only available on Lumia smartphones. EA is supposedly working on exclusive games as well.

A gorgeous phone, for sure, but only time will tell if Nokia has it what it takes to even make a dent in Android or Apple’s marketshare.

Well, the first tablet running ICS is out, and it turns out it’s not some brand new flagship model but the already existing Asus Transformer Prime. Yeah, you read that right: the hybrid Tablet from Asus that combines the portability of a tab with the flexibility of being able to input data with a keyboard and mouse. Asus Transformer Prime users won’t have to wait either: the ICS update, apparently, is coming out TODAY.

So if you happen to be a lucky Asus Transformer Prime owner, go ahead and check for updates—you’ll be surprised to discover you own the world’s first Tablet to run Google’s absolute latest.

4G LTE is going mainstream! As announced at the 2012 International CES, more ultra-fast phones are coming to AT&T. Get a preview of these devices and sign up for updates at AT&T Premier.

Here’s a sneak peek at the new LTE lineup:

Samsung Galaxy Note™

· 5.3-inch screen

· Versatile S Pen™ input

· 4G LTE/HSPA+ connectivity

· 1.5GHz dual-core processor

· Super AMOLED™ HD touchscreen

Tons more phone as well, after the break.

Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket™ HD

· 4.65-inch screen

· Enterprise-grade features

· 4G LTE/HSPA+ connectivity

· 1.5GHz dual-core processor

· Super AMOLED HD touchscreen

Sony Xperia™ ion

· 4.6-inch HD Reality screen

· 12 MP camera with 1080p video

· Android™ operating system

Pantech Burst™

· 1.2GHz dual-core processor

· 4-inch Super AMOLED screen

· Android operating system

Samsung Exhilarate™

· 80% recyclable materials

· 4-inch Super AMOLED screen

· Android operating system

HTC TITAN™ II

· 4.7-inch Super LCD screen

· High-end 16 MP camera

· Windows® Phone OS

Nokia Lumia 900

· 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED screen

· Nokia craftsmanship and reliability

· Windows Phone OS

Pantech Element™

· 8-inch HD touchscreen

· Extremely light, compact design

· Android operating system

Visit AT&T Premier today to preview these phones and sign up to learn more.

AT&T fine print: Eligible voice, data, and/or tablet data plans required. Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds delivered by LTE, or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul, where available. Deployment ongoing. Compatible device and data plan required. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

Take advantage of this deal while you can—it ends soon!

Buy Galaxy Tab 8.9

• 4G LTE/HSPA+ connectivity
• 8.9-inch WXGA touchscreen
• Android™ operating system
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• Extremely thin and light

Choose:

Galaxy S™ II

• Accelerated 4G HSPA+ speeds
• 4.3” Super AMOLED™ Plus screen
• 8 MP main camera with HD video
• Android operating system

or

Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket™

• Superfast 4G LTE/HSPA+ speeds
• 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus screen
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• Android operating system

See if you qualify for this and other Premier offers today.

AT&T fine print: Elig. voice, data, & tablet data plans req’d. Ltd. 4G LTE avail. in select markets. Add’l restr. apply.

Before adding Skype, Click.to offered several options by just highlighting a group of text and pressing Control+C or Command+C depending on if you’re using a PC or MAC. For instance, highlight an email address and get the option to compose in Gmail, or highlight a word and initiate a Google Search, look it up in Wikipedia, or save it in Evernote.

Now, by pressing Control/Command+C, the “Call from Skype” option pops up and gives you the ability to force open Skype, paste in the number, and start dialing in one step (Of course you need Skype installed on your computer…you did know that right?).

In other words, Click.to lets you skip the step of copying text to the clipboard, leaving where you are, opening up another program, and pasting text from the clipboard just to initiate another function. The cool thing about Click.to is that you can initiate it anywhere on your computer…doesn’t just have to be text from the web. Click.to is a free download so check it out and let us know what you think in the comments section.

[via: TNW, Click.To Blog]

1. Mobile Payments

While 2010 first saw the rise of mobile payment devices like Square transform your smartphone into a credit card terminal, 2011 was a banner year for mobile payments with all of the big players launching their first attempts at NFC payment technology. We’re going to see the mobile payment field rapidly expand in 2012, both in terms of more consumers using their mobile devices to pay for things as well as small business owners taking more of their payments with their phones, tablets to process credit card transactions while on the go. Don’t lose a sale because you haven’t started taking credit cards—research the newest and most innovative apps, and then find a way to bring your customers what they want this year.

Read more…

Now if you’ve been “reading the tea leaves” and constantly checking online sites, prices for the 16GB version dropped to as low as $199 during this past holiday season. Which means if you really, REALLY only want the 16GB version, presumably, you will have to shell out 100 bucks more than its lowest price ever listed. On the flipside, if you want to maximize every penny, you can have all the space you need in the 64GB version at a steal.

For the PlayBook to match its tablet colleagues in the productivity category, you still (for now) need a BlackBerry Smartphone tethered (for free) to the PlayBook for a native email, calendar & contacts experience (most services offer a mobile-friendly web version); but, if you’re going to ride with #TeamBlackBerry until the wheels fall off, you have until February 4th to pick up the tablet at $299.

The deal is only offered via BlackBerry online, so check out the BlackBerry Online Store for more details on how to purchase.

[via: All Things D]

With that being said, here are my personal/career goals for 2012: (not in a prioritized order)

1. Last year I started a tech teachers contest, this year I want to double it! The contest is an all expenses paid trip to ISTE, the largest technology conference for educators. Each year their conference has 20,000+ attendees from all over the world. It is SIMPLY THE BEST PLACE for any educator to be, learn, connect and bring back new ideas to empower education in their community.

2. Begin discussions to host a national TV show or special series- I’m an official contributor for NBC TODAY show and HLN and CNN as well as Rachael Ray and Nate Berkus shows and this year I even won an Emmy for hosting a tv show. I’m ready and am anxious to host a national tv show or special series. We have 2 show pilots and are headed to a few tv industry conferences this year and we are pitching networks and I’m really hoping my dream takes off this year. If Al Roker, Oprah or Simon Cowell are reading this gimme a call – lets gooo :-)

3. Increase the amount of random acts of kindness! Little acts can have an impact. I’ve done all kinds of random – like paying for the car behind me at a toll booth or asking people randomly on twttiter/FaceBook is there anything I can do to help move their goals forward. In fact, I’m running a survey right now to help me understand how I can bring you more value in 2012 (please fill it out). One act in 2011 stood out! I 4sq’d that I was at a Starbucks and someone tweeted that they wish they could go to a Starbucks but didn’t have money due to the recession, I didn’t know them at all but I immediately bought a Starbucks gift card & sent it to them, they replied via email with the most sincere note–it was an awesome feeling and a feeling I want to replicate more of in 2012.  I want to heighten my awareness and my action of giving more kindness!

4. Be more in the present! Summer of 2011 I took a “tech-detox” – yep my own version of removing tech from my life. I did this for 3 weeks during the summer and it was incredible! I did a piece on CNN & some radio interviews and I’m starting a new blog to help others take a tech-detox. The clarity of mind was refreshing, all of my 5 senses were extremely heightened and right then I committed to taking more control over tech. I mean with all these damn screens and over stimulating environments, it can really pull at your concentration and derail your focus. Don’t get me wrong, you know I live and breathe tech BUT I don’t believe in multi-tasking, so why do I find myself trapped sometimes trying to do it. To me there is no such thing as multi-tasking. Worst though, I fear the “twitter-memory”. No, I don’t fear twitter, I LOVE me some tweets. I’m talking about feeling like your life is a bunch of scattered brief moments because we are trying to do too much at the same time. This year, I am putting even more systems & controls in place to increase “being in the present” and sucking it all in, not just a piece of the moment but really tasting, smelling, comprehending and concentrating harder in the moment so it goes to my internal HD and not something temporary like my RAM :-)

5. Bring more value! Personally, this is a big one to me! I get pumped when I see others “value temperature” increase! Everyone (I think to some degree) wants to feel that they are contributing and that they have a sense of purpose in life. The size of the purpose or contribution doesn’t matter, what does matter is FINDING YOUR PURPOSE QUICKLY AND TAKING ACTION to make as big a contribution as you can make! Quite often, I think, “we think” we know what our value/purpose is BUT there are times when we need to step back and ask others, what value do YOU really gain from me? I often use twitter and FaceBook to help keep me in check and make sure I’m delivering as much value as I can, so I ask folks – What do you expect from me in this space? What kind of content resonates the most with you? What’s a specific post/tweet your remember? What can I do more of that you like? What REALLY brings you more value? What should I do less of? We should constantly check our value temperature and make sure it is rising! I’m doing a survey right now to gather these answers, please fill out the survey to help me make my value temperature rise!

6. Try some acting or join an improv group – I really want to see if I have some potential in this area. It will be a new challenge that I’m excited to take on. Additionally, acting and improv have been proven to really help bring out more of your creative qualities. I don’t want to leave any creative ideas locked away in 2012!

7. Begin Spanish lessons – are you kidding? There’s no spanish, media-techie person out there! Ok, ok there are a few BUT how cool would it be to do tech segments on NBC TODAY show one minute and then jump into a different studio and do a segment on Univision or CNN Espanol :-)

8. Start the book writing process – it’s time I write this kids book about tech, life and passion! Over the past 18 mos. I have spoken to over 12,000 kids — I’ve learned so much from them and how they prefer content. A portion of the book proceeds will be given to an educational program that is really making an impact to our future problem solvers.

9. Summer App Academy camp for Youth – I can’t wait to get this goin! This camp would teach young minds problem-solving, spirit of innovation and precisely how to make, sell and market apps. I’d like to start in Baltimore, refine it and then offer up resources for others to host their own App Academy in their cities. The program would have to be free for the kids and offered in a distressed area where the kids really lack the exposure and opportunity.

10. Increase the amount of TV segments and/or a special series on NBC’s TODAY show, CNN & HLN networks. I am excited we have a newly signed contract with network HLN and the TODAY show but I can’t sit on my butt, now I have to pitch them solid ideas constantly to ensure I get on-air. The more I get on air the close I hope this will get me to goal #2!

11. Identify people and sponsors who want to create/support an annual Technology Diversity Awards program at CES, honoring the behind the scenes heroes of the consumer electronics industry. These people never get the accolades deserved. I’m talking a full-blown, red-carpet program that’s fun, inviting and highlights women, minorities and those who are disabled that are making a big impact on the tech industry. Interested or want to know why this is needed-read up!

12. Outsource, Outsource, Outsource! Time is precious and we can’t control it so maximize it by outsourcing tasks that take up time and pull you away from spending time with your family or on your business. I watch over my time like a hawk and you should too! There is no way I could do as many networks as possible, also blog, do public speaking and travel without outsourcing effectively. You can outsource so many things for example, lawn care, laundry service, proposal writing, scheduling travel, setting meetings etc… In 2012, pick at least one task that you can outsource to get time back. You can also take a look at this site GetFriday for help https://getfriday.com/

These are my Goals for 2012 BUT NOW I want to know, What are yours? Tell me in the comments, I wanna get pumped up by reading your goals!!!!

Also if you happen to be going to CES 2012, let me know if you have a quick moment to discuss this idea? Or hit me on twitter @marioarmstrong

Today marks Small Biz Go Mobile’s last day of publication this year, and we’re all looking forward to taking a couple of weeks to spend time with our family and loved ones. But until we resume on January 2nd (before quickly scuttling off to Las Vegas for International CES 2012!), I thought it would be a good time to recap some of our top posts of the year for any visitors over the holiday break.

Whether you’re a small business or even a solo entrepreneur, you’re bound to find a great tip you missed this year.

Top Post of 2011

Not-So Odd Couple by @BrothaTech. With thousands of uniques, Terrance’s post on why you should consider the WiFi-only iPad 2 because of it’s synergy with the iPhone proved to be our most popular. The second biggest post of 2011? A related post he wrote about sharing your GPS data with your iPad 2 when creating a hotspot on your iPhone 4. I guess that settles the whole iPhone vs. Android debate *wink* Really though, what other blog is actively telling you to buy the CHEAPER iPad 2 without 3G? Only Small Biz Go Mobile would dare.

Runner-up: Rise of the Smartpen

Terrance pushes hard on his own blog and social media, so I’m not surprised he took top honors but let’s not forget @JustinAlcon who poured tons of sweat & blood into this blog this year. His top story was also a revelation for him about how to be more productive when on the go (which is what this blog is all about!): the Livescribe Echo Smartpen. Not content to rest on his laurels, Justin changed jobs and kept on writing, killing it again with his followup on the Livescribe a few weeks later. Both stories generated tons of hits & discussion on our social media for good reason: these pens are awesome.

Honorable Mention

With only his second blog post in his career, staff writer Nick Muntean knocked it out of the park with his piece on two crucial Android apps for managing your tasks: Astrid and Gtasks. This was one of our biggest stories for a good reason: people love finding out about new apps and new ways to use them. As well, productivity was a big focus of a lot of our coverage in 2011, and new ways to manage your tasks from the field turned out to be a hit for the blog.

Why Are People Still Reading This?

Digging through the Google analytics, one post in particular has been bugging me: Cameroid cool site to snap webcam photos by Mario Armstrong from 2008. Yeah, you read that right—2008. It has broken images, there’s no link and really no info, and yet it was one of our most read pieces this year. Go figure.

Year of The App

Terrance and I have been appearing almost-weekly on Mario’s SiriusXM radio show since May to bring you the hottest apps every Monday. If you’re struggling to be productive or more social on your mobile device, then you owe it to yourself to hit up Mario’s SiriusXM radio archive and listen to past episodes of the “App Roundtable.”

Tragedies

Mario Armstrong Media isn’t some huge organization, it’s really just a handful of us keeping this ship afloat, so we’re all still reeling from the fact that not one but two of our team members lost parents this year. First, SBGM writer Nick Muntean had to take a leave of absence from the blog when his father unexpectedly passed away. Nick is now living in Ohio running Muntean Health Care, the new incarnation of his dad’s medical practice. More recently, as listeners of our radio show already know, Mario’s co-host Adelle Coleman’s mother was brutally murdered. Adell’s fans were quick to respond, raising funds to cover the funeral expenses in a number of hours. It was an amazing show of generosity from her fans and the Mario Armstrong family, and we’re all grateful for the support.

Huge Thanks to AT&T

We couldn’t have done any of it without our amazing sponsor, AT&T. From the great deals they’ve brought all readers all year long, to their sponsorship of our Innovation Nation webcast and the new content deal we have with their Networking Exchange blog, none of this wouldn’t have been possible without them. Thanks, AT&T!

I love a good entrepreneurial idea, so I regularly spend time at Kickstarter, looking at projects that could be a whole new Fortune 500, or just something really cool I want for my bike. But one project really got me thinking about the future of technology within our products… and I’m not talking about products we usually associate with technology. Twine aims to provide a simple set of sensors with a WiFi connection in a 2.5” package to enable you to make various parts of your life smarter.

Twine aims to include a temperature sensor and accelerometer, but would also like to include a magnetic switch, moisture sensor and a breakout board to connect future sensors and provide wired power. It’s amazing to think such a small package could have so many sensors and allow for so much hardware intelligence, but remember that your smartphone has most of these, along with a big screen, powerful CPU and wireless radios.

These kind of miniaturized, low-power, low-cost sensors will enable a new gold rush of smart devices. We’ve seen dabbling in this kind of tech with remotely controlled devices through technologies like X10.  The real next wave is building intelligence into the devices themselves, so my thermostat can detect movement in the house and turn down the heat when no one is home and I forgot to turn it down.  I want my deep freezer to send me a text message if the GFCI outlet in my garage trips so I can take action before my turkey and frozen pizzas thaw.

I want a door lock that I can put in my duplex that will tell me if the door opens to a unit that isn’t occupied so thieves don’t run off with my power tools or copper pipe.  I want my car to detect rain coming down and close the convertible top for me while I’m stuck in a meeting and unable to deal with a sudden squall.  I could go on, but I don’t want to give away all the good ideas.

We are starting to see these products appear in the market.  The Nest thermostat getting there.  It uses a combination of smart software (learning your schedule and habits) with the ability to control it from anywhere to achieve some of the same goals.

What is your company doing about the revolution of smart products that will be hitting our marketplace over the next 5 years?  How can you build intelligent sensors and intelligent software into your products and services to provide a better experience to your customers, or provide better efficiency than your competitors?

A year ago, there were really only two kinds of devices on the market: basic ereaders like the Kindle, the NOOK and the iPad. Today, Amazon alone offers six different versions of the Kindle (twelve if you distinguish the ad-supported versions from the more expensive ad-free models).

The choices this holiday season can be overwhelming, but that’s why I’m here to help you pick the perfect ereader.

Finish reading this post on Mashable.com.

“What kind of tablet should I buy for your father’s Christmas present?”

Should be easy to answer, right?  But, she had a few requirements:

- Must be 4G
- Large, bright screen
- Easy to use
- less than $400

And with that list, the pool of qualified applicants dwindled significantly.  However, this list of “must-haves” might also need some examination.  First off, we’ve explored previously in this blog that 4G doesn’t always mean “faster”.  I explained to my mother that, while dad may want the fanciest new technology, it might not actually provide a tangible benefit.  Unfortunately, I could hear her shrug through the phone; “Well, you know your father!”

So, check- 4G.  This rules out the iPad family (as does the price), which is unfortunate as the iPad is, by far, my favorite tablet – mine gets a daily workout.  With the iPad out, a few options jumped out from the pack.  For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has great buzz, and can be purchased very affordably at $199 for a refurbished model.  Unfortunately, the 7.48-inch screen is small for a tablet, and might not work as a laptop replacement.  The Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a larger screen and seems ideal- however, the larger, improved screen comes with a larger price tag.  Comparably, the Acer Iconia shares many of the same features as the Galaxy Tab, and boasts a 10.2-inch screen.  At $329.99 through AT&T wireless, it’s a better value and satisfies most of my mother’s checklist.

Another option is the Motorola Xoom, which my mother already has and loves.  The 4G LTE model can be purchased with a contract for $299, which is on the low-end of the tablet pricing range.  However, if you haven’t purchased one yet, it may be hard to pick one up for the holidays – they’re sold out in many areas of the country.  So, I advised my mom that if she doesn’t want to duplicate her Xoom, or if she can’t find one, the Iconia might be the way to go.

One last note on purchasing refurbished equipment:  some may worry that refurbished equipment = lower quality.  However, I always purchased refurbished whenever I’m offered the option.  It’s not only for the lower price; it’s that refurbished items are usually guaranteed to have been checked out by an actual human being before being approved for resale.  So, the chances are high that the unit is working well and has been through rigorous quality control.  Not a 100% guarantee, of course, but so far this policy has held me in good stead.

Happy holiday shopping!

But if you’ve already entered, then I have one more great deal from Staples to tell you about, their laptop trade-in program. Basically, if you have a 5 year old laptop or less that powers on, has an intact screen, battery and you still have the AC adapter, then you can get a $100 Visa prepaid gift card when you buy a brand new Windows 7 laptop regularly priced at $599 or higher.

After making a qualified purchase at Staples, you just head on over to tradeupandrecycle.com to register your purchase. They send you a box in the mail to pack up that aging laptop, and you send it right back. Since you probably have tons of important data on that drive, you want to be careful so make sure to zero out the data on your hard drive first. To do that you can follow this great guide for PCs from Gizmodo or boot off your original install DVDs on your Mac, launch Disk Utility, and follow Apple’s guide for securely wiping a hard drive.

If you’ve still got a 5 year old clunker, then it really is time to upgrade, you rode the wheels off that laptop. Lots of great options are on sale this holiday season, and some picks from Staples that I like include the $699 Samsung Series 3 which is an 11” ultraportable with a real-deal Intel Core i3 processor, the $899 Acer Aspire Ultrabook, Acer’s all-aluminum response to the MacBook Air with SSD for amazingly fast start-up times, and the $1049 HP ENVY with Beats Audio, a 14.5” powerhouse of a laptop with a sleek design. Whichever one you pick you can’t go wrong!

As the holiday season approaches, we’re happy to announce that we’ve extended free domestic calls within the US and Canada for 2012…

Call it Google’s gift to all of us small businesses who depend on Google Voice as our primary number that we use to make us look “professional” when somebody calls my office phone (which is also my smartphone). If you’re not familiar, Google Voice is a service that offers free phone numbers and free calls over a data connection that can be forwarded to any phone. Additional features include, text messaging, voicemail (audible and transcribed to text), and custom greetings.

To me, Google Voice is a great disguise to give callers the perception that I have an official office phone. When people call, my GV number pops up to let me know that I have to get into “business mode”, versus fielding a call from family & friends via my mobile number provided by mobile carrier. I have the choice of letting people get right through when I answer, or they have to announce themselves and I have the option to answer or not. If I’m working at home for the day, I can forward my calls to the home line to save on my smartphone plan’s voice minutes. Finally, I don’t have to put my mobile number on my business card or online – I can use my GV number.

Google Voice recognizes that the service is a simple and economical tool for people like me – Just big enough to be considered a small business, but not big enough to need or want another dedicated line; and have extended it’s free calling throughout 2012. For that we say “Thank-you”.

Check out Google Voice and let us know what you think in the comments section.