Do Real Estate Agents Need Apple's New iPhone XS?
Smartphones play bigger and bigger roles in our lives, to the point that many people manage their livelihood through their phone. With smartphones having such an impact on our day-to-day lives, it's important to keep up with the latest technology. One of the latest updates came on September 12, when Apple unveiled its latest iPhones. Among these are the iPhone XS (starting at $999) and iPhone XS Max (starting at $1,099). However, while many were expecting a revolutionary new device, Apple instead offers a better, faster version of its predecessor. They explained that the "iPhone XS is everything you love about iPhone. Taken to the extreme." In other words, it is a much better, faster version of the iPhone X. So then, the question real estate agents should be asking themselves becomes, "Do I need one?"

Pocket PCs, iPad, and Outlook Tips
POCKET PCS? The technology industry is booming, and everyday appliances are being redeveloped to be better than ever before. With many technology devices, part of a new design means a device is made smaller and portable. One of the most well-known examples is the computer with original models weighing around one ton. Today, they are portable devices that come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. In the real estate industry, a REALTORS® time is divided between the office and showing homes and having a reliable device that can handle multiple work functions is essential. Laptop computers are an appealing option, but at times they can be difficult to operate, bulky, and inconvenient to carry. Luckily, Intel and other computer companies are beginning to develop Desktop PC HDMI sticks that will connect directly to an HDMI port. The HDMI sticks contain an Atom Quad-Core processor, as well as 2 GB of RAM for data storage. With the addition of a portable keyboard, HDMI sticks are lightweight and easier to transport. They have the ability to plug into TV monitors to display 1080p for clean visuals which are useful in the real estate industry. The current HDMI sticks that stand out are the Windows based HDMI sticks known as Intel's ComputeStick as well as MeeGoPad T01. HDMI sticks are available for sale now. For more information, visit http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/compute-stick/intel-compute-stick.html.

3 Simple Ways to Maintain Your Mac
We're bringing an old favorite back to life: Tech Tuesdays. Each week, we'll be bringing you a new tech tip that tackles challenges agents frequently face. We're kicking things off with the following advice from the team at Tech Helpline. They talk to agents every day about technology issues, so they know a lot about the problems Realtors face. Today, they're offering advice for staying out of trouble. The good news is that it's as simple running routine maintenance on your computer. Read on to learn more. The most important factor in maintaining any computer and keeping it running efficiently is proper maintenance. Fortunately, Mac computers are very easy to maintain and keep organized since everything is stored under a central user library. Here are three easy tips to get optimal performance from your Mac. 1. Check your hard drive and make sure there is no damaged or corrupted data. The easiest way of doing this is by using the built-in Disk Utility tool, which is located in the Disk Utility folder. You can access it in one of the following two ways: Option 1: Open Finder from your dock at the bottom of the screen, open the Applications folder, open the Utilities folder, and Disk Utility will be one of the many options provided. Option 2: From the Go menu at the top of the screen, select Utilities from the drop down menu. Once Disk Utility has been opened, you can select the Macintosh HD icon on the left pane (Macintosh HD is the default name of the hard drive unless it is changed to a custom name).

One Way an iPad Won't Replace a Newspaper...
Who is that person in your life who lounges in their pajama's for hours, enjoying a good ol' cup of joe while crinkling through the local newspaper? Ah, those were the days! Before newspapers people would have to wait for their neighborhood gossips to stop by and fill you in on the "happenings."  Now, we are seeing a shift away from newspapers as the Internet, mobile devices and tablets start to take over. In many ways tablets are superior to newspapers.  I will give you that they may not have the same romance about them as that morning coffee and newspaper reading, but in 15 years, it just may become a sentimental past time for techy people who have moved on to newer technology solutions. Newsday did a great job hilariously articulating the superiority of the iPad (in this case) over the newspaper.  However, they did find one glitch in the system.

How to Shoot Listing Photos at Dusk
When I’m scrolling through a library of listing photos, I find myself most attracted to those shot at dusk or dawn. There’s something about the warm glow of a house contrasted against the cool sky that is not only punchy and attention-grabbing, but wholesome and safe. I’m no anthropologist, but I’d be willing to bet it has something to do with our instinctual attraction to a warm fire glowing from within a comfy cave. Even though these types of photos are arguably more attention-grabbing than daytime ones, there are good reasons why most real estate exteriors are not shot this way. For one, dusk shots are harder to execute – they require higher level camera knowledge. Secondly, they involve more elaborate setups often involving powerful fill lights, not to mention the task of turning on every light in the house prior to the shoot.  

Three iPad Contenders: WePad, Moby and HP Slate
After reading about drawback features of Mac's iPad, such as lack of Flash Animation and multitasking capabilities, real estate professionals who are excited to utilize a tablet for business purposes, should know about three new tablet contenders coming out soon. 1) WePad by Neofonie—due end of March 2010; 2) The Moby by Marvell—due the end of 2010; 3) HP's Slate PC—due sometime in the summer of 2010. Continue reading to learn more about the features and specs of each of these tablets.

Palm May Face Obsolescence
WAV Group has been following the story of Palm, Inc., the makers of the most popular handset among real estate professionals. Palm raised private equity last year from a group led by U2 singer Bono in an effort to launch their competitor to the iPhone, Google Android, and the popular Blackberry devices that have taken significant market share away from the smartphone handset pioneer. If you are considering a mobile phone today and a new two year contract, choosing a Palm may be a mistake.

Using Technology
The history of the Internet is a story of inverse proportion; as technology accelerates, the barriers to it—both monetary and technological—shrink. During one of my CRT presentations, I lead off by asking, “Who has been using email since 1971?” Only once has someone raised their hand. And while you may be wondering who would be naive enough to think that they could have been emailing since then, the lore of the Internet traces the first use of email back to the summer of 1971. So now, I ask you, "Why weren’t you using email back then, or even in 1991?" I lead off with that example because it clearly demonstrates what I’m discussing: technically, there was nothing to prevent people from sending email back in 1971. If you look at a timeline of the Internet, you can see that many of the services that we take for granted today and which we often perceive as only a couple of years old have actually been around for quite some time. Many times, a “new” technology merely refers to an old technology with a new label, a sign that it has reached the mainstream. But because technology takes some time to enter the mainstream, most people either aren’t aware of what’s possible or consider the cost too unreasonable.