While laptops are not a new technology, companies are remodeling laptops with business men and women in mind by adding wireless capabilities, large hard drive, and long battery life. A computer’s speed and memory make it an optimal tool for managing Web sites, storing files, and accessing the local MLS system.

Here is a list of the three best laptops in 2011 based on capabilities:

Lenovo ThinkPad X201/X201 Tablet

The thinkPad is the PC professional standard for a reason: quality. The ThinkPad X201 series is the ultra compact high performance series. Housed in a magnesium alloy case with metal hinges and a spill resistant keyboard, it will take on any abuse travel could throw at it. The black case is very unobtrusive and does not scream “BRAND NAME” on the front cover as most companies do. With up to an Intel i7 processor, the X201 will handle any programs, including Adobe Creative Suite, very easily. At 2.9 pounds with up to 12 hours of battery life, not only is it extremely light, but it will keep working all day.

My aunt, who works as an agent in Arizona and also teaches real estate courses with Sanford Brown, told me over the holidays: “The ThinkPad is just as good, if not better for my business and teaching than the iPad.”

Every ThinkPad is customizable and has features, such as mobile broadband, that can easily be added. An optional docking station has a DVD burner and speakers built in. What you could miss is the lack of an option for a discrete graphics card for video editing and possibly a built in optical drive. Starting price is $879 (1300 recommended), and $1300 for the tablet version.

Sony Vaio Z Series

Very few of Sony’s laptops even come close to the $1000 line, yet its high performance Z class is one sweet piece of machinery. Its durability is sold by its encasement in carbon fiber, standard solid-state hard drive, and aluminum keyboard panel. Solid State drives not only perform faster and more efficiently than traditional hard drives, they are less prone to failing because they have no moving parts . NVIDIA’s Optimus technology comes standard, which switches to its more powerful discrete graphics card the 330M when it will make a difference. This saves battery life, and offers great graphics performance when needed. These lightweight materials keep it at around three pounds and give it seven hours of battery life. While the standard 128 GB hard drive seems sort of small, it is an expensive upgrade for competing machines, and is expandable up to 512 GB. The Z series can also be upgraded with other luxuries such as a full 1080P display and blue ray burner. A great feature is the option to have a “Fresh start” application wise with the purchase of Windows 7 Professional. Fresh start meaning no annoying trial software, and Sony software would not be included. The Sony Z is a sexy machine and might as well yell luxury when taken out of a bag. Whether this is a pro or con is up to you. If computer performance matters, this is the one. It starts at a much higher price than the competition, but this is due to the more powerful standard features. Starting price is $1900.

Macbook Air 13 inch/Macbook Pro 13 inch

You know who are you when you’re looking at a Mac. Nothing in this article should steer you towards or away from Apple. Nothing is cooler than the Macbook Air, yet no Mac is more practical than the 13 inch Pro. Neither Mac is more powerful than the Sony Z. The aluminum alloy enclosures on both look very elegant and professional. The widths and depths are the same, while the Air is about 1/3 to ½ the height of the Pro. Going with the Air saves your back about a pound and a half. The five hour battery life for the 11 inch Air is just not enough for a full day, while the 13 inch Air’s battery life of seven hours and Pro’s battery life of ten hours are pretty similar to the Sony and ThinkPad. Choosing between the two should be based on whether or not an optical drive is important, but most of the other features are similar if not identical. The Air uses a solid state drive just like the Sony Z, while they are an optional upgrade on the Pro. What you will miss with the Macs is the option for built in mobile broadband; you will have to buy an external adapter. Starting price for the Macbook Pro is $1,200 and $1,299 for the Macbook Air.

And for some real agent comments, check out this debate on RealTown about the Mac’s.

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.

Until now it has frustrated the heck out of me…AAAARRRGHH (mean sound). then (while I was sitting on the “Porcelain God” of course) DOOOINNGG! it came to me…Web 2.0 saves the day again! Da Da Da (not to be confused with De De De) JOTT, yes Jott.com…faster than a speeding terabyte, more powerful than 320Gig Hard Drive, able to leap small minds in a single bound…It’s JOTT!

JOTT is an online FREE service that translates your speech into an email and sends it for you. It is unbelievably accurate and simple to set up on line. You just enter your contact (you can even upload a bunch through csv), you don’t even have to enter a voice tag, it just knows??? (Spooky). Seriously though, if you have a teenager, how many times have you sat up at night worried that they are texting while driving??? JOTT can help there too! Told ya he was a Super Hero!

Anyway, never worry about loosing a great thought again, just pick up your phone (speed) dial JOTT, tell it to call “yourself” and start talking….when you get done (hee hee), you grab the email and VIOLA! you are a genius.

Now if I could just write a Blog Post about explaining it to the guy in the next stall???

Agents “Stop” “Learn” “Grow” “Prosper”

The Coach

I own a Treo 700p and have had my fair share of ups and downs with it. I could go on and on about my problems, but this post is about an application called PdaNet. There are several sites you can download it from, but the only one I’ve tried and can vouch for is by June Fabrics.

PdaNet is an application that you can install on your Treo and connect your laptop to the Internet anywhere you get cell service. For a one time fee of $34, users can download the application and almost instantly be mobile. Once you Hot Sync and install the software, you can take your laptop on road. You can connect via Bluetooth, or with your Treo USB cable. I’ve tried both and can’t tell if the USB connection is that much faster – but the USB connection doesn’t seem to randomly disconnect.

I’ve checked with Verizon and they charge $60 a month to access the Internet and they also charge a $35 activation fee and you have to sign a contract – which means you’re subject to a $175 early termination fee. Why would you ever sign up with them? Well, the only reason I would give in, would be to get a faster connection. Keep in mind, this is only for the PC card and Internet access – you still have your separate data plan (probably what you have now).

With PdaNet, I can just push a button and use my laptop to do whatever it is I need. Typically I only use this when I’m tired of typing emails on my Treo, or if I have to access the ELS and perform a proper search – not just check on one or two listings. Be careful when you connect via Bluetooth though, as the connection will drain your battery. If you’re going to be online for several hours and have the luxury, use a USB cord and plug in your laptop – yes this will also charge your phone.

So…if you own a Treo and are thinking about signing up with your wireless provider to get Internet on your laptop, you might want to check out PdaNet first. For $34 dollars, it might be worth it. Just make sure you check the phone and OS requirements first.

Oh and by the way, I wrote and posted this blog with my PdaNet connection. If anyone reading this is associated with PdaNet, or June Fabrics, feel free to send me some free stuff.