Posts Tagged ‘wifi’

2011 year in review: top 5 posts

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Rogers RedBoard Biz year in reviewFor small businesses, the end of the year is the perfect time to do your business planning for the year ahead. From getting your financial books in order to setting business goals, the end of the year is a great time for planning for what’s next.

It’s also a great time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year, which is what we’re doing here at RedBoard Biz. We’ve had a great year covering news and information to help power your business so to end the year, here is a recap our top 5 posts of 2011.

  1. LTE now live in Ottawa: On July 7, we announced the launch of Rogers LTE network in Ottawa. For small businesses, this launch meant a better experience with CRM tools, real-time video conferencing and multimedia communications. To help show the business benefits of LTE, we did a series of videos with Rogers Reade Barber and looked at things like online collaboration, LTE devices and a Remote Worker Healthcare application over LTE. In September, we rolled out LTE to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
  2. Can WiFi Calling work for your business?: In March, we announced WiFi Calling for businesses. This service allows you to make calls by connecting to an office, home or public WiFi network and move seamlessly to the Rogers wireless network when WiFi is no longer available. The great thing about this service is that it can help businesses predict costs, extend coverage and it can also be deployed easily. To help us talk about WiFi Calling for business, we talked to industry analyst Jon Arnold in the first video in our RedBoard Biz video series, which featured 13 videos over the course of the year.
  3. Share your know-how: Small business week contest: Small business week was October 16-22 and to celebrate and acknowledge all the hard-working small business owners out there, we decided to host a three week long contest where RedBoard Biz readers shared their tips, ideas and insights for a chance to win a new BlackBerry smartphone. Your feedback was amazing. So amazing that we took your comments and summarized them into three additional blog posts highlighting some of our favourite responses.
  4. M2M: Machines are talking: You may have heard the term M2M being mentioned at some point this year so in this post, we wanted to take some time to explain Machine-to-machine technology (M2M) and what it means for your business. It turns out this was a topic you were interested in as this was among our top 5 most viewed posts of the year.
  5. RedBoard Biz celebrates 1 year anniversary: To mark the first anniversary of RedBoard Biz, we held a contest and asked you to tell us what you’d like to see on RedBoard Biz in the coming year for a chance to win a new BlackBerry. Your comments and suggestions were truly fantastic. Stay tuned in 2012 to see some of these topics featured on our blog.

On behalf of the team at RedBoard Biz, thank you for being a part of our community. All the best for 2012.

Miranda is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

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Customer Experience, General
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Five questions with McPhail Auto

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McPhail Auto Rogers customerWe know that businesses like to hear from other businesses about what they’re doing to better serve their customers. That’s why we created our “Five Questions with…” series on Redboard Biz. This week, we asked Rogers customer and entrepreneur Scott McPhail of McPhail Auto Service and Sales five questions about his business and the role technology plays in it.

1. Briefly describe your business and the value it provides for clients.

Established in 1993, McPhail Auto Service and Sales offers personalized, professional automotive repair at a reasonable cost with qualified technicians. We’re fully confident whether working on older model vehicles or modern, technically advanced vehicles.

2. What business challenges keep you up at night?

The constant challenge in the automotive repair industry is not purchasing equipment, tools, hardware, or software; it is educating the consumer about what is involved with proper maintenance as well as what equipment and training is needed to repair modern vehicles.

3. What role does technology play in your operation?

With the use of smartphones as well as Wi-Fi in the office and our waiting area, we are accessible to our customers wherever we are—in the shop or on the used car lot. We use Rogers Wi-Fi Calling so that we can make phone calls on our Wi-Fi network and not use wireless minutes. Wi-Fi Calling keeps me connected, even where cell signals are weak, at an affordable, fixed monthly cost.”

The technology transfers to the back shop, so that technicians repairing vehicles can access trade websites, order parts online and view work orders from the front office.

4. How do you stay up to date on technology and industry trends?

For several years, we were members of a US-based automotive management group that focused on best practices in auto servicing; the use of technology was one focus of this group. We also like to monitor how other businesses are successful using technology in their industries.

5. What one quote inspires or defines your business approach?

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us – we are dependent on him.

-Unknown

To learn more about McPhail Auto, read our case study.

Would you like to be profiled in our “Five questions with…” series? Send an email to redboardbiz.feedback@rci.rogers.com.

Geoffrey is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

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Entrepreneurship, Transportation
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Globetrotters to road warriors – managing mobility costs while traveling

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Rogers International WiFi calling for businessFrom mileage and meals to accommodations and communications tools, travel costs can add up. As a small business, every dollar counts.

There are a few options out there to help you manage data and roaming costs. To decide which option you should go with, it’s best to evaluate when, where and how you are going to use your device(s).

To help you with your decision, here is some more information on two services that provide you with cost predictability:

 1.      International Wi-Fi Calling for Business

Many small businesses currently use Wi-Fi Calling – making calls over internet Wi-Fi network. This solution is now available to those traveling around the globe. Small businesses can maintain a seamless experience using International Wi-Fi Calling as you can make and receive calls with your existing mobile phone number when you enter a Wi-Fi zone.

As of this month, we have this service available to our small business customers who want to use their existing mobile number to operate their business while traveling.

You can find more info on this solution as well as other new voice roaming plans and the benefits here.

When should I use International Wi-Fi Calling for Business?

If you know that you are going to be in Wi-Fi hot spots while traveling, this is a good option as it allows you to leverage lower pricing for calls made over Wi-Fi. To leverage this service you will need a UMA-enabled device such as the new BlackBerry Curve 9360.

 2.      Data Roaming Options

When you travel internationally for business, it’s reassuring to know that you can use your smartphone to stay productive and connected to your office. To manage costs, you can purchase a voice and/or data offer that is specifically designed for occasional and regular travelers.

Last month, we launched Roaming Data Day and Week Passes which start at $5 per day. These passes include real-time usage alerts (up-to-date within five minutes) that are sent directly to your mobile device so you can monitor and control your data usage. For more info, check out our post on Roaming Data Passes.

When should I purchase a Data Roaming Option?

This is suitable if you are travelling internationally and know ahead of time that you will need to conduct data-intensive activities such as downloading or uploading files and/or streaming multimedia on your smart phone or tablet.

For more information on the best option for your business travel, feel free to connect with a Rogers Small Business Specialist over the phone at 1-800-850-4217 or find one in-store close to you at www.rogers.com/specialist.

As a small business, how do you manage your travel costs?

Allison Fitton is a regular contributor to RedBoardBiz

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Customer Experience, Travel, Trends, Wireless
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How to set up your new BlackBerry PlayBook

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BlackBerry PlayBookThe BlackBerry PlayBook , described as the first professional grade tablet, is now available for Rogers business customers. The WiFi version of the device is available in three versions:  16GB model for $499, 32GB for $599 and the 64GB model for $699.

Paired with your existing BlackBerry smartphone, the PlayBook has many features that can help your business be more efficient while on-the-go.  Over WiFi, email is accessible via the Web – by logging into Outlook Web Access for example. If you have a BlackBerry smartphone you can securely access your BlackBerry smartphone’s e-mail, calendar, documents and other content on the PlayBook using a secure Bluetooth connection with the BlackBerry Bridge software.

What is the BlackBerry Bridge?

The BlackBerry Bridge lets you connect PlayBook to your BlackBerry through a secure, wireless Bluetooth connection to access information already on the smartphone like your email inbox, the ability to view and edit attachments or documents, check calendar appointments and tasks.

This feature is a key security benefit because the data is wiped from the PlayBook once the BlackBerry Bridge connection is terminated. This feature is ideal for business professionals on-the-go allowing email and other data to be viewed in a larger format well-suited for productivity.

How do I set up BlackBerry Bridge?

  • First, ensure that your BlackBerry is running OS (BlackBerry Device Software) 5.0 or higher. There may be an update available for your handset, which you can check for by going here from your computer or laptop.  If an update is not available for your specific BlackBerry smartphone, talk to your account administrator about upgrading.
  • Ensure you have a Rogers data plan of 1GB and above.
  • Install the BlackBerry Bridge software from BlackBerry App World.

If you’re using an Android device or iPhone that has a mobile hotspot capability, you can connect the PlayBook to these devices to get 3G Internet access.  You can also access 3G internet on the PlayBook through a Rogers Rocket Mobile Hotspot.

For more details on how the BlackBerry PlayBook can benefit your business, check out our demo video with BlackBerry expert, Jeff Gadway.

Interested in the BlackBerry PlayBook for your business? Call 1.800.850.4217 or visit your local authorized dealer.

Miranda MacDonald is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz

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Product news, Wireless
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Tablet, meet smartphone: Dell Streak available from Rogers

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Here’s a scenario: You’re a mobile worker, always on the go.

You start the day with a conference call from the road while your GPS gives you turn-by-turn directions to your client’s office. When you get there, you demo the latest round of marketing materials, make edits and immediately send the revised document to your colleagues back at the office. As the day progresses, you reply to emails, send your kids some text messages, chat with your boss on IM, then unwind back at the hotel by watching a movie.

Now, imagine doing that all on one portable device.

If you’ve ever found yourself looking for a device that is a combination of tablet and smartphone, the Dell Streak may be for you.

Available exclusively from Rogers starting today, the Dell Streak is both a tablet and smartphone – allowing you to launch apps, surf the Web and view media with ease through its large touchscreen, edit documents as well as make calls.

Here are some of the device’s specs:

  • A 5-inch multi-touch WVGA display
  • Weighs 7.7 ounces
  • Android operating system version 1.6
  • Integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views
  • High-resolution 5 MP camera and VGA front facing camera
  • Built-in Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity
  • 512MB RAM, 2GB of internal storage and Micro SD expandable memory available up to 32 GB.

Check out a video of the Dell Streak in action below.

What do you think of the Dell Streak? Do you use a tablet at work?

Richard Bloom is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz.

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Wireless
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