We’ve seen the smartphone landscape change dramatically over the past several years with Blackberry hot out of the gates only to be taken over by the iPhone (iOS) which in turn is now losing out to Samsung’s Galaxy (Android) mobile line. We can debate the rise and fall of any of these devices but I’ll suggest it simply comes down to user experience as it relates to the phones operating system and available applications.
Thankfully due to innovation, smartphones have increasingly become user friendly with a plethora of applications readily available.
Many of these apps are dialed into your unique needs, some of which may have been spoken to in a previous blog by Cameron McNeill. But as technologies go, newer versions or alternatives will have come available so let’s bring ourselves up to date:
Having readily available access to MLXchange is a godsend for many realtors but there hasn’t been any one application that gave you direct access to MLS with full functionality. Enter Fusion.
Using the power of cloud computing, Fusion provides its users with the ability to work free of your laptop, home and/or office computer giving you access to the MLS data you need.
Not a fan of Fusion? LogMeIn, as its name would suggest is a tool that provides you with the ability to log into a secured and connected resource. In this case your home or work computer giving you access to all its resources.
Simply run MLXchange from the remote computer while accessing it via LogMeIn, and you have its full functionality at your finger tips.
- Droid Scan Pro for Android ($4.49)
Marketed as a portable document scanner it’s simply another camera app, except this one allows its users to instantly create professional multi-page PDF files in just a few clicks.
- Genius Scan Pro for iOS (free)
This “portable document scanner” is in many ways the same as Droid Scan Pro but built for the iPhone.
If you can upload it, you can save it securely in the cloud. This is beneficial as it allows immediate access to important documents from any internet connection. Files you wouldn’t normally carry around are now readily available to your smartphone.
In recent years the line between professional and personal seems to have blurred. This has resulted in an ongoing battle to separate the two, many call it the work-life balance.
If you’ve ever tweeted from your work account thinking it was a personal one, sent a flirtatious email to your coworker but wasn’t the intended recipient or simply need to turn one life off while focusing on the other this app will help you find that balanced life you desire by securely, and completely separating your ‘workspace’ from your personal smartphone profile.
Noticeably missing from this blog are links to the Blackberry App world and this has been done on purpose. I’ve been a devote Blackberry user for years and am a believer a phone needs to do a few things incredibly well like dial and receive phone calls (I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek.)
Beyond email and the ever important security features of their Blackberry Enterprise Server, RIM has allowed their competition to catch up and quickly surpass them in the smartphone marketplace, but hope is on the horizon as the Blackberry 10 operating system is looking very appealing. Perhaps in future app discussions we'll include Blackberry in the mix.
Michael Connolly
