7 Comments

1. 

   Auntie Agent on April 13, 2011 at 11:28 am

   Eagerly waiting the JTR app….

   Redfin’s app is very nice. Excellent for getting a lot of information while on the go. Their picture viewing model is well thought out. Realtor.com’s is second on my list. It does have the VERY cool “lasso” tool for refining searches by drawing a line around an area. Hopefully redfin.com will incorporate something like that.

2. 

   big perm on April 14, 2011 at 4:17 am

   Jim – not to get too dorky here, but IMO specifically as it relates to your blog, you don’t need a mobile app. I don’t see the need for it. You offer your blog via the RSS feed (which is great), and the videos/pictures are available too (I am using FeeddlerRSS on my iphone). However, if you really wanted to make it meaningful/better, you need to ‘combine’ your RSS Blog feed with your RSS Comments feed. Currently they are two different feeds (I believe), so to read them both, it is like having to look at two different blogs. If you combine them, then you have your mobile app and you’re cool with the Gen Y kids too! [all smart phones have apps that read RSS feeds, and you can suggest one for each device that flatters the presentation of your blog for iphone/android/bb/wm7…and provide your feed and there you have it…people reading your blog on the go! Cheap & easy, and you’re already doing this!].

   Disclaimer: If you have an idea for a true ‘app’ that has more functionality than the one ‘section’ blog, then maybe I misunderstood.

3. 

   James on April 14, 2011 at 8:32 am

   JtR-

   I am professional in this arena and have some free advice for you.
   A blog app is a waste of resources unless you truly want to create something with added benefits. Talk to your web page developer about having your blog be recognized by a mobile browser. It basically takes your blog and makes it more mobile friendly. Its far more cost effective and provides the same content as you have now. The other great thing about doing it this way, is that you can still create an “app” icon which would look and download like an app but “under the hood” would just be a mobile browser bookmark.

4. 

   Kwaping on April 14, 2011 at 9:48 am

   I second comment #3.

5. 

   livingincali on April 14, 2011 at 10:32 am

   Form factor of a phone makes it a little difficult to do a good mobile real estate app, but because most people looking for a home have a smart phone it makes sense that real estate products have been developed for iOS and android.

   Tablets are better suited for mobile real estate and it would make sense to see some early technology adopting Realtors toting around tablets in the not to distant future. I’ve played with TruliaHD on an iPad and it isn’t too bad.

6. 

   BrettInLJ on April 19, 2011 at 12:59 pm

   What I never have understood is why when there is a web address listed outside a home for sale that it links to a mobile-unfriendly site, often with Flash animation. That is the one time people are likely to actually enter the address into a browser (not when they get home).

   I even see this in the Bay Area where people are more tech savvy.

7. 

   Jeeman on April 26, 2011 at 1:44 am

   During my home search, I used redfin, but used my own agent.