Two weeks ago, I was one of the fortunate ones to be able to pre-order the iPhone 4. I had to go through AT&T rather than purchasing via Apple, although either way, I was able to make the purchase happen. On 6/24, my two new iPhone 4s (one for me, one for the wife) arrived via FedEx.

To provide some background, both the wife and I had older generation iPhones (one 2G and one 3G). I had already upgraded the 3G to iOS4 (even without all of the whiz-bang features) just to start experimenting with the new UI changes.

Well, when the iPhone 4s were setup, I was elated. What a dramatic improvement from our older phones! Performance, performance, performance. And the retina display? Well, it is everything you have already read about – pixel-perfect clarity and extreme readability.

Of course, all of the great features are a plus (HD video recording, FaceTime, Multi-tasking, etc.). I have used them all and must say that Apple did a splendid job ensuring that the iPhone 4 works as designed.

My only complaint to date is the lack of cases available for the new iPhone. We ended up purchasing the Reveal case from Griffin. The Apple Bumper was not an acceptable choice (I needed something to protect the whole device) and the Otterbox Commuter is not yet available (2-3 months yet).

I am also thankful that many of the App developers were ready at launch with new versions of their apps. Of the ones worth mentioning:

• OmniFocus 1.7
• Twitter 3.01
• Twitterrific 3 (just can’t have enough Twittr clients)
• Twittelator 4 (see above)
• Analytics Pro 1.1.5
• WordPress 2.5
• Evernote 3.3.5
• Instapaper 2.2.4
• Articles 1.2
• Dropbox 1.2.2
• Docs2Go 3.3.1
• iMovie 1.0 (new)
• BibleReader 4.12.4

And many more!

If you are ready (and can afford) to make the upgrade from an older iPhone (or another maker’s device), I highly recommend it. I have played with many Google Phones (Evo, Droid, others) and still find that the iPhone is a superior product.

For those who use Daylite and Billings, fear not as iOS4 versions are on their way.

If you have upgraded or purchased a new iPhone 4, what are your thoughts? What apps would you recommend to take advantage of the new hardware/iOS?

Tags: Apple, Personal

On 5/19 @ 6:30pm, I’ll be teaching a Daylite class at the local Apple Store in Altamonte Springs, FL. This time, the focus is on both Daylite and Billings. For more information, please go to the Facebook Fan Page.

And, if you’re in town, sign-up to see this demo!

Tags: Apple, Consulting, Daylite, Marketcircle

Hello readers! Sorry for the delay in writing. I generally post every other week, although its been a very busy time at the firm.

Regardless, in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve seem some improvements in the Mac CRM space lately. What are the big changes?

Daylite 3.10

First and foremost, the team at Marketcircle have released a new version of Daylite. This new version significantly enhances the offline synchronization story.

Now, it is even easier to sync your offline database because everything happens for you in the background. This is a big win for customers. Lastly, this new release is free to existing customers.

Elements CRM 2.3.1

In this new release from Ntractive, users now have a marketing module that significantly improves their ability to connect with customers. How so? Well, the added functionality is three-fold:

• Integration with MailChimp. Yes, sending of mass emails is just a few clicks away now.
• See the latest news by viewing your Twitter account within Elements CRM.
• Mail Merge. Yes, you can now setup physical mailings with either Apple Pages or Microsoft Word.

This is a pretty significant release and for those using Elements CRM, I highly encourage you check out this new functionality. From what I have seen on Twitter, it looks like the folks at Ntractive are working on some pretty exciting developments related to their iPhone App.

Lastly, and for those in EMEA, this new version of Elements CRM is now localized in German. If you speak German natively, I encourage you to review this release a you can now view the application in your native tongue.

Now Software

As mentioned in a previous post, this company is now defunct. It’s really sad, although users will still need a way manage their customers. Thankfully, the previous mentioned Daylite and Elements CRM are there to fill the void left by the Now Software products.

As for M.Bookspan, please stay tuned as I am working on providing even more value to Mac CRM customers. If you have any suggestions or would like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Tags: Daylite, Elements CRM

Today, Now Software announced that it was folding its operations and suspending sales and support for its product line.

If any Now Software customers are looking for a way to migrate to another platform, please let me know and I will help you with the process. You do have options, including:

• Daylite, which has built-in migration tools for Now Software products.
• Another excellent choice if you would like a mac-specific Software-as-a-Service solution is Elements CRM.

Again, I can help you with the migration from your existing Now Software solution. Please connect with me via my contact page.

Lastly, this blog post is not meant to capitalize on Now Software’s demise as a company. My heart goes out to the team there as well as to the previous employees.

Factually, clients of Mac CRM tools need service and support. The products I represent are backed by financially healthy companies with long-term plans for software development and support.

Tags: Apple, Clients, Consulting, Daylite, Elements CRM, Marketcircle, now software, ntractive

At 10am this morning, my friends at DEVONtechnologies shipped v2.0 of their acclaimed document collection and management tool, DEVONthink 2.0.

I have reviewed the betas in the past, and believe it is a superior product to many other similar offerings out there. With the release of 2.0, there are tons of new features, a shiny new user interface and more.

I highly recommend this product to those who manage many types of documents, collect information from the Web and who live in a paperless office like myself.

If you buy now, you can even save an additional 10% off the list price. Lastly, I personally use the Pro Office edition given its true paperless office capabilities.

Tags: Apple, DEVONthink

Tomorrow evening (2/24), I will be presenting the Daylite Productivity Suite + Daylite Touch at the Altamonte Springs Apple Store. For more information, here are some links:

Experience Daylite
Schedule of Workshops and Events

Please come by and learn more about Daylite!

Tags: Apple, Consulting, Daylite, Marketcircle

After 18mos of writing for TheAppleBlog (TAB), I have decided to take a hiatus. The team at TAB is fantastic. Great editors, great writers, lots of humility and engaging content.

It was especially fun participating during Apple Events, when we would all take turns writing different articles on the announcements. My first Apple Event with the TAB team was Macworld 2009, the last one where Apple, Inc. participated. I covered iMovie 09 and it was a pretty successful article by comments and hits.

Throughout those 18 months, I have written reviews, commentaries, opinion pieces and announcements. Most of my focus was on Small Business as I think that is the sweet spot for Apple content and the user base.

Thank you again the team at TAB and I wish you all the best! As to the future, I will be writing reviews and/or Apple opinion pieces here on my Blog, so be on the lookout for new content.

Tags: Apple, Personal

To all of my avid readers, please make sure to get the latest release for Daylite, as it resolves an issue with the most recent Apple Security update. To get the latest version, please click here.

To learn more of why you need the release, please click here.

Tags: Apple, Daylite, Marketcircle

One of my clients posted this fantastic video about Daylite and how it has improved her overall business management. Toward the end of the video, I receive a nice little plug.

Please check it out:

Thanks Tara!

Tags: Clients, Consulting, Daylite, Marketcircle

It’s been a long time coming, although everything I was discussing from November until now is finally complete. I have been busy working on an all-new website with tons of new (and hopefully useful) content for my clients. Further, I now have a new store for users to purchase items directly in order to make the entire engagement easier.

Two other big announcements for 2010:

• I graduated to the Elite Partner status for Marketcircle’s Daylite which means better service for you as my experience has grown with the product.
• I am now focusing purely on Mac CRM, and am now offering services for Elements CRM, a Software-as-a-Service/Enterprise grade Mac CRM product. You can learn more about it here.

Anyway, please feel free to click and discover around the site. I appreciate your interest and look forward to serving you better in 2010!

Matthew

Tags: Clients, Consulting, Daylite, Elements CRM, Marketcircle