When it comes to technology, there is so much to choose from that picking any system or device is a daunting task. This is especially true for tablets which come with different systems, apps and features. There's also no doubting that tablets can help make many people's jobs easier. So what do you do when you want a new tablet? The easiest thing is to compare them.

Here's a five point comparison of the three most popular 10-inch tablets - Apple's iPad 4, Google's Nexus 10 and Microsoft's Surface Pro.

Price

• Apple iPad - The iPad starts at USD$499 for the cheapest model and USD$929 for the top model. The major differences between the models is storage size and connectivity options.
• Google Nexus 10 - The Nexus 10 starts at USD$399 for the base model and USD$499 for the top model. The only real difference between the two models is storage size.
• Microsoft Surface Pro - The base model of the Surface Pro starts at USD$899 while the other model starts at USD$999.

The prices listed above are for just the device, the price you pay will be higher if you add peripherals like keyboard cases, screen protectors or extended warranty.

Storage

• iPad - Comes with 16, 32, 64 or 128GB of storage.
• Nexus 10 - Has either 16 or 32GB of storage.
• Surface Pro - Offers 64 or 128GB of storage. The Pro also has a Micro SD card reader which can support up to 64GB of extra storage. There is also a USB port which you could connect an external hard drive to, allowing for nearly unlimited storage.

It's important to note that these storage numbers are provided by the manufacturer of the device, these numbers don't include the space the operating system and other pre-installed programs take up. For example the Surface Pro 64GB actually has 29GB of usable storage space. In comparison: The Nexus 10 32GB has about 29GB of usable space while the iPad 32GB has slightly over 27GB.

Internet Connectivity

• iPad - There are two versions: Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi/3g/LTE (Mobile data).
• Nexus 10- Wi-Fi only.
• Surface Pro - Wi-Fi only.

Being able to connect to the Internet either through a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection is important for many business users, especially if you are out of the office on a regular basis.

Battery life

• iPad - Around 10 hours with normal use.
• Nexus 10 - Around 8.5 hours with normal use.
• Surface Pro - Around four hours.

The total battery life depends on what users do with the tablets. The numbers reflect what an average business user will get out of their tablet. As with almost any mobile device, it would be a good idea to keep a spare cord at the office and at home so you can charge it when you need to.

Apps

• iPad - Apple's App Store has slightly over 800,000 apps, many with versions optimized for the iPad.
• Nexus 10 - Google Play also has slightly over 800,000 apps available to download. The number of tablet-specific apps is far lower than the App Store however.
• Surface Pro - The Surface Pro runs a full version of Windows 8, which means any Windows program that is compatible with Windows 8 will work on the Surface Pro.

Which is best for business?

When it comes to buying a tablet for work, you need to take into account what you will be using it for. Below are eight popular scenarios and which devices may be best suited for that task.

1. Email only - If you are looking for a tablet to just check your email on, it would be a good idea to look at the Nexus 10. The main reason for this is twofold: First, you can install different virtual keyboards which make it easier for you to type messages. Second: There are more email apps that allow you to connect to multiple accounts.
2. On a budget - The Nexus 10 is the cheapest 10-inch tablet, and would be the best option here.
3. To replace a laptop - The Surface Pro, which costs the same as most mid-range laptops, is really more of a laptop with a touch screen, which makes it an ideal candidate to replace an existing laptop.
4. To help with presentations - The Surface Pro is your best option here. Because you can install a full version of Office 2013 (with PowerPoint) on the device which is mostly portable, you shouldn't need anything else. Beyond that, there is a mini display port which allows you to connect to any monitor or projection screen (HDMI or VGA) with an adapter.
5. Everyday use - If you plan to be doing a bit of everything, including personal use, most users will go with the iPad due to its ease of use and great platform.
6. Google user - The Nexus 10 is built to be the 'Google' tablet; what Google deems to be the benchmark for other Android tablets. As such, any Google user will find this tablet to be the best choice, especially if you use Google Apps in the office.
7. Apple user - If you use an iPhone or Apple computers in your office, the iPad would be the best device.
8. Microsoft user - Windows users will likely benefit most from the Microsoft Surface.

If you're looking for a new tablet and would like help figuring out which will be best for your business needs please contact us today, we may be able to help.

Imagine you've just had a long day at the office and are on your way home. You step into the busy subway only to have the person beside you pull out their phone and begin playing the latest game with the sound on. While it may be fun for them, it's likely incredibly annoying to you and everyone else. Do you practice 'mobile etiquette'? If not, it may be time to start.

Here's six cell phone etiquette tips you should practice to ensure you show respect to your peers, and people around you while on your phone.

1. Watch what you snap - Almost every phone has a camera these days, and we can't help but take pictures of nearly everything. While it is convenient to take pictures with your phone, there are times when it's not a good idea, such as in a meeting, for example. In general, if you are supposed to be paying attention to something, don't take pictures.
2. Indoor voices - It's not uncommon to hear someone practically yelling into their phone on a busy street. This is often because they think that they can't be heard by the person on the other end. The vast majority of modern phones have powerful enough microphones and noise cancelling technology to enable users to talk with an indoor voice, even while out on the busy street. If the person you're talking to can't hear you, try cupping your other hand over your mouth and directing the sound towards the phone.
3. Darn you autocorrect! - Most phones use touchscreen keyboards as their input for text. This can be quite inaccurate, so OS developers created autocorrect, which usually picks the wrong word, leading to some potentially embarrassing situations. When typing on your phone, be sure to always read over what you have written before you hit send.
4. Resist the beep - One of the more annoying things about smartphones is that every time a notification sounds people rush to check it. This can be seen as rude, especially if when you are talking with a customer your phone goes off and you cut off from them to check it. It's a surefire way to lose the sale! When you're in meetings, or talking with customers/employees, ignore your phone until you are free to answer/check. If you are expecting an important call, excuse yourself before turning your attention to your phone..
5. Pick the right notifications - Your phone has numerous notification levels. You can set the phone to vibrate, ring, or for lights to flash, etc. If you are in a meeting, it's best to set your phone on silent, as even vibrate is enough to distract these days. Really, the only time your phone should be on ring is when you have it in your pocket, or are in a loud location and unlikely to hear it.
6. Turn it off every now and then - smartphones bring the ability to be always connected, which can be both good and bad. Sometimes being constantly connected leads to higher stress, and increased work hours at the expense of your personal life. You shouldn't be too afraid of spending a bit of time away from your phone every now and then. Just be sure to let people know that you won't be answering calls or texts.

Polite use of your smartphone will go a long way toward ensuring you are seen as a person that others want to do business with. What are your etiquette rules in regards to phone use? Let us know.

If you would like to learn more about how to leverage smartphones in your business, please contact us today.

The modern business owner and manager has a lot of information to keep tabs on. Firstly, there is what their customers are doing and what they want; secondly, there is what the competitors are doing. When it comes to tracking competition however, it can be extremely time consuming, especially with all the social media and deal websites out there. Thankfully, there is an app that might make it easier to keep track of your competitor's social media campaigns.

Perch is a free app developed by Closely for the iOS and Android platforms. The concept of the app is that it provides you with a central place from which you can keep track of your competitor's social media campaigns.

Think of this app as your own personal business CIA. It allows you to keep tabs on what your competitors are doing on Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp and many other daily deal sites. You can even set it up so that you get a daily or weekly summary email with details on competitor efforts.

The app is powered by Foursquare's location technology, and when you first sign on it will display similar companies in your area. From there you are able to add companies to a watchlist which will constantly keep track of their social activity.

Is this a good idea? Keeping track of what your competitors are doing makes good business sense, and apps like Perch can help you cut back the amount of time you spend doing competitive research. This is a two-way street as it also gives your competitors a way to easily view what you are doing.

Some opponents have noted that apps like these that essentially allow businesses to spy on one another, could foster a non-competitive environment if every time a business does something, all competitors follow. This negates the benefits the app aims to offer. Then again, this app is really an aggregator of information that's freely available on the Internet, so it really just makes it easier to do something that businesses are already able to do.

One thing's for certain: Businesses that rely on daily deal sites, or review sites like Yelp, will greatly benefit from an app like this. We'd like to know your thoughts, from both a moral and business standpoint, on using mobile apps like Perch. Let us know.

In recent history there have been some great debates: Frost vs. Nixon, communism vs. democracy, Coke vs. Pepsi. One of the biggest debates is a four-way debate between which mobile system is better, is it Android, iOS, Windows Phone or BlackBerry? Everyone you ask will have an opinion and anyone with the opposite opinion is usually wrong. These debates often gloss over security of devices, leaving managers wondering what mobile device is best security wise?

Here’s a comparison of the security of the four most popular mobile platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry.

Encryption The ability to encrypt your phone (make the data unreadable without a key) is an important feature if you use your phone to view or store private or secure documents. Users of Android 4.0/4.1 and iOS can encrypt their device using a password. Users of Windows phone 7/7.5 have basic encryption built into the device, however, it doesn’t meet the encryption requirements of many organizations. On-device encryption will be introduced in Windows Phone 8.

BlackBerry users can encrypt their phones manually, or if they are part of a business network, the administrator of that network can set encryption on all devices. Mobile OSs, minus Windows Phone 7, and Android 2.X and earlier, have strong enough encryption to meet the needs of the majority of organizations.

While your devices can be encrypted, you should be aware that the encryption is done when the phone shuts off and powers on. If you constantly leave your device on, encryption is less effective.

Remote wipe The ability to remotely wipe a device in case of loss is a must for many professionals. Users of BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone have built-in options to remotely wipe their phones through a cloud service. BlackBerry uses BlackBerry Protect, iOS uses a feature of iCloud called Find my iPhone and Windows Phone uses the Windows Phone website. Android is a bit different in that the OS doesn’t have a built-in remote wipe option, but there are apps available. With all of these systems, you log in to a website and can either lock or wipe the phone.

You should be aware that remote wipe is a last resort solution, you will loose all of your data and information. If it’s not backed up, there is no way to get it back.

Password All devices have options to set a password or passcode to unlock the phone after it has gone to sleep. You can also set how robust the password protection is, or which form of pass protection you use to access your phone. In truth, there are more passcode options on mobile devices than most desktop environments.

Some systems have a few extra options, like the ability to trace a pattern code or using your face to unlock the phone. The stock setting of sliding to unlock should not be used by any user. At the very least you should have a four digit numerical pin to unlock your phone. If you don’t have a password on your phone, features like encryption and remote wipe are more or less useless, as your data can be easily accessed anyway.

Apps Most security threats to mobile devices don’t come from losing your device, rather they come from apps. All mobile OSs have a place where users can download apps for their phones. Some of these are more secure than others. As BlackBerry is largely business oriented, the apps on the store are too and must meet a certain level of security before they’re posted on the store.

iOS apps are only available to download from the App Store, as part of iTunes. This allows Apple to be stringent with their rules; apps on the App Store must meet Apple’s requirements or they won’t be allowed to be sold on the store.

Windows Phone follows a process similar to Apple’s and BlackBerry’s. The developer submits their app for review, Microsoft tests the app and then either puts it on to the store, or rejects it. With the lower number of users, fewer malicious apps make it onto the store.

Android follows a more laissez faire process. Almost every app is allowed onto the Google Play store, which in turn has turned Android into a bit of a hacker’s delight. Google does monitor apps, and has started to remove malicious apps, but there are still more of these on Google Play than other app stores. That being said, the store is a lot more secure than it was even a year ago.

While OS developers tout the security and safety of apps on their app stores, each has had malicious apps make their way onto the stores. The ideal thing to do is to restrict what apps can be downloaded onto company phones by having an approved app list.

Email security The security of email, the most common form of business communication on mobile devices is an important issue to be aware of. All mobile platforms support encryption used by the major email providers. If your company uses Microsoft Exchange or a similar server, any encryption applied at the server level is supported on the mobile level. Personal services like Google automatically encrypt email.

Device management If you have implemented a Bring Your Own Device policy (BYOD), or issue mobile devices to employees, you need to be able to manage these devices. BlackBerry devices can all be managed by an administrator with apps, updates and security issues pushed to the phones by the administrator. At this time, the other systems support remote management, however, device management has to be done through third party solutions.

Each mobile system has pros and cons when it comes to security of related devices, and each new version brings with it better security. In truth, the devices themselves are fairly secure. To ensure a secure mobile device, multiple features and apps need to be utilized by both the user and, if necessary, the administrator/IT manager of your company. If you have questions regarding the security of your mobile device please contact us, we may have a solution for you.

Losing something is always tough, having to spend time looking for it, turning the house and office upside down only to come to the realization that it has indeed been lost. This is even worse when it’s a useful device like your smartphone. Many small business owners keep their whole life on their phones, and if they lose it, it’s a big deal.

Here are four things you should do before you lose your phone and three things you should do when you lose it.

While you still have your phone

1. Put your contact information on your phone’s lock screen. On Android, go into Settings, select Security followed by Owner Info. Put in your info and tick the box at the top of the window. For iPhone users, you’ll need to create an image with your contact information. When you have an image, plug your phone into your computer and put the photo in iPhoto. From there select Settings followed by Wallpaper. Pick the image you created and select Home. You’ll notice it show up on your lock screen.
2. Install a tracker app. Tracker apps allow you to take control of your phone from a remote location (not your phone) and do things like wipe the memory, turn on the ringtone and GPS. For Android users, Android Lost and Wheres My Droid are both good apps. For iPhone users, Find my iPhone is the best app, and should already be on your phone. If you have a Windows phone you can simply log in to My Phone and click Find a lost Phone.
3. Put your contact info in the phone. Many people who find a phone will turn it on and try to look for the owner of the phone, why not help them out and put called “Me”, or “In case of emergency.” Be sure to include another phone number and email so people can contact you.
4. Backup important information. You should be backing up your data for this reason. Luckily most smartphone operating systems sync with the cloud, so be sure to turn on syncing to ensure important information and contacts are backed up.

When you lose your phone

1. Call and text it. Before you activate the tracker app, try calling your phone and sending a text from another phone, maybe someone will pick it up or see it.
2. Activate tracer. When you can get to a computer, log in to the website the tracker uses and use some of the options. The first thing you should do is turn on the GPS and see the phone’s location. If that doesn’t work, try sounding the ringer. As a last resort, wipe the memory.
3. Contact the Police. If you’re worried about the information you have on your phone, or have reason to believe it was stolen, you should contact the police. It’s a long shot, but people have been known to also turn in lost cellphones to police stations, so it may be worth a visit.

It isn’t fun to lose a phone, but if you take steps to minimize the possibility of losing all of your data, you could be back up and running on a new phone in no time. If you’d like to learn more about securing your phone, please contact us.

If you have a smartphone, you no doubt use it for more than just SMS messages and phone calls, and with today’s 24/7 work demands, you’re probably using it for the odd bit of work too. The next step is to then use your smartphone, or other mobile device, while at work, in place of or in addition to your normal desktop or laptop. This last step is becoming known as BYOD, or “Bring Our Own Device”. Is BYOD already happening at your place of work?

When employees use their own device for work, it can be hard for their company to manage what the user is doing, after all it’s a personal item. Add to this the growing number of malware programs aimed at stealing information from devices, and you’ve got an issue that’s not going to go away anytime soon.

What Exactly is BYOD? BYOD came about when businesses began to assign laptops to employees for use at home or on the road. Companies quickly came to realize that the laptops were not as secure as the desktops at the office, and that employees were also using the laptops for personal use. To address this, companies introduced security measures and procedures to keep data on the laptops safe, while limiting personal use. This worked well until the introduction of the smartphone, which has now given employees the ability to access their office data on their personal devices, and has moved them off the machines provided by the company. Because of this trend, companies are being forced to examine or implement a BYOD policy.

Pros of BYOD The most obvious benefit of BYOD is the fact that the cost of the the technology is shifted from your company to the user. Think about it: no more costly hardware upgrades and minimal to nonexistent upkeep costs, thus bringing about significant savings.

The next upside to BYOD is user satisfaction. If your employees are allowed to use their own devices, they’ll generally be more satisfied with the systems they’re using, because they’ve already made the personal choice to buy that particular device.

There are some ancillary advantages to BYOD as well, including having employees on the most up-to-date systems, as many employees will buy newer, or top of the line models. The other advantage is that the usually slow update cycle can be exterminated, employees will be in charge of keeping their devices current, not the company.

Cons of BYOD As with all stories, there are two sides to this one. The biggest disadvantage of BYOD is that you’ll lose control of the hardware, and employees will generally be more reticent in allowing other employees to use their device.

Another major issue to overcome is usage policies. As employees will be using their own device, it’ll be harder to tell them what is considered acceptable use. As opposed to when employees are using company devices you can implement a fair-use policy.

The final negative side of BYOD is of what happens when an employee leaves your company? If they’ve been using their own device it can be a chore to get the data back, let alone establish who owns the data in the first place.

So What Can I do? If you take a step back and observe, you’ll notice that smartphones are becoming more and more mainstream, and while in the short term you could say no to personal devices at work, it won’t work in the long term. It would be beneficial if you developed a BYOD plan that clearly states your expectations, and has a usage policy regarding network and data use. You don’t have to implement it right away, but it’ll help to have the plan ready, for when you do decide to allow employees to use their own devices. You could also set up a trial with some employees, observe how they get on with the devices and reevaluate your position after the trial period.

You should also establish a set point of security measures that are not optional. This is particularly important for companies that operate under set data security mandates, e.g., mandates regulating data storage in relation to point of sale and credit systems. Methods of increasing security include software that must be installed, and basic security measures such as a locked screen, or regular data backup.

It is also important to establish a process for when an employee leaves your company. Set up a policy regarding who owns what data and the steps to be taken at the end of employment. If your employee uses a device with a removable memory card, you could set up a partition - mini non-physical hard-drive within the larger physical hard-drive - on the card where data from the business is to be stored, allowing for easy access and retrieval.

Should your company go BYOD, or abstain? Be aware that this is a major trend and in the near future employees will start to push to use their own devices at work, if they haven’t already. If you’d like help setting up a BYOD plan or more information concerning security measures, please contact us.

Keys, wallet, smartphone...These days, it’s fairly common for people to be seen using mobile devices for their work-related tasks. But with this welcome flexibility comes the daunting task of making sure that usage is properly managed and regulated.

Using smartphones for business purposes can indeed lead to increased efficiency and improved productivity, but if left mismanaged and unregulated, smartphone usage can cause more trouble than it’s worth. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of mobile devices:

1. Formulate a Specific Policy For IT: One common mistake many businesses make is that they lack a policy specifically for the use of mobile devices. This is where you determine whether employees can use their own personal devices for work or not, indicate reimbursable expenses and other costs, and control networks where business-purpose devices can connect to.
2. Have a Security Action Plan: Data security is a major issue for any IT device, especially one that employees can take outside of the office. It is then imperative that any device used for business has the proper security to protect it from online attacks, and remote access features that allow it to be completely wiped, or “bricked” if said device is stolen.
3. Consider Developing Your Own Applications: Customized applications that employees can use for their business needs can prove to be much more secure, and more efficient than other third-party apps. As they’re made specifically for you, you can be sure that tasks done through mobile devices and the corresponding output are better tailored to fit into your organization’s work flow.

If you would like to know more about how to better manage the use of mobile devices for your business, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’d love to sit down with you and discuss a possible blueprint that addresses your business’s specific needs.