Users will be able to access Harcourts’ mobile property websites automatically on any smartphone that has a web browser.

Jason Wills, Chief Information Officer for Harcourts International, suggests that this technology is leading edge and the ability for the websites to run on practically any smart mobile phone is exceptional.

“Many systems only cater for the iPhone or the Android but Harcourts’ approach is to not limit their customers to specific devices,” Mr Wills said.

“Let’s open up the website to all smart phones.  This is the future of web-based technology and not only do I want to have access to any site on my mobile phone, I want the site to look great and work well!

“I don’t want to have to download any apps; I just want websites to work simply. This is Harcourts’ approach to technology and you will see this as we develop more tablet/iPad websites,” Mr Wills continued.

The new mobile websites have all the basic features of the complete website, including easy to view property photos, maps, auto phone agent, open home details, contact office/agent feature, and access to Harcourts’ 15,000+ properties.

To access the websites, simply go to your phone’s web browser and type in www.harcourts.com.au or www.harcourts.co.nz.

The smartphone websites are the latest edition to Harcourts’ already impressive technology suite which includes next generation websites, the eCampaign application for the iPad, the Mobile Agent application for the iPad and iPhone, and the addition of QR Codes to the group’s marketing materials, amongst others.

In September 2010, HarcourtsOne had 2.6 million contacts in total. In September 2011, the database now has over 3.6 million contacts across Australia and New Zealand, representing a massive 28 per cent increase in contacts over the past 12 months.

This means that Harcourts has significantly increased its customer base over a 12 month period in one of the toughest markets we have seen in recent years.

These results tell us that Harcourts has come into contact with more home buyers and sellers in the past 12 months than ever before.

The significant growth in database numbers will increase our ability to find buyers for sellers’ properties which will, in turn, enhance Harcourts’ position in the marketplace.

The surge in database numbers is a direct result of Harcourts’ new technology and marketing tools.

The release of the new Harcourts websites, the office and sales consultant websites, our marketing and promotional material, and the mobile products developed for the iPhone and iPad have all contributed to this surge in growth.

All in all, it’s a very positive results for the Harcourts team and we hope to increase these numbers again over the next 12 months.

We have also noted an increasing number of Harcourts consultants using technology in order to keep in touch with their clients.

Our sales consultants and property managers are really embracing technology and using it to keep in touch with their clients via our SMS and email marketing software. These technologies are fantastic as they allow us to keep our customers informed throughout the selling or purchasing process.

It is great to finally see a local carrier offer this as a service.

I’ve been watching this space for years and have never understood why airlines would stop people using mobile phones.
I recall watching an episode of Mythbusters where they tried to see if using a mobile phone would interfere with the aircrafts navigational system.  It did not.  Even when they cranked up the old fashioned mobile that kicked out the highest wattage/frequency.

So why has it taken so long?  I’m picking it is due to a pricing model.  The price to use your mobile phone on the Air New Zealand flight was very expensive – data in particular was expensive $20 per mb.  Once in the air you are considered to be International Roaming so your carrier charges apply.  Vodafone have muscled in on the action and they are offering a deal.  Their logo is on the marketing material supplied to customers.

I tried using my Telecom connected iPhone without much luck.  But to be honest, the longest flight in New Zealand is just over 90 minutes so for the sake of cost I’d be willing to wait.  Now on a long haul flight this service will be excellent, especially if you can download email!

Check out this review by Computerworld

I’ve been following online learning for many years.  In fact back in 2000, one of my colleagues moved from New Zealand to Minesota, USA to work with a start-up company that wanted to provide online learning via video tutorials.

Unfortunately this didn’t take off for many reasons, but I believe the key reason was due to the speed & cost of fast broadband internet.  You could say the codec and size of each video was too large which didn’t help.  But the idea was great and I believe the technology has caught up and now companies are making real progress.

I frequently watch a lot of TED talks on youtube.com and there was one in particular that really opened my eyes to the possibilities.

In late 2004, Salman Khan began tutoring his cousin Nadia in mathematics using Yahoo!‘s Doodle notepad. When other relatives and friends sought his tutorial, he decided it would be more practical to distribute the tutorials on YouTube.

The end result – The Khan Academy website was born.  www.khanacademy.org

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit educational organization created in 2006, by Salman Khan. With the stated mission of “providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere”, the website supplies a free online collection of over 2,200 micro lectures via video tutorials stored on YouTube teaching mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and economics

After watching this Ted talk I went to the website, signed myself up and my 2 children aged 8 & 7.  It is School holidays in New Zealand and I needed something to occupy my kids time while I worked.  The kids jumped into the website and sure enough they were loving it.  They guided themselves through the various levels on the Maths side.  My son was stumped when he hit angles and understanding acute, right & obtuse angles.  He clicked on the video tutorial and watched a 5 min movie on the explanation.  He then went back to the 10 questions with 100% accuracy.

I can see a place for websites like these in the future schools curriculm, with teachers become more like facilatators and having time to focus on kids that are really struggling.

Hats off to Salman Khan and his team.  Here at Harcourts International our Training Academy headed by Irene Green, shares the same innovative thinking as Salman and our online training systems work in a similar fashion.

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® is a global network of 600 premier real estate firms with 5,000 offices and 150,000 sales associates in more than 30 countries around the world.

Collectively, this group sold nearly 1 million homes worth $250 billion last year, more than any national real estate brand.

This conference allows Harcourts to compete against over 600 international real estate companies from throughout the world!   Members of the Harcourts team Mike & Irene Green and Katie McAleese recently attended the awards luncheon and have just sent through these results.

Results:

1^st place New Media (blogs, ipad, iphone, media centre, eBluebooks, Harcourts Answers)

1^st runner up: Luxury Portfolio branding and products

1^st runner up: Customer Service Referral

Top 3: Website Search Engine Optimisation

This is the first time Harcourts have entered our Technology products in the competition and we are really pleased with the results.  A wonderful team effort from all the staff involved in the various departments.

Unfortunately our office took a hit and we have been forced to move out for at least 4 weeks while repairs are made.

We build IT infrastructure with all sorts of redundancy, but what you can’t replace is people.  This hit home for me as I frantically tried to get in touch with my team to make sure they were all safe and well.

So we have an international server infrastructure that is bullet proof, but one of the best services we provide is a free helpdesk service with an all star team.   With the help of Gen-I New Zealand and Hycom Solutions Ltd, in less than a week, we moved offices and have phone services up and running.    Incredible service considering our CBD looks like a warzone.

The rest of our QA testing team & software developers continued working 2 days after the quake.  All 10 members of that team are working from remote locations and are keeping our project developments on track.   Communication via Skype has enabled us to keep our business functioning.  Incredibly all internet services from Gen-I continued working throughout this ordeal.

My point, we need to move our Helpdesk phone services into the Skype cloud.  If this had been set-up we would have only lost 1-2 days and that was due to power outages at our homes.

Skype provides the final piece of the jigsaw in regards to redundant phone systems.  Only now has this become so much clearer to me.

For those of you here in Christchurch with me, stay strong, keep positive and imagine just how great and modern this city will become once we rebuild over the coming years.

I believe the answer is now no.  All you really need is a wireless broadband connection so you hook up your Macbook / iPad/ iPhone / PC / Laptop and your mobile phone.
Most people give out their mobile phone number as their first point of contact and if you’re like many of the Gen X & Y, you give out your Skype name or Windows Live Messenger ID.

So your grandparents can’t get hold of you now, but who cares, you don’t want them calling you anyway – just kidding, you should be visiting them face to face.

For me, I love keeping in touch with my brother-in-law in Taiwan via Skype, my friend in Perth Australia via Messenger, and my work colleague in Orange County CA via Skype Video calls.

With my friends in New Zealand, a lot of communication is via Facebook, and the majority of young and old are texting via their mobile phone.

My best guess is 4-6 years life span on the old land line phone and it could be even quicker with Telecom New Zealand rolling out some very competitive Google Android phones and 2 degrees offering pre-pay data plans for smart phones.

Will I miss the landline?  No way.  However, I do miss the original 10 hole dialer phone that would take a minute just to dial the numbers.  I see this turning up as a retro phone!

The new, $1 billion datacentre is tipped to be hosting Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform and streaming content to Apple TV and the iPad.  Tech site The Register has speculated that such a huge facility may be the nerve centre for other projects as well, including, possibly, a search engine to rival Google or a Facebook competitor.

Article from Computerworld New Zealand

The app, which is free to download from the Android Market, routes calls over the internet to ensure they’re cheaper than using a mobile network.

The app is compatible with handsets running ver 2.1 of the operating system and lets mobile phone owners call other Skype users for free, using a handset’s wi-fi or 3G connection.

Users will also be able to make low-cost calls to other landlines and mobile phones worldwide, as well as sending instant messages to Skype contacts and even syncing contacts from their web-based Skype address book.

Article care of Computerworld New Zealand