Apple’s 2012 strategy

The real action at the Cupertino company in 2011 was with its iOS devices, which will continue to be the firm’s big newsmakers in 2012. One thing we know:  iPad rental will have a “3″ at the end of its model name. It seems pretty clear that Apple’s big-ticket product in the first half of 2012 will be the iPad 3, with the iPhone 5 debuting in the second half of the year. We will take a look at the iPhone in an upcoming blog – the iPad 3 is the first order of business this year.

Despite the proliferation of mobile devices like tablet PC rentals, Apple will doubtless continue to rule the market in tablets (and smart phones). There are literally dozens of iPad-centric sites, but the original is iLounge, and its recent coverage of iPad 3 rumors (and others) is cautious and thankfully un-hyped.

Where was iPad 2 weak?

The iPad 2 added some potent new features to the original model, but still failed to live up to several expectations. The dual-core A5 chip was a bona fide improvement, but both cameras in the iPad 2 are somewhat underwhelming compared to some competitors. Not for long. All this will change with third iteration of the iPad, which will likely feature an A6 processor and new, high-definition cameras, probably the same ones that will end up in a revamped MacBook rental line, too.

When the new iPad does launch, it will probably cannibalize sales of the iPad 2. However, this gives Apple the opportunity to place its legacy model in the mid-range tablets market, currently topped by Amazon’s new $199 Kindle Fire. Despite a great deal of speculation about Apple introducing a “mini” version of its hit tablet, or putting the iOS in a downsized MacBook Air, but there has been no evidence of this being seriously considered.

CRE Rentals stays abreast of technology and supports all your important work, from intense post-production tasks with an AJA Io HD to conference breakout sessions with our first-rate trade show convention rentals. Our expert Account Executives will respond swiftly to your call or e-mail, or you can speed things along even faster with our Quick Rental Quote form. When you’re ready, we’ll be here to help!

Traffic leader

The respected web analytics firm, comScore, reports that smartphones and tablets (from iPhones to WiFi-enabled tablet PC rentals) accounted for nearly 7% of total U.S. web traffic in August 2011. About two-thirds of that was from phones, the balance from tablets. Astonishingly, the iPad grabbed over 97% of tablet traffic.

But the iPad is also driving more web traffic than Apple’s own iPhone – a 46.8% share of all traffic originating from iOS devices (again, in August), as opposed to the iPhone’s 42.6%. Tellingly, the total iOS share of U.S. mobile web traffic that month was 58.5% – that’s market penetration, folks. This is true despite the continuing growth of Android, which just released version 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”).

In the mix of communication

Clearly, the iPad is right “in the mix” when it comes to communications today. What makes it so potent as a marketing device – before, during and after conferences – is its portability, for one thing. But the real power lies in its “double connectivity” (WiFI and cell) and all the great apps that have been customized for it. Although the MacBook Pro is portable, too, Apple’s tablet is supremely flexible, adaptable and focused.

With access to e-mail, social networking sites and the rest of the web, you can use your iPad in real-time from your exhibit booth to draw attendees there. In addition to communications apps, the iPad has a full array of office tools for creating, editing, printing, sending and otherwise managing all of your marketing materials. You can announce breakout sessions, invite participants to interactive presentations powered by Audience Response Systems (ARS) and steer attendees to both your booth and your website.

Bottom line for business professionals

According to comScore, in 2010 over 115 million Americans used mobile devices to browse the web, use/download apps or access content. This is nearly 20% greater than just the previous year – and the numbers are even more impressive among business users. Whether using a PC desktop computer rental or a mobile device, business users have come to depend on the ability to reach their targets – worldwide, around town and in a sea of conference attendees.

When you need more than just an Xserve RAID array or other high-tech tool – when you need a solution, a plan, a strategy – you need CRE. One call or e-mail, or one visit to our Quick Rental Quote online form, and an Account Executive is on the job for you. Just let us know what you need to do!

At your next trade show or conference, you too can engage customers with touch technology. Whether you equip your trade show booth with an LCD touchscreen monitor rental, or use one in combination with ipads or tablets, the hands-on approach is a winner with customers everywhere.

Why use touch technology?

Visitors to your trade show booth will be (a) people you invited or (b) passersby motivated to stop. They need some sort of business solution, and your product or service may be it. How do you engage them?

Set up your touch-enabled devices so that you can capture trade show prospects with a plasma display rental running an animated invitation or video. Or, showcase touch-to-learn presentations, sales collateral materials or technical papers installed on iPad rental, tablets or touch-enabled monitors.

It is easy enough to connect a Mac Pro to touchscreen monitors, but what if your product is PC software, what do you do? CRE has an all-in-one multitouch display PC that is perfect for you. And don’t forget, if you have a tangible product (or an intangible, like software, in a tangible box), people will want to “touch” that, too.

Tips to engage customers

Once you get people’s attention, you have to deliver a good show. Here are some tips:

• Trade show visitors complain about leaving booths feeling “unimportant.” You must be personally proactive and not simply rely on trade show convention rentals and equipment to do the whole job.

• Your presentations and interactive marketing tools are not just visual. Sound design is critical, so get your creative folks to find the right sound effects, dialog and background music for the effect you seek.

• Finally, don’t forget that you can rent interactive kiosks that are touchscreen-equipped, as well. These are handy for capturing contact information in places you can’t be.

You want to create a smooth, flowing process: Capture passersby, use your touch-enabled tools to let them “try before buying,” turn them loose at their own pace – then be on hand to answer any questions.

Want to learn how to use touch technology at your next trade show or event? Call or e-mail an Account Executive who can walk you through all the “touch” tools we carry. If you know what you need, use the Quick Rental Quote form right now!

Audience response system technology has been around for years (see this interesting piece from 1999) but the new, small, super-smart and wireless systems of today are both easy to use and powerful. And audience response approaches work everywhere, from stockholder meetings to conferences. Let’s take a quick look.

For Employee Training

With Audience Response System rentals from CRE Rentals,  you can evaluate employees before and after training sessions to better gauge the effectiveness of your approach. In addition, you can arrange for plasma rentals to display important information, then measure its effectiveness in real time. Plus, feedback can be completely anonymous.

In companies where training goes on regularly (even continuously), audience response technology is a powerful tool for helping employees build the requisite knowledge base, as well as retain it. Trainers will continue to learn what works (and what doesn’t) with their specific materials and approach, and can thus “tweak” the training on a continuous basis.

For Sales/Marketing Purposes

For a product launch, sales training session or focus group – anywhere new company concepts, terms and products are being presented – using an audience response setup enables management to gather critical information. Company leaders can determine if their sales force has sufficient product and market knowledge to succeed, as well as discover what is most important to the typical user of their product or service.

Although there are some first stabs at making a Web-based ARS, using a state-of-the-art, self-contained audience polling system allows for everything we’ve mentioned – plus easy voting at stockholder meetings, and feedback on company initiatives, new products and other matters. All of this helps corporate managers determine improvements to every phase of the business, from product development to media strategies.

Top Benefits of Audience Response

Audience response rentals from CRE offer tremendous advantages:

• Speakers can modify their presentations based on the feedback received.
• Information is gathered on-site and in real-time, so it is more up-to-date than surveys done days or weeks after the training or focus group sessions end.
• Votes/responses can be secret.
• Interactivity increases attendee understanding and retention, due to increased attentiveness and participation.
• Audience response technology is easy to use and saves time, effort and money.
• After it is gathered, the data can be stored or output with various reporting options.
• And a happy bonus: Audience Response technology is very green (which we support enthusiastically) and eliminates stacks and stacks of paper.

Call or e-mail an expert Account Executive, or use our Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll help you freshen up your meeting!

Flexible planner

OmniGraffle, by The Omni Group, is among the most expensive iPad apps (at $49.99), but is worth every cent. With simple gestures you can draw shapes, make notes and develop your ideas, while templates (called “stencils”) help you track convention rentals, create floor plans, visualize processes and manage people. You can output PDFs or transfer your files to OmniGraffle for Mac with this professional-grade app.

Banquet boss

You can get a lot of power for less, too, like $2.99 for myBanquet by Upiksoft. It gives you everything you need to manage food services for small meetings or annual shareholder conferences. You can import contacts, design floor plans, assign seating, manage guest lists/RSVPs and more. You can also save banquet plans for reuse and share them with other myBanquet users. There are similar programs for tablet PC rentals or laptops, but the iPad’s small form factor and ease of use make it the platform of choice.

Travel troubles?

GroundLink lets you book car service in seconds for today, tomorrow or next month. As opposed to some “limo” apps that work only in select cities, GroundLink works around the world. With the app running on one of our iPad rentals, you can see what vehicles are available, track the arrival of your car with a specified ETA, view your route and check the charges prior to booking.

The simple things

Avantar’s free White & Yellow Pages app has comprehensive listings and powerful search functions. Search for people and businesses – by industry, name, address or phone number – and work with the results to add/edit contacts, save favorites, link to sites and get GPS driving directions. Whether you need to find a photographer or some plasma rentals, this phone book is all you need.

Ever improving Evernote

The free Evernote app is the original iOS “cloud service.” Its evolving set of capabilities can help you plan an event of any size, style or purpose. Simply create a “notebook” for your event and save your notes, ideas, photos, Web sites, contacts, contracts and voice memos. You can install the appropriate Evernote program on everything from iPhones to iMac rentals, too, to keep everything (and everyone) in sync.

When you and your digital workflow are out of sync, a simple call or e-mail to our experienced Account Executives can get you back on track. With post-production gear (like AJA Io HD rentals) and everything you need for a successful trade show exhibit (like LCD touchscreen monitor rentals), we’ve got you covered – completely. (Know what you need? Use our handy Quick Rental Quote form.)

iPad apps for planning and event management

Great marketing campaigns succeed because the responsibilities are defined, the tasks organized and the schedule followed. Personal planners, like Todo, help make all that happen, and document how, as you proceed step by step to your goals. The app syncs with iCal or Outlook calendars, including ones shared on iMac rentals, enabling you to schedule reminders, set alerts, keep a conference team in sync and manage your contacts. ($4.99)

Bento is something like Todo, as it also helps you organize customers and contacts. It has a “big brand” pedigree, though, as it is from the makers of Filmaker Pro, a full-fledged relational database. Like Filemaker, Bento can track projects, organize meetings and plan events. With 25 templates to customize for whatever you could possibly have to organize – a Keynote presentation, your customer contacts, an event schematic or date/time lists of things to do – Bento will take you all the way. ($4.99)

Apps for news, info and connections

Flipboard is an “aggregator,” not a creator of original content. According to your preferences and how much personal data you are willing to give up, the app scours the Internet to present just what you want in a slick, magazine-style layout. Mix business magazines with The Onion, subscribe to whatever feeds you want and monitor your Twitter, Google Reader, Facebook and Flickr accounts. You can keep multiple “boards” with different kinds of contacts and information, making Flipboard an excellent communications solution for business and personal use. (Free)

It’s not the first app to turn into a cult, but Instapaper Pro users in the millions (yes, millions) swear it changed their lives. This potent product lets you save Web pages for later offline reading – just click to save the “good stuff,” which you can then access from smart phones, laptop rentals and other devices. It is unsurpassed as a browser tool for researchers, writers, corporate creatives and tech professionals – and the marketing pros that sometimes wear all those hats. ($4.99)

All apps are available at the App Store, iTunes, the developer’s site and other locations.

CRE doesn’t just have the best, most powerful high-tech tools – from Xserve rentals for networking to the post-production pro’s best friend, our render farm rentals – but expert Account Executives to provide specific solutions to your unique challenges. A quick call or e-mail, or a visit to our Quick Rental Quote page, will get you what you need to get you to your goal. It’s what we do.

The App Store launched in July 2008 with 500 apps. Apple approved the 500,000th app in late May of this year. From among them, pundits and end-users have made various lists of iPad marketing apps, many overlapping in their suggestions. Of the many apps for tracking trends, leveraging social media, publishing content, planning marketing campaigns and analyzing results, here are the Best iPad Apps for Marketers (Part 1 today, Part 2 on Thursday, August 18th).

Socializing = networking

You will need some or all of your networking apps – Twitter,  Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – but it is easy to overload and get bogged down. Here comes HootSuite to the rescue, managing your multiple profiles. HootSuite integrates them all so you can post breaking news, locate people, manage schedules, track stats and monitor lists, #hashtags and keywords. (Free)

Content is king

If you have a WordPress blog, the WordPress app for iPad is a no-brainer. A “lite” version focused on easy blogging, it’s best to do page design and other major work on a computer. Still, the widescreen layout gives you plenty of room to write, edit, moderate comments, add/remove images and stay on top of your content wherever you are. WordPress also released a plug-in that makes Web sites “iPad friendly”. (Both free)

Photos and graphics

Pictures do speak louder (and faster) than words.  They bring life and energy to blogs, marketing brochures and e-mail ads. Photoshop Express, now at version 2.0, is the perfect photo-editing tool for on-the-go marketing pros, a simple but sophisticated app for creating, cropping, rotating, revising and repurposing photos and images. (Free, optional tool pack $3.99)

Analyze sites and monitor ROI

AnalyticsPro is a powerful, flexible app that uses your Google Analytics account for on-the-fly decision-making. You can get detailed reports on Search Keywords, Top Content, Top 10 Countries, Referral Sources, Traffic Sources, etc., and analyze the Return On Investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns. You can export those reports as PDF and other formats, and view them on everything from smart phones to tablet PC rentals. ($5.99)

All apps are available at the App Store, iTunes, the developer’s site and other locations.

Deadlines ahead? Conference coming? An Account Executive will help you get just what you need, to get where you need to go. Make a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll get you what you need to succeed – indeed!

Watch for Part 2 of Best iPad Apps for Marketers coming up on Thursday, August 18th.

The iPhone Wait

Rumors are already starting to swirl about Apple’s iPhone 5, including a new design “paradigm” blending elements you see (and feel) on the MacBook Air, the fourth generation (4G) iPod touch and iPad rentals. Stricter adherence to the rounded sides, bevels and chiseled look of the reigning “Apple style” suggests the glass back may be a goner in a new, all metal case.

Media attention has moved to its other products since Apple refreshed its industry-leading iPad and upgraded its computer lines recently (CRE Rentals reported on the new iMacs in this blog). Besides some talk about increasing the screen size – which may not happen simply because there is only another millimeter or two it could possibly grow – the big question about the iPhone 5 is the same soon-to-be-ubiquitous acronym everyone else is talking about: NFC, for Near Field Communications.

Verizon, ATT&T and T-Mobile started working on an NFC payment system last year. Named “ISIS,” the proposed system would let people use everything from smart phones to tablet PC rentals for making purchases. ISIS has stalled for now, but some system or other will be ready within a year, especially since every Blackberry will have NFC starting this fall and Google is set to integrate NFC into Android before the year is gone. The only sure thing you can say about NFC and the iPhone 5 is that it’s too early to say – for now.

The iPad Effect

The “big box” electronics stores have been increasing the amount of floor space used for displaying tablets, space previously dedicated to traditional desktop and laptop PCs like iMac rentals. Best Buy is overhauling display areas in its U.S. stores, with new tablets like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Motorola’s Xoom and the Hewlett-Packard TouchPad earning prominent placement.

This is due to the overwhelmingly successful, industry-changing iPad. The “iPad Effect” is allowing electronic retailers to stock more tablet models (like iPad, Galaxy Tab and Xoom) and carry wireless e-book readers from such makers as Acer, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, HTC and RIM.

At CRE, we stay updated and educated on everything from the latest geek gadgets to the high-end post-production gear like render farm rentals, and can outfit your office, your digital darkroom or your next conference breakout session room. Call or e-mail an experienced Account Executive or use our Quick Rental Quote form, and get the solution you need – the right one, right now. That’s how we roll!

Already ready to rock in business

Businesses have adopted e-readers quickly, and the iPad is an e-reader on steroids. If only for its ability to offer up reading materials such as magazines, books, newspapers, manuals and other information, it’s a must-have. At least some of the field personnel that once had to tote heavier tablet PC rentals or even full-size laptops (which still have their important uses)  can now carry service libraries, support materials, special apps and even video tutorials on a much lighter iPad.

Creating, revising and then making presentations is a core business activity, and marketing mavens and sales pros already love the iPad. With a simple adapter or even wireless protocols you can stream your iPad materials to LCD monitor rentals at meetings or conferences. You also have a “portable presentation” right on the iPad for presenting to individuals or small groups  and, yes, the speaker is loud enough for everyone to hear.

Good tools now, great ones coming

Apple has already released a version of its productivity suite, iWork, for the iPad. It is a challenge to create your best work on a 9.2 inch screen, but you can easily edit and display documents created in iWork’s modules (Numbers for spreadsheets, Pages for word processing, Keynote for presentations). There are tens of thousands of other apps, too, among which are a growing number of solid business programs. However, there is not yet a “killer app” for note-taking, and Apple did not build handwriting recognition into the iPad.

Whether or not software alone will bring handwriting recognition to the device remains to be seen, but there are already plenty of note-taking apps, even some “blank page” apps allowing on-screen drawing and writing. You are advised to get a stylus with a fine point if you intend to use your iPad this way, as “fingertip script” is big, clunky and hard to read. You can get voice-memo recording apps, too, but if you intend to do a lot of audio recording, CRE’s digital recorder rentals will help you reserve iPad storage for other important things.

Video calling, first-rate GPS, handwriting recognition, versions of leading office programs – the future is looking bright for the iPad, even before the release of the iPad 3 in another year or so. Call or e-mail an expert Account Executive and find out how the iPad can integrate into your unique workflow. If you know what you need, iPad or otherwise, use our handy Quick Rental Quote form.

Alternative input is a subject we’ve covered before (and will stay on top of for you). Whether it’s in a product like Apple’s Magic Trackpad or Xbox Kinect-style motion sensing, these methods are being grouped under the name “gesture control.”

Physical gestures to control a PC

Trackpads on PC laptops have lagged behind those on MacBooks and MacBook Pro rentals, but the gap is beginning to close. In 2010, Synaptics debuted a button-free, clickable trackpad, and has since upgraded the TouchPad-IS product with four-finger gestures and more.

As these new capabilities reach manufacturers, and then your office, you will discover a more intuitive and productive way of controlling your PC. You can discover it right now, of course, by getting the Magic Trackpad with one of CRE’s iMac rentals.  The Magic Trackpad is a wireless Bluetooth device that recognizes the multi-touch and multi-finger gestures, swipes and “zoom pinches.”

Virtual controls to track finger movement

Camera-based input and control techniques are being developed by a growing number of firms. GestureTek Inc. has applications on the market that promise new efficiencies for challenging digital workflows. The company’s AirPoint controls computers by tracking the movement of your fingers in 3D space, so controlling multimedia presentations, for example, requires nothing more than simple hand motions. As an online product demo shows,  AirPoint is quite accurate at short distances.

The firm’s patented 3D vision-tracking technology, GestPoint Maestro 3D, tracks both body movement and hand gestures in 3D space, allowing device control from up to 10 feet away. The technology can be scaled to work on smart phones, specialized tools like CRE’s tablet PC rentals, desktop computers and other devices. Expect “killer apps” in such areas as vehicle and appliance controls, home environmental systems and robotics – and, of course, computers.

Eye movement tracking in the future

A Swedish company, Tobii Technologies, has a dramatic new kind of interface/input system. Using an array of infrared sensors, the system tracks the user’s eye movement with such speed and precision that product testers called the mouse “an antique.”

Before long, CRE’s clientele will enjoy improved control over the many digital duties they discharge on Mac Pro rentals and other high-end tools. Alternative input methods are among the many exciting changes on the horizon, and a simple call or e-mail to our experienced Account Executives can get you up to speed As always, use the Quick Rental Quote form if you know what you need.