The evolution of technology is moving at such a rapid pace, it can be hard to see what has come and gone and even hard to keep track of all the new innovations. The world wide web has been around for nearly twenty years now and in that time the world has changed dramatically. Science fiction shows that seemed so ahead of their time and farfetched can now seem antiquated and lacking in technology. Things that seemed impossible even ten years ago now seem to be just a matter of time. In the 80's, having a beeper or a cell phone the size of a brick was a major status symbol. Now mobile devices like cell phones, laptop computers and tablets are common place. These devices get more powerful seemingly every day and that trend continues as power goes up and prices go down, resulting in more and more people using these devices. A lot of people may dismiss these mobile devices as toys or gimmicks, but using mobile devices can bring a lot to an organization.
Technology has changed and continues to do so . Modern mobile devices now run faster than most full sized computers did even five years ago. This is a lot of power to have literally sitting in the palm of your hand. Even basic cellular phones purchased in the last five years can call, send text messages and email from just about anywhere. Now modern smart phones, like the iPhone or Galaxy S3, can do almost anything a modern computer can do. Information is at your fingertips with these devices. Trying to remember who played that character on a favourite TV show in the 90's? Or maybe you want to check reviews on a restaurant while you are walking downtown. Now it's as simple as a few screen taps and you can find out almost anything in a matter of seconds.
Being mobile and accessible is important in today's world. You want to be where your clients are. With a smart phone, you can have access to your appointments, emails, phone and more (including applications like Skype) essentially anywhere you go. This means that being out of the office doesn't mean you are unavailable and allows you to make a more personal connection with your clients. With tablets, you can even give a presentation or show a short video to people on the go without having to carry much in terms of hardware. The tablet screen is more than adequate to show something to a small ground around the table, enabling you to add multimedia and other interactive elements to your presentation. You can also bring someone in to the meeting that couldn't otherwise attend. For example, you are in Winnipeg to meet with a client and your boss, who is in Toronto, wants to sit in on a meeting. While you are at the clients' office, you set up your tablet and now your boss can see, hear and interact with everyone as everyone can with him. The conversation becomes much more fluid and natural and allows for a better meeting.
Mobile applications are also becoming more popular and more powerful. The superior software allows smart phones and tablets to do more than ever before. Although you can do some photo and video editing on these devices, they still aren't generally as powerful as modern desktop systems. One application that makes your mobile device even more effective when you are working from home or on the road are remote desktop applications. This allows you to control your computer from a remote location (essentially anywhere with internet access) from your mobile device. This means you can not only demonstrate a program from almost anywhere, you can also use much more powerful software through your mobile device on your computer.
Mobile devices aren't only convenient to have on the road, they can be very useful within the office as well. If your computer is occupied with a program taking up all of its resources (rendering a video for example), you can still use email or review a document while you wait using a mobile device. Since most mobile devices also include microphones and high definition video cameras, this makes video conferencing much easier, more accessible and extremely portable. Most online learning platforms also support mobile devices, meaning you can learn from anywhere. You can also process spread sheets, edit photos and use social media very efficiently. Mobile applications are generally easy to use and surprisingly powerful. The apps also tend to be very reasonably priced, often free to costing a few dollars for a full featured application.
The best thing about mobile devices, in addition to all the benefits they bring, is that they are now extremely accessible. The interface is very easy to understand and most will be able to pick up a device and begin to use it within minutes, if not seconds. Though they can take a long time to master, these devices are made to be used quickly and easily, especially for basic things like checking your email or browsing the web. They're also very affordable. You can get smart phones for $0 (although this usually requires signing up for a 3 year contract) and tablets can be bought outright starting around $200. For something that will allow you to take high definition video and photos, show high definition movies, conference and interact, create documents, edit pictures, stay connected with your office, attend conferences and seminars, make phone calls, research information on the fly and so much more, that's a great price. The best part is, aside from a case (and in some cases a cellular plan), everything you need for most tasks are included.
If you are wanting to do more and get more out of your time, mobile devices are a great tool. A lot of people already have devices that you may be able to integrate. They're powerful, easy to use and very affordable for everything they bring to the table. Being able to go out to where your clients are will bring you closer to them. Staying in touch over social media and being consistently available will keep you closer to them. Enhancing your presentations, strengthening your tool set and connecting where you need to be connected will only help to reach your goals.
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