Lee Hogan No, I didn’t receive any crucial customer emails or text messages. I wasn’t working on a last-minute estimate for that purchaser who wants us to upgrade their PC system next week. There had been no emergency carrier calls.
I performed BrickBreaker on my Blackberry for three stable hours. It got me via the teacher’s limitless speeches, the multiple awards designed no longer to allow anybody to experience not noted, and the excruciatingly unfunny “gag” items students gave to their teammates. I’ll by no means have that Sunday night time back. But I did make it to degree 25 and a non-public all-time-excessive point in general. So, the night wasn’t a complete loss.
That night time, BrickBreaker became my killer Blackberry app. But most of the time, I use Research In Motion (RIMM) Blackberry for work. It’s been an outstanding tool allowing me to run my small enterprise. There are different first-rate Blackberry apps apart from BrickBreaker that I assume most small commercial enterprise proprietors ought to use. And like a number of the meaningless awards given out at the ceremonial dinner (“Best Attitude?” Really?), there are some useless apps for the Blackberry that small commercial enterprise owners need to, as an excessive college sports feast, keep away from if viable.
For instance, I don’t discover mini-workplace apps, including the eOffice Mobile Suite or Documents To Go, that are productive in any respect. It’s no longer that they do not work as advertised. They do. However, I’ve been unsuccessful in thumbing through a Word document or Excel evaluation on a two-inch display screen. In reality, this column’s editor asked if I recognized ane who truly uses and likes those packages. I can say no. (Go beforehand: Prove me wrong in the feedback under.) I’ve downloaded those applications and used them maybe once or twice during the last couple of years rather than giving up. Those medical doctors can wait until I’m on a normal-sized machine.
However, I like Google’s (GOOG) cell apps for my Blackberry. Gmail works awesome. I particularly like Google Latitude. With this provider, I can sing my employees through GPS to see who’s wasting time and who is genuinely on the client they’re billing me for. (It works excellently for finding out where your kids are on Saturday night, too.) I rely on Google Maps to offer me riding instructions. I can also sync contacts and calendars from Google to my smartphone. All of those apps from Google are wonderful. However, the satisfaction is still its looking competencies.
While we are on the topic of looking, why might an enterprise proprietor download silly packagessuch ase Caffeine Finder or Fast Food Finder? Are we so desperate forf caffeine that we must have separate software on our cellphones to find a cup of espresso? Is there no longer a Starbucks (SBUX) or McDonald’s (MCD)within 10 feet of anywhere we are?
Want any other vain Blackberry app for a commercial enterprise owner? How about those that let you do invoices and accept payments on your device, such as EZ Bill Maker Bl,ackCharge, or eBay’s (EBAY) Paypal? Again, I have no difficulty with the software, which fits great. I’m now not going to have my guys do invoices, not to mention gather bills, on their Blackberrys. They’ll locate some manner to screw it up. And the final issue I want is for my clients’ credit card numbers to float around on our devices. The invoicing can wait until the paper received is returned to the off-ice so that it may be finished by folwhoho, realize what they’re doing.
Besides, if we all wait for years, the process of paying, invoicing, and giving receipts to clients will be less complicated. A few cool technologies are simply hitting the marketplace now to make this happen. I like the men at Blingnation. They are accomplices with banks so that their clients can put a little RFID sticky label on the lower back of their device, after which they just faucet it on a Blingnation reader at the nearby deli or gas station. Payment is made. Invoicing is accomplished. A receipt is e-mailed. This is the future of our cell devices.
Communication gear for small corporations has also y vicineiberryberry; tom is no longer speaking about Facebook and Twitter apps that all of us download and never use, except to keep up on that guy I hardly ever knew from high faculty who insists on telling me his brand new Mafia Wars sports. I’m talking video. Fuze Meeting is an exquisite app allowing users to video configure on their phones. It can be a big deal for some companies, especially those supplying clinical services, surveying production sites, or demonstrating a chunk of gadgets.
Some other advice for small commercial enterprise Blackberry users: Don’t use the browser that comes widespread in your Blackberry. Download Opera or Bolt. You’ll get a lot greater productivity from your surfing. Oh, I almost forgot. Instead of punching out the drywall the following time you hear that a consumer has stiffed you, download Pandora or Slacker and funky yourself down with some free song.