Social media is a big part of any modern marketing campaign. However, managing social media properly can mean a lot of time-consuming work. It’s one thing to have a solid plan, but the real work comes with the day-in, day-out hands-on implementation of this plan. There are lots of products that claim to automate this process, but they’re all missing a key thing: variety. You can set your tumblr to auto-update to your twitter, and your twitter could update your facebook, but this creates a single monolithic, repetitive structure. So, how do you add nuance to your social media plan without adding complexity and hours to your day? Read More
Category: Small Biz Go Mobile
Is the Amazon Kindle Tablet Running Android Finally Arriving? Press Event September 28th
A couple of months ago, staff writer Nick Muntean put together a great piece explaining why Amazon’s Kindle Tablet could be your next Digital Media Center. In his piece, Nick looked at all the different component parts, from Amazon’s Video-on-Demand service that comes free with a Prime subscription to recent Amazon acquisitions. Nick determined that Amazon aren’t just preparing a 21st century eReader, but a device that will take on both the iPad and your media center.
Nobody actually knows what Amazon has up their sleeve and Joanna Stern, writing for ThisIsMyNext, notes that this Amazon event may be about little more than a touchscreen e-ink Kindle. She could be right, but Amazon has taken too many steps towards a real tablet computer this year, especially with their Appstore launch on the Android Marketplace. Plus, MG Siegler actually used one a few weeks ago, lending a lot of credibility to idea that a launch of what he claims is called, simply, the “Amazon Kindle,” is happening very, very soon. Like next week soon.
So tune in next Wednesday to see what we find. The tablet market is shaking up, and we intend to be there with coverage and analysis for you, every step of the way.
Gmail Mobile Site Gets Multiple Account Sign-in Feature
For those of you who either can’t completely rely on adding your Google/Gmail accounts in to your smartphone for accurate email updates, or use a Google Apps account and haven’t quite figured out how to use Microsoft Exchange/Google Sync to get all synced up (if you don’t have an Android device) – you are in for a treat, especially if you have multiple accounts. The mobile-friendly Gmail site now lets users sign-in and switch back and forth between multiple accounts. Read More
A New iPhone (or two!) on the Horizon: Sorting Out iPhone 5 Rumors
We here at Small Biz Go Mobile are a rather prudent bunch, never ones to blindly pursue idle speculation and gossip in the pursuit of boosting site traffic. As such, we’ve refrained from adding to the Internet-hype-machine’s “coverage” of the next-generation iPhone (which the Webosphere, lacking any official guidance from Apple, has already dubbed the “iPhone 5”). But, with reputable sources now indicating that Apple will hold an October 4th press conference—at which the announcement of a new iPhone seems almost inevitable—we figured it was time to set aside our editorial discretion, and join in the iPhone 5-speculation fun! Read More
Watch the Live Stream from f8, Facebook’s Developer Conference
UPDATE: Missed the show? No worries – hit the ‘read more’ button below and catch the replay of today’s event!
Today we’re bringing you the live stream straight from f8, Facebook’s developer conference. Rumors are running rampant about what Facebook will announce today, with leaks last night indicating a new feature that will allow you to listen to your friend’s music live on the site. The conference starts at 10:00 a.m. PDT, (1:00 p.m. EDT) with a keynote from Mark Zuckerberg himself. For any business owner or small biz employee involved in social media and promotion, the future direction of Facebook is something too big to ignore. We’ll be watching the live feed, bringing you the latest updates and analysis via Twitter as well as here on the site. The video will be streaming live, right here on this post, so don’t go anywhere—you’re gonna want to see what Facebook has in store. Read More
Google+ Open To The Public: Business Profiles Still Uncertain
Even though it wasn’t too hard to get an invite into Google+, Google’s social networking site that is still in “Field Testing”, you now should be able to access and edit your Google+ profile the next time you log in to your Gmail account. Google has made the brand-spanking new social networking site available to the everyone with a Google account despite the fact that the site is still under construction.
Yeah, Google+ may be new, but it has been able to much more than its counterparts in the same amount of time. According to The Next Web, it took Twitter 780 days and Facebook 852 days to reach 10 million users – Google+ achieved that same feat in only 16 days. So there is no question that the site will round out the “Big Three” social networking sites once it’s finally ready for production. Google admits to not being nowhere near done, and is constantly adding features, some per user request and others as a means to differentiate itself from other social networking sites. Read More
Need to Print from your iPhone/iPad? Canon PIXMA WiFi Printers Get AirPrint Support
Even though mobile device computing has come a long way in a very short time, devices like iPhones are limited by their inability to download and install the necessary printer drivers needed to print from your mobile device to a printer. Apple introduced AirPlay/AirPrint support with its latest iOS version that can enable an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to handle a number of tasks such as streaming music and movies wirelessly to compatible products. Frees up your device from being tethered to your primary machine.
With the exception of HP and Epson, companies have only licensed the AirPlay technology thus far to do the fun stuff. Now Canon has announced that its new line of PIXMA Series wireless printers will have the AirPrint technology built in for direct printing from an iOS device connected to the same local network. The MG8220, MG6220, and MG5320 will all allow users to wirelessly print photos, emails, web pages and other documents without the need to install device drivers, saving time and making for a seamless user experience. Read More
AT&T 4G Is Here! High-speed LTE Network Launching in 5 Cities
For those who crave zippy-fast data connections on their mobile devices, good news has arrived. On Sunday, AT&T launched its high-speed 4G LTE network, with the lucky denizens of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio being the first to receive AT&T’s new and improved cellular signals. If you don’t live in one of the aforementioned cities, don’t fret, as 10 more cities should receive LTE networks by the end of the year. Read More
The Tablet World is Shaking Up: Microsoft Unveils Windows 8 OS with “Metro” UI for You To Touch
Big changes are coming to the Windows OS environment, as Microsoft unveiled the new Windows 8 OS at its BUILD Conference last week. While there are tons of the changes one typically expects from an OS revision—new features, the removal of some older features, etc.—the big news is that Redmond will be taking the “Metro” user-interface design, first introduced in the Windows Phone 7 mobile OS, and applying it as an across-the-board UI for its desktop, tablet, phone, and Xbox operating systems. Despite the underwhelming sales of Windows Phone 7 devices (Ballmer himself admits that they haven’t sold as well as he’d like), the Metro UI is really slick, and it’s exciting to see that Microsoft is fully committed to re-imagining the computing experience it provides to consumers.
Sure, in many ways, this is simply Microsoft’s response to Apple’s meteoric rise of the past few years, as OSX and iOS offer fairly consistent cross-platform visual design and UI elements. What’s exciting about the Windows 8 platform, though, is that it’s not Apple-like at all; Microsoft’s clearly put an enormous amount of resources into completely re-imagining the computing experience, and are attempting to essentially out-Apple the competition by releasing a system that’s genuinely innovative and unprecedented. In many respects, this is probably the most significant new version of Windows since the introduction of Windows 3.1 almost twenty years ago. Read More
CONTEST: Win a Dell Streak 7 Tablet Computer!
Contest is now closed
The cold weather here in New York City seems to indicate that the seasons are finally changing. You know what that means: more time indoors with our precious gadgets. But the leaves aren’t the only things coming down from the trees this year: it’s raining tablet computers here at Small Biz Go Mobile. Regular readers have probably noticed that we love to give things away (hopefully some of you have noticed more than that!). For the past few months, we’ve ben giving away eReaders—those fabulous little devices that let you read books, PDFs, and sometimes even your email while on-the-go. But this month, we’re not holding back: if you win this contest, you’re getting a fully-featured Dell Streak 7 tablet, running Google’s Android operating system.
What does that mean for you? You’re gonna be able to do everything on this tablet: composing Word documents and sending them out via email, reading books, PDFs and even opening up those dastardly Excel spreadsheets from accounting. With front- and rear-facing cameras, you’ll be shooting videos of the kids, taking pictures AND videoconferencing with the boss from the comforts of your couch. You’ll be browsing not just some of the web, but all of it with Android’s support for Flash video, animation and games. Speaking of, did I mention that you’ll be playing Angry Birds in glorious HD on this thing? Actually, given how hard some of the levels are, that might be all you’ll be doing!
I honestly can’t imagine why you’re even still reading this blog post. See that obnoxious orange bar at the bottom of the screen, beckoning you enter our contest? Why don’t you go ahead and click it—just don’t forget to come back and leave us a comment about how you’re going to use your brand new tablet computer.