Gene Brake and I were talking yesterday before filming the latest episode of Brake Time, and the topic of mobile devices came up.  In my 10 years in I.T. it’s been very interesting to watch the shift in the way that we get our information.  When I first started, desktops and dialup connections to the Internet were the norm.  Five years ago, I started to get questions about mobile devices – we were all getting the Palm Treo at that point – but those were maybe 1 question a month from the 20 of 25 of us who had Treos.

Nearly two years ago when I started at HomeServices, those questions picked up to maybe 1 a week, still not very many considering the amount of devices that our agents have.  In the past twelve months, however, that number has jumped dramatically to the point where it’s over 50% of the questions I get.  I’m sure you see it to – your consumer has shifted from a computer to something that they can carry in their pocket.  While it might still be limited, they’ve discovered that it’s the best way for them to get information.  Technology is shifting again, and we all need to remember to shift with it.

If you aren’t already aware, we have two great mobile websites: HOME and Woods mobile.  We jumped ahead of the curve to get these sites in place because we know the consumer of the future will demand it.  Your agent site is even available in mobile format, just visit it from your mobile phone and you’ll see what I mean.  The MLS too has seen the writing on the wall, and they have a great mobile site that’s available for you here.

Don’t stop there, though, embrace mobile messaging and mobile technology.  Why?  Your consumer already is, and is getting used to instant response.  Learn how to text, and let your consumer know you can.  Learn how to lookup property info from your mobile device.  Most of all, however, get a great mobile device that can make your life easier.  I get the question every day about what device to get, and honestly, we’re in a great time.  There are a LOT of GREAT devices out there.  Here’s my list of the devices, in order, I reccomend and why:

1.Blackberry Tour (Sprint/Verizon) or Bold (AT&T): Blackberries are, by far, the best device available for mobile messaging.  They are fast, intuitive, and have great keyboards – as a bonus they work with your MLS keyboxes.  We fully support them now, so you’ll get emails to your Blackberry just as fast, or sometimes faster, than you would on your desktop.  The above devices are the latest generation Blackberry and are simply fantastic.

2.Apple iPhone: The iPhone is an amazing device, it’s as close to a mobile “computer” as you can get right now.  With.. a couple caveats.  First, it won’t open lockboxes.. yet.  GE supposedly is working on this problem, and will likely have a fix out soon.  Second, it’s a touchscreen-only device.  The touchscreen is the best on the planet, really – I’m not kidding when I say I’ve tried them all, and this thing knocks them all out of the park.. but it’s still a touchscreen.  It’s still hard to get used to typing on it, and you will always type faster on a physical keyboard.  Finally, you’re limited to AT&T.  I’ve had AT&T for about 5 years now, and while their coverage has improved drastically over the past several years, they still are lacking in areas where Verizon customers will be chatting away.  If the iPhone were available on Verizon, and if it could open lockboxes – it would be my #1 choice.

3.Palm Pre: Forget everything you know about Palms, the Pre is in a whole new category – and a great category at that.  It suffers from also not having keybox access, but it does everything else very, very well.  I almost put it above the iPhone because Sprint’s coverage still trumps AT&T, but the iPhone beats it with a better/larger screen and just works better – in my opinion.  Some Pre owners prefer it to the iPhone, so it’s all about personal preference.  The only downside of the Pre – and the iPhone 3GS for that matter – is battery life.. or lack thereof.  They simply don’t last very long when you are a heavy phone user, the Blackberry still reigns supreme in that category.

Those are the ones out there that I recommend, but I’d really keep an eye out in the next 12-18 months.  Google has a phone operating system called Android, and it’s just starting to reach the stage where it’s really, really good.  Phone manufacturers are finally starting to embrace it, as well as carriers – Sprint should have their first Android-based phone in the next several months, the HTC Hero, and it’s a really good device with a LOT of promise for the future.

As always, if you have any questions on devices, or plans – give me or the IT staff a call.  We’ll be happy to help you pick out the right device on the right provider for your needs!  Once you have it, embrace it and the shift that technology will take – remember, the one who has the information the fastest is the one who wins the race.  Don’t let someone else beat you to your next client!

Quick Tip Of The Day: I know many of you are like me – on the go constantly, and if my phone isn’t glued to my ear, it’s in my hand being used for email or looking something up on the Internet.  I’m sure many of you are also like me in that the phone may or may not have had a chance to be fully charged before I left, so often I’m left trying to get enough of a charge on the car charger to “get me through” while I screen calls, or forward one phone to the other that may or may not have more battery left.  Well, when I saw these new Duracell chargers on Gizmodo I was pretty stoked, so I had to spend $20 to try one out.  They are.. excellent!  As the review said, the little charger got me about 50% on my iPhone, and a hair under 50% on my work phone – both will get me 3-4 hours of talk time.  For $20, that’s pretty darn impressive.  Check around at Radio Shack, Office Depot, Target or Wal-Mart and you should be able to find it.  Throw your USB cable in your car, and a charged one of these – there you go!

While I got some “looks” talking on my phone with the cable dangling to the Duracell in my pocket, I didn’t mind – at least I could make calls!