Before you go to buy a dongle from your local MLS office, you should download the eKey app from the iTunes store.  It’s free and easy to install.  The problem you will run into is when you go to purchase the dongle from your local MLS.  During the process, they will probably ask you to enter an authorization code that they provide you with and then they will want you to sync your device.  At home, you have your wireless router so this is not a problem in the long term but at the MLS, I doubt they will give you their wifi encryption key to allow you to sync your device on their wireless network.

To solve this problem, I borrowed my wife’s Verizon Mifi.  This is a fantastic little device that acts as a wireless hotspot for up to 5 computers at once in any location that you can get 3g cellular service.  I went through the process, hit “sync now” and everything fired off without a hitch.  There are a few other solutions that I can think of, but most of them are a little clunkier than something like the Mifi.

Certain devices available from Clear might be able to serve the same function or if you have an air card for your laptop, you can take your laptop in and set it up to provide an adhoc wifi network connection to your iPod Touch however the details for that are a bit beyond the scope of this article.

If you are lucky enough to have an iPhone, the eKey setup process should work flawlessly without a hitch.  If you have an iPad, you may have to jump through some of these hoops to make it an eKey depending on which model you have.

A promising start...

In terms of acceptance of this kind of digital signature, it’s an entirely open question due to how rapidly technology is changing. DocuSign, on the other hand, has years of experience and they’ve spent a great deal of resources to ensure the legitimacy of their solution. I’m not a lawyer, and in my opinion the onus is on the company to make it abundantly clear whether something is legally valid or not.  Personally, I might use a solution like SignMyPad for simple forms/ applications/ etc, but I’d stick with a more established system like DocuSign for important contracts until I learn more. Anyway, on to the review:

Getting Started:

The documentation is minimal with SignMyPad, which is great when something’s super intuitive, but made for a bumpier start in this case. The app opens to a empty list, where your saved pdf’s would go. Maybe I’m slow, but it took me a few seconds to figure out that I had to email myself a pdf, then in Mail click “Open In SignMyPad” for it to then appear. This could be made a lot more intuitive.

Usage:

The first time I tried opening a doc in SignMyPad from Mail, it crashed. It worked the second time, and I started by selecting the “add text” option to write in the address in my sample purchase contract. That worked fine, but then when I tried to delete the text, I simply couldn’t figure out how. I clicked and I dragged until it was time for the last resort: reading the instructions.

Finding the instructions wasn’t easy: I clicked menu, didn’t see it, then clicked “PDF list”, read the instructions, and came back to delete my text (you need to double tap the text to delete). Unfortunately, my text was already gone: it doesn’t save automatically, or warn you if you go back to your list of PDFs. The mystery of the disappearing text would haunt me throughout the entirety of my review. It was not clear at all how or when your input was saved, which in a seven page contract can get incredibly frustrating.

Where are my signatures and text!?!

I tried the “save” option, and the “save/email” option, but was unable to actually save my text. I emailed myself three blank contracts, then gave up.

Bottom Line:

I absolutely love this idea, and I commend the developer for focusing on this need, but the current implementation was unusable for me. If you are highly technically savvy and patient, give it a try. From the reviews on iTunes, some people have been able to make it work for them, though the consensus seems to be that it’s pretty buggy. Until we see improvements, I would save your $4. If anyone has had a better experience, by all means share in the comments.

Current iTunes Rating: 2.5 stars

My Rating: 2 stars

Price: $3.99

iTunes Link: SignMyPad

I searched around for something REALTOR® friendly.  Something simple and affordable.  Something that works smooth-like-real-butter, on my desktop, my notebook, my iPad and my iPhone.

I  and settled on a beautifully simple application called Dropbox.  The process is straight forward. If you’re looking for a simple synching solution, I think you’ll like this.

1. Sign Up for your Drobox account.  2Gigs for free.  50GB for $9.99 per month. Or, 100GB for $19.99 per month.  There are discounts if you pony-up a year in advance.
2. Simply download the software to your computers/mobile devices and launch.  Computer, iPad and iPhone applications are free.
3. Drag previously saved files into your Dropbox folder (See below) and begin saving new important files to your Dropbox folder and you’re good to go.

Most of my important stuff, listing presentations, .PDFs, letters, contracts, photos, slide-decks, etc., I create on my desktop or notebook.  For things I want to have handy anywhere (my desktop, my notebook, my iPad the cloud or my iPhone), I save it to the Dropbox Folder.

Here’s what you get on your computer when you install the Dropbox application.  Notice the Dropbox folder on the left hand side (red arrow).  To sync your files on all your geek stuff, either save new files to the Dropbox folder or drag previously created files from another folder to the Dropbox folder.  The little green-for-go check-mark means the file has been successfully synced (the syncing magic happens quietly in the background).

After you save something, the Dropbox application automagically syncs your stuff to your high-security Dropbox cloud account.  In the unlikely event that you need something important, and heaven forbid, you don’t have your computer/phone/iPad with you, just log on to your secure Drobpox account and get what you need.  Here’s what my Dropbox cloud-account web site looks like:

After you save a file to one of your Dropbox enabled devices, or the cloud site, the next time any of your devices is connected to the internet, your files are synced.  You can open any file, change it, save it, and it’ll be good to go on all you devices.  Plus everything you need is everywhere you need it.  Very simple, very affordable and very cool.  The Dopbox app for mobil devices has some cool forwarding and sharing features too.

For the iPad, I recommend you buy (.99cents) the GoodReader.com application.  This cool app, syncs with Dropbox and gives you magical viewing powers. You can open and read the most popular and common file types. Yes, Mac and PC.

OK.  That’s it.  I imagine there are other solutions, this one works great for me and I know it’ll work great for you too.  If you get started, within a few minutes, all your important stuff will be everywhere you are, whenever you need it – Geek Sync completed.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

I just heard about this and thought it might be useful for agents out there using QR codes on their sign riders/ flyers etc: Google’s URL shortener, http://goo.gl/, now automatically generates QR codes.  Matt Cutts wrote about it and provides an example here:

Matt Cutts Google QR Codes

Google doesn’t seem to have fully rolled out their URL shortening service yet (there’s no signup or obvious way to use it from their page at http://goo.gl), but I know at least one way to use it is by installing the chrome extension here.

For those unfamiliar, a QR code is a two dimensional bar code that is commonly used to store information such as a web address.  If a user has a camera phone and the proper app installed, they can simply take a picture/ scan a QR code and it will launch their browser and send them to that URL.

QR codes make a lot of sense for the real estate industry, but haven’t really been widely adopted in the US compared to countries such as Japan.  Google’s integration of QR codes is one more sign that we may be seeing more widespread use in the future.

Primary Features (Check out Apple.com/ipad for more information):

• Safari Web Browser
• Mac Mail E-Mail
• Calendar (not i-cal but a very cool planner style calendar)
• Contacts (looks like a traditional contact book, nifty)
• Photos (very elegant way of handling photos and albums)
• iPod
• iTunes (interface is different than standard OSX)
• iBooks (new Apple bookstore. Can you say Ouch Amazon, Sony and B&N?)
• Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
• Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
• Depth: 0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
• Weight:
• 1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model
• 1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

You can purchase an iPad starting at $499 for a Wi-Fi only model, or you can combine 3G and larger capacity models that run as high as $829. AT&T is offering data plans with no contract starting at $14,99 per month with free access to any AT&T wireless hotspot. The tablet is powered by custom silicon A4 chipset (aka proprietary). Apple touts 10 hour battery life, which in Apple battery hours is probably more like 4 or 5 (just my opinion).

The Ultimate Presentation Tool
Should real estate professionals rush out and by an iPad? The smart business professionals will. Apple has developed a mobile specific version of it’s popular iWork software suite. The suite includes Keynote for creating slide presentations, Pages for word processing and desktop publishing and Numbers for Spread Sheets. Listing presentations never looked so good and the learning curve for creating stunning documents using these tools will have you using your MS Office tools for the mundane business communication that everyone else does. Before you allow someone to tell you that your MLS won’t work on Safari, check it first, that’s usually a myth.

Stunning Visuals / Teeny Learning Curve
Presenting photos, videos, virtual tours and listing presentations take on a whole new dimension of quality with the iPad. There really isn’t much of a learning curve with a device like this and since most of the content real estate professionals present exist in the cloud, opening Safari or using a finger to flip through content is about all it takes. Apple has already taken that into consideration with accessories: a keyboard dock that holds the iPad upright and a nifty notebook style holder that flips over to hold the iPad at a presentation angle. If your video is in iTunes or an HD version on YouTube, you’ll be able to present it in all of it’s Hi Def, full screen glory.

This device and its interfaces were designed to look and be used like traditional tools. Just look at the appointment planner and address books. Otherwise it includes the tools that most people use computers for. E-Mail, web access, solitaire, facebook, twitter, foursquare, farmville, episodes of lost and the occasional romance novel. What else could a super busy professional ask for in a computer?

Looking Further Into The Future
Kidding aside. I think there exists the potential to use this device and the Apple developer platform to bring together self published information in a very meaningful way. In fact, self publishing provider Lulu is already promoting their service as “iPad ready”.

The gates of broadcasting have been crashed by video and audio podcasters that are creating and distributing top notch content without the convoluted, old guard processes of the past. Authors may see the rise of new publishing platforms in which to expose their content to the world via App store like outlets. Take it a step further and you could see really creative folks mashing up video podcasting content along with publishing content using some sort of development tool. Then it becomes a matter of distribution via outlets like Lulu and Vook.

Sin of Omission
O.K. – I’m a Mac sucker, I have been for 15 years. I know the routine. Release a whip ass new product that everyone has to have and leave out one big feature so that the folks that resisted the urge to be early adopters will rush out for the next gen version and those that have the 1st gen just won’t be able to live without it either. The fact that the iPad held out on a built-in web cam is just ludicrous. Web cams are embedded in everything but the kitchen sink these days. Apple, if you wanted to grab a big slice of the advanced market of gadget people, you would have included it. I was speaking to David Gibbons about the iPad shortly after the event. “Until they add a camera the iPad will remain scratched off of my wish list. I use Skype too much” I’m sure someone will have a 3rd party solution to this problem before they even ship, but that’s not the elegant solution. I want something to give my parents to keep up with the Grand Kids. Close but no cigar.

Gifts Under $50

There are a ton of great gifts available for less than $50. From a 7-port USB hub that keeps all your gadgets connected at once to a double dose kick in the ass from phenom Gary Vaynerchuk, the under $50 list will keep your geek busy well into 2010.

Kensington 7-Port USB Hub [Amazon Link]
Kingston 16GB Flash Drive [Amazon Link]
Trust Agents Book by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith [Amazon Link]
Crush It! Book by Gary Vaynerchuk [Amazon Link] and Vook [$6.99; iTunes Link]
iTunes Gift Card
Griffin AirCurve iPhone/iPhone 3G Amplifier [Amazon Link]
Dolica 62-inch Tripod [Amazon Link]

Gifts Under $100

Video is fast becoming the medium for getting to know each other online. With all that video comes editing. An external hard drive is good for keeping excess clips from weighing down computer performance.

The Roku HD media player is a cutting edge way to put digital video (Netflix/Amazon on Demand) in your living room without all the intricacies of a traditional home theater PC.

Samsung Story 1TB External Hard Drive – $99.99 [NewEgg Link]
Roku HD Digital Media Player – $99.99 [Amazon Link]

Gifts Under $200

Audio Technica AT2020 USB Microphone – $101.97 [Amazon Link]
Flip UltraHD (120 Mins) – $151.98 [Amazon Link]

One rite of passage for real estate techies is to develop their own online brand. Podcasting and video blogs can be done in half the time once you’ve got the right equipment listed above.

Klipsch iGroove SXT iPod/iPhone Sound System – $149.99 [Amazon Link]

After experimenting with podcasting and video blogs it’s only natural that you’ll come away with a little more rhythm. The Klipsch iGroove is a cool way to keep the party going.

Motorola Droid – $199 [Verizon Wireless Link]/ iPhone 3GS – $199 [Apple Store Link]

All-in-one devices are all the rage these days which makes the Motorola Droid (Verizon Wireless) and iPhone 3GS (AT&T Wireless) the hot stocking stuffers to have this year.

Gifts Under $300

Garmin Nuvi 765 – $209.99 [Amazon Link]

If you’re looking for a dedicated GPS unit the Nuvi 765 serves as your North star, in-car bluetooth communication system and traffic guidance via FM updates. Now you’ll never get stuck in rush hour snarls while on tour again.

1-Year Lynda.com Subscription – $250 [Link]

How did I go from video editing slow to pro within 3 days? Lynda.com. The site offers up an all you can watch buffet of video tutorials on computer software like Adobe Lightroom 2, Photoshop and iMovie ’09. The videos are short, educational and clearly laid out which means you can find what you’re looking for in a snap.

Amazon Kindle – $259 [Amazon Link]

For the tech savvy bookworm, Amazon’s Kindle can download the hottest new books in under a minute. There is even PDF support so you can read ebooks, contracts and other documents on the go.

Xbox 360 Elite – $299 [EBGames Link]

The Xbox 360 isn’t just a video game system anymore. Featuring Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm integration alongside Netflix Instant movies, the 360 will help you stay on top of your social media empire without leaving the living room recliner.

Gifts Under $500

The real estate photo bar is on the rise and you (and your geek) should be ready to dazzle future sellers with outstanding photos. Newer point and shoot cameras can capture professional quality results with ease. Check out the hot new Canon S90IS and it’s primary competitor to see how you too can attain listing photo euphoria.

Canon S90IS Digital Camera – $399.00 [Amazon Link]
Alternative: Panasonic DMC-LX3K – $436.17 [Amazon Link]

Gifts Under $1100

Video editing, podcasting, photo enhancing. All this -ing will require some beefed up computing power. Refurbished Macs are an awesome way to put the preferred tool of digital creatives in your hands at a price you are happy with.

Refurbished Macbook Pro – $899 [Apple Store Link]

Desktop Alternatives:
HP TouchSmart 300-1020 20-Inch Black Desktop PC – $848 [Amazon Link]
Refurbished 24-inch iMac – $1,099 [Apple Store Link]

Gift Under $27,000

Finally, if you’re really looking to make a big impression on that special someone or have been rolling around in a clunker waiting for the perfect intersection of value and clickity clack gadgetry, I present to you the 2010 Mazda 3.

Complete with cool geekery like push button start, adaptive lighting system that steers the headlights as you turn your wheel and highway mileage of up to 33 mpg (29 mpg on 2.5L models), the Mazda 3 will give you a fresh dose of style and tech.

Such a delicacy isn’t for the price conscious as a full spec model will set you back nearly $26K but if you’re car shopping this pick should make your short list.

What do you think about our top 20 gift guide for real estate geeks? Do you have any gifts you would add to our list?

Business applications for the Smartphone, Blackberry and iPhone are becoming more of a necessity for today’s Real Estate Industry Professional and Brokerage. Consumers are able to download these applications right from their portable/mobile phones and devices for FREE.  The question is what should be included in your Real Estate Business App? Recently, I had a Business Card app designed by me and built by MobileAppLoader Inc.  At the time, there were only 3 or 4 Real Estate Related Apps available from the iTunes store for the iPhone.

Today there are literally hundreds of Real Estate Related apps online and most are free to the end user, the consumer.  With the explosion of mobile devices and wireless technology, 3G, edge, and others, now is the time to consider having a mobile application created for you or your business. You need to have more than just an online business card these days. You need to have something that offers value, useful tools, something to “equip” your clients and prospects, and on ALL platforms.

Why have a mobile App? To promote your business. To keep your customers updated. To encourage customer loyalty with rewards. To set up M-commerce. Some tools to consider for your mobile app might include: Direct Contact Info, Text Messaging, Auto GPS Locator, Property Search, Hyper-Local Information, Video, Website and Blog Access, Instant Chat Capability, Featured Listings, MLS/IDX Access, Loan Calculators, and any other tools you see fit to provide a unique and rewarding mobile experience.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the REBarCamp in Silicon Valley, I was able to meet with owners representing companies like SmarterAgent and MobileAppLoader.  These folks can design custom apps for mobile devices and cell phones.  After attending their session, I was convinced that it’s time to evaluate your Company’s Mobile Technology Products and tools, as well as your current and future clients needs.  In my honest opinion, I think this is the hottest and fastest growing arena in business today. “Mobile Technology!” You should consider getting YOUR Company or Business on board right away.

It won’t be a choice for long, it’ll be a business requirement and Industry Standard.

So, with that long winded intro, here are the apps I recommend for any Android device:

1) Google Apps:  Though not technically an “app” as you don’t have to download anything, move your butt over to Google Apps, if you’re not already there.  I manage my email, contacts, calendar, & docs with GA.  It’s successfully ousted Microsoft Office in my world.  It syncs flawlessly & immediately with your Android phone – you simply enter your login info, and you’re rolling.

2) Flashlight:  I’m not even sure which flashlight app I use, as they all do pretty much the same thing…help you find the light switch in an unfamiliar house.

3) Google Voice:  Using a hack I found on Nokia blog, I’m now managing my voicemail with GV.  The transcription isn’t perfect, but it’s useful.  I’m able to sneak a peak at my phone and see what the other client left me on VM while this client is looking around a house.

4) TasKiller: Though they offer a paid version, I’ve found no reason to go beyond free.  Android leaves many apps running after you close out, and your phone can get a bit sluggish.  TasKiller allows you to speed it up.

5) Fatsecret: No one likes a chubby agent!  Fatsecret offers a killer diet/exercise diary that will keep you honest.  Sync it with their online services & add it to your Google start page.  You won’t be able to escape that constant reminder.  This service is so great that I kept waiting (and was prepared to pay for) a subscription fee.  For some reason, it’s 100% free right now.

And, if you think it’s all just teenagers who don’t buy or sell real estate, think again. The facts show that every age group up through 44 years old sent more text messages than they made cell phone voice calls. And it was close on the 45 to 54 group. The plain truth is that text messaging is becoming a wildly popular way to exchange information. And, huge marketers and retailers are now doing text message marketing to bring in consumers. You can actually get a coupon text message and show it in a restaurant for a discount.

That’s nice, but we’re not selling burgers you say. True, but we are in a service business that is very dependent on making contact with our prospects and clients. And, we market high dollar products. If a burger sale justifies expenditures on SMS text message advertising, then why wouldn’t a home listing? The good news is that there are uses in our business for this medium, and they can cost as little as nothing, zero, free.

How many people do you think drive by your listings every weekend? Do you use a brochure box? Is it empty every time you check it? Who took them, and what was their level of interest? Can you contact them again? How many wanted a brochure but didn’t find one in the empty box? What if:

• Every person who drove by and had an interest could have text messaged a code to get price and other information?
• You never have to fill a brochure box again, AND you get the information out when they want it?
• You never print brochures but you end up with the phone number of the person who asked for more information?
• You could text that person again if the price is reduced?

All of this is currently available technology. You can get the basics for free with an account at 4info.net. There you can set up to text out your listing details from a sign rider code. And, you can even send out text alerts to subscribers of market news from your website or blog. Or, let them know when you list a new home. Now, 4info is free, so you don’t get the phone number of the person who asked for the information, or a color website for the listing. Or, for another free solution for getting out sales data, new listings, or market alerts, you can use Twitter.com. It will issue text message alerts for you.

If you want to take it to the next level, another service at UGotItFirst.com will set you up to send text alerts from the yard sign, but there is more. You can also get their phone number, and they can subscribe to receive your alerts in the future. They also get a link to a color presentation on a website for the listing. Those who are web-enabled will be able to look at the home in all its glory.

The point is that SMS text messaging is wildly popular, and it’s just getting more so. If you do not have a plan to implement it in your marketing, you’re falling behind already. And, it’s not just about texting out your listing data when they’re in front of the home. It’s about alerting your interested prospects of important market news or real estate statistics. You can place a box on your site where they can subscribe to get text alerts of price drops or other market news.

One Realtor in a vacation home market has a popular alert service to let interested investors or buyers know of values on the market. This broker realized that he was reading the Hotsheet every day, seeing some great price reductions on properties that weren’t his listings. By subscribing for these alerts, the broker is free to send them out, though not his listings. These are bargain hunters who want to know about deals as soon as they hit the market. He reinforces his knowledge and value by choosing real deals, sending few alerts. But, they generate business precisely because they point out true value.

Start looking at how you might use SMS text messaging to bring your message to the new consumer. It is for all ages, and they appreciate the ability to tell you what they want and when they want it. And, if a buyer prospect is sitting in front of your listing and wants to know more, get the information to them in seconds as a text message and/or a link to full rich web content.