Scott Spiro Blog

In this video, I describe two brand spanking new features in iPhone 3.0. These are Microsoft Exchange features that Apple is not putting on their front page or really talking about at all. And yes, I do recognize that for many people MS Exchange integration with their iphone is probably not that big of a deal.

For many companies however, (including CSG) Microsoft Exchange is the central hub of their unified messaging system. It has always been agreed that if Apple is to move into the corporate space, Exchange would need to be fully supported. More and more of our customers have moved to iPhones to connect to our Harmony hosted Exchange Service, which provides unlimited data storage on an Exchange 2007 platform without the necessity to spend thousands on an in-house system.

The features I speak of on this video mean a lot to me because I didn’t even expect to be in OS 3.0, and they make my life measurably easier! There are a couple of honorable mentions however; like the ability to finally search e-mail messages by subject, from, or all. You can even search the server if you can’t find what you are looking for on your device. You can also utilize contact cards that are sent to you by others (adding them instantly to your contacts) and you can “share” contacts directly from the contact view.

Enjoy the video! Let me know what your thoughts are on these new iphone 3.0 features.

Any of us who spend a good deal of time on the California freeway system ultimately feel the crunch of hours wasted on the road. In an effort to combat this increasingly unproductive part of our day, we resort to strange methodologies for staying in touch and getting things done. Whether that means texting with three fingers on a mobile phone while driving in and out of rush hour traffic via stick shift or talking on our cell while writing a manifesto e-mail it all becomes increasingly more dangerous.

In addition to this, the state of California has mandated that it is now illegal to talk on a cell without a handsfree unit. It is also illegal to send text messages.

Driving into CSG Corporate in downtown Los Angeles as well as visiting our customers can keep me in my Prius 2-3 hours per day. Crazy? You bet. Part of everyday life in LA? Yes. Have I found a helping hand? I think so!

Enter Jott- a virtual assistant of sorts that lets you record notes and ideas with your voice. It also lets you send e-mail too which can be very handy while in the car and much safer than typing on your Blackberry while driving.

Jott makes software for the iPhone and the Blackberry. You can record to-do’s, appointments and notes while on the go. Jott’s amazing voice recognition technology converts your voice notes to text which is then synced with their system. From here, you can even sync with Microsoft Outlook and CSG’s Harmony Hosted Exchange Service. Jott also provides you with a toll-free number. Depending on your service level you can record jotts or retrieve RSS feeds while on the go using your cell phone. To learn more about Jott click here.

As you can see, I’ve had good experience with this product. Being able to send e-mails and record ideas and notes while on the road or anywhere else has resulted in a much better use of my time. I’ve used both the Blackberry and iPhone versions of the software and while there’s some definite improvements to be made Jott is on the right track and I encourage you to give it a try. 

Do you use Jott? If so, let me know what you think of it.