Office365 here we come…

 

Today marks our switch to Office 365 as a company.  So far so good – some points to notice:

1. If you aggregate “multiple accounts” using POP or IMAP into Office 365, polling only happens once per hour.  This means a delay in “old email” if you don’t switch over the mail domain pointer.
2. Adding a “global address book” is a klunky process (you need to use PowerShell).  Not as easy as an “export/import” function.
3. Functionality on my iPad is actually quite good.  I can pretty much do all of the Web Outlook functions, which is very nice.

We’ll keep you posted…  If you have any specific questions, ask away…

JUST Released! The new Motorola Xoom! It is supposed to be in competition with the Apple I Pad. It has the Android 3.0 honeycomb Operating System. Some features include a HDMI port, USB port, 32 GB Hard drive, 1GB RAM, and front and rear facing camera.

It is available with 3G and upgradeable to 4G, or you can just stick with WiFi.

The questions is, will it be able to stand against the I Pad 2?

There is an awesome new app for the IPad. It is called iDisplay and with this tool you can use you IPad as a second monitor. It is only $4.99 for the app. You can use it with windows or a mac.

Apple is right on schedule. Version 2 of their product 1 year after the original.

Only speculation as to what upgrades are going to be there, but almost every site thinks there will be a front facing camera.

Ipad2 due in the next 100 days

OS 4.2 for the iPad is here. Airprint only works with 11 printers at the moment => http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airprint.html

Let hope that some drivers/firmware updates come out soon.

Printers are inexpensive but not going to run and buy a new printer just to print from my iPad.

Unfortunately, iOS 4.2 is still delayed for the iPad. I’m really looking forward to the “print” feature. It will take me one step closer to being laptop-free.

Now here’s hoping LogMeIn updates their iOS app quickly to allow for remote printing as well. I can then print documents from my desktop in the office directly from my iPad.

iPads are the holy grail for sales teams

I am pretty gung-ho on my iPad. I cannot be separated from it. It is such a useful tool to me, that I bought one for every single one of my employees.

I want them to really put it through its paces. My goals is to “run my business on my iPad”. For that, I feel our current system (TeamWork, which is based on Lotus Notes) needs a paradigm shift. It is my intent to create a new platform, taking all of the best items from TeamWork, and extending that functionality to the iPad.

I think if we are successful, we will have a great tool for sales teams. The iPad is a great presentation device. I can “get close” to my prospect. I can swipe through sales slides. I can show pictures and play sound. All without having to type on a keyboard. It is a natural sales tool when in front of the customer.

But its weakness is its “slide out keyboard”. Although I am fairly good at typing on it, it is not ideal – I would rather just quickly check some boxes to track my activity. Also, “popup pick lists” from Salesforce.com or other online CRM systems all open a brand new window in the Web Browser.

Instead, I plan on challenging my team to make TeamWork work “as expected” when running on the iPad, and bridging the two worlds of desktop application (with a large screen and keyboard), and iPad application (with a somewhat smaller screen and no keyboard).

If we can do that, then we can offer sales teams a tool that will really up their productivity – small, lightweight, extremely functional, great for impromptu presentations, and all-day battery life.  Or at the very minimum, I can use it!