Quick Bytes
Editor’s Note: Technology is playing an increasing role in the day-to-day business of sales reps. In this department, First Impressions will profile the latest developments in software and gadgets that reps can use for work and play.
Keeping an eye on your finances
A Web-based system called Mint (www.mint.com) gives users up-to-date information on their personal finances anywhere they can access the Web. The system, which is free, is said to pull together information from the user’s bank, credit union and credit cards to provide an up-to-date look at the individual’s financial life. The system alerts the user when he exceeds his personal budget, has a low balance, or needs to pay a bill. Bank account information is updated daily, and the system categorizes all the user’s purchases, showing how much he or she is spending on gas, groceries, parking, etc. It also analyzes and graphs investment performance.
Share videos on the spot
The new Flip SlideHD camcorder is said to make it easier to share videos face-to-face with friends (and customers?) with a pop-out, three-inch-widescreen LCD for sharing videos. The internal storage on the new camcorder is 16 gigabytes, enabling it to capture four hours of video. A rechargeable lithium ion battery is said to give the user about two hours of shooting time.
Hello, I must be going
Ever been in a situation where you wanted to be saved by a phone call, so you could beat a hasty exit from whatever it is you were doing, with whomever it was? Apps are available to help you out, including Gotta Go ($2 for iPhone), Fake Conversation (free for iPhone) and Fake-A-Call ($1 for iPhone and Android phones, $3 for BlackBerry). There are others, including SMS Faker and Fake-Call Me, which are free Android apps; and Phoney Call ($5) for BlackBerry. An example, as described in a recent article in the New York Times, is Fake-A-Call. The app allows you to select a caller from your contact or type a new one, and choose a time for the phone to ring. If you have a tough time faking a conversation, it will play a scripted dialogue, and it can also dictate lines for you to parrot. Similar apps exist for phony text messages.
App for the fat of fingers
ThickButtons 0.6, an app available for free download on Android phones, is said to improve ease and accuracy on the touchscreen by shrinking the letters that are not likely to be used and enlarging the buttons that are. Its creators say ThickButtons is better than other predictive technologies in that it predicts which letters are unlikely to be used instead of trying to guess the full word that the user is typing. It shrinks the less-used letters out of the way, leaving room to enlarge the letters a user is likely to need. [FI]
|
|
|
