Forget The Register: Stores Use Mobile To Make Sales On The Spot : All Tech Considered : NPR A Nordstrom salesperson shows a customer an online selection of shoes on an in-store iPad. Like some other retailers, Nordstrom is using mobile devices to make on-the-spot sales and check companywide product inventory instantly.

Forget The Register: Stores Use Mobile To Make Sales On The Spot : All Tech Considered : NPR

A Nordstrom salesperson shows a customer an online selection of shoes on an in-store iPad. Like some other retailers, Nordstrom is using mobile devices to make on-the-spot sales and check companywide product inventory instantly.

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IBM updates its Connections social enterprise software, eyes analytics | ZDNet IBM on Wednesday made the latest version of its Connections social enterprise software generally available with updated activity streams, more mobile support and analytics features. The Connections software, technically Connections 4.0, includes the following: A revamped activity stream for a consolidated social dashboard. The general idea is that users can act within the activity stream to approve travel requests and expenses among other items. Support for Apple’s latest iPhone, which will be unveiled today, the iPad, Windows Phone and Android devices. Trending topics within the enterprise and social network. Integration with enterprise email and calendar tools. On-premise and cloud delivery options.  Many of these features were highlighted in our recent interview with Jeff Schick, IBM’s social software lead. IBM is ranked the top social software vendor by IDC and Big Blue has been touting its large clients, including Primerica, LeasePlan, Bayer and other large companies. IBM also has built a network of 39,000 partners to build on top of Connections, which started as an internal collaboration tool before being productized.

IBM updates its Connections social enterprise software, eyes analytics | ZDNet

IBM on Wednesday made the latest version of its Connections social enterprise software generally available with updated activity streams, more mobile support and analytics features.

The Connections software, technically Connections 4.0, includes the following:

  • A revamped activity stream for a consolidated social dashboard. The general idea is that users can act within the activity stream to approve travel requests and expenses among other items.
  • Support for Apple’s latest iPhone, which will be unveiled today, the iPad, Windows Phone and Android devices.
  • Trending topics within the enterprise and social network.
  • Integration with enterprise email and calendar tools.
  • On-premise and cloud delivery options. 

Many of these features were highlighted in our recent interview with Jeff Schick, IBM’s social software lead.

IBM is ranked the top social software vendor by IDC and Big Blue has been touting its large clients, including Primerica, LeasePlan, Bayer and other large companies. IBM also has built a network of 39,000 partners to build on top of Connections, which started as an internal collaboration tool before being productized.

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How 3 Big Enterprises Are Building Their Own Internal iPad Apps The heavy influx of iPads into large enterprise organizations is posing new kinds of challenges for IT departments, particiularly around developing and distributing corporate apps. At the annual Gartner Catalyst conference this week in San Diego, top companies like Genentech, Eli Lily and Northern Trust Bank shared some of the secrets behind their impressive app portfoliios.  Genentech/Roche How do you grow your internal mobile app portfolio to 112 different apps over time? Paul Lanzi, the mobile apps team manager for Genetech/Roche, likes to give his apps cute names, such as “Peeps” for the corporate personnel directory and “Kudos” for employee rewards.

How 3 Big Enterprises Are Building Their Own Internal iPad Apps

The heavy influx of iPads into large enterprise organizations is posing new kinds of challenges for IT departments, particiularly around developing and distributing corporate apps. At the annual Gartner Catalyst conference this week in San Diego, top companies like Genentech, Eli Lily and Northern Trust Bank shared some of the secrets behind their impressive app portfoliios. 

Genentech/Roche

How do you grow your internal mobile app portfolio to 112 different apps over time? Paul Lanzi, the mobile apps team manager for Genetech/Roche, likes to give his apps cute names, such as “Peeps” for the corporate personnel directory and “Kudos” for employee rewards.

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Farm Software Tries to Make Its Mark - NYTimes.com

THE world doesn’t necessarily need the gazillion-and-one games that seem available on smartphones. But it could use more apps and services that address the needs of business people with specialized needs. Like farmers.

Wesley Bedrosian

FarmLogs, a start-up based in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a one of a few new companies that are making a pitch to farmers. It offers a cloud-based software service — no software is downloaded; only a Web browser is needed — that embodies the latest technology

…

 In one view, a farmer can see rectangular representations of what is planted on each field. A click leads to a log of what was done when on each field: tilling on this date, fertilizing on that date, spraying on another.

With the data stored in one place, it can be combined with information from other sources and used by the farmers. If they need, they can also share it easily with consulting agronomists, crop insurance agents, the Agriculture Department and others.

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Electronic Medical Records Finally Become a Reality, Thanks to the iPad Digital health is a hot market right now, with funding levels having tripled over the past year. Y Combinator graduate drchrono is one of many scrappy young startups aiming to change the stodgy old healthcare system. Indeed, drchrono strikes at one of the core problems of traditional healthcare: paperwork. Drchrono is an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) solution for doctors, optimized for the iPad and also available on iPhone and the Web. Drchrono has a wide range of features; including scheduling an appointment, inputting medical details, eprescribing, billing, and Medical Speech to Text technology. Perhaps the best feature is that the patient can get a copy of their medical records, via the app.

Electronic Medical Records Finally Become a Reality, Thanks to the iPad

Digital health is a hot market right now, with funding levels having tripled over the past year. Y Combinator graduate drchrono is one of many scrappy young startups aiming to change the stodgy old healthcare system. Indeed, drchrono strikes at one of the core problems of traditional healthcare: paperwork. Drchrono is an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) solution for doctors, optimized for the iPad and also available on iPhone and the Web.

Drchrono has a wide range of features; including scheduling an appointment, inputting medical details, eprescribing, billing, and Medical Speech to Text technology. Perhaps the best feature is that the patient can get a copy of their medical records, via the app.

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The Smarter Planet Apps for iOS, Android & Windows Mobile

Smarter Planet

Follow how everything from buildings to food can become smarter through the application of business analytics and IT innovations.

Google Play for Android
Download Smarter Planet
 
 

iTunes App store for iOS
Download Smarter Planet
 
 

Marketplace for Windows Phone
Download Smarter Planet
 

Get these all-new apps, with loads of new features for your smartphone or tablet.  More mobile innovations coming soon, so stay tuned to your favorite app store.

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Tablets ‘one of the fastest-growing technologies in history’ - Telegraph One in four smartphone owners used a tablet between February and April this year, an increase of 14 per cent over last year. “Once consumers get their hands on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits,” said Mark Donovan, Senior Vice President of Mobile at market research firm comScore.

Tablets ‘one of the fastest-growing technologies in history’ - Telegraph

One in four smartphone owners used a tablet between February and April this year, an increase of 14 per cent over last year.

“Once consumers get their hands on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits,” said Mark Donovan, Senior Vice President of Mobile at market research firm comScore.

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The Smarter Planet app (version 3.0) integrates content from many spheres of IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative: our blog, Tumblr sites, YouTube, ibm.com, Facebook, Twitter and more.

Our goal is to help people understand how the world’s systems — from cities and buildings to the energy grid, transportation networks, the delivery of healthcare and the food supply chain — are becoming more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent through the application of new business analytics and information technology innovations.

Let’s build a smarter planet together.

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50 Best iPad Apps for STEM Education | Online Universities

Despite early doubts, the iPad has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool for education, both in the classroom and in homes around America. By offering students, from elementary school all the way up to the university level, the chance to do some hands-on learning, exploring, and sometimes even educational gaming, the device makes education fun and exciting, something that isn’t always easy to do.

With schools falling behind in math and science education and companies unable to find enough qualified professionals to fill jobs in science and technology fields, pushing STEM education is more important than ever. Educators and parents can help get kids interested and perhaps even hooked on STEM no matter their age with the help of the iPad and the myriad great educational applications it offers. Here, we share some of the best applications for STEM education, and with selections that work for students of all ages and abilities, you’re bound to find something that’s the perfect companion to any STEM lesson.

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Inkling will sell iPad textbooks in over 900 college bookstores

iPad textbook publisher Inkling is partnering with college bookstore provider Follett. Starting this fall, Follett will sell “hundreds of Inkling titles” in its over 900 college bookstores — including Stanford and UC Berkeley — and on its website.

» via paidContent

via infoneer-pulse:

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The Disruptive Business Model that Could Change the Tablet Market | PCMag.com

One of the most interesting things about the tablet market these days—besides the fact that Apple basically owns it—is that in the very near future, I believe there will be two very different business models that will drive tablets into the broader consumer market.

The first model, the one Apple uses today, is very traditional. In this case, Apple makes the iPad and then sells it through its retail stores, its online store, and various third-party resellers like Best Buy and Target. If the iPad has a 4G modem in it, it is also available through carriers like AT&T and Verizon. Samsung and other Android vendors also use this business model and whenWindows 8 tablets come out, most of them will sell those tablets in a similar way.

A second business model, called subsidization, is also unfolding and is already in use by the carriers to sell cell phones. Apple, for example, sells an iPhone to the carriers for somewhere around $600 but they in turn only charge the customer $200. They basically subsidize the upfront cost of the phone and earn back this cost by tying a user to a two-year service contract to amortize their cost of the iPhone to Apple. In fact, carriers have been using this subsidization model to sell phones for a long time and when the iPad came out, some customers expected the carriers to subsidize the iPad similarly. That did not happen, however, and customers basically buy the iPad at full retail price.

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How the iPad Is Changing Education | ReadWriteWeb

The iPad may only be two years old, but it’s already begun to change many things. Reading is one of them. Work is another. It is selling like crazy, but it will be some time before most of the people you know own a tablet.

The market for this type of device may only be in its infancy, but it’s already becoming clear how it will revolutionize certain aspects our lives. Education is a huge one, as recent developments have demonstrated.

In January, Apple made good on its late CEO’s vision to enter the digital textbook market with the launch of iBooks 2 and the iBooks Author production tool for e-books. That early effort was met with mixed reactions. While some were excited to see Apple move into a space that’s ripe for disruption, others pointed out the inherent limitations in Apple’s model, which for starters, will be cost-prohibitive for many school districts.

The iPad: An Obvious Use Case for Education

In a way, Apple didn’t enter the education market. Rather, it followed its customers there. By the time iBooks 2 landed in the App Store, many people had already seen the potential the iPad has to change education. A growing number of college students have, on their own accord, made the device a mainstay of their backpacks. More importantly, several school districts wasted no time launching pilot programs to use the iPad in the classroom in a more official way.

Chicago’s public school district was one of those early adopters, having brought iPads into a number of its classrooms and even allowing students to take them home. While programs like this can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement, they can ultimately save districts money on textbooks, since e-books are cheaper than their printed counterparts. And of course, an iPad is considerably lighter than a bag full of textbooks.

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“Tablet adoption is increasing among corporate tech buyers. ChangeWave Research recently polled a group of 1,604 business IT buyers and found that 22 percent of them planned to purchase tablets for their employees sometime in the second quarter of 2012. Of those, 84 percent say they’re likely to buy Apple iPads — an increase of 7 percentage points from ChangeWave’s November 2011 survey.”

Tablet Adoption Surging in Enterprise - John Paczkowski - Enterprise - AllThingsD

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Apple Makes Push Into iPad Textbooks - WSJ.com With More iPads in Classrooms, Education Push Would Help Fend Off Android-Device Competition Apple Inc., expanding its ambitions in education, joined the race to sell digital textbooks, hoping to get students to trade their book bag for an iPad. The electronics company unveiled a new version of its iBooks digital book store that supports textbooks featuring quizzes, note-taking, study cards and other features, like the ability to interact with a diagram of an ant. The service launched with a small number of high-school titles from McGraw-Hill Cos., Pearson PLC and others, with some from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt coming shortly. Textbooks for courses such as algebra 1, environmental science and biology will be available first, priced at $14.99 or less.

Apple Makes Push Into iPad Textbooks - WSJ.com

With More iPads in Classrooms, Education Push Would Help Fend Off Android-Device Competition

Apple Inc., expanding its ambitions in education, joined the race to sell digital textbooks, hoping to get students to trade their book bag for an iPad.

The electronics company unveiled a new version of its iBooks digital book store that supports textbooks featuring quizzes, note-taking, study cards and other features, like the ability to interact with a diagram of an ant.

The service launched with a small number of high-school titles from McGraw-Hill Cos., Pearson PLC and others, with some from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt coming shortly. Textbooks for courses such as algebra 1, environmental science and biology will be available first, priced at $14.99 or less.

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