The new Batchbook Droid App is available for free in the Android Market. I’m personally a big fan of Android phones, and got to help out with some of the testing, which is good because I’m also one of the folks fielding customer support questions – so if you run into any problems or have questions about it you can email us at support@batchblue.com and we’ll help you out.
The app is similar to the iPhone app but does have one major difference. With the Droid app, you have the ability to sync records of a particular tag. You can find which contacts you would like to sync to the Droid, tag them, then sync with just that tag. The app has a limit of 3000 contacts which will sync to your phone, so if you do have a ton of records in your account it would be a good idea to tag the ones you need most when you are on the go. I’d suggest a “Record Last Updated” or “Record Communicated With” Advanced search to quickly grab the contacts you’ve been dealing with lately.
You have the ability to add/edit/delete new or existing Contacts, To-Dos, and Deals. The Communications aren’t on the app, but if you press the blue Batchbook icon from the View Contact screen displayed here you can quickly see all of your Communications on the full version of the site. Then just press the back arrow button on your phone, and you’ll go back to the app for that icon.
Here are a few tips that will hopefully help get you organizing your mobile contacts: (more…)
I’ve been using Batchbook since way back in October of 2007 and it has served as the primary storage area for all contact information over those years, for business and for our personal use. In our house, our Batchbook account is like a knowledge base with all the information I need to get in touch with just about any one.
One thing I always wished was possible was getting my Batchbook contact information to my home phone. The address book functionality in our phone was decent but it required manually entering in all that data. I was going to my Batchbook account to look up the number and then using that to dial. I liked having it all in a single place but I sure wish I could have made that easier.
Recently though we decided that we would replace our primary home phone number with a Google Voice number, and one of the primary motivators for that was my thinking about how well Batchbook and Google Voice would play well together.
Google Voice is a nifty phone service that gives you a single number that you can use for everyone and everything. By setting up rules in the system you can direct calls from different people to different phones and play different messages for different groups. Voice messages come in to my email and I can even transfer calls from one device to another while still online, All great stuff.
As makers of a web-based app, we’re all about folks working from where ever they happen to be in order to get the job done. In fact, I’m writing this from my house where I’m currently snowed in with almost a foot of snow outside and one slightly stir-crazy pre-schooler making paper snowmen at the kitchen table. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a place to go to do your work where there are not piles of laundry stacked around you and no one is licking their fur really loudly while you are trying to write (LOOKING AT YOU, KITTY). Which is why we’re such fans of the co-working movement. Co-working is the best of both worlds: your schedule is flexible and yours to make, you can talk to folks or not, and you can choose a place that’s conducive to the type of work you need to get done. And all this without the expense and hassle of actually keeping a full-time office.
Many great co-working spaces and apps have cropped up over the last couple of years. I recently gave a presentation with my friend Amy Ellis of MailChimp at the gorgeous Link co-working space in Austin, TX, where we met founder Liz Elam. They have an interesting model where you become a member (like you would for a gym) but rather than working out, you get a lovely, airy, fully-stocked and functional office at your disposal with kitchen snacks and instant, smart co-workers. Genius!
Here’s a quick interview with Liz (sorry for the shaky camera work and the skinny picture: I was actually getting sick that day)
After an intense round of judging the amazing entries in our “Work to Go” contest, we’re pleased to announce our Grand Prize winner as well as the runners-up! And the iPhone goes to…graphic designer/developer Gernot Bartels! Here’s his award-winning, work-to-going, piratey shot:
What pirate wouldn’t want to work in this cool vintage trailer with his dog at the beach? The BatchBlue staff gave this one two skull and crossbones up.
You can view the other winning pictures, read the entrants’ stories, and find out why we selected each of them over on the Work to Go contest page.
When last we checked in on our friends at Rise of the Cubicle Farmer, our friends AJ, Tony and Michelle were headed West. Armed with laptops, caffeinated beverages and a couple of videocameras, they’re on a 65+ day journey around the US and Canada stopping along the way to chat with entrepreneurs, workshifters, freelancers and the companies that help them do their work wherever and whenever they need it.
They’re even using our recently launched BatchBook iPhone App to build a database of all the cool folks they meet along the way. See what AJ had to say about the App here:
