New iPhone: Positives and Negatives

In September of 2007, during a networking meeting with the group ProMetroNet, a good friend of mine walked in with her newest toy - the first generation iPhone. After refraining from salivation, I composed myself and made it a mission to quickly purchase what was in my opinion one of the game-changing tech toys of the millennium, thus far.

I was right. Not only was the device fun and easy to use, I found it to have extraordinary benefits for Rockland Web Design. First, it was an instant attention-getter. I remember one Chamber of Commerce meeting where I admitted to a colleague that I forgot to bring my business cards, and then whipped out my phone to take down his contact info. He, and several others crowded around me and...salivated. Second, it has functionalities such as IMAP e-mail that make it very easy to run a Web Design business from anywhere. Third, the web apps that can be downloaded onto the phone, such as blogging tools, invoicing programs, and of course the Yankees scorecard make it more than a phone...rather it is a mini computer.

This Monday, the media was abuzz with the announcement of Apple's newest popularity tool: The 3G version of the iPhone. Critics and fans quickly lined up to comment on the benefits and detriments of the updated all-in-one device. Here is a quick scorecard of the new iPhone's positives and negatives:

Positives:

• 3G - Simply put, you can go online faster, download e-mail faster, and access data...faster.
• GPS - An upgrade from Google Maps, now you can track yourself moving from Arkansas to Kansas, or the kitchen to the living room.
• Microsoft Exchange Support - Enterprise level service for corporate employees that are considering making the switch from Blackberry to cool.
• Display of more types of attachments, such as PowerPoint presentations. Imagine running a seminar from your phone.
• Lower price points: $199 for 8 gigs (black only), and $299 for 16 gigs (white / black).

Negatives:

• The plastic back - Probably the worst change, the burnished silver back of the phone is being changed to a hard plastic shell. I think it cheapens the look of the phone, and makes it more susceptible to scratches.
• No video conferencing...yet - Rockland Web Design has been waiting for a video conferencing tool, which was rumored to be coming on this edition of iPhone. We'll have to wait a bit longer.
• No video recording...yet - Another big disadvantage of the iPhone, but one day it will be corrected.

Overall, I am pleased with the new offering, but will likely wait until early August to make the jump, just in case there are any glitches that need to be fixed. That being said, I expect to be very satisfied with the new 3G iPhone.

If you have comments about the new iPhone, please write them on this page.

PDFs with Video! And Much, Much More!

I just read a story that almost made me cry tears of joy. I hope you will feel the same.

Adobe has just announced it will soon offer users the ability to add video to pdf files!

According to the story, just released at 12:31 pm Monday, Adobe will be updating its Acrobat software with Flash functionality, greater collaboration tools, and a new web-based word-processing suite that stands above both Google and Microsoft online docs.

You can read the full story by clicking here.

I would imagine some of you out there in web-world are thinking to yourselves, "So what?", or "How does this affect me and my company?" Let me explain some advantages, from the beginning to end of your business process:

1. Potential clients will be increasingly impressed with your sales, recruitment, or educational presentations. They will be much, much more interesting and interactive.
2. Your existing customer base can offer more feedback based upon the documents you send them, so that you may refine your business model to reach the next level.
3. Your team will be able to share ideas with each other much easier, using online web meetings, comments and document sharing.
4. After a project is completed, clients can respond to your company with both regular text based, and video-based testimonials.

I can't say I'm surprised that this development has occurred, but I can certainly attest to my happiness at this moment in time. The business community has been in dire need for better tools to get their message out effectively and efficiently, and I believe this is a great step in the right direction by a highly reputable company.

Tom Ossa
Rockland Web Design
(845) 271 - 4488