Monday, June 7, 2010

As smartphone usage grows, so do your options.

A report just out from Nielsen indicates 23 percent of cellphone subscribers now own and use a smartphone.
I’d venture the percentage is higher among real estate users, at least judging from feedback from readers of work I do for NAR’s Realtor publications.
Happy users are likely the phone industry’s best advertisers in real estate, as agents and brokers who are pleased with their respective phone and OS want the world to know. A year ago, the most enthusiastic seemed to be iPhone users, although the ranks of real estate pros shouting the praises of Android phones are is swelling.
Much of the enthusiasm for smartphones has to do with the breadth and depth of the catalog of available “apps.” (Look for an overview article on mobile apps in the July Tech Watch) Although Blackberry users seem pleased with their choice in a smartphone, the relatively slim software pickings available for that platform could be one of its biggest stumbling blocks. Android will certainly attract more, but the phone to beat, as far as software, remains the iPhone.
One surprise for me, Mac aficionado that I am, is how deeply the iPhone seems to have penetrated the real estate market. Or maybe it’s just iPhone users are most outspoken. In any event, from my perspective , the smartphone will ultimately come down to a choice between an Android and iPhone for most users, in real state or otherwise. But there’s still a way to go.
And in the meantime, there’s always new models to convince everyone to step up to a smartphone. Check out the newly announced iPhone 4 or HTC EVO for a better idea of just how the choices are evolving, and how enticing their future.

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