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iChat Yes, Leopard Maybe, iPhone No
For those who haven’t taken the time to read up on the latest Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Steve Jobs has made some announcements, primarily concerning the upcoming Apple operating system known as “Leopard”. He also spoke about some game updates and the iPhone, but this was mostly for developers, so Leopard took center stage.
Others have shared their ideas about Mac’s for Realtors and iPhone’s for Realtors/Realtor-Models, please allow your resident tech expert to share his insight in light of the latest news from Steve Jobs and Apple.
iPhone – No
First, some people think that battery life will be one of the most significant issues. I’m going to reach out on a limb and assume this person is using a CDMA (Verizon or Sprint) phone. Having been in management for Cingular, I can easily say with accuracy that GSM (Cingular, T-Mobile and the rest of the world) are far more efficient with their battery life. I have personally used a 3G phone (which the iPhone is not) to watch streaming video, along with my usual task management and phone calls and the phone easily lasted for 3-4 days. If battery life is a concern of yours, either switch to a GSM provider or get a car charger.
Another popular rumor of the iPhone is that you can get one unlocked (or will be able to soon). For those of you who don’t know what unlocking is, you will NEVER be able to use this iPhone with Sprint or Verizon. The only technologically possible choices are AT&T/Cingular and T-Mobile. The problem is, however, that the iPhone will apparently be setup similar to Sidekicks and BlackBerry’s. This means that you may be able to use this as a phone with another provider, but any of the other connectivity options will be limited. So if you despise AT&T/Cingular, tough luck on this one.
Finally on the iPhone, I think it is absurd that several of the links above suggest that this will be a great device to show off how cool you are. With all of the attacks on real estate commissions, do you want to be the person who shows up with the latest/greatest/hottest $600 phone that doesn’t do most of the things a Realtor wants to do? If I were a seller, I would see this as a slap in the face. Stick with a business phone or a good phone, but not a fashion phone. If you really want a great business device, I would (and do) use a BlackBerry. The newest models have cameras, MP3 players and GPS, if you’re looking for an all-in-one device. Plus it is proven and has great universally capable email functions.
Leopard – Maybe
It has been discuss already whether a Mac is a good idea for a Realtor. Having grown up with computers, having a dad who sold the Apple Lisa then worked for Intel, a sister who worked for Apple’s ad agency and uses a Mac and having a Mac Mini and a PC, I personally believe that a Mac isn’t a better option for Realtors. The general public can honestly go either way, but the up-front costs associated with a Mac for a Realtor are unreasonably high. Many forget that they really need Parallels with a full copy of Windows and Office for Windows to be fully compatible with the people they are working with. For those who think they need one for “security”, use the firewall and antivirus software on my Tools page on a Windows computer and you’ll be fine.
In my daily life, I help many Realtors with their various technology problems and almost all of them use Publisher (for better or worse). Office for Mac does not include Publisher, but they have Pages which is their version of it. The downside is Pages isn’t compatible with Publisher or many of the online print companies.
Leopard does have some nice features, most notably Time Machine. It is a built in, auto-backup program that is incredibly easy to use (or so it looks). It provides a visual interface that allows you to preview the actual contents of files while traveling back through time. It’s something you can live without and if you use Mozy to backup your computer, the most functional aspect of Leopard is negated.
iChat – Yes
Apple has made their iTunes music player and now their Safari web browser compatible with both Mac and Windows computers, if only they would do the same with iChat. Similar to their iPhoto, iDVD and iTunes software, it is incredibly easy to use (it appears) yet incredibly powerful. It allows for easy creation of special effects including different backgrounds and transition effects. For those of you who are looking into getting into more of an electronic agent lifestyle, this could be a great tool. It could allow for “face-to-face” communications, possible creation of video podcasts that look as though you’re in the office even if you’re on vacation and overall create a nice “WOW” factor for your customers. The downside that I am seeing is that you and the person you’d like to communicate with need to be on Mac’s running Leopard with iChat.
Apple users are still a minority and despite some excellent features they provide, in the business world compatibility is the name of the game and it’s still not quite perfect. I hope to eat my words very soon though, because I do like my Mac.
Related posts:
- iPhone Owners are Delusional
- Safari for Windows, RMLSWeb.com and Firefox
- Why Realtor.com "officially" supporting the iPhone doesn't matter as much as it sounds
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