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We live in a digital age, so why do business cards refuse to die? They're a hassle to store and an environmental suck to produce. Plus, who among us has time to manually transcribe contact info into a phone, PDA, or PC?
Needless to say, I was geeked to try Business Card Reader, a $5.99 app that turns business cards into iPhone Address Book entries.
Specifically, BCR leverages your iPhone's camera to take a snapshot of a card, then uses built-in optical character recognition (OCR) to convert the image into text and populate the appropriate contact fields.
After snapping a photo, Business Card Reader scans the card and adds the data to a new contact.
That's the theory, anyway. In practice, BCR requires near-perfect lighting conditions and decidedly non-fancy cards to achieve reliable recognition.
Make no mistake: This is a terrific app, one I'd absolutely buy despite its limitations; it's just that handy. But let's not overlook those limitations.
For starters, it requires an iPhone 3GS. Older models lack the autofocus capabilities necessary for sharp close-ups (though you might be able to get by with one of those third-party macro lenses).
Next, while BCR does a decent job identifying names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers, in my tests it rarely got the company name right. Likewise, if a name included a middle initial, it placed that initial in the Last Name field and ignored the actual last name altogether.
It's also a challenge to get sufficient lighting while avoiding glare off the card itself--particularly if it's a glossy card. And what with all the fancy logos, layouts, and color schemes these days, it's no wonder BCR encounters its share of difficulties.
That said, when it works well, it's a thing of beauty, and it's a lot faster and easier to edit a few OCR mistakes than it is to manually enter the information.
I also like the app's option to look up a contact on LinkedIn and/or merge the scanned card data with an existing iPhone contact. Plus, it recognizes not only English, but also French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Another perk: the Card Holder view, which stores the actual scans in a slick-looking mock-leather "holder."
Business Card Reader may not be perfect, but it's about $150 less than a dedicated bizcard scanner--and it works right on your iPhone.
Have you found another card-scanning app you like better? If so, hit the comments and tell me about it!
Line2 is exactly that: a second line (well, phone number, anyway) for your iPhone.
One iPhone, two phone numbers. That's the idea behind Line2, a new telephony app that effectively adds a second line to your handset.
Despite Apple's curious claims that iPhones aren't for business, Line2 should come as good news indeed to business users. It provides a new local number, a ported existing number, or an 800 number.
Whichever option you choose, the number comes with voicemail, call history, and an independent contacts directory. (The Line2 app provides one-tap switching between your iPhone and Toktumi phone books, a nice touch.)
Using Line2 requires signing up for Toktumi's "virtual office" phone service, which costs $14.95 per month if you sign up for an annual contract or $19.95 if you go month-to-month. Thankfully, there's a 30-day trial available.
Better still, the first 200 iPhone Atlas readers who sign up for an account and use trial code 591321851 will get three months free!
All subscribers will, however, have to pony up 99 cents for the Line2 app. Though it's hard to quibble with such a paltry sum, we can't help feeling that if you're paying for monthly service, the app should be free.
Once you've installed the app and signed up for service (which, impressively, you can do right on your iPhone), calls to your new/ported/800 number come through just like regular calls.
Well, sort of. Your iPhone rings and you see your Toktumi number as the caller ID. When you answer, the automated Toktumi bot tells you who's calling and gives you the option of accepting the call or sending it directly to voice mail.
That's a nifty feature, though it does require you to activate the iPhone's keypad to make your selection, which is a minor hassle.
As for outgoing calls, Line2 provides unlimited calling to the U.S. and Canada and low-cost international calls--all routed over the usual cellular airwaves, not Wi-Fi. Toktumi wants to make it clear that Line2 isn't intended as a "cheap calling solution," but rather an option for business professionals seeking a separate number that integrates with their phone.
Of course, you can get ostensibly the same thing from Google Voice, if and when it makes its way to the App Store. (TechCrunch has more about Line2's similarities to Google Voice, if you're interested.)
In the meantime, Line2 definitely works as advertised. If you like the idea of a second phone number for your iPhone, it's worth a look.
Whether you're watching a movie on an airplane or interacting with your iPhone while it's charging on your desk, some kind of stand is essential. That's why I read David's Mobile Xtand review with great interest.
Pretty cool product--but $40? That's way too rich for my Cheapskate blood. Fortunately, there are iPhone stands that cost significantly less--and some that cost nothing at all. Here's a look at three way-cheaper alternatives:
- The business-card stand Far and away my all-time favorite, this 60-second Instructables project turns any business card (the thicker, the better) into a perfect little stand. It can return to your wallet when not in use, and it has an unbeatable price. Be sure to read the accompanying comments for lots of other DIY ideas.
- The Crabble OK, it has arguably the worst product name since the Sony Clie. But this cool $4.99 stand is essentially a hard-plastic version of the previous one, and it can hold your iPhone for either portrait or landscape viewing. Plus, it folds flat, so it's just as wallet-friendly. See it in action in the above video.
- MovieWedge The bean-bag chair meets the iPhone. This soft-sided, microsuede-covered stand is ideal for uneven surfaces--including your dashboard, for those times when your iPhone is pulling double duty as your GPS. It's $9.95.
OK, your turn: What's your preferred method of propping up your iPhone?
Documents To Go has finally arrived on the iPhone.
It's been a long time coming, but DataViz's Documents To Go has finally arrived in the App Store.
The software allows you to view, edit, and create Microsoft Word documents, while a companion desktop app (for Windows and Mac) enables two-way synchronization.
Needless to say, this should have business users dancing in the aisles (or at least doing a little Where the Hell is Matt-style jig).
Drawing on years of experience with Palm and Windows Mobile versions of Documents To Go, DataViz crammed in a laundry list of features. For starters, the company's InTact technology guarantees that all document formatting gets preserved between iPhone and PC.
The app also offers predictive text, landscape viewing/editing, character formatting (bold, italics, underline, etc.), bulleting and numbering, tables, embedded graphics, and plenty more. Most importantly, it allows you to cut, copy, and paste text. (Remind me why it took Apple three versions of the OS to add this?)
For the moment, Documents To Go supports only Word files, at least in terms of creating and editing. As with countless other apps, you can view Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and iWork documents.
Down the road, DataViz will add support for creating and editing Excel spreadsheets, at which point anyone who purchased this version will get a free upgrade.
And right now, Documents To Go is priced at just $4.99-- a"grand opening" special that ends June 30. I'm not sure what the price will be after that, but it's a good bet it'll be closer to competitor Quickword ($12.99). The latter can't yet edit Word 2007 files, nor does it actually synchronize documents.
Also on special: Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments, which includes a built-in e-mail client for downloading, viewing, and sending Word files on the run. (In other words, it syncs with your company's Exchange server.) That version will cost you $9.99 until June 30.
Good stuff. Now all we need is a decent portable Bluetooth keyboard for word processing on the run. Come on, accessory makers! Get with the program.
ExecTweets brings the Twitter feeds of industry's best and brightest to your iPhone.
Are you trying to climb the corporate ladder? Hard work helps, but it couldn't hurt to have some insight from those who have reached the top. ExecTweets for iPhone aggregates the Twitter feeds of nearly 100 top executives.
Those execs include top brass from companies such as Best Buy, Digg, Microsoft, and Zappos. Following them nets you nuggets of business wisdom, links to stories they consider important, random thoughts (this is Twitter, after all), and even notable quotables (not sure why, but execs are really into quoting).
The application makes it a snap to browse the tweets, with separate views for All, Featured, and Most Popular. You can also peruse "hot topics" (which lets you sort by selected keywords) and browse broad categories like government, health care, and technology.
Best of all, you can tap any tweet to open its accompanying URL, retweet it, send a reply, or share it via e-mail.
Even though I'm not in sales, management, or anything like that, I have to admit I find this stuff really fascinating. I feel like Bud Fox hanging out with a hundred Gordon Gekkos, digesting priceless pearls of business advice.
ExecTweets is free. It says it's compatible only with the iPhone, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work on an iPod Touch. Does anyone care to confirm? At the moment it's compatible only with the iPhone, but an ExecTweets exec I spoke with said an iPod Touch-compatible update is imminent.
Got what it takes to run a successful lemonade stand? It's tougher than you think.
Earlier this week it was Myst. Now another PC classic (hell, Apple II classic) has made its way to the iPhone. Lemonade Tycoon is Electronic Arts' adaptation of the seminal Lemonade Stand, a business and economics lesson shrouded in an addictive turn-based strategy game.
Indeed, what looks like (and is) a cute little kids game about running a lemonade stand is actually a clever course in sales, marketing, and management. The goal: Build your neighborhood juice biz into a Starbucks-like lemonade empire. ("Lemonade-bucks"? Nah. Hopefully Marketing can come up with something snappier.)
To turn your lemons into yellow gold, you'll need to tweak the recipe, buy enough (but not too many) supplies, decide whether to spend money on advertising, choose a location, add staff if necessary, buy upgrades when prudent, and so on.
Bad weather can keep customers away in droves. Plan accordingly!
In other words, it's like running a business. Once you've made all your decisions for the day, you get to see your stand in real-time action. (This is cute at first, but eventually you'll just want to skip ahead to the results, which you can do with a single tap.)
Make no mistake: Lemonade Tycoon is no walk in the park. It really does challenge your business skills, as variables like the weather and customer disposition always affect the outcome. EA's presentation is perfect: cute, simple, and entertaining. It's fun for all ages. (Well, all ages that can read.)
Best of all, you won't have to invest any of the funds from your real-world lemonade stand: Lemonade Tycoon is free. That's quite a surprise coming from EA, but definitely a welcome one.
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