If you think for a minute that smart phones and tablets don’t apply to your business;
I read an interesting article regarding smartphone operating systems this morning. After being badgered with constant reminders to update my iPhone, I acquiesced and ran the update about a week ago. I liked it so much that I also updated my iPad. Everything seemed fine for about a week before I started noticing issues like BlueTooth working intermittently, and my calendar not syncing. It was then that I realized the extent of the issues Apple is having with their new OS 7 release.
The most recent issue was trying connect my iPad to an Apple TV to wirelessly run Google Slides for a presentation I was giving at the annual NSM Insurance CHAMP meeting. Running a presentation from your smartphone or tablet is kind of cool in a business world of conventional laptops and MS PowerPoint. Besides striving for some presentation panache, my secondary goal is to travel without a bulky laptop, or at the very least narrow down the number of devices when I travel.
So far, the results have been about neutral, meaning no gain. Lower your stress levels, quit being cool, and bring the laptop. In this case the iPad wouldn’t connect to the Apple TV, something that I have done numerous times with the exact same two devices. The only difference was this time the iPad was updated with OS 7 but the Apple TV wasn’t and there wasn’t enough time to get it updated before the presentation. No worries, that’s why there’s a punt play in football. We used a laptop and the presentation went off without a hitch.
Which brings me to the article, “Why CIOs Should Make Their Peace With Google”. Thanks Michael Hickens. Hickens says “Google is the 800 pound gorilla” and I think he’s right. Hicken’s article was aptly prompted by the 12% increase in Google’s stock price today. The takeaway here is if you can’t beat em, find a way to partner with them. That article took me to another article that really punctuates the power of Google. Galen Gruman’s blog on InfoWorld Trouble’s brewing in Android land talked about the alternatives to Apple and they aren’t as attractive as I thought. Google’s long-term plan is to merge Android and Chrome into one operating system with the eventual possibility of a desktop type operating system for your smartphone. He talked about the REAL Android numbers in terms of the demographics of users. “Apple is about making money, not unprofitable market share”. So, its not likely that Apple will go after most of the Android market. What’s more likely, according to Hickens, is Android morphs into the Internet of Things, or is taken over by Samsung. Not to worry if you have already boarded the Android train, Google’s plan for the convergence of Android and Chrome is a ways off. But just think…a smart phone with a desktop-like operating system. You would only ever need one device and it fits in your pocket. Now that my friends…would be cool.
Larry Neilson is the CEO and founder of Neilson Marketing Services which specializes in telemarketing, insurance lists and insurance online marketing solutions.