RISMEDIA, January 17, 2011—Last week I attended a phenomenal real estate conference during which the following question was posed to the mobile panelists: “What do you see happening over the next three years in mobile?” The witty panelist replied, “The next three years? We are waiting to see what happens in the next three to five minutes!” At the time, I enjoyed the remark, but it wasn’t until I started thinking about what I was going to write this week that it truly was put in perspective.
As I used my iPad to search the Internet, I came across a number of articles regarding this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The first big announcement of the week was that Verizon will begin offering Apple’s iPhone as of February and that changes were made to the antenna in order to avoid the problems the plagued AT&T customers. As I mentioned, I recently started using the iPad and since I am already a Verizon customer, had thoughts that a transition away from the BlackBerry and to the iPhone might be a good compliment to that. That was until I read some more news about CES.
What I went on to read proved that mobile is evolving so quickly that while you might think you have your mix of gadgets figured out, in as little as three to five minutes, you could be forced to re-think it for the opportunities offered by the newer and cooler.
When it comes to “phones” to completely generalize the category—since really the devices are pocket PCs—Motorola impressed everyone with their Atrix. This Android-powered, 4G device will run on AT&T and have a one gigahertz dual-core processor. What does that mean? It means that it is so powerful it will have its own laptop dock, which when plugged in converts the phone to a functioning net book computer with keyboard. Other docks allow you to use it to power a computer monitor and plug in your own keyboard to the device. From the sound of it, it’s literally a “Pocket PC.”
Motorola was again the big winner when it came to the vast array of tablet devices that were on display at CES. Their Xoom device was described as the “most iPad like,” which in this case was used to described its physical appearance, but also drew comparisons in user experience as well. The overwhelming pleasing ascetics of all apple products leaves competitors struggling to fight both fronts, but looks like Motorola is doing a good job with their new tag team of devices. The Xoom run’s the very tablet-friendly Android 3.0 OS which looked pretty smooth in the video demo posted online.
The biggest surprise was the RIM’s Blackberry tablet device, which was well received. More advanced than anything the company has put out in years, according to reports, it gives all of us die-hard Blackberry users a glimmer of hope. What is no surprise and no secret is that the technology and tools available are improving so rapidly we can use them to become more efficient. However, technology should work for you and not the other way around. It is important to choose the products and services that are right for you to become more efficient as a business person because you have invested in the right mix for you.
As you choose the gadgets that are right for you, remember that your consumers, home buyers, are doing the same. Make sure you are positioned correctly to handle the shift in communication as well as marketing, which now needs to be geared towered users on their plethora of mobile devices.
Seth Kaplan is president of Mobile Real Estate ID. For more information, please visit www.mobilerealestateid.com.
