Neurons

Do you use mobile applications in your day-to-day small business operations? A study by AT&T shows that of the 2,246 small businesses surveyed, 38% of small businesses could not operate without the assistance of mobile applications, and one-third of the businesses use mobile applications of some kind in their day-to-day operations. The majority of the these applications included GPS/ location based applications. The most common reasons for the use of mobile apps in the small business were to increase productivity, cut costs, and save time.

There are a wide variety of mobile applications on the market. Everything from games, to health monitoring, to banking, and starting your vehicle. These applications can be developed for a specific company’s needs or for the general public. According to an Aberdeen survey of 240 enterprises, mobile applications can increase productivity by 45% and operational efficiency by 44% when enterprise wide mobile applications are implemented correctly. The survey cites three main factors that offer the increase in productivity:

1. Improve communication and collaboration among team members (66%)
2. Rapidly deliver actionable information to the point of decision (48%)
3. Use mobile software to increase customer intimacy (42%)

An increase in productivity by such a large percentage can have astronomical effects on overall business performance. Does your company utilize mobile applications or mobile web applications? Can you think of ways that mobile applications could improve your core business functions? Tell us what you think, we would love to chat with you.

Over the past 8 years, Google has been working on a car that can drive itself. The car uses sensors, radars, and cameras that are connected to a central computer located in the vehicle. In addition, there is a camera on the top of the vehicle that creates a 3D map of where the vehicle is while it drives. These cars have logged over 150,000 miles, and have taken on roads as challenging as Lombard St. in San Fransisco, CA. Google’s ultimate goal throughout this project is to create a way to make driving safer, and reduce the number of deaths each year caused by automobile accidents. Check out the videos below for an inside look!

Today, March 2, 2o11, is the date of Apple’s expected announcement of the iPad 2. Invitations to the Apple event in San Fransisco, CA were sent out last week with an image of a calendar page concealing an iPad. There have been many speculations about the possible new product offerings included in the iPad 2. We did some research and found the following to be the most agreed upon.

1. More squared-off edges
2. Retina display
3. Front and rear facing cameras – allowing for FaceTime with other Apple products
4. Faster graphics
5. Improved hardware
6. Larger, louder speakers
7. Intel Thunderbolt connectivity
8. Verizon 3G model
9. Possible 7″ model

Of course, these are simply speculations. The facts will be presented shortly at the event beginning at 10:00AM PT. Whatever the new features and offerings, the iPad 2 will surely be a hit alongside just about every Apple product that has been released. The Apple Store is currently offline, and is expected to go back online after the event with the brand new iPad2 front and center. Keep up to date with the happenings of the event through a live blog hosted by CNET.

The new BrainSpark Media site is now live! After months of strategy, design, and development the team has pulled together the final product. Check it out at www.brainsparkmedia.com

Some key features:

• No flash – Optimized for mobile devices, including the iPad
• Utilizes jquery and ajax throughout
• New work gallery filled with relevant work from a variety of clients
• Customized Umbraco content management system (CMS)
• Custom embedded fonts using @font-face technology

Let us know what you think, Get the conversation started!

If you have visited an Apple Store recently, you have probably seen an employee or two using an iPad to schedule appointments, or look up products for customers. The portability and the ability to create customized applications make the iPad a potentially game-changing tool for many business functions. One of the greatest opportunities for the iPod lies in the retail industry. Companies can utilize iPad optimized websites or applications to assist customers in a variety of ways.

Business Insider offers a few ways that the iPad can be implemented into the in-store retail experience.

1. Catalogs: Online versions of print catalogs haven’t taken off, but iPad versions, with embedded video, as well as the ability to browse whenever it’s convenient and make purchases could be the next big thing.
2. Customization: Cars, furniture, shoes and apparel could all be customized in-store, with customers able to easily view and select colors, fabrics and finishes, and then place the special order.
3. Sales Floor Assistant: The iPad could provide easy access to product data, customer data and customer reviews, in addition to allowing transactions to be completed away from the register.
4. Personal shopper: Customers finding a jacket in one department could access recommendations for coordinating apparel and accessories in other departments.
5. Registries: Now divided into an offline and online experience, iPad could enable customers to create registries from a store’s entire inventory.
6. E-Commerce: Consumers are already shopping on their phones; it’s only a matter of time before the iPad becomes another shopping tool.

These are just a few of the countless opportunities that the iPad can offer for retail companies. Have you seen the iPad in any retail outlets? In what ways do you think it will change the in-store retail game? We at BSM love the iPad, and understand it. We have innovative ways to design and implement the iPad into your business functions. If you would like to see the iPad change the way your company does business, feel free to reach out to us.