We have all recently seen, and will continue to see throughout the rest of this year, new mobile phones and tablets being introduced. For example, the new Samsung Galaxy S®5 has some wonderful upgrades, including having a built-in heart monitor and being waterproof up to 20 feet. Not that I want you to go snorkeling with your phone, but if you’re enjoying some time outside at the pool with your phone in your pocket, it’s not a real good day if you decide to cool off without setting your phone on the chair or table before diving in. This Samsung model helps those of you who are forgetful, or who simply get caught in a heavy downpour that could otherwise ruin your phone. The Samsung S5 is my current choice and recommendation in the Android phone market. You can pair up your Samsung phone with a new-generation Samsung tablet for a unified platform that will be less expensive than those of its competitors.
The new Nokia Lumia Icon Windows phone is special in a number of ways. The screen is large, the speed is fast, and the integration with Windows 8 is noticeable and productive. If you’re using a phone for business purposes, this can be a real find. Five instructors on the K2 Enterprises team are currently carrying Windows phones, including this Nokia model. If you’re looking at a Windows phone, consider the Nokia Lumia Icon. If you choose a Windows tablet and have Windows 8.1 running on your computer, you can have integration from your phone to your tablet to your computer. This is part of the reason I’ve been running all of these Windows platforms for almost two years.
Some of you are dyed-in-the-wool iPhone and iPad users. You’ll soon have a new phone to consider with the iPhone 6. Most notable should be a larger screen and a more sophisticated camera to keep up with the two competitors discussed previously. A new-generation iPad is also expected later in the year. I don’t see any significant breakthrough coming in these product lines. The quarterly results of Apple, with a 16% decline in iPad sales, illustrates that many users who wanted tablets have already made their purchases.
As you might expect, when Google made the Glass available to the general public in April, I was pleased to get a pair for regular use. I had used the product for short periods of time after release, but didn’t pay for a developmental pair because (1) I had no intent of developing solutions, (2) I expected notable changes in the product, and (3) I needed corrective lenses. I can see the practicality of these products in the future. I like the wearable technology of the Pebble watch that I spoke about last year. However, I believe the technology of Glass and most wearable technology is too new and experimental for most of you to benefit.
What Are You Trying to Accomplish?
With all technologies, you need to ask how a product will provide a solution for you or your clients. In a similar way, social media is beginning to be questioned for business purposes. In the past month, I’ve had a number of clients decide to stop using social media because they concluded they weren’t getting an appropriate return on investment (ROI), and their strategies weren’t working appropriately. They had taken the trouble to measure their results and simply concluded that other methods were more productive.
A number of publishers are beginning to recognize that while social media may have driven short-term recognition and an uplift in sales, that effect seems to have disappeared. I’m not saying stop using social media. I’m also not saying that social media is good or bad. I’m asking you to think about your use of social media and how it fulfills your business purposes. At NMGI, we’re finding there are a few vocal but uninformed social media users who are getting recognition (perhaps that’s their business goal), but when asked about the new business it’s bringing them, the numbers just aren’t there. If you use social media, set measureable goals and adjust your strategies to hit those goals.
Working Anywhere, Anytime, on Any Device
Some of your clients want to do this, and frankly, some don’t. The web and collaborative
The extra hours probably look good if you’re the business owner and bad if you’re the employee, particularly if you’re not paid overtime, which could be a wage and hour law violation for many. (There are a number of workers who are salaried who should be compensated for overtime.)
Just as important as the compensation is the effectiveness of a worker who works too many hours; study after study shows that effectiveness drops. Consider if walking away from your work would make you more effective. Perhaps answering email on a tablet while watching TV in the evening isn’t such a great use of time. Just relax – the emails will be there for you in the morning.
By the way, I’m not sure people want to approve bills, look at documents, or look at their accounting software while in a grocery store checkout line (one of my favorite advertising lines last year). I’m thinking that if people are looking at their accounting while in a grocery store line, they probably aren’t managing their time too well, and they probably aren’t making very effective decisions either. Hey, once in a while you may want to look up a fact and mobility is convenient, but if it’s important, won’t you remember to do it later?
Choose What’s Right for You and Your Clients
Most of you know me well enough that you know I believe that technology can make us more productive and profitable. However, you have to control the tools and avoid choosing the toys. You also have to have the vision and discipline to know when to use the tools and when to give yourself some space. You can be connected 24/7 and be a slave to the technology, or you can let the technology help you by giving you leverage, accessibility, and mobility when YOU want it.