Pico projectors, wireless charging, Intel Broadwell
One of the challenges of implementing new technology in a small business environment is ensuring that the new gadgets you adopt do not impede your business operations. As small business owners seek out tools that are easy to use and simplify their workflow, we take a look at five new and emerging technologies that could help boost your productivity.
1. Bring the big screen with you
ZTE SPro2 for AT&T: This do-it-all Swiss Army knife gadget runs Android, connects your laptops and tablets to AT&T’s 4G LTE network and can also project your pictures, videos, and presentations to a white wall. For mobile sales teams that need to give impressive impromptu pitches, the SPro2′s slightly bulkier design is a worthwhile tradeoff given that you can leave behind the bulk of a laptop, standalone projector, and a tangled array of cables and cords behind at the office.
I’ve used last year’s model available on Sprint’s LTE Spark network as the LivePro and the versatility of the design means that you can go from watching a Netflix movie at home to giving a boardroom presentation at the office with a single device. The SPro2 improves on that experience with a more powerful lamp, meaning you won’t need a near pitch dark room to get a bright projection on a wall.
And if you’re not in a sharing mood, the built-in display on top of the SPro2 runs Google’s full Android OS so you can play a round of Angry Birds by yourself without having to project your game to a wall.
2. Cut the cord
Wireless charging: If you’re tired of trying to find the right charging cable to accommodate your wall-hugging ways, wireless charging may be a simple solution. One of the standards, Powermat, is slowly being deployed at popular chains like Starbucks in the US and McDonald’s in the UK. However, the downside is that you can’t walk around and pull up documents or play Angry Birds on your phone when you’re wirelessly charging – the technology requires direct contact between your device and a charging plate.
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Enter Energous and its WattUp wireless charging box. Mounted to a wall, WattUp looks like a smoke detector encased in a black box. Gadgets – tablets, smartphones, wearables, and other peripherals requiring 5W or less of power – equipped with a WattUp receiver could receive wireless power transmission up to 15 feet (5m) away, allowing you to freely roam the halls of your office checking email on your smartphone while still being able to juice up your device without having to be tethered to a wall.
3. Intel’s Fifth Generation ‘Broadwell’ processor
More power: Intel announced that its fifth generation processor, known as Broadwell, will be coming to laptops, tablets, and computing devices this year. It will provide more power with greater battery efficiency. Road warriors will be able to do more in the field
As an example, Dell’s CES 2015 show-stunner XPS 13 Ultrabook offers more performance and doubles the battery life compared to last year’s model. The new XPS 13 can go for up to fifteen hours on a single charge – nearly two days of computing time – while Fujitsu’s latest Lifebook promises up to 20 hours of computing time.
And while notebooks based on the Broadwell architecture benefit from a 50% increase in processing power, the biggest gain to road warriors living inside Microsoft’s Office suite will be enhanced battery life.
Android Auto, CarPlay, smartwatches
4. Take the conversation with you
Office on wheels: When you have to hop into the car in the middle of an email or text conversation, it could seem like an eternity before you get to reply to urgent texts, emails, or voice calls from colleagues or business partners. Thanks to car systems that utilize Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, you can can connect your phone to your car’s infotainment system and continue working safely while behind the wheel.
In the brief time I’ve played with CarPlay and Android Auto implementations, the premise is to minimize distracted driving while enabling more connectivity in the car. Your infotainment center is transformed into a second screen, with larger buttons and a simplified menu, when an Android or iOS phone is plugged in.
Once your smartphone is connected, you’ll be able to have Google or Siri read your messages to you, so you can continue that text message thread. To reply, you can dictate your messages, which can leave you comical and sometimes embarrassing auto-correct translations at times; you’re relying on Siri or Google Now’s rather finicky speech-to-text engine to understand you.
The upside is that as both implementations rely on your phone for power, rather than what’s built into your car from your favorite auto manufacturer, you’re getting up-to-date maps from Apple Maps or Google Maps, the latest tunes from streaming music services so you can drive to your own beats, and the promise of future apps and services through over-the-air updates.
With CarPlay and Android Auto, your vehicle is slowly being transformed into a safer mobile office on wheels. Both systems will begin showing up on new vehicles released this year and owners of older cars can buy an aftermarket head unit to achieve the same functionality, which is great if you’re not ready to upgrade your enterprise fleet at the moment.
5. Check the time (and all those notifications)
Smartwatches: Though primarily viewed as second screens for your phones to deliver glanceable information to your wrist, depending on the smartwatch you adopt, you can benefit more than just notification tracking.
If your small business office is outfitted with a home automation system, you can unlock your office and even control the lights from your watch. It’s an easier way to give employees access to the office after hours without having to keep track of keys, and you can even remotely arm the security system with a smartwatch. Right now, Samsung’s Gear S paired with SmartThings home automation kit will deliver a keyless office experience from your wrist.
Fitness tracking is another benefit to wearing a smartwatch. Even if your employees aren’t marathon-running fanatics, a smartwatch could periodically remind sedentary office workers to get up, stretch, walk around, and stay healthy. Healthy employees are less prone to calling in sick, keeping your business moving.
And if your business is centered around remote workers who travel from location to location in the field, a smartwatch not only helps your employees keep track of appointments, but informs them when to leave based on traffic conditions to arrive to their next meeting on time.
Increasingly, more businesses are delivering enterprise software for wearable devices. SAP is bringing its CRM software to Samsung’s devices, allowing you to pull up customer information on the go.
Watches like the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R that are based on Android Wear integrates with Google Now to anticipate your needs with news, traffic reminders, weather updates, travel information, and more.
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