Is the iPhone Better Than Blackberry for Marketers?
A while back I was emailed this question:
“What do you recommend for contact management software? I’m on a Mac, and I am the entire marketing dept, so i don’t need anything really fancy. I use Entourage and was hoping to connect my contact software with email and Blackberry.”
Here is what i said.
My personal “workflow” incorporates Windows, Mac, iPhone, and the web. But I think it’s a good one. It really revolves around Outlook on Windows. But i have my three computers and my iPhone all working with the same information.
Here is what I would suggest for you. My core advice is ditch the blackberry, if possible. If you ditch the Blackberry then you can get an iPhone. The iPhone has better email management and reading capabilities. In addition, your Mac will sync mail, contacts, and calendars with the iPhone. If you wanted push email, iPhone will do it through Apple’s MobileMe service or free through Yahoo Mail. You can get incoming mail from multiple sources, and choose which account to send outgoing mail from.
Here is what I do with my contacts on the Mac that I think is the bees knees. I put people pictures in their address book contact. Then when I go to a function, I flip through my category for that association/group and remind myself what people look like. That’s a lifesaver! I’m terrible with names.
The one thing that sucks with Mac are tasks. (On Windows) I use outlook, a special plug-in for tasks, and a (on my Mac) website called Toodledo. They sync together and with my iPhone. But I would suggest you use Omnifocus. That will integrate with your Mac and the iPhone.
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/
In addition, I recommend Evernote for notes. That syncs with Windows, Mac, and iPhone. If you have something you want to read later, it goes into Evernote and then you can read it on the iPhone.
I hate when people say “Get rid of this” or “stop doing this.” It sounds smug. But I’ve done a lot of research on this problem. And I want you to have a set up that makes life easier. If you can’t get rid of the Blackberry, use missing sync. You will have to plug in or use Bluetooth sync (not over the internet like iPhone). And I don’t think that will help you sync your entourage mail items and having multiple email systems is a pain. http://www.markspace.com/products/blackberry/blackberry-sync-Mac-software.html Hope that helps. my solution is “fancy” but its going to save you time and money in the long run.
