Technology For Agents

It’s official!  The iphone 3G has had a substantial price reduction.  From $399 down to $199 (8gb version), I think they just made a fantastic move in the mobile market.

This is news straight from WWDC 2008, where Steve Jobs and his staff were giving a keynote about the latest and greatest regarding the iPhone.  This was a long-predicated rumor, and now it’s been made official from the man himself.

iPhone 3G is slated for a release on July 11th, so if you’re thinking about getting one be sure to be prepared!  What’s new?

• Integrated GPS
• Push Email (always-on; like using exchange)
• 3G of course!  36% faster than N95 and Treo 750
• Longer Battery Life
• Sleek and Simplified Design (It’s gorgeous!)

Source

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Though a fundamental asset to your real estate business, answering your cell phone can sometimes be a hazard to both your health and business. Ever caught yourself swerving on the road to pick up that phone call on the highway? I’ve done it; I’ll be honest. What’s a better way to respond to phone calls?

To Answer Or Not To Answer

Your cell phone should only contain calls that are from unknown numbers through lead generation efforts. This is so that you can answer these calls quickly and convert them to an appointment no matter where you are. The hidden prerequisite to your business greeting, however, should actually be a thought to yourself. A question that will ensure that your mindset is correct before attempting an “at-bat”.

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Yesterday, I wrote about how the Apple iPhone is to be released on June 29th, and today I stumble upon an article by Forbes that goes into detail on why you should wait on an iPhone purchase. The writer, Dan Frommer, hits on some key points that I missed out on, which are quotes and trimmed below.

• The iPhone’s battery is one example of a feature that could flop.
• The iPhone’s stripped-down data features could also provide incentive to wait for a better offer. (continues) But for whatever reason, Apple decided not to allow the iPhone to work on AT&T’s fastest, “third-generation” (or 3G) wireless network, opting instead for its slower “EDGE” network.
• One reason may be the iPhone’s built-in wi-fi capability, meaning it can connect to local hot spots and avoid AT&T’s data network altogether.
• Rabid e-mailers or texters may also be skeptical about the iPhone’s keyboard-free design.
• We already know that it will cost $500 to $600, depending on storage capacity. But AT&T’s contract requirements could easily quadruple that price.

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You may have heard a buzz surrounding Apple’s (the maker of the “Mac” or Macintosh) new phone to be released this month; the Apple iPhone.

This phone features fantastic features such as touch screen technology, can also be used a widescreen iPod, and comes with a internet browser named, “Safari” aimed to provide the owner with a simplistic web browsing experience.

According to this post at Gizmodo, the iPhone is to be released in two versions. There will be a $499 4GB (storage) version, and a $599 8GB version. Not cheap you say? I agree. These phones are going to be a breakthrough in cell phone technology to the US market, but is the US market willing to accept the price point of this phone at this time?
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I’ll admit it, I was a little flamboyant in regards to Verizon Wireless’s GPS capabilities on the phones. However, after experimenting with the phone for a month now, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is just too much time wasted fiddling with the gadget.

One of the primary objectives of incorporating technology into our daily lives is to make common tasks more efficient, not complex. When I continually used the GPS it seemed to take such a long time to initially setup; you have to browse to the appropriate section in the phone, punch in the address, and wait for the route to load using the downloaded software. It also lacked one function that I realized was much more important than originally planned.

When using services such as Mapquest, or Google Maps, you are given a route with a very important piece of information: The expected duration of your trip.

When planning tours with clients I discovered that it was vital for me to have this bit of information BEFORE getting into my car.  While I planned the trip, and scheduled with local showing services, it was very important for me to realize the time between trips to be able to accurately gauge the showing time slot.

It’s not impossible to do this one the cell phone GPS, but in order for it to calculate time you must actually be moving so that it can get an average speed. The online tools simply use some other form of method (which is suprisingly accurate) to determine the required time to get to your desination.

So for now, I’ve done away with my GPS system, let alone it would cost me $9.99 a month to upkeep.   I’ve reverted back to the simple flip phone to answer incoming calls, and have put the need for GPS on the backburner.

Once this need is realized again in the future, I will revisit it once again. At current time, however, it seems that GPS on a cell phone overcomplicates a simple task.

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