Posts Tagged ‘blackberry’

Cool Apps: Total reQall

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For the most part, most of the tech stuff that I look at and test falls under the heading, “Mildly Interesting.” Every so often, though, I stumble across something that absolutely blows me away.

I had that experience a couple of weeks ago.

I have been blown away…by reQall.

Before I get into the ins and outs of what it does, though, let’s chat. Now, I’m sure that there are those of you out there who are hyper-organized, who never have any trouble remembering anything. All of your ducks are in their respective rows and every tiny detail is in its place. Well, most of us are not like that. Most of us have great ideas, but we have them when there are no Post-Its on which to jot them down. We make appointments, but can’t remember them. We know that there was … something … that we were supposed to do, but we can’t quite remember what it was because we haven’t had a quad shot gargantulatte (no whipped cream on that, thanks) with a side of Red Bull.

For those of us who are dealing with that grim reality? reQall is at our beck and/or call.

With applications for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Outlook, GoogleApps, email, Evernote, SMS, IM, and even an extension for Firefox, reQall is there, wherever and whenever we need it.

What it is is a high-toned, get-your-backside-in-gear memory aid that’s an organizer, a reminder system, and a productivity assistant, all rolled into one. Have an earth-shattering idea while on the road? Call reQall from your mobile phone and your recording is transcribed into text. Suddenly remember an appointment that you forgot? Record it with reQall and it’ll appear in your Outlook or Google calendars.

reQall is smart. If you say, “Meet with Jack Bauer every Tuesday night at 8,” reQall knows that it’s a meeting, and that it’s every Tuesday night at 8. It’ll also record it accordingly in your calendars. If you say, “Remember to buy milk” it’ll record that in your shopping list.

Here’s where it gets scary smart, though: reQall will remind you of things at the precise moment you need to remember them. Let’s say, for example, that you want to buy flowers for your wife on your anniversary. Create a reminder in reQall and when you’re near the flower shop, it’ll remind you to stop. Right then. I know. Crazy, right? But in the best way.

There are a ton of things that you can do with reQall, each of them cooler than the thing that came before it. Sign up for an account today and see just how organized you can become. You’ll have total reQall.


Cool Apps: Goin’ Mobile!

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QR codeEverywhere you turn, everyone’s going mobile. Smartphones are everywhere, and not just in the hands of “business” people. Soccer moms, NASCAR dads, and yes, even kids, have them, and more users join the fray each and every day.

Now that the technology is really going mainstream, finding new ways to capitalize on it and monetize it is what everyone is clamoring for.

Raise your hand if you know what a QR code is. Anyone?

Outside of the world of tech-geekery, few people do, but I’ll bet you’ve seen one. See that little square up in the left-hand corner? Well, that’s it. But what is it? What does it do?

The answer is, “Quite a lot!”

Most smartphones — BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre, Droid … you name it — have applications available that read those handy-dandy little codes (they read regular barcodes, too, but that’s not germane to this conversation). The neat thing is that you can use those apps (as well as countless web-based apps) to create QR codes. Even neater? You can make them to hold almost any information you’d like.

Code them with a link to your website. Or a website for your listing. Create a coupon that they could use for a discount on a particular service. Include a special message just for people who’ve got a QR code reader.

Think of the possibilities.

Once you’ve generated a QR code, you can place it on just about anything. Include it in property flyers. Put it on your business cards. Embed it in your website. You can even put them on t-shirts, mugs, or just about anything else you’d like.

All your potential customer has to do is point his phone’s camera at the QR code, snap its picture, and his code reader will send his “secret” message. Pretty cool, right?

This is still emerging technology, but being an early-adopter is cool! Take a look at QR codes. How could you use them to help your business? We’d love to hear your ideas!


Cool Apps: Stay Connected With LogMeIn

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logmeinWhen you’re working from home, you have access to all of your passwords, your networks…everything is AOK. Hunky dory, even. But sometimes, we’re away from home or the office, for any one of a multitude of reasons, and suddenly, things aren’t so straightforward.

When you’re away from your own computer, you might be faced with some serious firewall challenges or other security issues. Let’s face it: remote access is tricky.

There is an answer.

Let’s talk about LogMeIn. LogMeIn is a 100% free site that provides solutions for remote control, file sharing, systems management, data backup, business collaboration and on-demand customer support of PCs, servers, MACs, smartphones (iPhones, BlackBerrys, Pres, etc.)

With LogMeIn, you can access your personal computer and all of its resources over the web. You can access your desktop from your iPhone, no matter where you are. You can create virtual, peer-to-peer networks. You can control your PC or MAC remotely from any web browser. You can back up your files and important data, so that you are always in control, and so you won’t lose anything, even if something happens to your computer.

Cool, right?

Even cooler is the price. LogMeIn is completely, totally and, in all other ways, free. The only time you have to pay them is when you want to sync files across machines or do remote printing. When compared to other services like this, many of which charge $20 for each computer you use (this can really start to add up after a while), LogMeIn does it for free.

LogMeIn isn’t flashy. It isn’t exciting. What it is, however, is dead useful and practical. It’s a great service to have in your arsenal for those times when the unexpected rears its ugly head. For those times when you’ve left your laptop behind and you suddenly need access to your computer.

Check it out today. You never know when you might need it.