{"id":20600,"date":"2012-08-03T13:39:32","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T17:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ewm.com\/internalblog\/?p=20600"},"modified":"2012-08-03T13:39:32","modified_gmt":"2012-08-03T17:39:32","slug":"2012-mobile-apps-what-others-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/?p=20600","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Apps: What Others Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo Many Options\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

As national vice president of technology and innovation for EXIT Realty, it\u2019s Jeff Lobb\u2019s job to stay on top of the latest tools, including apps. \u201cThe most overwhelming part for most [real estate professionals] is they don\u2019t have the time to look at them all,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He suggests concentrating on app categories that bring the functionality of working at a desk into the field. Favorites include Evernote<\/a> for gathering and organizing all kinds of information; Log Me In Ignition<\/a> for connecting to his primary PC from his smartphone or tablet; and the Pixeet 360 lens\/app bundle<\/a> for creating immersive tours with an iPad.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways try the free, lite version of an app first,\u201d he offers as general advice. \u201cYou want to see if it\u2019s engaging and has features you will use. Then you can decide if it\u2019s something worth paying for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEssential Productivity\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThink about all you do at your desk, and how you can replicate that in the field,\u201d advises Angela Harkins, broker-owner of Angela Harkins & Associates Real Estate in Westford, Mass. \u201cWhat must you have with you, and which apps will allow you to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s shared her iPad knowledge and enthusiasm for an array of apps with real estate professionals in several classes. \u201cMany apps you might not think of as real estate programs are really essential for mobile productivity,\u201d she says. Examples of what she\u2019s using include DropBox<\/a>, Sign My Pad<\/a>, Keynote<\/a>, and PDF Expert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing you can do to find the most useful apps is talk to other real estate professionals about what they are using, and what works,\u201d Harkins suggests. \u201cWith technology, people are always happy to share what they\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorth The Wait\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to apps, Steven Wayne, CRS, managing broker with Windermere NorthWest\/Seattle, follows the same strategy that serves him well with computers and digital cameras. \u201cI don\u2019t have to be the first one with the latest thing,\u201d Wayne explains. \u201cI\u2019ll wait at least six months after an app has been released before I\u2019ll load anything new. By then I know they\u2019ve fixed any problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those apps are loaded on the Droid X he\u2019s been carrying since upgrading from a Treo last year. \u201cI was looking the easiest way to migrate the data from my Palm to a new smartphone and Android seemed to have the best answers,\u201d he says. He now relies on a combination of apps, including B-Folders<\/a> for retrieving and backing up critical data and Business Calendar<\/a> for managing his busy schedule. Recently, Wayne added the Avast<\/a> security app. \u201cThese phones can be hacked, and I want to do whatever I can to protect against that,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo Many Options\u201d As national vice president of technology and innovation for EXIT Realty, it\u2019s Jeff Lobb\u2019s job to stay on top of the latest tools, including apps. \u201cThe most overwhelming part for most [real estate professionals] is they don\u2019t have the time to look at them all,\u201d he says. He suggests concentrating on app […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[9,59,61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}