Tag: Mobile

Livescribe Echo Smartpen is the coolest business tool

by Justin Alcon

For the last week I’ve been using a Livescibe Echo smartpen, and I flat-out love it.  When Livescribe gave me their 8gb version to demo, I have to admit I was dubious at first; I spend a lot of time banging away on a keyboard, and I was pretty sure that the pen and the pad were going the way of the dodo.  Man, was I wrong.

First, the basics: the Echo smartpen digitally captures your handwritten and audio notes, the combination of which is a ‘pencast’.  Basically, when you tap the “record” area of the specially printed paper, everything that you write (and the sounds associated with it) are recorded.  You can transfer files from the pen and share your recorded notes with others, and you can also tap any section of your notes and hear what was recorded when you were writing the note.  Livescribe makes it incredibly easy to share your pencasts with others as it automatically hooks up to your email, Google Docs, Evernote, Facebook, Mobile (iPhone and iPad) and/or MyLivescribe (an online storage space for pencasts). Read More

Box.net Wants iOS Users, Offers 50GB of Free Storage As Bait

by BrothaTech

To combat Apple’s iCloud offering for iOS 5 users, the Box.net cloud storage service has announced its “50gigs for 50 days” promotion for anybody who downloads the latest version of the mobile to their iPhone or iPad.

Box.net is a rival to the popular Dropbox, Sugarsync, and now iCloud services that offer similar features and options in regards to cloud storage. All of them have free storage offerings as a basic package (2-5GB). Anything after that, you have to opt for a paid personal or business plan that start around $10/month, or refer a ton of people to get additional free storage in smaller megabyte increments. Read More

Remote Computer Support TeamViewer Adds Access from iPhones, iPads and Android Devices

by BrothaTech

TeamViewer is a remote desktop application that doesn’t get the shine it deserves due to more popular options like LogMeIn or GoToMyPC that eat up all the fanfare. With TeamViewer you can tackle all the operations that any other option can handle:

– Access and control another computer (Mac or PC)

– Share screens, transfer files, and perform various support functions

– Live demos and presentations

The cool thing about TeamViewer is that you don’t have to choose from different versions based on what kind of access you need like its competitors – One version of TeamViewer can handle it all. You can choose to go to the TeamViewer website and start a remote session or download the actual software for quick access for later sessions. Read More

AT&T Video Capture

by Justin Alcon

We have talked about technical tools that are great for field professionals more than once.  But today I am more excited than usual to cover a great new tool from our sponsor, AT&T.  Everyone’s smart phone has a great new video camera mounted to the back, but when we want to share these videos with our friends, family, or in our case, a co-worker, we have to rely on YouTube or some video hosting service. By the time that you have uploaded it and send someone a message to look at it, the moment has passed. Well no more, to the cloud!

AT&T has announced the AT&T video capture apllication which enables businesses to stream live and pre-recorded videos from handsets in the field to co-workers in the office. The desktop gets a web-based monitoring interface, so you can watch videos in real-time from your desk, archive and organize these feeds, and communicate with users in the field about what you are seeing.  All this real time interaction greatly increasing the speed and agility of your organization. Read More

Kensington SecureBack cases are great for shared iPads

by Justin Alcon

Increasingly, businesses are finding that iPads and other tablets are the best solution for their needs.  Unfortunately, one of the best things about the iPad can be one of the worst things; basically, its extreme mobility.  Although this really helps workers on the go, it also helps less-than-honest people score free iPads for themselves.  So, the question becomes: how can we maintain mobile productivity while thwarting would-be thieves? Read More

OfficeDrop Offers Document Scanning on the iPad

by BrothaTech

OfficeDrop puts its hat in the ring of iPad apps that let you scan documents to the cloud. If you’re not familiar with OfficeDrop, it started out as a way to convert your physical papers into digital copies in the cloud using your current office printer/scanner. Now OfficeDrop lets you scan documents by snapping a picture using your iPad to automatically upload the document to your OfficeDrop online account.

You can create individual PDF documents or snap multiple images and create one PDF that once uploaded are immediately searchable in your account. In other words, multiple physical documents related to one meeting or event can be one PDF in the cloud. Read More

Need to Print from your iPhone/iPad? Canon PIXMA WiFi Printers Get AirPrint Support

by BrothaTech

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

The Tablet World is Shaking Up: Microsoft Unveils Windows 8 OS with “Metro” UI for You To Touch

by Nick Muntean

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

Sonar App for iPhone Now Displays LinkedIn Connections When You Check-in

by BrothaTech

The Sonar app is a great way to find out how you are connected to other people where you are located. By checking in to a location using Sonar (pulls location information from Foursquare) you see not only who has also checked in, but how you are connected. Initially, Sonar used Twitter and Foursquare connections. Now the app has turned on LinkedIn as a method for fishing out your relationship to those around you.

Actually, you don’t even have to check-in to see who is at a location and if there are any connections. Upon opening, the app shows you nearby locations (you can also search if  your location is not on the list), and the number of people currently checked in. Read More