Archive for June, 2009

Juno14

SeanB

2

1000watt Consulting sees the future on a small screen

This week I came across an article on Inman.com  (the best source for real estate news) that was a reprint off the 1000watt blog where Brian Boero spells out a compelling explanation of why real estate applications and MLS services will better serve the home buyer on a portable device. Boero states that “The handheld device will be the locus of real estate technology innovation in the coming years.”
Of course, I can only agree. Your phone is your most personal device and still predominately advertising-free. It can deliver a more focused user experience when you optimize the “limited-capabilities.” Boero calls it a “liberating” experience for the home buyer and “most importantly, the experience is portable, which is perfectly suited to real estate.”
Location awareness, embedded maps and geo-coded MLS information can be combined to deliver a simple and reliable service that is hard to replicate on a PC that is designed to provide much more. Boero explains that “This is why I think the Zillow iPhone app is better than Zillow.com. It’s why I am so excited about the numerous IDX-based native iPhone apps in development as I type.”
I look forward to Brian’s reports and experiencing for myself the best new real estate applications for your phone.

Juno14

SeanB

2

Phase 1 - with Tweaks but no Twitter (yet)

3locations has recently completed the first phase of development of our Mobile MLS solution for Realtors and real estate companies. I am very impressed with the MLSearch functionality. With our system, you can easily request and receive real estate listing information on any phone through SMS. Simply text message any address to +17783214411 and the 3locations system will send you the 3 closest listings in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Phase 1 specifications include:
1) Proximity Search by address or MLS number
2) Active MLS information with Realtor branding and short URL
3) MLS details with listing images on mobile optimized site
4) Web-to-mobile widget for real estate websites
Recent tweaks include increasing the size of the MLS images on the mobile web, reduced the size of the embedded short URL and eliminated unnecessary numbers to achieve a text message of 140 characters.
In our next release, we will be introducing a Twitter api that will deliver MLS information in Tweets that follow references to real estate listings in the original Tweets. Stay tuned for more developments.

Juno08

SeanB

3

Email, Search and Facebook - Mobile Web has arrived!

Numerous reports this week point to the fact that Mobile Internet Usage is reaching critical mass in Canada with close to 4 million mobile web surfers. The growth is staggering when you consider that during the first 3 months of 2009 the rate increased from 16% to 21.3% of all cellphone users, that’s over 900,000 more people accessing the Internet on their phone.
The Nielsen Company, the first third-party analysts to report on the Canadian mobile market see specific trends driving mobile Internet growth, such as the increased use of smartphones, the development of popular phone applications and unlimited data plans. Many advertising campaigns are expanding consumer awareness that mobile phone capabilities are providing a similar user experience to that of using a personal computer.
The top five sites accessed on the mobile web are Windows Live Mail with 1.4 million unique visitors. Google Mobile Search (850,000 unique users), Facebook (784,000 unique users), The Weather Network (674,000 unique users) and Yahoo! Mail with (652,000 unique users).
Another interesting fact is that North America adoption rates are currently 12 to 18 months behind those of Japan and Korea.