Do you ever wish you could capture business card info and have it automatically import into your Windows Mobile or Pocket PC device? Now you can, with out using a scanner!

It’s a third party software called World Card Mobile. As long as you have a camera on your device you can capture the business card info and import it into your contacts. All you do is take a picture of the business card, click recognize and Oila!

The technology and OCR is really amazing. It does well with most business cards and have very few errors. You do need a camera on your device.

Requirements:
Windows Mobile 5.0
MS Active Sync 4.1 or higher

Pros:
You can enter business card info immediately and not having to worry about losing the card.
It’s fairly accurate.
It’s fairly reasonable at $24.95.

Cons:
You do need to stay fairly steady when taking the photo.
You can only do one card at a time
Doesn’t work well if you have a double sided business card

Overall though, I love the convenience and cost. I don’t have to lug my CardScan on the road even though it’s a fairly small device. Unless you are doing dozens at a time, this is a great app.
Wireless Warrior

Check out this great keyboard accessory!

�Best of all its now Bluetooth capable. It actually sprays out a laser keyboard. It reads the light breaks as you type. Its much easier to use than some of the older fold out keyboards and you don’t have to worry about comfort.

�Ease:� 9

Comfort: 9 Price: 4It’s a little pricy at around $179-$199

Drawbacks are few. Just need a flat surface. It is compatible with Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Palm OS and even a few Smart cell phones.

Wireless Warrior

After only a week of the iPhone being out, CompanionLink has already developed a sync software for it. This will allow you to sync your contacts and calendar with a slew of different CRM apps including:

·                           ACT! by Sage
·                           GoldMine
·                           Lotus Notes
·                           Google Apps
·                           Google Calendar
·                           Novell GroupWise
·                           Palm Desktop
·                           Time & Chaos
Requirements
iTunes 7.3 & Outlook 2003 or higher
Price
CompanionLink Express - $49.99
CompanionLink Pro - $99.99
If you want to wirelessly sync and be able to sync your notes as well, get the Pro version.
More to come later.
Wireless Warrior

I had a client ask me if you could have 2 phone numbers while using only one cell phone. Of course I answer “Yes.” Many people want a line for business and one for personal use.

While you were able to do this with most carriers in the past, they have all but phased out this option. Only Nextel remains who still allow this option, but only with a specific phone and many other challenges since their merger with Sprint. Many carriers had a tough time in both gaining customers with this and technical difficulties.

These days the only options are SIM based GSM carrier phones. The 2 options are using a dual SIM card or a dual SIM phone. (while yes, you can swap out SIMs, this is cumbersome and you cannot answer either line at the same time.)

The first is a dual SIM card adaptor or Twin SIM card. You can actually cut out the memory component and piece it in with the other SIM. It can be cumbersome & is not the easiest thing to do. You still can toggle back and forth between 2 lines without powering down the phoneJ

The option I am really looking forward to is the Dual SIM phone. You can actually place both SIMs in the phone and answer either line and go back and forth without powering down the phone.

My next article will be a review of some dual SIM phones.

Wireless Warrior

Folks often ask me what I use, particularly when it comes to Bluetooth headset. I have been using the  Jawbone as of late. I drive a lot and have a lot of cock pit noise. Previously, I had complaints while I am in my car. They ask “are you in a wind tunnel?”

Now with the Jawbone and its noise shield, all the background noise is eliminated! I can have music, or other noise in the background and the person I am talking to never even hears it.

It will not take direct wind though. If you are outside and its gusty, it will still sound like you are in a tornado. Still pretty amazing though.

Check out the demo video.

Not crazy about the comfort though. They do give you various ear loops and ear buds. I am just not an “ear plug” guy. Granted I hear a whole lot better. I just may have small ear canals.
Here is what I think from a scale of 1-1-(10 being the highest) Sound quality: 9.5
I hear well and the person on other end hears great! Outside wind holding it back from a 10

Comfort: 6
After a couple hours I have to take it out of my ear. With the Motorola HS700, I could wear it all day.

Battery life: 8
They say about 6 hours talk time and 120 standby. I get about 6 hours talk. Who really actually counts standby?

Design: 7
Design is OK. Its rather light weight. Some people say its neat looking and some say it looks to big. Women I found in particular do not like the design.

Durability: 5
I have broken several pieces off it. I can always snap it back, but it always feel looser than before.

What I would change:
I wish they would use a mini USB charging port. They have a 4 prong connection which I don’t like at all. It is often difficult to unplug. I would change the rubber earpiece to something softer or an external ear speaker.
Bottom line: I have to have it because I am in my car so much. If I didn’t have the Jawbone, no one would want to speak to me while in my car with all the road noise.
Wireless Warrior

Telenav is a great feature you can add to many Smartphone’s. It’s in color and it has voice guided driving directions and you can even view it in 3-D. I love the fact I don’t have to have a separate device anymore. And with my Blackberry Pearl 8800 the GPS receiver is built in!
                        
Requirements:

• A phone that will support it. Click here to find out which ones
• A Bluetooth GPS receiver. (some phones are now coming out with built in GPS receivers)
• Telenav feature

Pros:

• You can use it for both driver and pedestrian mode
• Consolidate devices
• Fairly accurate

Cons:

• GPS reception is tricky during rainy weather, and if the receiver is not near dash.
• Currently works with limited amount of phones

Things to consider:
Currently only a couple of carriers have this billed through their billing. Others you must actually purchase through Telenav on a monthly basis.

Oh no! I just dropped my phone! It’s smashed in a million pieces. It’s water damaged. It’s just plain broken. If any of these things ever happened to you, you know what a nightmare it is getting all the numbers from your phone. Not to mention time consuming.

For many, this is the only place you have kept your numbers. No PDAs, No Outlook, No paper, No NOTHING. Unfortunately, most people still just use a plain cell phone and do not sync their info and back up their numbers. 

If you are a GSM user, meaning you use either Cingular, Now the New at&t (gotta get use to saying that) or T-Mobile, you might be in luck. GSM phones (this is why I love GSM) use a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card.

This SIM card identify you the user, phone number and stores up to 250 phone numbers. Often times, the manufacturer design the phone software to save your phonebook entry to the SIM. Sometimes you have to specify. Many times even if you damage your phone your information, specifically, phone numbers which most people care most about, are still in tact. Although, if you drop it in water or even juice, soda, etc ( I have heard them all from my clients) you may have totally damaged your SIM and you our out of luck. If you are a CDMA user, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel and other U.S. carriers, you do not have a SIM and definitely are out of luck. Unless…you have backed up your phone. There are several ways to back up your phone.

For GSM users there is a USB SIM reader. It comes with software and you can actually type on a PC first and load it back on your phone. This is great if you are a gadget junky and like to switch phones often.   For others who are not on GSM, there are software’s like  Snapsync and Data Pilot. Their various products can back up your numbers, music, media, wallpapers, and just about anything you can put on your phone.

Data Pilot even has versions that work with Macs! It’s a little steep though if you are cost conscious. Their products run from $19.99-$79.99 depending what you are syncing and if you have the sync cable to your phone or not.

My favorite option is the software the phone manufacturer produces. The software is often free or at a low cost on the OEM website. NOKIA and Samsung gives theirs away. Motorola charges up a small fee depending on where you look.

All you have to due is get the cable for it which can range from $9.99 to $59.99. The later usually comes with the software on CD. The OEM is usually easy to use and has a lot of cool features like SMS texting from your PC using your phone contacts.

You can even sync to Outlook or other PIMs (Personal Information Management). Also, it can be used as modem software for your laptop if you have purchased that feature from your carrier. The only catch is if you decide to switch to another manufacturer’s device, then you will need to switch software and sync cable.
Now a days, many phones are Bluetooth and you can wirelessly connect to your PC or laptop if it is Bluetooth capable.
 
I recommend syncing it weekly or anytime you have added info on your phone. It is a huge time saver. Do it now and you will thank me one day.

Tired of lugging around your heavy laptop? Would your like to use your Blackberry or Windows Mobile to do your Powerpoint presentations? Now you can.
Many people would like to be able to carry just the smaller, lighter PDA device instead of their laptop. With the lower prices of LCD projectors, most companies have their own and allow the sales person or presenter to use theirs. Presentations are the one thing holding many back from having to carry their clunky laptop too.
 There is an accessory for Windows Mobile, Palm OS, or Blackberry devices to able to present Powerpoint off their mobile device.
The first is the Margi Presenter-to-Go. They have versions for Windows Mobile/Pocket PC, Palm OS. Depending on the model of your device you will need to choose either Compact Flash Type I/II expansion slot version or the SDIO. Go to the Margi link to check which version this device will support. If you can still find them online it is priced around $199.99. Unfortunately there are no longer supporting this and only a few sellers are left who have them. But if you like to stay wired, you still can find them out in cyberspace.
Margi has now created the Wireless Presenter which is integrated with some HP model projectors. These are small and light and best of all wireless. No need for cables. You can even use your Wireless WiFi or Bluetooth device to connect and do your presentation from up to 30 feet away for Bluetooth and 100 feet for WiFi.    
 For both Blackberry users and PDA users with Bluetooth, there is the Impatica Showmate(click here to get 10%off) It is a small, lightweight hardware accessory to project PowerPoint presentations wirelessly from a handheld device. You simply attach the ShowMate to the VGA port of any projector or monitor and your handheld delivers your PowerPoint presentation wirelessly using Bluetooth technology. You can now roam the stage and interact with the audience to deliver a more engaging presentation, without being tethered to a laptop. In fact, you can now travel without your laptop! It retails for $249.99. If you do a lot of presentations, it’s worth it! Wireless Warrior

Tired of spending a lot of time listening to long voice mails after voice mails? Trying to retrieve voice mail in a loud environment? Would like to know who called and why while in a meeting? Well fear no more. I have found a great service that will automatically converts the voicemail message to text, and sends it straight to your mobile phone or email inbox - or both! While the system doesn’t transcribe it perfectly it does a pretty good job. It spells things correctly most of the time but like in life tends to butcher non traditional names. It will display the phone number it came from and if you want you can click the audio later to listen to the voicemail if you need to. Services There are several services out there like Dictomail, Spinvox, Simulscribe and Phonewire. I lean towards Simulscribe because of their interface but you may browse a few of them and see which is best for you. 

I am horrified everyday I walk through a Starbucks or Panera’s and see a laptop unattended. Sure you will be back in just a minute. Just going to the bathroom. Going to refill that cup of coffee. That is when many laptops are stolen. 

Insurance companies estimate as high as 600,000 laptops are stolen every year.
Stolen laptops are a bigger cost burden to businesses than computer viruses. — National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, 2004

I could spew off a list of staggering statistics. Bottom line, secure your laptop. Besides the cost of replacing them, you have sensitive company, personal and client data on it. In the wrong hands it could be a nightmare professionally and legally.

  For under $35, a laptop cable lock will protect your investment with a cut-resistant, galvanized steel cable to attach your notebook computer to any secure object. Simply loop the lock around a desk or chair, then insert into your notebook’s lock slot and set the combination.
While no security measure beats supervision, this should prevent most possible theft attempts and avoid a lot of hassle that will ensue from a stolen laptop.