PHOTO BY CLAIRE MITCHELL
During Wednesday’s Latino Business Network meeting at the Hermiston Conference Center, attendees learned a few ways that mobile applications can help their businesses.
U.S. Cellular Store Manager Skyler Gregory gave the workshop on how to “take your business into the mobile arena in a productive, effective way.” He described a few of his favorite applications and their benefits when used on computers, tablets and phones.
CamScanner is an application available on both Apple and Android. It allows the user to scan any document and turn it into a PDF file, which he or she can then share via email, Dropbox or other platforms.
“I would suggest getting this one right away,” Gregory said about the CamScanner app.
For those who need to convert spreadsheets between Apple and Android or PC systems, Gregory recommended the Google Sheets program.
“It converts it pretty fast and easily.”
According to Gregory, one of the best applications for business is Evernote, a program which helps organize business contacts, to-do items, brainstorming lists and more.
“I love it,” he said. “Evernote takes on what CamScanner does and makes things a little bit easier.”
Gregory gave business cards as an example, saying that he tends to lose them easily. With Evernote, he simply scans people’s business cards, and the app stores all the information in one place. He has the program on his phone, iPad and computer.
“Everything that I do goes into my Evernote because that way I know that I can find it in here. I don’t have to worry about where I put it. Did I leave that in my phone? Did I put that on my tablet? Is that on my computer? Where is it? It’s in Evernote, so it doesn’t matter what I pick up.”
His only complaint about this particular app is that it doesn’t have the traditional file folder design of the Microsoft OneNote program. Functionally, however, Gregory said that he wouldn’t change anything about Evernote.
“You can also save voice notes in there (as well as) videos. You can get Evernote Premium and upload more than a gig a month of video – and you get unlimited storage with it when you have Premium.”
Apple users can store notes directly from the Penultimate program into Evernote.
Gregory also recommended Skitch, an Evernote product which can be used alone or in conjunction with the Evernote app.
Skitch allows users to annotate photos. This program is ideal for those who work in fields such as plumbing, refrigeration, construction or interior design. They can use the app to take photos of settings or equipment and write out explanations or circle and describe issues to be addressed.
For businesses that may have trouble with “time theft” among employees who drive company vehicles, Gregory suggested using the Delphi Connect module, a device which can plug into almost any vehicle sold in the U.S. beginning with the 1996 model year.
The Delphi module sends vehicle-related data to the cloud, allowing employers or supervisors to monitor a vehicle’s location and speed and even to assess problems when the “Check Engine” light comes on.
“Also, if you have a last-minute or emergency situation, you want to know who the closest person is to get out to the job site so you can call them over there,” Gregory said.
Delphi also works well for private vehicles. For instance, it sends the vehicle owner an alert when someone bumps his or her car in a parking lot.
For most businesses, obtaining feedback from customers as well as from associates is a crucial step toward improved performance. Gregory recommends using SurveyMonkey, a free online questionnaire tool, to get such information.
“My company uses it all the time. We get (surveys) from our sales team to ask us how they’re doing with things. We hear from our marketing team as well. SurveyMonkey is fantastic.”
When it comes to the security of company property as well as private property, Gregory suggested using Machine to Machine (M2M) technology. This can involve attaching a small geolocation tag to any piece of equipment in case of theft.
M2M is also useful for irrigation systems and other mechanisms that require remote control.
SmartScouter can be used to monitor company or private property. It is a cellular surveillance system which uses passive infrared sensors to detect movement of people or animals. When SmartScouter does detect movement, the device sends photos wirelessly to the user’s computer or cell phone.
Gregory also addressed ways to stay productive by using mobile apps – and in spite of using mobile apps.
He recommended the EasilyDo application, which connects to the user’s email and social media accounts to keep track of things such as meeting times, appointments, and coworkers’ birthdays.
The Any.do app does even more than EasilyDo by giving reminders for important action items. “Any.do is my favorite to-do list,” said Gregory as he explained more of the program’s features. “It checks the traffic for me. If I’m going to Portland, for instance, and there’s a wreck and it’s going to be an extra hour, it adjusts to tell me, ‘By the way, you should be leaving now instead of in 45 minutes.’ ”
There are many productivity apps available on both Apple and Android. Such apps can shut off all functions on the user’s phone except for his or her current project in order to help eliminate distractions.
All of these apps sound helpful, but what about when the device itself isn’t reaching its full productivity potential? Gregory explained some ways to improve a phone’s battery life and memory issues:
“Games take up a ton of room on your phone, and that slows you down and stops you from being productive,” he said.
An extensive history of recent calls and saved text messages also takes up a lot of memory. Gregory recommends clearing the recent call history on a regular basis.
For problems with poor battery life or excessive data usage, checking the phone’s settings can help determine which applications are using the most energy or data.
“Facebook is notorious for using a ton of data all the time,” said Gregory. “If you have the Messenger app, I would say get rid of it immediately because it is always pinging to find out who is available – and it accesses your GPS to find out who’s around you, which also bogs down your phone.”
Instead of using the Messenger app, Gregory suggests simply logging into Facebook through a phone’s internet browser, where the user can access messages without the limits of the Facebook app.
The next U.S. Cellular workshop at the Hermiston Conference Center will be October 28 at 1 p.m. in the Board Room. U.S. Cellular also holds its own device workshops, open to the public, on the third Saturday of every month from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Visit U.S. Cellular at 650 North First Street Suite A in Hermiston, or call 541-567-2335.
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