Real estate professionals are tackling more mobile outreach markets efforts to reach clients — making sure their Web site is easy to view and use from a phone, adopting QR codes in marketing, and even creating apps that potential clients can use to access real estate information while on-the-go.
The adoption of more mobile tools seems to be warranted: A new study shows that nearly half of all U.S. mobile subscribers are now using smartphones, according to the latest numbers from Nielsen. Smartphone usage has jumped 38 percent in the last year alone, according to Nielsen research.
And the number keeps growing. Two-thirds of new mobile purchases in the last three months is for a smartphone over a “feature phone,” the study finds.
Android OS devices continues to be the leader with 48 percent of the smartphone market share. Meanwhile, 32 percent of smartphone users have an Apple iPhone, and 11.6 percent have a Blackberry.
Source: “Smartphones Account for Half of All Mobile Phones, Dominate New Phone Purchases in U.S.,” Nielsen (March 29, 2012)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Realtors reach the YouTube generation
Real estate professionals in Los Angeles are working to catch the attention of buyers with two new trends. One trend features aerial videos of properties done with small, high-definition cameras mounted on a miniature, remote-controlled helicopter.
Demand is rising at companies that supply the service, like A Bird’s Eye -- which provides a package of still photos, panoramas, and the aerial video for about $1,500.
“We wanted to give people a perspective they don’t normally get on a video tour of the inside of the property,” explains Rob Aigner, CEO of Keller Williams in Beverly Hills. Noting that realty agents are looking for ways to connect with the “YouTube generation,” meaning young buyers with money, he adds, “We as Realtors need to think about what we can do to make it interesting and dynamic -- not just beautifully photographed.”
The videos are posted online to Facebook, Twitter, and a dedicated website established just to showcase the property; they offer views of the house, the landscape and even the surrounding neighborhood.
The other trend involves using non-aerial videos of the interior and exterior of a residence to tell a story where the property serves as the location, or to create a “lifestyle video” that spotlights the house and the neighborhood, and helps to convey the type of lifestyle of someone who would buy that property.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Demand is rising at companies that supply the service, like A Bird’s Eye -- which provides a package of still photos, panoramas, and the aerial video for about $1,500.
“We wanted to give people a perspective they don’t normally get on a video tour of the inside of the property,” explains Rob Aigner, CEO of Keller Williams in Beverly Hills. Noting that realty agents are looking for ways to connect with the “YouTube generation,” meaning young buyers with money, he adds, “We as Realtors need to think about what we can do to make it interesting and dynamic -- not just beautifully photographed.”
The videos are posted online to Facebook, Twitter, and a dedicated website established just to showcase the property; they offer views of the house, the landscape and even the surrounding neighborhood.
The other trend involves using non-aerial videos of the interior and exterior of a residence to tell a story where the property serves as the location, or to create a “lifestyle video” that spotlights the house and the neighborhood, and helps to convey the type of lifestyle of someone who would buy that property.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Free mobile apps may drain your battery
Does your cellphone’s quickly draining battery keep getting the best of you while you’re out on the job? The free mobile apps you use may be to blame, according to a new study by Purdue University and Microsoft.
Researchers found that free mobile apps consume more than double the power in battery life compared with paid applications. Researchers studied five of the top 10 most popular Android apps, such as MapQuest and the Android browser. They found that “only 10 to 30 percent of the app’s power consumption is directly related to its purpose, while the remaining 70 to 90 percent is consumed by other functionalities that use wireless I/O chips (Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS),” according to TechSpot in reporting on the study. The battery drain was also blamed on advertisements that are usually displayed on free apps.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Researchers found that free mobile apps consume more than double the power in battery life compared with paid applications. Researchers studied five of the top 10 most popular Android apps, such as MapQuest and the Android browser. They found that “only 10 to 30 percent of the app’s power consumption is directly related to its purpose, while the remaining 70 to 90 percent is consumed by other functionalities that use wireless I/O chips (Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS),” according to TechSpot in reporting on the study. The battery drain was also blamed on advertisements that are usually displayed on free apps.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Top Mistakes to Avoid With Your Web Site
Your Web site may be a critical part of your outreach effort to customers, so are you putting your best site forward? Forbes.com recently highlighted some of the biggest mistakes small businesses make with their web design. Make sure you don’t fall for any of these traps, which may send potential customers clicking away:
Failing to target your market.
Research your target audience and design your site around that audience. Make sure the content addresses the needs of your target audience. Also, ensure the presentation of your web site fits your audience too. For example, if you tend to work with younger buyers, is your site smartphone-compatible?
Missing a call to action.
So you have visitors coming to your site, what do you want them to do? If it’s to contact you or subscribe to your e-newsletter, you need to make that clear and highlight it.
Getting too flashy.
“Flashy web sites don’t look good on mobile phones or tablets, and a large majority of Internet users now visit Web sites from these wireless devices,” the article notes. You have about three seconds when someone visits your Web site to give them what they want. As such, make sure you know why they are likely coming to your site, and cater your site to fulfilling that need.
Falling behind.
If your site looks out of date, customers may assume that you are no longer active in the business or that you aren’t as up-to-date as your competition. Be sure to update your site as things in the business change too. If you blog, update it at least once a week, which can help drive visitors to your site and boost your SEO.
“Also, avoid putting links to your Facebook or Twitter pages if you only have a small following,” the article notes. “People may think your business is too small and end up not hiring you.”
Read more Web site blunders at Forbes.com.
Source: “Top 7 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make,” Forbes (March 27, 2012)
Failing to target your market.
Research your target audience and design your site around that audience. Make sure the content addresses the needs of your target audience. Also, ensure the presentation of your web site fits your audience too. For example, if you tend to work with younger buyers, is your site smartphone-compatible?
Missing a call to action.
So you have visitors coming to your site, what do you want them to do? If it’s to contact you or subscribe to your e-newsletter, you need to make that clear and highlight it.
Getting too flashy.
“Flashy web sites don’t look good on mobile phones or tablets, and a large majority of Internet users now visit Web sites from these wireless devices,” the article notes. You have about three seconds when someone visits your Web site to give them what they want. As such, make sure you know why they are likely coming to your site, and cater your site to fulfilling that need.
Falling behind.
If your site looks out of date, customers may assume that you are no longer active in the business or that you aren’t as up-to-date as your competition. Be sure to update your site as things in the business change too. If you blog, update it at least once a week, which can help drive visitors to your site and boost your SEO.
“Also, avoid putting links to your Facebook or Twitter pages if you only have a small following,” the article notes. “People may think your business is too small and end up not hiring you.”
Read more Web site blunders at Forbes.com.
Source: “Top 7 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make,” Forbes (March 27, 2012)
3 Ways Foreclosures May Impact Your Customers
A new wave of foreclosures is expected to be coming as banks work through huge backlogs of distressed properties on their books. So what does this mean for buyers and sellers this year?
An article at Bankrate.com recently highlighted how foreclosures may be impacting your customers, including:
1. Confusing the perception over price.
As Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain, says in the article, “Sellers think their home is worth more than it really is, and buyers think the prices are too high.” Distressed properties are widening the gap between seller and buyers’ perceptions over price. Why the discrepancy? Sometimes real estate professionals don’t include foreclosures and short sales when showing comparable sales data to home sellers but that might skew the picture.
2. Questioning locations.
Buyers might see a home they like in a neighborhood with several foreclosures and short sales nearby, which may then make them reluctant. However, if investors are snagging up properties in the area, buyers might get more confident about their purchase.
“Investors are interested in neighborhoods that were beat up by foreclosures and that have other redeeming features that they then believe will be the first to bounce back,” says Stephen Israel, president of Buyer’s of Edge Co. in Bethesda, Md. Homes near public transportation, highly ranked schools, and shopping and amenities could offer good "bounce-back" values, he adds.
3. Removing urgency.
The Federal Reserve has taken the rare step of vowing to keep key interest rates low through late 2014. The result? Many buyers are waiting on the sidelines, believing they’ll be able to snag homes at an even lower price and still take advantage of a historically low interest rate.
"The perception that prices could go lower, a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline and (the expectation) that rates will remain low -- that's certainly keeping some people on the sidelines," Cammarosano says. But interest rates and prices can change quickly.
Source: “How Foreclosures Affect Buyers and Sellers,” Bankrate.com (March 27, 2012)
An article at Bankrate.com recently highlighted how foreclosures may be impacting your customers, including:
1. Confusing the perception over price.
As Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain, says in the article, “Sellers think their home is worth more than it really is, and buyers think the prices are too high.” Distressed properties are widening the gap between seller and buyers’ perceptions over price. Why the discrepancy? Sometimes real estate professionals don’t include foreclosures and short sales when showing comparable sales data to home sellers but that might skew the picture.
2. Questioning locations.
Buyers might see a home they like in a neighborhood with several foreclosures and short sales nearby, which may then make them reluctant. However, if investors are snagging up properties in the area, buyers might get more confident about their purchase.
“Investors are interested in neighborhoods that were beat up by foreclosures and that have other redeeming features that they then believe will be the first to bounce back,” says Stephen Israel, president of Buyer’s of Edge Co. in Bethesda, Md. Homes near public transportation, highly ranked schools, and shopping and amenities could offer good "bounce-back" values, he adds.
3. Removing urgency.
The Federal Reserve has taken the rare step of vowing to keep key interest rates low through late 2014. The result? Many buyers are waiting on the sidelines, believing they’ll be able to snag homes at an even lower price and still take advantage of a historically low interest rate.
"The perception that prices could go lower, a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline and (the expectation) that rates will remain low -- that's certainly keeping some people on the sidelines," Cammarosano says. But interest rates and prices can change quickly.
Source: “How Foreclosures Affect Buyers and Sellers,” Bankrate.com (March 27, 2012)
Fla. deal offers small biz a free website
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a partnership with Google to create free websites for small businesses throughout Florida.
The initiative, “Florida Get Your Business Online,” will, according to Scott, help drive economic growth by giving Florida businesses the tools and resources they need to create a website, find new customers and grow.
For the next year, Florida businesses can go to www.floridagetonline.com to get a free website. Google partnered with Intuit to provide its Intuit Websites offerings that include an easy-to-build website, a customized domain name and free web hosting for one year. The offer includes tools, training and other resources.
While 97 percent of Americans look online for local products or businesses, 68 percent of Florida small businesses do not have a website.
“The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many Florida small businesses from taking the first step,” says Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement at Google. “This program makes it fast, easy and free for businesses to get online.”
As part of the program, Google will provide free workshops to small businesses in Miami and Tampa.
The Miami training takes place on April 3 and April 4 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard. Training in Tampa takes place on April 5 at the Tampa Museum of Art, 120 West Gasparilla Plaza.
Businesses can register for the free workshops at www.floridagetonline.com.
Source: Florida Realtors
The initiative, “Florida Get Your Business Online,” will, according to Scott, help drive economic growth by giving Florida businesses the tools and resources they need to create a website, find new customers and grow.
For the next year, Florida businesses can go to www.floridagetonline.com to get a free website. Google partnered with Intuit to provide its Intuit Websites offerings that include an easy-to-build website, a customized domain name and free web hosting for one year. The offer includes tools, training and other resources.
While 97 percent of Americans look online for local products or businesses, 68 percent of Florida small businesses do not have a website.
“The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many Florida small businesses from taking the first step,” says Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement at Google. “This program makes it fast, easy and free for businesses to get online.”
As part of the program, Google will provide free workshops to small businesses in Miami and Tampa.
The Miami training takes place on April 3 and April 4 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard. Training in Tampa takes place on April 5 at the Tampa Museum of Art, 120 West Gasparilla Plaza.
Businesses can register for the free workshops at www.floridagetonline.com.
Source: Florida Realtors
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
New Realtor.com Tools Get HyperSocial
Realtor.com has officially rolled out its HyperSocial Agent Search Tools, aimed at helping real estate professionals better connect through online networks and communities with their customers.
The new tools, available for free, include HyperSocial Agent Profile Pages and HyperSocial Agent Recommendations. The new tools help real estate agents get recommendations from past clients and then broadcast them on their social networking pages, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Foursquare. The tools also help customers see how they’re connected to you “so you can start building a relationship before you have your first conversation,” according to a Realtor.com blog post announcing the new tools.
“Referrals and recommendations have helped real estate agents build successful businesses for years, and we’ve taken this fundamental building block of real estate and brought it online to Realtor.com and the social media sites you use everyday,” according to the blog post at Realtor.com.
Move Inc., which operates Realtor.com, first announced the tools were in beta-testing mode in January. The tools are part of a new lineup of features stemming from Realtor.com’s purchase last year of social media company SocialBios.
Source: “Tools to Help You Generate Referrals from Recommendations, Free for Every Agent to Use,” Lockbox Realtor.com blog (March 19, 2012)
The new tools, available for free, include HyperSocial Agent Profile Pages and HyperSocial Agent Recommendations. The new tools help real estate agents get recommendations from past clients and then broadcast them on their social networking pages, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Foursquare. The tools also help customers see how they’re connected to you “so you can start building a relationship before you have your first conversation,” according to a Realtor.com blog post announcing the new tools.
“Referrals and recommendations have helped real estate agents build successful businesses for years, and we’ve taken this fundamental building block of real estate and brought it online to Realtor.com and the social media sites you use everyday,” according to the blog post at Realtor.com.
Move Inc., which operates Realtor.com, first announced the tools were in beta-testing mode in January. The tools are part of a new lineup of features stemming from Realtor.com’s purchase last year of social media company SocialBios.
Source: “Tools to Help You Generate Referrals from Recommendations, Free for Every Agent to Use,” Lockbox Realtor.com blog (March 19, 2012)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Realtor.com updates iOS real estate search app
Realtor.com is making it easier and faster for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users to discover and research price reduced, foreclosed and recently sold properties with the updated Realtor.com iOS real estate search app.
According to Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, the official Realtor.com iOS real estate search app is compatible with all 4.0 or higher iOS mobile devices.
“The new Realtor.com mobile app is definitely a step forward for the consumer,” said Miami Realtor Ines Hegedus-Garcia of Majestic Properties. “The updated application is more robust and more intuitive. There is nothing like seeing real improvement on technology that was already doing it right.”
Key features and benefits of the updated Realtor.com iOS mobile app include:
– Recently Sold listings are properties that sold within the last six months and include the final sale price reported by the MLS along with the final sale date. Sold prices display on Realtor.com within 24 hours of a final sale. Users can search for sold listings exclusively or watch as they surface automatically when zooming into a specific area while searching Nearby Open Houses.
– Foreclosed listings are identified with an easy-to-see orange badge and can be found as part of a general search or as part of a foreclosure-only search query.
– Price Reduced property listings are identified with a green arrow. Users know instantly when and by how much a home’s list price was reduced based on MLS fresh updates. Users can also conduct price-reduced only searches from within the app.
As part of the update, Realtor.com also redesigned the iOS home screen so users are one touch away from discovering nearby homes for sale and rent, recently sold homes, and nearby open houses within 20 miles of their current location. The Realtor.com Area Highlighter and My Real Estate features also are more prominently featured on the new home page so users can more easily customize and organize their mobile search.
Find out more about the updated mobile search app on Realtor.com. (link underlined to http://www.realtor.com/mobile)
Source: Florida Realtors®
According to Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, the official Realtor.com iOS real estate search app is compatible with all 4.0 or higher iOS mobile devices.
“The new Realtor.com mobile app is definitely a step forward for the consumer,” said Miami Realtor Ines Hegedus-Garcia of Majestic Properties. “The updated application is more robust and more intuitive. There is nothing like seeing real improvement on technology that was already doing it right.”
Key features and benefits of the updated Realtor.com iOS mobile app include:
– Recently Sold listings are properties that sold within the last six months and include the final sale price reported by the MLS along with the final sale date. Sold prices display on Realtor.com within 24 hours of a final sale. Users can search for sold listings exclusively or watch as they surface automatically when zooming into a specific area while searching Nearby Open Houses.
– Foreclosed listings are identified with an easy-to-see orange badge and can be found as part of a general search or as part of a foreclosure-only search query.
– Price Reduced property listings are identified with a green arrow. Users know instantly when and by how much a home’s list price was reduced based on MLS fresh updates. Users can also conduct price-reduced only searches from within the app.
As part of the update, Realtor.com also redesigned the iOS home screen so users are one touch away from discovering nearby homes for sale and rent, recently sold homes, and nearby open houses within 20 miles of their current location. The Realtor.com Area Highlighter and My Real Estate features also are more prominently featured on the new home page so users can more easily customize and organize their mobile search.
Find out more about the updated mobile search app on Realtor.com. (link underlined to http://www.realtor.com/mobile)
Source: Florida Realtors®
Mobile Tools Become More Important in Home Searches
Smartphones and tablets are being increasingly important tools that home buyers are relying on in their home search, according to a new survey from The Real Estate Book and RealEstateBook.com.
The survey shows that 68 percent of mobile users contacted a real estate professional to schedule a showing based on their mobile search. What’s more, 98 percent of those who reported using mobile devices considered the tools valuable in their home search, and 46 percent said they were “essential.”
What are they using their mobile devices for in their home search? The study found that:
Source: The Real Estate Book
The survey shows that 68 percent of mobile users contacted a real estate professional to schedule a showing based on their mobile search. What’s more, 98 percent of those who reported using mobile devices considered the tools valuable in their home search, and 46 percent said they were “essential.”
What are they using their mobile devices for in their home search? The study found that:
- 78 percent viewed photos and videos of homes.
- 66 percent requested additional information about a listing.
- 60 percent used the devices to find listing details, price, property descriptions and amenities, and contact information.
- 57 percent used their mobile device to locate a house listing via a GPS.
- 55 percent searched for homes by city.
- 42 percent downloaded a home buying search app.
- 30 percent shared listing information with friends and family.
Source: The Real Estate Book
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
How real estate virtual assistants help overwhelmed Realtors
Technology creates new opportunities for property professionals to reach more buyers and sellers, but it also can create more work as agents strive to maintain an active online presence.
Some real estate agents who want to avoid taking time away from their core responsibility – seeing to the needs of existing clients – find great value in virtual assistants (VAs). Assembling a team of real estate VAs allows an agent to grow a business and generate more leads while still devoting the bulk of his or her time and energy to helping customers.
A virtual assistant is usually an expert in one facet of a business and hired to perform a single task. VAs may handle marketing, design and administrative projects for an agent – including putting together virtual tours as well as print marketing materials, inputting data into the MLS, writing ad copy, posting to the agent’s social media pages, designing and improving the practitioner’s website, managing leads, working on listing presentations, and more.
There are several tasks, however, that should not be delegated to VAs, chief among them cold calling. This prospecting approach is not a comfort area for everyone, but no stand-in will be able to sell an agent’s services better than the agent can; and agents will never be able to recapture that moment to make a first impression themselves.
Equally important, most real estate VAs are not licensed to practice and, therefore, cannot legally answer certain questions that might be posed to them during a cold call.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Some real estate agents who want to avoid taking time away from their core responsibility – seeing to the needs of existing clients – find great value in virtual assistants (VAs). Assembling a team of real estate VAs allows an agent to grow a business and generate more leads while still devoting the bulk of his or her time and energy to helping customers.
A virtual assistant is usually an expert in one facet of a business and hired to perform a single task. VAs may handle marketing, design and administrative projects for an agent – including putting together virtual tours as well as print marketing materials, inputting data into the MLS, writing ad copy, posting to the agent’s social media pages, designing and improving the practitioner’s website, managing leads, working on listing presentations, and more.
There are several tasks, however, that should not be delegated to VAs, chief among them cold calling. This prospecting approach is not a comfort area for everyone, but no stand-in will be able to sell an agent’s services better than the agent can; and agents will never be able to recapture that moment to make a first impression themselves.
Equally important, most real estate VAs are not licensed to practice and, therefore, cannot legally answer certain questions that might be posed to them during a cold call.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Florida MLS Makes REO Field Mandatory
A Florida multiple listing service is making a new REO MLS data field mandatory, requiring real estate professionals who are listing a bank-owned property to indicate it as such.
The Regional Multiple Listing Service, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and covering multiple counties, launched its new REO, searchable MLS field on Tuesday.
While other MLSs have created similar fields to indicate bank-owned or short sales on listings, MLSs don’t often make it mandatory, and some agents opt to not fill it out.
"We make every attempt to stay competitive with the demands in the marketplace and easier for agents to find relative information," Eric Sain, president of the RMLS, told Inman News. "This is one of those implementations. The neighboring MLSs around us already had a required 'foreclosure-style' field."
More sites are adopting REO fields to make it easier for home buyers to locate such properties, which often sell at steep discounts.
Realtor.com recently launched a feature that allows visitors to search MLS-listed homes in foreclosure.
Source: “Florida MLS Requires Agents to Disclose REO Status,” Inman News (March 7, 2012) [Log-in required]
The Regional Multiple Listing Service, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and covering multiple counties, launched its new REO, searchable MLS field on Tuesday.
While other MLSs have created similar fields to indicate bank-owned or short sales on listings, MLSs don’t often make it mandatory, and some agents opt to not fill it out.
"We make every attempt to stay competitive with the demands in the marketplace and easier for agents to find relative information," Eric Sain, president of the RMLS, told Inman News. "This is one of those implementations. The neighboring MLSs around us already had a required 'foreclosure-style' field."
More sites are adopting REO fields to make it easier for home buyers to locate such properties, which often sell at steep discounts.
Realtor.com recently launched a feature that allows visitors to search MLS-listed homes in foreclosure.
Source: “Florida MLS Requires Agents to Disclose REO Status,” Inman News (March 7, 2012) [Log-in required]
Apple Unveils New iPad
The tablet market continues to heat up with Apple unveiling its next generation iPad on Wednesday.
"The PC is no longer the center of your digital world but rather just a device," said Apple CEO Time Cook, in announcing the new iPad (not called iPad 3, as first rumored).
Indeed, the tablet has caught on in real estate, too. In the 2011 Center for REALTOR® Technology survey, when respondents were asked about the most valuable tool they started using in the last year, they cited the tablet most often. Respondents said the tablet, including devices like the iPad and Galaxy, help them stay connected, save time, and increase productivity.
At a launch event on Wednesday, Apple announced that its newest version of the iPad will have a high resolution screen — four times as many pixels as the iPad 2 and a higher resolution than most standard TVs. It will also feature a high-resolution camera on the back. The new iPad will boast a faster processing chip and will be available in a super-fast 4G wireless version. It’ll be thicker than the iPad 2 to accommodate a larger battery due to the upgrades in the screen resolution.
The new iPad will be available starting March 16 for $499 for the Wi-Fi only version and $629 for the 4G version of the device, which will be sold by Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
Meanwhile, Apple said it will be dropping its price of the iPad 2 to $399, in competing with lower-priced tablets like Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire.
Source: “Apple Tries to Keep Edge,” The Wall Street Journal (March 7, 2012) and “Apple Unveils New iPad with Sharper Screen, Faster Processor--But no New Name,” The Washington Post (March 6, 2012)
"The PC is no longer the center of your digital world but rather just a device," said Apple CEO Time Cook, in announcing the new iPad (not called iPad 3, as first rumored).
Indeed, the tablet has caught on in real estate, too. In the 2011 Center for REALTOR® Technology survey, when respondents were asked about the most valuable tool they started using in the last year, they cited the tablet most often. Respondents said the tablet, including devices like the iPad and Galaxy, help them stay connected, save time, and increase productivity.
At a launch event on Wednesday, Apple announced that its newest version of the iPad will have a high resolution screen — four times as many pixels as the iPad 2 and a higher resolution than most standard TVs. It will also feature a high-resolution camera on the back. The new iPad will boast a faster processing chip and will be available in a super-fast 4G wireless version. It’ll be thicker than the iPad 2 to accommodate a larger battery due to the upgrades in the screen resolution.
The new iPad will be available starting March 16 for $499 for the Wi-Fi only version and $629 for the 4G version of the device, which will be sold by Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
Meanwhile, Apple said it will be dropping its price of the iPad 2 to $399, in competing with lower-priced tablets like Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire.
Source: “Apple Tries to Keep Edge,” The Wall Street Journal (March 7, 2012) and “Apple Unveils New iPad with Sharper Screen, Faster Processor--But no New Name,” The Washington Post (March 6, 2012)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tech upgrades: The tablet or the laptop?
Mobile devices have had a good run lately. First there was news that more wireless devices are being used in the United States than there are people to use them. Then we learned that accessing the Internet by mobile device doubled in 2011. Now we have the prediction that tablet sales will approach 500 million per year by 2015.
This, of course, is bad news for traditional PCs – desktop and laptop computers alike – that also officially will fall behind tablets in sales by 2015, according to projections from Business Insider Intelligence, an Internet industry research firm.
Alex Cocotas, a BI Intelligence research analyst, went so far as to declare that “the post-PC era has arrived.” That’s clear at home, where reading a book, checking your email and finding recipes has become a far more fluid activity on a tablet than a PC. But how that impacts business travelers – for whom laptops are only slightly less essential than oxygen – is to be seen.
Apple said last year that more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies are testing or using iPads and iPhones. But don’t expect laptops to disappear any time soon, especially among business travelers, Cocotas said. The following discussion was edited from a longer conversation.
Q: Does the “post-PC era” mean the end of the laptop for business travelers?
A: The main knock on the tablet has been that it is a leisure device, and for business travelers, how useful it is depends on your needs. If you’re trying to run programs running a lot of data, a laptop is still the perfect device. Tablets are great but not suited to that kind of work.
Q: Is the issue simply hard-drive size and the fact that tablets are rarely (if ever) larger than 64 gigabytes? Can they catch up?
A: Tablets don’t have as much memory as laptops, but also the number of shortcuts and functional features make using and searching large data sets quicker on laptops. It’s tough to say if that will ever come to tablets, but I imagine storage and battery life are two things they’re working on.
Q: So where will tablets make inroads over laptops among business travelers?
A: We’ll see a lot more customized tablets with customized apps, like product or inventory information unique to particular companies. You can really use tablets in any number of ways. That’s one of the exciting things about them.
Q: How big is the role of smartphones for business travelers in the “post-PC era?”
A: Huge. People are increasingly using smartphones over computers. Every business traveler has a smartphone, which most people really use as a mobile email device more than anything. It has become a cliché to see a business traveler walking through the airport, looking at their phones. You certainly see that much more than them looking at laptops in the airport lounge.
Source: the Chicago Tribune. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
This, of course, is bad news for traditional PCs – desktop and laptop computers alike – that also officially will fall behind tablets in sales by 2015, according to projections from Business Insider Intelligence, an Internet industry research firm.
Alex Cocotas, a BI Intelligence research analyst, went so far as to declare that “the post-PC era has arrived.” That’s clear at home, where reading a book, checking your email and finding recipes has become a far more fluid activity on a tablet than a PC. But how that impacts business travelers – for whom laptops are only slightly less essential than oxygen – is to be seen.
Apple said last year that more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies are testing or using iPads and iPhones. But don’t expect laptops to disappear any time soon, especially among business travelers, Cocotas said. The following discussion was edited from a longer conversation.
Q: Does the “post-PC era” mean the end of the laptop for business travelers?
A: The main knock on the tablet has been that it is a leisure device, and for business travelers, how useful it is depends on your needs. If you’re trying to run programs running a lot of data, a laptop is still the perfect device. Tablets are great but not suited to that kind of work.
Q: Is the issue simply hard-drive size and the fact that tablets are rarely (if ever) larger than 64 gigabytes? Can they catch up?
A: Tablets don’t have as much memory as laptops, but also the number of shortcuts and functional features make using and searching large data sets quicker on laptops. It’s tough to say if that will ever come to tablets, but I imagine storage and battery life are two things they’re working on.
Q: So where will tablets make inroads over laptops among business travelers?
A: We’ll see a lot more customized tablets with customized apps, like product or inventory information unique to particular companies. You can really use tablets in any number of ways. That’s one of the exciting things about them.
Q: How big is the role of smartphones for business travelers in the “post-PC era?”
A: Huge. People are increasingly using smartphones over computers. Every business traveler has a smartphone, which most people really use as a mobile email device more than anything. It has become a cliché to see a business traveler walking through the airport, looking at their phones. You certainly see that much more than them looking at laptops in the airport lounge.
Source: the Chicago Tribune. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Check Your Blog Etiquette
Real estate professionals maintain blogs to connect with customers and spread exposure for their business, but are you following proper blog etiquette?
According to a recent article at Realty Times, here is some blog etiquette to abide by:
According to a recent article at Realty Times, here is some blog etiquette to abide by:
- Follow copyright rules. If you want to repost another writer's articles, make sure you follow proper copyright guidelines in noting your source, and seek permission first.
- Stay up-to-date. Update your blog frequently, either by posting new content yourself or having an assistant help you. Don't let weeks go by without posting anything. A blog should be frequently updated, or you should reconsider having one, if you can't handle the time commitment.
- Be professional. Watch your spelling, use proper grammar, avoid harsh language, and never write your posts all in CAPS. Also, avoid using your business blog to vent non-real estate opinions, particularly on politics and religion, which could alienate some of your client base.
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