The Touchscreen Divide Do you prefer actual keys or have you adapted to the virtual way? Two entrepreneurs square off.
Can't Live with It
I get really frustrated with touchscreens. I struggled when the iPhone first came out--I really love the apps and I really wanted the iPhone, but I really struggled because of the touchscreen. There are so many apps for real estate--the maps, showing clients photos of properties and being able to drag and zoom. For those apps, the touchscreen is awesome. But I can't type on the touchscreen. If I'm using a friend's iPhone and try to type an e-mail, it takes me five times as long. I'm a BlackBerry addict--I use a Blackberry Bold. I recently lost my BlackBerry, and again I struggled. But I still replaced it with another BlackBerry, because it doesn't have a touchscreen.
--Deborah Madey, owner of real estate brokerage firm Peninsula Realty, Shrewsbury, N.J.
Can't Live Without It
The touchscreen has completely changed the way we communicate within our residential property management business. It provides me with a sense of control that I did not have with previous devices. Navigation with the iPhone is much easier. All Horizon Management staffers now use iPhones to successfully track projects and complete tasks. I receive an immense amount of PDF documents, and the touchscreen allows for easy viewing of each and streamlines my workflow. All accounting and website administration work is done in Indiana, and our corporate office is in Texas. By using our property websites, Twitter accounts and iPhones, we are able to communicate in real time and strengthen our customer relationships.--Scot Stoner, student, entrepreneur and operations and client services manager for Horizon Management, Houston
