Apple announces the iPhone 6 and 6Plus. Did you hear? If not, you live under a rock. The Samsung readers can skip this section. You’ll probably chuckle knowing the iPhone is almost to your feature level. Thinking about getting a new iPhone? Hop in line and grab a Snickers since 10 million went off the shelves in the first two weeks. I would recommend ordering online. Should you upgrade? Why not? My recommendation is always to try out the new device. Head over to the Apple Store and play around with the phones. You may find the 6Plus to be too big. You’re almost placing an iPad Mini to your ear to make calls. Some of the highlights: Larger than the current iPhones, 6 is 4.7” and the 6Plus is 5.5”; thinner, lighter with longer battery life (we’ll see about that one); and, faster focus for camera with clearer pictures.
For those not upgrading their phones, Apple released the newest operating system, iOS8, or as I call it, “iOS The Ocho.” This upgrade offers some benefits such as, Apple Wallet, which allows you to use the device for payment as you would with your Chase credit card; heart rate monitor and activity tracker; a smarter Spotlight index; a more educated keyboard guess ahead functionality; easier method of adding pictures and voice to text (remember when we used to use the phone to talk?); and, Mac users can operate between their device and computer.
An important note about upgrading, once you do so, there is no turning back to a previous version. Don’t worry. If you don’t like “The Ocho,” there will be another release next year. The upgrade can be performed using wifi. Like any Apple release, there is a gotcha. This is the gotcha, you’ll need 5Gb of free storage space on your device to upgrade. Click on Settings> General>Usage to display the available storage. The download file is 5Gb, however the file will take up — 1Gb after the full download is complete. It needs the storage availability to perform the download. An alternative is to download the file through iTunes and upgrade the device while connected to your computer. You will only need — 1Gb of available storage to upgrade in this manner. As always, back up your device, save your pictures and glance through your apps to check for data that may be lost with the upgrade. Never assume everything will be as it was before upgrading to “The Ocho.” On a lighter note, if you are in the market for a new phone, but do not wish to carve out the $199 for the 6, check out the iPhone 5c 8Gb (free) or iPhone 5s ($149).
What to do with those pesky old phones that start filling your storage after you upgrade? Look into trade-in programs with Best Buy, Target and Amazon. There are sites that offer cash for phones, such as Gazelle and Glyde. Donate them to cellphonesfor soldiers.com or ncadv.org. There are many places to receive a trade, cash or to donate your phones. Other ideas? Clear off your data and load child friendly apps for your kiddos to use. Baby monitor with Cloud Baby Monitor. Home monitor and video with Presence. Navigation tool with heads up display for your windshield using Hudway. Or keep it handy as a video recorder, personal organizer, a camera, send email or surf the web at Starbucks instead of using the battery of your actual phone or music storage. Remember, your old device is still usable even if you are no longer paying for cell phone use. They are wifi devices.
Cool Apps
Workboard… manage a team or part of a team that often has tasks, goal and action items? Check out this app that shares your goals, list the action items, action item owner and status. Real time visibility. Great tool! | Unsplash… a free high resolution photo site with permitted used from originating photographers. The site is not easy to search, however the photos are clean and clear for inserting into documents, websites and presentations. | Powtoon… a free cartoon creation site, which seems to be the latest marketing rage. Maybe an interesting spin v. Powerpoint or a complement to your presentation. | Piktochart… creative slide site. Can you tell I spent a number of hours creating presentations and researching content in September? | How about a fun one? Now the 20 somethings will need to Google the word, “typewriter,” for this next app called Hanx Writer. It was created by Tom Hanks, yes the actor. He apparently is a typewriter collector. This app turns your iPad keyboard into a typewriter, including the “ding” at the end of a line. Ding!
How are you, and or your business using mobile technology? Are you using this technology to entice new hires to join your company? Are you eliminating hardware and going cloud? Has it allowed you to hire employees from outside your area? I’d like to hear your story for a future column.
Do you have a favorite app you’d like to share? Contact Brian at brian@brianzabro ski.com, on Twitter @BrianZab or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/brianzab.
Brian, a Corporate Account Executive with NetSuite, has spent nearly twenty years in the telecommunications and software industry. Businesses use NetSuite software to run and manage all of their business applications. It’s web-based, so businesses can access their information from anywhere; It’s flexible, which allows the software to be customized for their business; and, it is built on a single platform, which businesses appreciate since they can often eliminate multiple software solutions. Trending companies, such as Box, GoPro, FitBit and Dropbox use this software to run their business. Reach out to Brian to learn how your business can benefit with this software.