Tag: mobile

    What is the Best Smartphone for Business?

    If you’re an avid businessman or woman and you need a new smartphone, or if you’re tasked with selecting a ‘company phone’ for your staff, then you might find yourself having something of an impossible task trying to choose which device will best suit your needs. These days there are hundreds of phone models on the market at any one time and all of them have impressive features that might make them seem like good candidates.
    Which phone then, if any, has the edge over the competition for a business setting?

    The Operating System
    While there are numerous different operating systems you can get for smartphones including Linux  the only two you really need to consider are iOS and Android. There was a time when many people were interested in Blackberry phones for business but unfortunately there just isn’t the app support necessary on this platform and the hardware leaves a lot to be desired.
    iOS and Android run the most impressive range of business applications and they are found on the most top-end hardware. So which one has the edge? Well, if you are a design business using Macs and you don’t need any proprietary software then you could probably choose either  with iOS having slightly smoother function all round. For many businesses though, the greater amount of flexibility that Android offers means that it will have the edge. Android lets you drag and drop files over USB for instance and it lets you create your own applications more easily.

    The Specs
    In terms of specs, you don’t need quite the same workhorse that you do for your main PC. That said, you do want something that will be capable of some basic multitasking and that will be able to run the best apps.

    Here the most important consideration might be the RAM. 2GB is the highest for most phones (with only very few going up to 3GB) so this should cater to most of your needs.
    What’s most important though is the screen size. If you’re going to work well on a mobile device you need to make sure that you can see a lot of the screen so that you can fit lots on all at once. The iPhone 6 Plus is famous for its large screen, while the Galaxy Note 4 and Nexus have a smaller screen.

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    Top Uses of a Smartphone for a Business User

    If you are a business user and you have a smartphone, then there are lots of different things you can use your device for that will help you to get more work done, to improve your workflow and to generally enhance your productivity. Read on and we’ll look at some of the very best of them.

    Taking Notes
    Whether you’re on the move or you’re sitting at your computer, sometimes it’s useful to be able to take notes wherever you are. A great way to do this is with a smartphone, especially one with an app like Evernote that will keep your notes on the cloud for you to access online later. Alternatively, you can take voice notes, or even use the camera to capture things that are happening around you when you don’t have time to input information in any other way.

    Working on the Move
    Stuck on the train? Then you can actually get quite a lot of work done on your phone as long as you know how to find the right apps. An example of a great app for working on the move is Office365 for instance which is essentially the whole of Microsoft Office in a mobile format. If you run a website meanwhile, then the WordPress app is one of the most useful things you’ll be likely to find!

    Streaming Your PC
    Need to do something else on the move and can’t do it on your phone? Then consider using an app like ‘Splashtop Remote’. This lets you stream your desktop so that you can operate it remotely. The framerate is a little laggy but if you need to send yourself a file from the office or something then this is still incredibly helpful.

    Extending Your Screen
    Another interesting thing you can do with an Android or smartphone is to extend your screen so that you can do more at once. Either you can load up webpages and look at them next to your monitor for easier multitasking, or you can use apps that let you literally turn your phone into another computer display.

    Organization
    Perhaps the best way to utilize your smartphone in a business setting though is as a way to organize your information. Organizing contacts of course is very helpful but just as useful is having Google Calendar in your pocket so that you can get notifications wherever you are in the world!

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    The Best Accessories for Your Business Phone

    If you’re looking to get more out of your phone in a business setting, then sometimes what you need is the right accessory. Unlike a PC, it’s unfortunately not possible to upgrade the internal specifications of your mobile device but with the right extras you can nevertheless get a lot more from your device and practically upgrade its ability that way.

    Here we will look at some of the top accessories to consider for your smartphone that will turn it into a powerhouse of a productivity station.

    Keyboard
    A Bluetooth keyboard will give you an input method that is just as quick and accurate as that on your computer. This way, when you’re caught without your PC you can load up something like Office365 and start writing wherever you are.
    To get even more from a Bluetooth keyboard, consider getting a foldable one. As long as it’s sturdy enough when you type on it, this will let you fold your keys and store them in your pocket when you’re on the move!

    Mouse
    For Androids only you can also use mouse input. It’s a little janky as it works the same way that touch input does (meaning you have to drag pages to transition on your home screen). Nevertheless, it’s much easier when you’re navigating the web for instance and inputting data with your keyboard.

    Micro USBUSB Connector
    This is another one for Android only, but with a Micro USB to USB connector you can plug any USB device into your Android as though it were a PC. Of course not everything will work but there are many things that will – such as memory pens for instance.

    SD Card
    This will only work on some specific Androids but if you have expandable memory then this is a must!

    Case and Stand
    If you will be working with a keyboard and mouse then you should get a case that doubles as a stand so that you can more easily see it while you type.

    Hands Free
    For improving your productivity and workflow you should never underestimate the power of a hands free kit. This way you can multitask and catch up with correspondence while on the move or working with your hands meaning that you don’t waste time on hold or in lengthy conversations.

    Stylus
    If you have a Note 4 then you’ll have a ‘real’ stylus. Otherwise you’ll have to make do with a touch capacitive stylus. Though these are limited in their capability, they’re still better than nothing!

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    Should You Use iOS or Android for Your Business Phone?

    If you’re looking for a phone to use for business, or you’re looking for lots of phones that you can give out to your staff as ‘work phones’ then you need to make sure that you first do the necessary research to identify which models and brands are the best suited to your specific needs. With that in mind, you might well find yourself torn between getting Android devices or iOS devices.

    Here we will look at the pros and cons of each and which you should ultimately choose.

    iOS
    iOS is the platform used by Apple and iPad and does have many significant advantages. For starters, iOS has the widest selection of apps and services, many of which you may find are useful for use in a business setting. While Android these days has most of the same apps, there are still one or two that you will only find on iOS.
    iOS is also incredibly stable. It can never get viruses or bugs and it very rarely crashes. While Android viruses are rare (and not the same as desktop viruses) they nevertheless can occasionally occur and it’s important to bear this in mind if you want something that will absolutely never let you down. Android is also slightly more prone to crashing.
    Finally iOS has the advantage of being considered somewhat ‘hip’. If you want to give out devices that your staff will appreciate and that will make your business look modern to visitors, then an iPad or iPhone might be a good choice.

    Android
    On the other hand, Android has the advantage of being considerably more flexible and potentially more powerful.
    An example of this is how Android allows you to simply drag and drop files onto your device instead of having to use iTunes or various cloud platforms. This can save you a lot of time and is much easier – especially if you require advanced file management options.
    Android also has better synchronization between applications. What this means is that you can benefit from being able to download a file in your Gmail account and open it immediately in another app for instance – whereas iOS makes this process a lot more fiddly.
    Finally, Android simply exists across a broader range of devices and this means that it’s much easier to find the right device for your business and especially when you come to upgrade.
    There is no right answer but consider these factors when making a choice and you should be well positioned to make the best call! No pun intended.

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    How Useful is a Stylus for a Business Phone?

    If you use your smartphone for business and you’re looking to upgrade, then you should take some time to consider your options so that you can ensure you get the most productivity and power out of your new device. With that in mind you might be looking at things like screen size, RAM, processing power and more in order to ascertain which gadget will give you the most bang for your buck.
    But there are other factors to consider here too  such as the various different features that specific devices offer as differentiators over their competition. Take the Note series of phones and tablets for instance and their styluses are these a useful accessory or are they just a gimmick?

    The Different Types of Stylus
    First of all, it’s important to understand the difference between the stylus on the Note 4 and a capacitive stylus. A capacitive stylus is basically a piece of foam that can mimic the effect of a finger, thus allowing you to interact with your phone as you would with your hand, but using an item shaped like a pen. Unfortunately though, it is no more accurate than using a finger and has no other features.
    With the Note 4 however, you get a digitizer pen. This means that the screen has a thin mesh underneath it that allows you to use the Note 4 pen in a far more accurate and varied way. For instance with the Note 4 you write precisely and it will look like your handwriting and you can also benefit from other features such as the ability to use a hover pointer (useful for dropdown menus) and to select text from websites more easily.

    The Benefits of a Digitizer
    So is it worth getting such a stylus for your smartphone if you intend to use it for business purposes? Well, if you’re interested in writing on the screen and taking hand written notes, then the answer is definitely yes as they likely won’t be highly legible with a capacitive stylus. Other than that, they may be useful for artists but the features like being able to select text are only a nice bonus and not worth a large extra expense.

    Ultimately then you need to ask yourself: do you use Evernote or other note taking software often? Will it be helpful to take down notes and draw diagrams with the pen? If so, you should consider a Note 4 or another device with a real stylus.

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    Can Your Smartphone Replace Your Desktop Computer for Work?

    Many of us consider our desktop computers primarily as work devices. These are the machines we use when we’re writing documents, updating spreadsheets, creating slideshows and presentations and pretty much whenever we have any kind of work to do.
    But desktop computers are not portable and they are prone to going wrong occasionally. As such, it’s very possible to imagine you might end up stuck without your computer and having to make do with your smartphone  which is always on and always on your person.
    Could you make do?
    Let’s find out.

    Software
    The main challenges would be finding compatible software. If you only tend to use Microsoft Office for your work, then the good news is that both iOS and Android have fully functional office suits from Microsoft in the form of Office365. You’ll need an Office subscription and some features are lacking but overall it will be sufficient for most people looking for a way to write their documents on the move.
    If you don’t have an office subscription then you can alternatively use free alternatives like Kingsoft Office or Documents to Go.
    Unfortunately, some businesses will require their own specialist software and this is where things can get a little bit more difficult for those who need to work on the move. Unless you can find a way to stream your computer to your smartphone (which will be fiddly) you’ll probably be stumped.

    Input
    The other challenge with working on a smartphone would be the input. Fortunately this is a matter that is considerably easier to solve. If you’re someone who owns an Android, then setting up a compatible Bluetooth mouse and keyboard is actually very easy. If you then prop your phone up with a stand you can have a set-up that is reminiscent of a very tiny computer and this can be used to work anywhere. You can even get foldable keyboards allowing you to keep the whole set-up in your pockets. With an iPhone on the other hand, you won’t be able to get mouse support but with a capacitive stylus you can achieve much the same thing.

    And if you aren’t on the move, then you can even rig a smartphone up to a television or a monitor in order to get a big screen experience. While it’s not quite perfect yet then, most smartphones can be used to emulate the features of a full-blown PC.

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    Are You Missing Out on Mobile Revenue?

    As mobile continues to outshine PCs in the content delivery market, it’s important to be aware that if you’re not ready for mobile, you’re missing out on the potential revenue that mobile can bring. Being ready for mobile can mean many different things but the first thing is to build responsive online real estate. The next thing is to determine how to monetize mobile for your niche.

    1. Understand What Mobile Means – Any “on the go” devices constitutes mobile. It’s important to realize the difference between “optimized for” or “accessible to” mobile. You don’t need to be optimized for mobile to be available and usable on mobile devices. You just need to be accessible for mobile. Think of mobile as simply a new tool to view your content and offerings, not a whole new environment.

    2. Make Your Content Mobile Ready – If you use a responsive design, you’ll be able to easily be viewable and usable on mobile devices. Ensure that any additional plugins, apps, and shops you add are also usable on mobile devices. If they’re not, find a different one because you’ll literally miss out on over half of your audience.

    3. Release Your Own App – To earn money via mobile, one great way is to release your own mobile app that you charge for, offer a subscription to, use as a way to promote affiliate products, or for your audience to make in-app purchases to earn revenue. You don’t even need to know how to code. You can use PLR (private label) apps and rebrand them as your own.

    4. Offer Mobile Checkout – If a shopping cart doesn’t allow for mobile purchasing, most shoppers will not go back to your site. In fact, they’ll likely complain about it all over social media too. To avoid this problem, ensure that people have the same experience on mobile that they have on their PC.

    5. Increase Social Media Activity – The truth is, most mobile users spend an enormous amount of time using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. If you want to encourage mobile use of your blog, promote a lot more on social media. When mobile users see your promotions and click through to your mobile-friendly options, they’ll be pleased.

    6. Create Highly Digestible Content – Shorter content that is optimized for mobile will encourage more mobile users to consume your content and answer your calls to action. Content for mobile needs to be a little shorter, more concise, and targeted. This type of content will also work well for PC users, so including a variety of content that works for both is easy.

    7. Use Images Wisely and Creatively – Today, images are very important to bring attention to content. People enjoy reading an infographic with lots of data more than they enjoy reading a boring blog post with the same data. The infographic brings that type of content new life while imparting important information to your audience. Mobile devices have lower resolutions than PCs for these images, though. Keep that in mind as you create the content so that your images are still viewable on mobile. Plus, don’t overload your site with irrelevant images. Choose which ones you use very carefully.

    8. Avoid Using Flash – While Flash has been an important component in many types of content on PCs, the problem is that Flash is not compatible with mobile devices. So, if you have been using Flash on your websites and blogs, you’ll need to use HTML5 instead to ensure compatibility with mobile.

    Mobile is a highly important and rapidly changing. The more popular it becomes, the more important it will be to learn all you can, optimize your websites for mobile, and realize that new tools will be invented in the future for people to access your information. Will you be ready?

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    Best Fixes for the Google Mobile-Friendly Changes

    Google makes changes and adjustments to the algorithm that ranks websites all the time. Many website owners grumble that the changes are designed to either make money for the designers or to drive the owners insane.

    While both may feel true, Google makes the changes to create the best experience for the users. The goal for Google is to provide the most relevant search results that provide the best quality content for the one doing the searching.

    The newest changes, that began launching on April 21st, are the attempt of Google to provide the same quality results but specific for mobile device users. Mobile devices became the leading way that people search the internet at the beginning of 2014 (a full two years before most experts predicted that shift would occur). The numbers are sure to continue to rise as mobile devices get smaller, more powerful, and easier to use.

    Google sent out mass scale notifications to alert webmasters if a site was not considered mobile-friendly. You can also use the Google mobile-friendly test from the tools to see if your site makes the cut. If it fails, then you have several things that you can do to fix your site and bring it up to the Google mobile-friendly standards.

    Top Fixes for Google Mobile Standard Fail

    – Upgrade your theme. The skin of your website (the theme) dictates a great deal of what goes on within your website. This includes the mobile-friendly quality of your website. Check to see that your theme is the current release. A simple update of your theme could correct any mobile-friendly issues.

    – Change your theme. Some themes will never make the cut. The designers have stopped upgrading and moved on to other projects or created a similar theme that will meet more up and coming needs of the changing internet world (including the Google mobile-friendly tests). Be certain that your current website is backed up before you begin making any changes to your theme. Also remember that a name of a theme does not mean it is mobile-friendly according to Google standards. You should review the theme before making the move and you still need to run the new website through the Google mobile-friendly test.

    – Add a plugin. You may not be in a financial position to make a big change. You may not want to go through the hassle of a big change at the moment. No matter what your reason, there are plugins and software specifically designed to fix the mobile-friendly issues of a website. Again, be sure you back up your website before installing new plug-ins or other software that can affect the function of your website.

    Google makes changes to make things better, even if it may not feel like it at the time. These recent adjustments to make websites more mobile-friendly have come in the wake of a shift to more mobile device usage. Making the changes necessary to pass the Google mobile-friendly test will be good for your website and your visitors in the end.

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    Common Mobile Marketing Mistakes

    Even though mobile sales are outstripping PC sales, and over half of social media users are using mobile – and probably one third to half of your audience is using mobile to read your email messages, so many marketers are making serious mobile marketing mistakes. Thankfully, you can avoid these issues if you think ahead. Here are ten common mistakes to avoid:

    1. Creating Complicated Opt-in Processes – You can always get more information from customers later, but creating an easy and streamlined opt-in process is super important with mobile. When a customer is using a finger instead of a keyboard to click boxes and type in information, they will become frustrated if the procedure is too complicated. Make it easy; remember that less is more.

    2. Not Ensuring Links Work for Mobile – When you send any email link, it’s imperative that you assume it will be read on a mobile device and that the link works no matter which device your audience member is using. Can the user click through easily and then does the website work well using any device? Can the user get around the navigation?

    3. Not Being Targeted in Your Actions – Know why you’re sending any message or putting any content up for anyone to consume, and know to whom you’re sending it. You can use your email and website metrics to determine which devices your audience uses so that you can ensure that any user using any device can access the info and understands why they should.

    4. Not Understanding Laws, Rules and Regulations – Like with most things to do with marketing, there are laws, rules and regulations. Ensure that you become familiar with these laws so that you don’t break any of them. Opt-in regulations and privacy concerns are important to most people, and they should be to you too.

    5. Using Too Much Text for the Space – Remember the size of most mobile devices is about 3.3 inches of space. If that small space is overrun with text and your user has to stretch and scroll around to read the content, they’re going to get frustrated and give up. There are ways to optimize your content within the code to ensure that it automatically adjusts based on the device your audience is using.

    6. Not Creating Ongoing Value for Customers – As important as access is creating value. When you create an app, for example, if you don’t want to lose that customer eventually it’s important to remind the user about the app by offering updates, extensions and more to anyone who has downloaded it. The value of a long-term customer cannot be underestimated.

    7. Not Knowing Your Purpose before Sending a Message – Any message must have a point for being. Is it to get more opt-ins? Is it to get more sales? What is the purpose of the message and how can you be sure that your audience understands the purpose quickly?

    8. Building an App without a Planning for Marketing – Apps are a great way to involve yourself in the mobile marketing landscape; however, creating an app is like creating a whole other business. You not only need to create the app, but you also need a marketing plan for the app if you want to be successful.

    9. Not Having Clear Calls to Action – Once you know the purpose of a message, it’s imperative that you craft clear calls to action. Sometimes you may need to test different CTAs to find out which works best for your audience.

    10. Treating Mobile as a Separate Entity – While mobile is a huge consideration and should be for anyone who wants to market online today, it’s also important to remember that mobile devices are simply tools with which to access your content. Much like different browsers, different devices have different code requirements. Thankfully, though, by using HTML5 and responsive coding, you can make your websites work for all devices seamlessly.

    Avoiding these common mobile marketing mistakes will help you become a winner in the online marketing game, which is increasingly becoming more mobile. Don’t avoid the statistics when bringing your marketing campaigns into the present. Otherwise you’re going to be leaving money on the table.

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    Habits of Highly Successful Mobile Marketers

    Successful mobile marketers share many characteristics with other successful marketers – such as the ability to stay ahead of their market, understanding their audience, knowing their niche inside and out, and then knowing how to impart their message onto the world in a unique way that resonates with their audience.

    1. They Listen to Their Audience – No marketer worth their salt will ignore their audience. Everything they do is about the audience, from product creation, to services they choose to provide, to promotions they push out to their audience. It’s all about them, so they find ways to listen from watching via social media, to surveys, to being involved with the community.

    2. They Know How to Be Authentic – Successful people in general seem to draw others to them in a way that seems almost supernatural. But, the truth is, they just know how to appear authentic. You can appear authentic too by actually being authentically you. If you’re not sure who that is yet, devote some time to self-discovery.

    3. They Use Personalization – All marketing works better when it’s more personal. What’s more is that it doesn’t matter that people know that a lot of personalization is now automated. Consumers still respond better to personalization. So, the more personal you can be with your audience, the more successful you will be.

    4. They Ensure Each Message Is Relevant – Don’t just send out messages to get a message sent out. This is a mistake that content-centric marketing often causes. You do want a lot of content on a regular basis, but you also want content that has a point with a relevant message.

    5. They Are Always Unique – This isn’t to say you can’t use PLR or get ideas from others, but you must put your own unique and personalized touch on every bit of content that you put out to the world along with your products and services.

    6. They Update Content Consistently – Sending out content on a consistent and expected basis is one of the keys to maintaining audience appeal. If that content is also relevant, speaks to the audience, and has a point, you’ll be even more compelling and successful.

    7. They Make It Simple for Their Audience – Mobile devices are harder to use than a PC since mostly people are using fingers on a small keypad or more commonly a touchpad. Asking your audience to enter too much information will only cause them to stall in their purchases and consumption of your content.

    8. They Pay Attention to Trends – Successful mobile marketers keep one ear to the ground at all times in order to pay specific attention to niche trends in regard to mobile marketing. They read industry news, learn all they can about mobile marketing and how it affects their niche and their audience.

    9. They Are Mobile Obsessed – Instead of making mobile an afterthought, successful mobile markets are focused first on mobile and then everything else. After all, good design is good design. If it works well on mobile it will work well via PCs too.

    If you want to be a highly successful mobile marketer, it’s imperative to incorporate these nine habits into your life as a mobile marketer. In fact, most of these habits can be important for any type of marketing.

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