BlackBerry

and Three Other Steps to a More Productive Work Day

If being connected 24/7 was supposed to make our lives easier, the business world didn't get the memo. Most American professionals just can't shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn't get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves responding to work e-mail on their smartphones right up until their head hits the pillow. Sound familiar? There is good news, says Jason Womack: By implementing a few small changes, you can get more done in less time—which not only staves off burnout, but leaves more time for doing what you love.

"When the pressure is on to do more and more with less and less, you want what you do to really count," says Womack, a workplace performance expert, executive coach, and author of the new book Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More. "Burning through your to-do list more efficiently lets you go after bigger and better opportunities, sure, but the real reason you want to do it is so you'll have time for what brings you joy."

"You do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do," he adds. Read more

Featuring the new BlackBerry 7 operating system, the smartphone will be T-Mobile’s fastest BlackBerry to date, leveraging a 1.2 GHz processor and America’s Largest 4G Network

August 17, 2011 -- (BUSINESS WIRE)--T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming nationwide availability of the first 4G BlackBerry smartphone to run on America’s Largest 4G Network™ — the BlackBerry Bold 9900. Available today in an exclusive pre-sale for T-Mobile business customers and launching nationwide on Aug. 31, the 4G-capable BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone ever (at only 10.5mm) and the first to offer the perfect union of a high-performance keyboard and brilliant touch display integrated within the iconic BlackBerry Bold design. Featuring a range of powerful hardware enhancements including a 1.2 GHz processor, Liquid Graphics™ technology, 24-bit high-resolution graphics and advanced sensors, the new smartphone is designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity. Read more

Kerplunk, There Goes Another Smartphone
Which is more common, accidentally dropping a phone in the toilet or being stung by a bee? If you answered a bee sting you'd be right but not by as much as you might have thought. Dropping a phone in water is just one of many ways consumers unexpectedly find themselves with non-functioning cell phones. The latest Gadgetology study from Retrevo looks at who is losing cell phone data and how they are protecting their cell phones from harm and finds that iPhone owners may be a safer group of phone owners.

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As Verizon continues to roll out their 4G LTE network across the country at an accelerated rate and AT&T also picking up speed in their 4G deployment, it would seem that widespread 4G adoption is a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, it looks like consumers may be so confused over 4G that they become hesitant to move to 4G, at least in the near term. In a recent Retrevo Gadgetology study, only a little less than a quarter of the respondents say they're going for 4G. With so many potential 4G customers expressing concerns about cost and performance, providers of 4G phones and services could be in for some disappointment.

A Third of iPhone Owners Mistakenly Think Their Phones Have 4G
Maybe the "4" in the iPhone 4 name gives iPhone owners (34%) the false impression that they already own a 4G phone but the fact is Apple doesn't offer a 4G phone at the moment. Coincidentally, a suspiciously large percentage of Android and BlackBerry owners may be suffering from the same delusion. BlackBerry owners (24%) are almost as confused as iPhone owners since RIM doesn't currently offer a 4G phone. At least some Android owners could be answering correctly as Android 4G phones like the HTC Evo 4G or Samsung Infuse 4G have been available for some time. If nothing else, this large number of misinformed phone owners serves to emphasize the fact that consumers are quite confused about 4G.Read more

By Jeff Zbar
www.homeofficehighway.com

This dispatch is from BestStuff technology and home office contributor Jeff Zbar, who's on a three-week family road trip through the American West. Whether you're a road warrior, a home-based business owner, a teleworker, or just a family in search of the freedom of the road, enjoy Jeff's commentary. Want to learn more? Hit www.chiefhomeofficer.com.

My wife is no technophile. When her netbook wigs out, drops its wifi connection or otherwise gets kinda jiggy, she loses it and shuts the cover. "I hate technology," she'll grumble.

She's had a Facebook going on two years now. But she never uses it. Twitter? Isn't that a nervous response to an unsettling situation – like using technology?

You could say that, aside from insects, prison movies and my immature annoyances, she hates nothing more than technology.

Call her Robbie, Queen of the Luddites.

I think she's slowing realizing, though, that she cannot live — or at least work — in the 21st Century without some tech in her life.

As a nurse practitioner with a budding side business in patient tutorials, she should receive and reply to emails throughout the day. Yet, she could go days without checking email, leading her clients to re-send – and then call – wondering if she received their work assignments.Read more

If you think Anthony Weiner's problems are just isolated online difficulties that don't happen to regular folks, you should think again. In a recent Retrevo Gadgetology study that looked at how people use the gadgets in their lives, over half the respondents under 25 years old said they regret posting something online. When we looked back at a similar Gadgetology study from a year ago it doesn't look like online users have learned much, as the number of those with "poster's remorse" has actually revealed a subtle increase.

Damage Ex Post Facto
While it is possible for some people to remove or repair problematic postings, for many others, damage control can be more challenging, if not impossible. Over 25% of those who regretted their post say it ruined their marriage or relationship or caused problems at home or work.Read more

By Jeff Zbar
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

Seth Godin wrote recently of "the end of magic." He was lamenting how the newness of the new seems to have passed us by — how the really cool tools and applications that once wowed us in the workplace and life now are so commonplace that they are taken for granted, and no longer devices of Wow!

Wait. Take a moment to ponder the tools we use and what they bring to our daily lives. You might respectfully disagree.

Every day, I use services and tools that keep me connected with the world outside in ways that still seem magical. My BlackBerry brings the Internet and its motherlode of possibilities to a device smaller than a deck of cards (iPhone users will only smirk at the possibilities borne from their device).Read more