Making an iPhone Act Like a BlackBerry
Ok, this may seem like an odd post. Why would anyone want their iPhone to act like a BlackBerry? Well, there are some things that the RIM folks got right.
I switched over to the iPhone 4S a couple of weeks ago, and there are a few features from my old CrackBerry that I miss. I’ve been able to address most of them. Sadly, the blinking red indicator light that told me when I had an email is not doable on the iPhone. But here are three other workarounds that you may find useful/interesting.
Push Mail: I use a regular IMAP email server that does not have push capabilities. I don’t want to bother updating to an Exchange Server or anything like that. But I also don’t want to wait for the iPhone to “fetch” my mail. The solution? An app called “PushMail.” For five bucks, it gives you push notifications, it is amazingly simple to set up and gives you more flexibility than you can even get with the BlackBerry. It is my favorite iPhone app by far.
Music Ring Tones: I like assigning songs as the ring tone for people. One friend might have the theme to South Park while my default is the theme from the James Bond movies. Unfortunately on the iPhone you can’t do that by simply linking the person to the song in your music library. The solution? Create a ringtone in GarageBand. It is incredibly easy to drag a song from iTunes on your computer into GarageBand, select the 30 seconds you want, and then save it as a ring tone. Copy the file into iTunes and synch.
Only Ring for Select People: The BlackBerry has some amazing ring profile capabilities. I could, for example, keep the phone silent, except for some individuals. If I am waiting for an important call but don’t want to be disturbed by anyone else, I could do that on the BlackBerry, but not the iPhone. The solution? Create a blank/silent ring tone. When you want silence, set that ring tone as the default. Then, for those who you want to hear, go into the contact and assign a non-silent ring tone.
I’ve been tinkering around with some other fun things and may post some tips here from time to time.
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My Next Book
I am happy to announce that my next book will be published by Portfolio Penguin on September 29, 2011.
The title?
Best Practices Are Stupid:
40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition.
This book contains 40 bite-sized tips and tricks for creating a culture of innovation.
Most are quite counterintuitive or irreverent. For example:
- Asking for Ideas is a Bad Idea
- Don’t Think Outside the Box; Find a Better Box
- The Difference Between a Pipeline and a Sewer is What Flows Through It
- You Get What you Measure, But Will You Get What You Want?
- Hire People You Don’t Like
And 35 other unconventional ways to make your organizations a nimble, innovation machine.
I will share more, including the book cover, as soon it becomes available.
Stay tuned!
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The Return of the Blogger…
The manuscript went to the publisher, and so now I can return back to my blogging. Moving forward, I will be blogging at least twice a week with those article being posted on the American Express OPEN Forum. I will also try to add some unique content here on this site, including videos, interviews, and podcasts. Let’s get started….
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Blogging Slowdown
No this is not a work stoppage driven by protest. It is a slowdown caused by an overload of work.
I am working on my next book and the manuscript is due over the next couple of weeks. That is keeping me VERY busy. So the activity here will slow down a little bit.
But I want to share some exciting news with blog readers:
- Personality Poker hit the Inc Magazine’s bestsellers list for the month of November
- Personality Poker was selected as one of the best business books for 2010 by 800CEOREAD
- On January 12th, an article of mine will run nationally in a major newspaper
And for those who are curious, the new book is a complete rewrite of my “Little Book of BIG Innovation Ideas.” The new book will be twice the length (not so little), will be published by Penguin, and will have a new title. Stay tuned for more details.
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Great Event in Canada
This weekend I am speaking at a very cool event! And I would love to have you join me.
What: The Ultimate Success Event
When: Saturday April 17th, 2010 from 8am to 6:30pm
Where: Chateau Cartier Hotel close to downtown Ottawa Canada
But, to kick things off, the weekend starts Friday night with a private party that is totally free.
Peggy McColl is releasing her 7th book, “Viral Explosions,” and Friday is her book launch party. I have known Peggy for years, and she is an amazing woman with life changing books.
The party will be a blast. I will of course be there. There will be lots of entertainment, free hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and give-aways galore.
Then…after celebrating the launch of “Viral Explosions” on Friday night, Saturday is a full day celebration of your success.
The Ultimate Success Event, Saturday April 17, will be a jam packed, seminar featuring a stellar line up of 13 luminaries in the field of personal and business success coaching, including yours truly. I’ll be playing Personality Poker with the 250 people in attendance. Other speakers will talk about marketing, sales, personality development and much much more.
I hope to see you there!
800 CEO READ
Indiebound
