Hi everybody, I just wanted to let you know that last week CounterPath expanded it’s Bria offering on the iPad.  I’ve been using this since the summer and it’s brilliant.  I’m able to make calls via my iPad when my phone doesn’t have any service but my iPad is picking up wifi.  In this new version of Bria CounterPath included video calling.  It may not sound like much but video chat without a computer is a big step.  If you have an iPad and use VOIP like Phone.com I suggest spending the money, yes it’s a paid app and I did pay for it.  It’s well worth the money.

By the way, this is a great way for small businesses to use Phone.com without having to buy a desktop phone, just run your inbound and outbound calls through Bria.

With this onslaught of mobile technology taking over and being the hot thing in tech (at least in my world) it’s clear that mobile money and transactions must take off.  I just bought a gift card from a hair stylest (for my wife) today and he used a Square to charge my credit card.  This is one aspect of mobile money.  But today I’m thinking about another form of transactions.  I’m thinking it would be great to have self checkout at grocery stores (and any other stores for that matter) that are done via the mobile phone.  I’m not talking about NFC, but something entirely different that I haven’t read about previously.  Imagine walking through Vons (a US chain grocery store) and scanning the bar code on the cereal you’re buying.  Imagine picking up your milk and scanning the bar code to add it to your “shopping cart”.  Do the rest of your shopping the same way, scanning the bar codes as you go.  When you pick up your produce you just scan the bar code on the price tag on the shelf.

Another option is to have checkout area’s where there could be more supervision and employees to assist customers if it is necessary.

This would cut your time out standing in line plus you might have to the download Vons app that would deliver your coupons and weekly ad.  This would be more secure by not having to take out your credit card and hand it to someone random you’ve never seen before.  You’re also not needing to take your wallet or purse with you.  By the way, you won’t be able to use the payment part of the app with out activating it and putting in your pass code so even if your phone is lost you’re credit card won’t be compromised unlike if you lose your wallet.

If any company is already doing this or something similar please reach out to me, I’d be delighted to talk with you and see what you’re working on.

Pepcom also known as Mobile Focus was held Monday before CES opened.  It was the biggest I’ve ever seen it and I was a bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of it.  It was like a little trade show unto itself.  Anyways, I was able to snag Vlingo’s CEO Dave Grannan for a quick video.  Come to find out they’re making Vlingo for TV’s.  And what I heard blew me away.  I can’t write most of it just yet but Vlingo is doing well, very well.

I was also able to chat with Vimeo’s crack web developer Joe Schmitt who showed off their new video editor for the iPad.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about this and it might just make it possible for me to bring only my iPad to trade shows now.  Take a look at what Joe had to say.

So last night I pulled into my driveway after a nice birthday dinner for my mother in law to find someone waiting by their car with a shattered window and 1 less purse then she started with when she pulled up infront of my house.  This is very disturbing by itself but even more upsetting because last week cat burglers attempted to break into a house 2 doors down from mine.  I’m horrified because this is a very quite and calm neighborhood.  The only time we ever see police on my street is when one of my elderly neighbors passes away at home.  We’ve never seen anything like this crime spree in the 7 years I’ve lived here.

I’ve been looking at alarm systems but don’t know what to get.  I want something simple because I’m concerned my wife, kids or I will set it off to often if it’s to complex.  I’d also like something hightech.  Wireless so I don’t have to go into my attic or under the house is preferable.  I was thinking motion detectors but then my family isn’t protected at night if someone comes in and the system isn’t activated.  I don’t feel like it needs to call the police, I’m convinced if a loud ear piercing siren goes off it will scare the criminals away.  But I’d love for it to connect to my wifi and send me an sms or email if the alarm is sounded.

So I want something wireless, techy, with keychain activation and probably a keypad near the door.  I also need it to protect my family at night when they could get up and move around so motion detectors in the house would be useless, so I guess window magnets it is.

What do you all have to say?  What is your best economical but still VERY safe for my family system out there?  I don’t want to spend a ton but money doesn’t matter if my family is in danger.  Thoughts?  Advice?  This is all new to me so I’m open to hear it all.  Thanks everyone.

I’ve been an iPhone 4 user since June and 1 of the things I’ve missed from my Android days was dictating SMS and email by voice.  When Siri was announced and subsequently launched I was trying to convince myself I don’t need the 4S.  Well I don’t, but the Siri commercials and potential things I could use it for are huge.  So when I saw a video about SpeakToIt a few minutes ago I got really excited, not for me but for my Android using friends.  It’s similar to Siri in many ways, it uses natural voice commands.  I was able to compose SMS and send them, I added events to my calendar and checked the weather.  I will say it’s not nearly as polished as I imagine Siri to be, but neither was Siri until it got bought by Apple and got the Steve shine.

Anyways go check it out, you can search for SpeakToIt in the Android Market or visit their website www.SpeakToIt.com.  By the way, this isn’t a paid post, I’m truly impressed and wanted to share with all of you.

I was very excited to wake up this morning to read what Nokia had announced.  I’ve been stewing on it all day and intentionally not commenting.  I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like let alone be impressed with today’s announcements.  I’m still bitter about Nokia fumbling Symbian so badly and going with Windows Mobile.  It may be petty but I’ve been a Nokia fan since 1997 and I don’t like big changes all that much.

I didn’t think Nokia would be able to pull it off, I didn’t think they would show up with guns blazing and deliver the goods.  Well I’m happy to report I was seriously WRONG.  Nokia has done it again.  Nokia launched 2 pretty darn good devices from what I’ve seen and heard.  I’m impressed and that’s not easy anymore, I’m genuinely interested to give the Nokia Lumia line a shot.  I’d like a chance to play with one to really decide for myself, right now I’m just reading what my trusted friends are writing and making assumptions from that.

I am happy to be able to say that Nokia may have done the unexpected and created a line of devices that the masses will want and the masses may be able to afford.  Nokia may also have in the meantime made been able to shine some much needed light and life into Windows Mobile phones.  They had been looking a little lackluster to me though I must admit a tad tempting (of late).

I can’t wait to get my hands on the Lumia 710 and 800 and give them a real play with, until then I’m not going to pass any greater judgement.  Congratulations Nokia and credit is due for cranking out 2 impressive devices in such a short time.  I’m happy to see you back on the world platform.

Image Credit to Ben Smith