Smartphones for Supers - Blackberries

What do Smartphones have to do with environmental stewardship and sustainability on golf courses? Everything. Being aware and controlling resource use at the touch of a button, sending/receiving info to consultants, government bodies, and club management decision makers can help get things done quickly and affectively.

In Turfhugger's 3 Part Series on Smartphones for Supers we'll look at the three top players - Apple, Blackberry and Android options. (okay, maybe four part if someone can convince me that Windows worth looking at! haha.)


 A quick review of the functionality of the device and App's will help give Super's some help in deciding what is the best product for them. 


Let's start with Blackberry.

(Note: Portions of this post originally appeared in Green is Beautiful, a publication of the OGSA, and TurfNet's Printed newsletter)

You know you’re a BB’er when you can open the back, take out the battery, reinstall, close it back up and press ON with one hand.  Ignoring the “PC-like” need to reboot often, BB’ers are quick to point out the ease of emailing, great Camera options, no need to look while typing as you can actually feel the buttons and the newer touch-screen models have glass that vibrates and makes a “click” sound to give a sensation of typing on a real keyboard.

BB is quickly loosing its share of the U.S. Smartphone market - down to 37% from last quarters 42%. Reasons? Poor standard web browser, App options are low and Android is grabbing market share while iPhone has generally stayed the same. RIM is attempting to regain market loss by providing a wider selection of products like their PlayBook tablet in 2011, and hopes to change their “business only” reputation and snap up some of Apples users.

BB Messenger is a free chat/text program that allows users to chat with other BB users with no charge (technically you need a data package, so there is a charge). This was a strong point for the brand, but due to savvy App-developers, free text programs can be found for pretty much every device now (Apple and Android devices can use “Whatsapp” for “free” messaging). 

Here are a few Apps I feel supers using BB’s would enjoy:

·   Turfgrass Management, free download with an annual subscription of $19.99 per year (also available on iPhones, iPod Touch and iPad) contains pics, info and recommendations for managing turf weeds, diseases, insects and an American pesticide database. Developed by the good folks at U of Georgia.

·   Evernote is available on BB’s, Apple Products and the Android OS for free, with some premium upgrades. Capture images, voice notes, emails, typed notes and organize them to help you be more productive. Perfect for Supers doing five things at once.

·   Log-Me-In allows users to use any mobile device to log in to their desktop computers remotely. This is essentially the App that Toro’s NSN iPhone App uses.

·   Bolt helps make the standard BB Browser faster, allowing for quicker response times through the web. This is perfect if you use RainBirds MI website to access and control your irrigation system. Although this video is with a HTC Android enabled phone, you can get a good view of the RainBird MI website.

Go here to grab some BB App's.

More Apps to be posted in the comments section below. Please share the ones you use.