MS Office & Dropbox

Dropbox announces mobile Office app support

by with No Comment Apps

We’ve partnered with Microsoft Office to help you do more on your phone or tablet. Now you can edit Office files from the Dropbox app and access your Dropbox directly from the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for iPhone and iPad.

When you’re inside the Office apps, sign in to your Dropbox account to:

  • Edit Office files from the Dropbox mobile app and sync changes across devices.

  • Access Dropbox files from the new Office apps and save new files to Dropbox.

  • Share Dropbox links from Office when you’ve finished making changes.

This is significant and I think shows the way ahead for a lot of the Social Business mobile apps out there.  Being able to access all our documents whilst on the mobile is important, but being able to edit them using native full-fidelity apps and to return the new version for colleagues to see immediately is a real step forward.

I’m seeing an increasing number of users using iPads as their primary device whilst at work and especially whilst travelling – it’s not such edge-cases like Federico Viticci that have switched to tablets full-time.  It is functionality such as Microsoft and Dropbox are delivering that will help close the productivity gap between tablets and desktops once and for all.

Nokia Lumia 720

Arriving today – the Nokia Lumia 720

by with 3 Comments Reviews

You may remember my review of the Nokia Lumia 920 posted a couple of months ago.  

I liked the device a lot, particularly the display, the camera and some of the features of Windows Phone 8.  However, I found the size of the handset and screen simply too large for my way of working – constantly having to adjust my grip on the handset to reach the buttons or the extremities of the screen. Also disappointing was the breadth and depth of apps available in certain areas – particularly in the Social Business space.

I’m therefore excited that a Lumia 720 is arriving today at the McCottage to test over the next few weeks.  

Nokia Lumia 720

Smaller, slimmer and lighter than the Lumia 920, the 720 is definitely a mid-range rather than range-topping device.  Nevertheless I have a feeling that this will be a much better fit for my working practices than the 920 was.   Look out for a report soon.

Mobile data tips for European travellers

by with 2 Comments Misc

There’s always lots of questions regarding purchase of local SIM cards for voice and data use when conferences and LUGs are taking place. For example, despite years of looking I’ve never really found a cost-effective means of sourcing a data plan for the occasional trip to the USA – Lotusphere etc.

However, I have made a couple of real finds during 2012 that might help others.

1) If you’re travelling to the UK from abroad and need to get a data or voice plan whilst you’re here, check out GiffGaff. Giff Gaff is a community network that is run by the users for the users and piggyback on the O2 network. They use a system whereby you buy credit upfront that can be used for calls or data, or you can buy a ‘Goody Bag’ that contains a bundle of both that lasts for a month.

For example, I buy my teenagers the £10 goodybag every month (you can set this up to automatically recur if you wish) – this gives them 250 minutes of calls to UK numbers, plus unlimited texts and unlimited data.

This could be exactly what you need if you’re travelling into the UK – get a SIM card, buy the goody bag and you’re done. If you need to be able to call home using the same SIM, just add some credit as well. They also do data only bundles for tablet or MyFi users.

To request a SIM, head to the Giff Gaff site and choose either a full-sized or micro-SIM (this is an affiliate link – I will get a small credit to my account when the SIM is activated). Else, if you’d rather get one shipped directly to you at short notice, I have a pack of them here – just contact me and I’ll put one in the post for you.

2) If you are UK-based and travelling to Europe from the UK, get yourself a 3 Network simcard. My iPhone is on that network and they now have a deal where you can have unlimited roaming data for just £5 a day. You have to click a link in your phone browser every morning and the £5 deal runs until midnight that day. You need to renew the deal each day of your trip. On our recent roadtrip, I worried that was a complicated and risky way to do things – what happens if I forget to renew? However, it works really well – the system automatically stops roaming access at midnight, and only allows it again when the link is accessed via the phone network the next day – Wifi access is obviously uninterrupted. The link and a reminder is sent via text every night. If you don’t need data on a given day, just don’t click the link. They say that tethering is expressly excluded – I must say, I didn’t risk trying it…

[For the first time ever, I had full 3G access for the whole trip, costing about £80 in total. Suddenly checkins, status updates and even maps were available the whole time – it revolutionised the experience for me. Actually, it also saved us in a couple of situations. First, when planning the day’s drive from Berlin into the Czech Republic, I suddenly realised that my Tomtom Western Europe satnav app did not cover the country. Whilst the route wasn’t complicated, finding the apartment in the centre of Prague was! The new maps in iOS 6 came to the rescue – only accessible via 3G, of course. Second, when an apartment in the Alsace wasn’t suitable (long story, ask me in Orlando!), we had to find a hotel for six of us at 8pm one night. Having unlimited data on hand was a blessing!].

So, hopefully these options might help you. Yell if you have any questions!

Android Could Be A Billion-Dollar Business, For Microsoft

by with No Comment Misc

Forbes reports:

Android is the leading smartphone platform in the world with over 500,000 device activations every day.  It is one of Google’s most successful businesses helping Google capture mobile search market share and revenues that will top $1.3 billion in 2012. Microsoft owns several patents relating to Android technology and so Android’s success is quickly becoming a boon for Microsoft, which has established licensing agreements with several Android manufacturers to settle patent infringement claims.  After landing several key licensing agreements and with a big Samsung agreement reportedly in the works, Android is well on its way to becoming one of Microsoft’s fastest growing money makers.

Since Microsoft has the rights to several patents related to technology used in Android, it has been able to turn Android into a huge revenue generating business by entering into patent licensing agreements with other companies which produce Android devices.  Microsoft recently entered a patent licensing agreements with several manufacturers including HTC, General Dynamics, Wistron and Onkyo under which they will pay it $5-$10 for every Android device that they ship. With 500,000 devices a day, this implies around $1 billion in value if it received a $5 fee for each Android device. Current negotiations with Samsung, the top Android device manufacturer, could land Microsoft an additional $10-$15 for every Android device activated by Samsung.

Looks like Android is on track to become one of Microsoft’s most profitable business units.  Nice work if you can get it!

Google Nexus One

Google Nexus One now available in the UK

by with No Comment Misc

Despite being a keen iPhone user since the 3G model was released 18 months or so ago, I’m always on the lookout for the next big thing, and there’s no doubt that the only two platforms that are really challenging Apple for the mobile internet platform market are Blackberry and Google Android.  

Having had a number of RIM devices in the past and supporting a number of current customers with BES infrastructures, I’m pretty confident about their value proposition.

However, the Android platform is new to me, and I know that Collaboration Matters needs to get up to speed with the implications of this vibrant new mobile platform with regard to enterprise social computing and collaboration.  There are a number of significant mobile device vendors that have Android solutions out in the market, but Google itself seems to have the most impressive Android device available so far – the Google Nexus One.

Google Nexus One

With a much faster CPU than the iPhone 3GS, full Google Maps Navigation including Street View and traffic, a 5-Megapixel Camera, 3.7″ touchscreen and voice enabled keyboard, it has the a combination of usability and technical specs that very few other devices can match.

The Nexus One has been available in the US since the start of the year, and has now made it to the UK.  Vodafone are offering the Nexus One in the UK as a free device on a £35pm 24 month contract or a £40pm 18 month contract.  At least until the next iPhone due to ship sometime this summer, this might just be the next handset on the list.