Financial Mobility Blog

Blogging from the BlackBerry Developer Conference!

I am out at the first BlackBerry Developer Conference in Santa Clara, CA. Starting this year, RIM has decided to go to a two conference schedule - the WES and the Developers Conference. RIM has once again delivered the goods at this conference. I am here with almost 700 fellow developers with my team of 3 and the vibe is very positive. RIM made some major announcements today regarding the new on-device Application Storefront, major web browser enhancements, Google Gears integration, PayPal partnership, and much more! I also got a chance to play with the BlackBerry Storm at the Verizon Booth and its definitely a very different experience (I'll let the pundits pass judgement on the touch vs. full keyboard). We also had lots of opportunities to sit down with RIM Product Managers to discuss road maps and provide some feedback as well. 

My team and I are here till Thursday night and are very excited to get back to the office to put some of these new ideas and tools into use and continue work on Pyxis Mobile 6.2!

I am guest blogger this week at the conference, you can check it out here.

And of course, here is a picture of me taken from a BlackBerry during the partner interview videos that was played during today's keynote!

RLS2000 Offers Mobility to Real Estate Agents

RLS2000.com Inc. has announced a great new product, MLS Property Finder Mobile, powered by Pyxis Mobile.  For agents that use MLS Property Finder and have a Blackberry, this is a MUST HAVE product. With MLS Property Finder Mobile you can view listings in the palm of your hand. You can find listings available for you and your client, Map to address from your current location, view photos and much more. MLS Property Finder Mobile is currently available for Blackberry's only, but will be available for smart phones soon.

What Market Turmoil Means for Advisors

Experts are predicting painful layoffs as a result of the financial crisis of September 2008. One commentator predicts as many as 27,000 employees could lose their jobs in the aftermath of the BofA/Merrill merger. As a result, there will be a lot of talent available, enabling stronger firms to choose from among the very best financial advisors. Firms that can show strong operating results, a continuing commitment to advisors, and savvy use of the newest technologies will be in a good position to recruit these financial professionals.

In addition, the market shake-out should benefit firms that can show how they are different from failed or weak competitors. Consumers are likely to pay more attention to independent advisors, smaller banks, and regional firms. So large firms will need to provide transparent information about clients’ portfolios and prove their strength with the latest technology and tools. And small players should strive to demonstrate that they can not only remember clients’ names and faces but also execute at a high professional level.

For every advisor, market turbulence means that clients will need more handholding. It will be more important to keep up with real-time changes and respond promptly to information requests. To reassure nervous clients, performance reporting must be more timely. Advisors will need to connect 24/7.

Advisors today need the ability to gain productivity from mobile technology. They make calls, check email, surf websites, use GPS functionality to map locations. But these devices are underutilized. There is much more possible.

SmartFlicks: Netflix on BlackBerry Ready for Download

Get on over to our Application Studio Lab site to download SmartFlicks, a mobile companion to Netflix. This is an exciting use of our software and we are interested in feedback. There are definitely some issues, as this is beta software, but our "alpha" testers have recorded great experiences with the product. Its nice to see that Marc Rosenbaum's queue is now full of Grey's Anatomy DVDs in the proper delivery order.

I want to stress again the reasons that this release is interesting to the FMB community:
       

1. Application Lab software is designed, not built. When you are using an App Lab application, you are using the same codebase and client application that Pyxis Mobile's enterprise Financial Services customers use.
2. Application Lab software is designed and delivered by creative, forward thinking teams of technology and marketing experts in under 24 hours. That's the point. Creativity is the only boundary. No coding, no compiling, no custom client application.
3. Application Lab software can grow with you. Because the application you are using is built on the device at run time, we can add features and enhancements at any time that will simply "appear" in your app the next time you log in. You won't need to reinstall the app. You'll just need to log out and log back in.

       

   

1. Application Lab software is designed, not built. When you are using an App Lab application, you are using the same codebase and client application that Pyxis Mobile's enterprise Financial Services customers use.
2. Application Lab software is designed and delivered by creative, forward thinking teams of technology and marketing experts in under 24 hours. That's the point. Creativity is the only boundary. No coding, no compiling, no custom client application.
3. Application Lab software can grow with you. Because the application you are using is built on the device at run time, we can add features and enhancements at any time that will simply "appear" in your app the next time you log in. You won't need to reinstall the app. You'll just need to log out and log back in.

       

"App From Scratch" - A Winning Application has Been Selected

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in the App From Scratch competition. One of the apps listed in previous blog entries has been selected to go live on our site.

We expect to announce this winner very shortly. Stay tuned.

"App From Scratch" - Scavenger Hunt Wireless

The next application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "Scavenger Hunt Wireless" a networked game that allows a "host" to define the hunt and the let players use their mobile devices to "map & snap" their way to fun and prizes, using the GPS and camera features of the device.

The contest, open to any and all Pyxis Mobile employees, is designed to highlight the power of the Application Studio product, and its ability to deliver an unlimited range of applications and use cases (in under 24 hours) without the need for client or server code development.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.

The next application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "Scavenger Hunt Wireless" a networked game that allows a "host" to define the hunt and the let players use their mobile devices to "map & snap" their way to fun and prizes, using the GPS and camera features of the device.

The contest, open to any and all Pyxis Mobile employees, is designed to highlight the power of the Application Studio product, and its ability to deliver an unlimited range of applications and use cases (in under 24 hours) without the need for client or server code development.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.

"App From Scratch" - Election Spy: Election 2008 Mobile

The next application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "Election Spy" a real-time wireless view into the 2008 US presidential election.

The contest, open to any and all Pyxis Mobile employees, is designed to highlight the power of the Application Studio product, and its ability to deliver an unlimited range of applications and use cases (in under 24 hours) without the need for client or server code development.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.

"App From Scratch" - General Contractor Mobile

The next application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "General Contractor Mobile." The contractor application allows a floor manager or a small business owner keep track of inventory and sales information from their mobile device. By interacting with a QuickBooks ™ database, the user can track inventory, order new inventory, provide quotes to clients for jobs, and view reports on current sales figures.

The contest, open to any and all Pyxis Mobile employees, is designed to highlight the power of the Application Studio product, and its ability to deliver an unlimited range of applications and use cases (in under 24 hours) without the need for client or server code development.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.

"App From Scratch" - Mobile Casino

The next application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "Mobile Casino" a networked, competitive blackjack and slots tournament (for education and entertainment only).

The contest, open to any and all Pyxis Mobile employees, is designed to highlight the power of the Application Studio product, and its ability to deliver an unlimited range of applications and use cases (in under 24 hours) without the need for client or server code development.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.

"App From Scratch" - QuickFlix (NetFlix Mobile)

The first application offered for consideration in last week's App From Scratch competition is "QuickFlix," a mobile companion to Netflix. 

Their marketing:

Manage your Netflix account.
Read movie reviews.
View movie news.
You're welcome.

Click the link for more images and a full description of this groundbreaking application.