New url for Smarter Agent Blog!

Hello all you mobile techies and faithful blog readers! Please visit our blog at its new location http://www.smarteragent.com/blog to follow Smarter Agent happenings, exciting  updates and all things mobile!

Smarter Agent welcomes 5,000 new BlackBerry users in less than a day

In less than 24 hours, Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent surpassed 5,000 unique downloads on BlackBerry devices. Yesterday, our app debuted as a featured application in BlackBerry App World and is still currently displayed in the first position of the carousel of featured apps. Thank you to Research in Motion for giving our app such a coveted spot and to all of the BlackBerry users out there who downloaded our free mobile real estate search. If you don’t have Smarter Agent’s 3-in-1 real estate app on your BlackBerry yet, click here for download instructions from App World. Once you have Smarter Agent on your BB, you can see homes for sale, recently sold homes and rentals at the touch of a button, using your phone’s GPS capabilities to pinpoint your location and pull up market information in your immediate area.

In addition to the 5,000 and counting BlackBerry downloads, we saw an increase in downloads on devices across all carriers. No matter what phone or carrier you have, text ‘SA’ to 87778 to download Smarter Agent to your cell phone.

Our awesome team of developers is constantly improving upon Smarter Agent’s premiere app for every cell phone. The latest version of our iPhone app is in its final stage of testing and includes some great new features that take advantage of the iPhone’s capabilities to the fullest extent. More details to come!

Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent featured in BlackBerry App World

Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent featured in BlackBerry App World

Smarter Agent is proud to announce that our real estate application is featured in the first position in BlackBerry App World! This means when you open App World, Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent appears as the first application in the carousel that BlackBerry App World uses to highlight top applications. We are honored that Research in Motion put our app at the front of the line! Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent is a free download, and it lets you view homes for sale, recently sold homes and apartments for rent on any BlackBerry across all carriers. On most BlackBerry devices, you can use the GPS search option to see what’s on the market in your immediate area. Anyone with a BlackBerry can also search based on address, community, city or zip code. Select a property from the search results, and we’ll show you property details and pictures pulled right from the Multiple Listing Service. Smarter Agent provides information for all publicly viewable MLS listings in the 300+ markets where we are live.

For those who aren’t familiar with BlackBerry App World, let’s rewind. BlackBerry App World allows you to download and purchase apps right to your smartphone just like iPhone’s App Store or Android’s Marketplace. BlackBerry App World doesn’t come pre-loaded on BlackBerry devices, but it’s a free application you can download. To get App World on your BB, go to www.blackberry.com/appworld/download on your phone’s browser. From there, you can begin the quick download process. Once it’s downloaded to your phone, you can access App World to search thousands of apps. You can search by the “Top Free” apps, “Top Paid” apps, by category or by typing a keyword into the search field to see what’s apps are out there. The carousel, where Smarter Agent is featured, lets you scroll through about 30 premiere apps BlackBerry is showcasing. No BlackBerry user should be without App World! And no first-time home buyer (or anyone with even a slight interest in real estate) should be without Real Estate Powered by Smarter Agent!

FAQ at Triple Play 2009

We just got back from the Triple Play Convention in Atlantic City (#TP09 to those on Twitter), attended by thousands of Realtors from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Our booth was constantly buzzing with agents and brokers looking for a way to provide home buyers with a powerful mobile house-hunting tool. When you’re at the booth 9 hours each day, you’re obviously going to hear the same questions repeatedly. Here are the top 5 most frequently asked questions from the week:

1. Are you BlackBerry?
Yes, we set ourselves up for this question! Looking at our booth shown here, you’ll count 3 BlackBerry devices, 2 of which are playing a demo of our app on massive televisions, so it’s a very appropriate question to ask. I just wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked it because I would have had a much bigger jackpot to bring home compared to my weak attempt to win big at the slot machines. When agents asked if we were the BlackBerry booth or if we sold screen cleaners or phone cases, we always had to reply that, in fact, we are not a BlackBerry booth just a big fan. Then, we would show them that our app works on 95% of phones across all carriers. Some people would launch into questions about their BlackBerry before we could break it to them. But since my co-worker Stormy and I have BlackBerrys we are always happy to help them set-up an email account or give them a quick tutorial when we can.

2. What cell phone should I buy next?
We always have a table at our booth covered with at least 8 different devices so we can demo our app on a wide array of phones. Most people who came to our booth would say, “I was thinking of getting a (insert device here), what do you think?” We offered our opinion but also let them play with the different phones on the spot. I love that we get to test out the newest phones as they become available and can provide insight to Realtors we meet. The HTC Eris was at the top of my list this week. It performed so fast in the steel-cage of a convention center and it’s real sleek, overall. Our friends from Sprint were at the convention, too, so we were able to direct a lot of people to their booth to discuss the latest and greatest phones and services.

3. Can you charge my phone?
Yes, but only if you let us put the Smarter Agent app on it while you leave it here to charge! It was a win-win situation.

4. What makes you different from some of the other mobile companies here at the convention?
This one is easy: We are the only developer with a mobile real estate application available on 95% of devices across all carriers; the only one that brands to agents and brokers; the only one that shows all MLS listings; the only one that directs all calls on every listing back to you, no matter who listed the property; the only one that’s been developing a mobile real estate search for more than a decade and has five U.S. patents covering our technology. Most people got the idea!

5. Does your co-worker fit in those big bags they’re handing out?
Answer: Of course she does!

We always appreciate each and every question! A big ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone who stopped by our booth. We met so many great Realtors and were able to catch up with a lot of old friends, as well.

Where will Smarter Agent be next? Inman Real Estate CONNECT NYC in January! Our President Eric Blumberg will be presenting on the panel, “Marketing on the Small Screen: Understand the Mobile Platform Better than Your Competition.” Smarter Agent will also have a demo pod. More details to come!

#NAR09 Video Wrap-Up

From Super Smarter Agent Man to #rebcsd to our packed mobile sessions at our expo booth, here are a few of our favorite pictures from the week in San Diego. I made this using Animoto if anyone’s interested in an easy and free program to make 30 second slide shows.

Get up to speed on mobile at #NAR09

Smarter Agent has touched down in San Diego for the 2009 Realtors Conference and Expo. You can find us and our margarita/daiquiri machine at booth 826. Here are the mobile tech breakout sessions we’ll be hosting at our booth. Find out everything you want to know about mobile apps, mobile marketing and putting your brand on every clients’ cell phone!

Saturday, November 14th
Mobile MythBusters: 9:30 AM
Reaching Gen X and Gen Y Home Buyers: 11:00 AM
Apps No Realtor Should Be Without: 12:30 AM
Extend Your Brand to Mobile: 2:00 PM
Win More Clients with Mobile: 3:30 PM

Sunday, November 15th
Win More Clients With Mobile: 10:30 AM
Extend Your Brand to Mobile: 12:00 PM
Apps No Realtor Should be Without: 1:30 PM
Reaching Gen X and Gen Y Home Buyers: 3:00 PM
Mobile MythBusters: 4:30 PM

Monday, November 16th
Mobile MythBusters: 9:30 AM
Reaching Gen X and Gen Y Home Buyers: 11:00 AM
Apps No Realtor Should be Without: 12:30 PM
Extend Your Brand to Mobile: 2:00 PM
Win More Clients with Mobile: 3:30 PM

Drink & Think with Smarter Agent at the 2009 N.A.R. Expo

Smarter Agent will be serving free daiquiris and margaritas at booth 826 at the 2009 REALTORS® CONFERENCE & EXPO in San Diego this week. Have a refreshing drink, sit back, relax and learn about the leading mobile real estate app you can brand and add to your marketing arsenal.
You won’t be able to miss our booth-just keep an eye out for Smarter Agent Man. He’s flying in to #NAR09 to help save your brand in a mobile world.

In addition to around the clock demos on all the cell phones we can stuff into our suitcases, we’ll be conducting brief sessions on mobile technology and strategies to reach your Generation X and Generation Y clients who don’t go anywhere without their cell phone. Show times at booth 826 are as follows:
Saturday, November 14th
9:30 AM
11:00 AM
12:30 AM
2:00 PM
3:30 PM

Sunday, November 15th
10:30 AM
12:00 PM
1:30 PM
3:00 PM
4:30 PM

Monday, November 16th
9:30 AM
11:00 AM
12:30 PM
2:00 PM
3:30 PM

Warning: Drinking margaritas and daiquiris and using Smarter Agent at the same time will give you brain freeze.

Smarter Agent’s Jennifer Levine talks mobile real estate apps live on FoxBusiness.com

Jennifer Levine, our Director of Strategic Partnerships, appeared live on FoxBusiness.com Tuesday afternoon to talk about Smarter Agent‘s mobile real estate app. In the segment, Jen discusses how Smarter Agent works on 95% of cell phones so that any interested homebuyer can receive information on demand with the touch of a cell phone key. Jen highlights the fact that Smarter Agent gets a new user every 1.5 minutes-indicating the growing interest to integrate mobile into the house-hunting process. Click the link below to watch Jen’s segment and find out about Smarter Agent’s branded app for agents and brokers: Your brand; Your MLS’s data; All calls go to you!

Drive by House Hunting: Smarter Agent on FoxBusiness.com

Can’t we all just get along

iPhone and Android are battling it out over which is the better smart phone. Android recently released the “iDon’t” commercial to highlight features of the Android that the iPhone lacks. Watch it here.

But iPhone fans aren’t going to take that. They retaliated with this “iDon’t care” video.

I give both camps credit for very creative ads and, hey, competition breeds excellence right?

So which phone do you think will reign supreme, iPhone or Android?

REBar Camp Pittsburgh

This was my second REBar Camp but my first time moderating a session, so I was pretty excited. My session on mobile wasn’t until the afternoon, so I started to mingle and make some friends to attend sessions with. Most of the morning sessions revolved around social media. It was amazing how many agents had Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. As a whole, it seemed like most were techno newbies but very eager to learn. After lunch it was my turn to moderate a session. The crowd had thinned a little by the afternoon sessions but I had a decent crowd that was very interested in mobile. I helped them understand the importance of mobile in their marketing and in working with customers. Plus, I was able to help them understand and navigate their mobile devices—they all had a BlackBerry or an iPhone, which are the most useful tools on-the-go when you know how to utilize all of their many functions. I also explained where to look for answers when their smart phone isn’t doing what they want it to do. The last session of the day was on “Tech Toys” where a group of us talked about Sling Box, Flip Video and mobile of course. Overall, the turnout was strong and the volunteers did a great job in making REBar Camp Pittsburgh a success. After bar camp, I went out for drinks with some of the other attendees. I told them how to download Smarter Agent’s app—they all had BlackBerrys and one had the Storm, and the GPS search worked great – go Abhi (he’s one of the masterminds who designed our app for the Storm)! Next up is REBar Camp D.C.— Bayrin Guzel (sa_bayrin) will be the mobile connoisseur in attendance.

-Eric Santini