Category: Top Story

Not-So Odd Couple: WiFi-Only iPad 2 and iPhone 4 Hotspot

by BrothaTech

The iPad 2 offers a 3G version that lets you tackle any web/network task without being dependent on an external wireless network or hotspot connection. Anywhere you can receive a 3G signal, your 3G iPad 2 will connect.

So if you’re mulling over which version of the iPad 2 to get: WiFi or WiFi + 3G, while you constantly call your local Apple retailer to check their stock (let me answer that for you…they don’t have any), allow me to give you a tip if you own an iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3 installed – use your iPhone 4 as a wireless hotspot for your iPad 2.

Let’s check out the pros and cons.

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Vimeo for iPhone

by Justin Alcon

Yesterday, Vimeo announced the launch of their official iPhone app. Preliminary tests indicate that it’s not shabby, and its especially impressive considering that this release is the first iteration of this product.  The app is all things video; watching, recording, editing and even delivering video to Vimeo’s site. Although the app isn’t perfect, Vimeo for iPhone is a solid offering.

The Vimeo for iPhone app is portrait-oriented; unless you’re shooting or viewing video, it wants to be vertical. When I first logged into the app, the default category presented is ‘My Stuff’, which is essentially a list of videos made by folks that I follow on Vimeo.  Across the top of the screen we find buttons allowing me to quickly check my video inbox (default view), buttons for things that I like and other buttons for things I’ve saved to watch later.  Across the bottom of the screen, there are additional buttons for the other functions of the app including options to “like” your own videos/recordings, browsing and account maintenance features. The videos you’ve uploaded to Vimeo can be viewed as a  list or as thumbnails, and sorted by date or by number of views. The search function returns real-time results, which is a search feature that we’ve all come to know and love.

Video-sharing is key to any modern social marketing campaign, and the Vimeo community is one of the most vibrant on the modern web.  If you make or share online video for your business, or even just for fun, this app is a must-have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7kUx0sbug0

Wednesday Small Biz Tips

by Shy Mukerjee

We are pleased to work with Ramon Ray, CEO and editor of SmallBizTechnology.com, journalist, and technology evangelist, to bring you our new Small Biz tips on Wednesdays. Each week we’ll be sharing videos and articles featuring hot topics, products and trends in small business.

More Battery Life In 7 Steps: Must Read For Road Warriors

I bought a Dell Vostro 130 last year and it’s a lovely machine. Only problem is that battery life is not that long. What you gain in lightness (it’s like 2 or 3 lbs) you lose in other things – like shorter battery life. I was helping a friend of mine with their new Toshiba Portege (not sure the model) and it’s battery life appears to be a little bit longer, but it’s a bit heaver as it has a built in CD-ROM/DVD drive. Sigh…what to do. Read more tips for extending your laptop’s battery life on SmallBizTechnology.com.

Dual Monitor For Client Meetings? Check Out This USB Mobile LCD Monitor

Notebooks are great. However, their small screens don’t always make it easy enough for you to share what you’re working on with a client, colleague or anyone else.

Toshiba’s got a $200 portable monitor that works with your notebook computer, as long as it runs Windows, via USB.

This is one of those little gadgets that are not for everyone, but I can guarantee that there is DEFINITELY a market of sales professionals, designers and others who want to show someone else what’s on their screen. See the USB Dual Monitor in action.

Missed Plaxo? It’s Back. This Time Focused on Your Address Book

I can’t remember when I started using Plaxo and I don’t remember when I stopped using it. But I know somewhere between Twitter, Facebook, Google and less use of Microsoft Outlook, my use (or even needed) of Plaxo become much less.

Earlier this month Plaxo announced that it’s “back” with a new vengeance. Read more about Plaxo on SmallBizTechnology.com.

Win a BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth Headset!

by Shy Mukerjee

Contests are going to become a regular feature here on Small Biz Go Mobile. After all, why shouldn’t we give something back to our readers? Mario has talked about the BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth Headset before, and you can check him out on CNN talking about voice activation, driving safety, and the Q2 below.

But how do you enter? Simple, just do two things:

The contest ends at Noon EST on Monday, April 4th. Winners (and our next contest!) will be announced that afternoon on this site. So follow us, retweet, and check back to see if you won!

Mario Armstrong discusses Hands-Fre Bluetooth Technology and Driving Safety on CNN

Rumor: Google Nexus Tablet

by Justin Alcon

According to the Russian mobile blog Mobile Review (you’ll need to switch to English if you’d like to read the blog, unless you’re fluent in Russian), LG has been tapped to produce the Google Nexus tablet for the Mountain View-based Internet giant. Details are scarce (and of course unconfirmed), but according to the site the tablet will be used by  Google as base for the development and testing of Honeycomb (Android 3.0), their latest tablet-optimized operating system. This new device should be ready in “mid-summer or early autumn.”

Definitely keep in mind that this device could just be an engineering prototype to be used by Google internally for Android tablet development and wouldn’t necessarily lead to a consumer-facing product. However, the idea of Google producing a tablet that stacks up to iPad 2 in the same way that their Nexus S phone challenged iPhone 4 is an idea that will create a lot of buzz among tech junkies and Android fanboys.  If it really happens, it could have a big impact on the future of tablet integration into your business.  The fact that Google has delayed distribution of Honeycomb source code to outside developers definitely lends credibility to this rumor, so I’m not willing to dismiss this with a das vadanya quite yet.

BlackBerry PlayBook Adds Java and Android “app player,” but not in time for launch

by Shy Mukerjee

Although word leaked last month that BlackBerry had added the ability to run Android apps on their upcoming PlayBook tablet (previously: pricing, quick look), a press release from RIM yesterday gives more details about how this will work.  The PlayBook will have access to what RIM are calling “app players” to allow not just Android 2.3 but Java apps as well.  However, unlike we assumed, there won’t simply be an Android Market on the PlayBook, but the process sounds simple enough. According to RIM, developers will have to simply repackage and sign their apps, then submit them to BlackBerry App World.  Touting a “a high degree of API compatibility” between Android and BlackBerry, the process will hopefully be painless.

Not in Time for Launch

The PlayBook will be here on April 19th, but RIM notes in their press release that the app players won’t arrive until summer.  With their tablet Native Development Kit (NDK) forthcoming and still in alpha, how are developers supposed to have apps ready for launch?  BlackBerry is addressing this in several ways, announcing today that they’re adding C/C++ development to the NDK, allowing developers to leverage work already done in the language and easily port existing code to the platform.  As well, developers will have the option to bring Adobe Flash and AIR apps to the PlayBook, in addition to the HTML5 support via WebKit.

With the iPad 2 and Motorola Xoom already out, their app stores full thanks to a significant head start, how will the PlayBook compete? Will there be a significant number of apps available for the platform at launch, and will consumers be able to wait until summer for Android Apps to make their way to the device?  We’re still waiting with bated breath to find out how the BlackBerry PlayBook is going to shine amongst what we assume will be its core audience: business users. Having already announced that they’re bringing BlackBerry Messenger to Android and possibly iOS, it will be interesting to see what unique features the PlayBook will be bringing to market.

Small Biz Tips From SmallBizTechnology.com

by Shy Mukerjee

We are pleased to work with Ramon Ray, CEO and editor of SmallBizTechnology.com, journalist, and technology evangelist, to bring you our new Small Biz tips on Wednesdays. Each week we’ll be sharing videos and articles featuring hot topics, products and trends in small business.

Send A Text Message And Shut Down Your Stolen Computer: Intel’s Anti-Theft Tech 3.0

Stolen laptops are no joke – especially if you have sensitive data on it. Maybe photos that you don’t want into the “wrong hands”, maybe company contracts that competitors would surely want to see or maybe they’re financial records of clients that could harm your business if exposed to hackers.

Whatever information is on your notebook computer it’s important to encrypt your data and use strong password protection.

For a second layer of security, Intel has created an embedded 3G (yep – wireless communication) technology into the 2nd Generation of it’s vPro Processor that can remotely disable a computer and ensure that your data is protected and secure from hackers.

By sending an SMS (text) message to your laptop you can shut it down and find where it is through GPS coordinates. Read the full article here.

Photos and your business – A branding opportunity

Whenever there is a special event in our lives we take a lot of photos and it could be a powerful medium for you to spread the word about your brand. It’s going to be a Super Moon tonight (March 19th 2011) as I am starting this article . The moon will appear 14% larger and will be another 18 years before it happens again. Now my first instinct is – is my camera ready? Should I charge the battery and you may have by now realized I am a photo enthusiast with no professional training. All my training comes from the folks whose pictures I have taken ( maybe in the hope that I take better pictures of them) and from professionals like Kris Krug who gives me tips when I meet him at conferences. Learn more about branding opportunities here.

How Google’s Search Engine Changes Affect Your Rankings: Four Tips 4 U

What happens when Google alters their search ranking algorithms—which they do often—and you find your website and your business are now collateral damage under the sanitized term “metrics”?

This latest update, nicknamed the “Panda Update,” has turned much of the online marketing world on its collective ear. Sift through any number of professional blogging, traffic generation, and online marketing blogs, and most have at least one post mentioning the algorithm changes and what it means for everything from Page Rank to profits. Read the rest of this article at SmallBizTechnology.

BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet is Announced – Small Business Ready?

by BrothaTech


The Tablet game is finally starting to heat up.

Next up is the BlackBerry PlayBook 7″ inch Tablet device set to hit stores April 19th. BlackBerry dubs the PlayBook as “the world’s first professional-grade tablet”. The pricing structure follows:

• 16GB Wi-Fi, $499
• 32GB Wi-Fi, $599
• 64GB Wi-Fi, $699

Althought it’s not listed initially for sale on the 19th, the PlayBook will support HSPA, LTE, and WiMax networks. In other words, BlackBerry will offer WiFi + 4G device configurations in the near future, if not at launch.

Professional-grade? The BlackBerry PlayBook boasts some serious power with its 1GHZ dual-core processor, 1GB of internal ram, and the nicest multitasking functionality around. The PlayBook will have out-of-the-box BlackBerry Enterprise Server (aka BES) capabilities so your company’s IT department can lock down the device for corporate use. Outside of that, it will depend on the mobile app developers to support the PlayBook with some serious productivity apps to make this the “go-to” device for the small business crowd.

Most small businesses don’t have access to B.E.S. or know how to implement it; so we rely on mobile apps to access, secure, and backup our data when we are not in front of our primary computer. BlackBerry smartphones have a nice suite of apps to support mobility, so let’s hope those same apps are ported… or, better yet, are enhanced for the PlayBook.

Finally, the PlayBook runs a tablet-specific OS that should give current BlackBerry smartphone users a reason to check out the tablet. New features, functionality, and user experience should draw in the BlackBerry faithful and give them hope as to what their phones may be able to do in the near future.

The BlackBerry Tablet is available for preorder via Best Buy, and will go on sale at the “Big 3” US wireless carriers, and other locations on April 19th. check out the BlackBerry PlayBook site for more features, specifications, and availability details.

4G, Hot Or Just Hype?

by Justin Alcon

“4G” is hot these days.  Ads tout it, customers want it, carriers push it.  In fact, cellular carriers everywhere are going long on ‘4G’ (aka LTE, WiMAX or the newly knighted HSPA+) with buckets of new devices branded ‘4G’ flooding the market.  Savvy consumers want to know: does 4G actually provide better nationwide coverage?  Or, is it just a catchy marketing buzzword?

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines 4G as “cellular service that provides peak download speeds similar to 100Mbps in high-mobility environments and peak download speeds of approximately 1Gbps in low-mobility environments.”  Don’t let this description intimidate you, however, as this is pretty much just a fancy way to say that data works when moving fast (~80 meters/second – like when you’re driving), and will work even faster when you’re just walking or standing still.

More recently, the ITU amended its definition of 4G to include current technologies.  But, LTE, WiMAX and HSPA+ still don’t even come close to fitting the ITU’s definition. Still, Carriers are spending billions of dollars on these technologies and millions more on their advertising campaigns.

I’m always dubious when a tech company’s solution is a redefinition or renaming, rather than a measurable technological improvement.  Semantics aside, however, 4G services like LTE and WiMAX are the future of mobile technology. At the moment all the hype around 4G is about speed.  However, in many cases networks branded 4G are effectively no faster than those that were branded 3G.

Yes, these technologies have the potential for speeds that exceed the limitations 3G technologies like CDMA, EDGE, EV-DO and HSPA, but the real gains come from the capability to accommodate more traffic, not faster traffic.

If 3G is a crosstown street, 4G is the express beltway able to get more people there, or in our case drop less calls, but the speed limit remains the same.  So yes, 4G matters…just not for the reason that we see in its advertisements.

Mobile Apps Key to Small Business Operations, says AT&T

by Shy Mukerjee

Hot off the presses, a new survey from AT&T shows that small businesses (defined here as organizations with between 2-50 employees) are increasingly dependent on mobile technology in their day-to-day operations. According to the survey, 75% of small businesses now use mobile apps for their business “to save time, increase productivity and reduce costs.” Nearly half (49%) of all small businesses are now utilizing GPS/Navigation and mapping apps, making it the largest category of mobile applications currently being used.

What Other Kinds of Apps?

A variety of other apps are making inroads into small businesses as well.  The top app categories include social media marketing, document management, location-based services, time management, expense tracking software, and programs that accept credit or debit card payments in the field.

State of Social Media & Facebook

While social media apps are being utilized by a smaller proportion of companies (26%), a significant number (41%) are now using a Facebook page to promote themselves.

Small businesses feel that Facebook provides an easy and affordable way to promote their businesses., and many feel that it is the best way to communicate with their customers. Certainly, Facebook offers several unique options for businesses, from the low cost of set-up (free), to the ability to directly interact with individual customers, something that websites simply cannot offer. As well, a full 37% have noticed an increase in traffic to their websites, and 29% an increase in phone calls thanks to their Facebook pages.

Post continues after the jump.

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