I’ve written so much about my HTC EVO in this blog that it now seems appropriate to share my experience with my new Samsung Galaxy S III, which I had to purchase after  accidentally damaging my EVO on a recent trip to Saint Paul. I hated to see my trusty EVO go, but the silver lining is that I get to write about a new device.

Given my focus on enterprise convergence, I am always drawn to smartphone features that blur the line between wireline and wireless. The Galaxy S III is my first device with Google Wallet, which takes advantage of Near Field Communications (NFC).More...

Gartner calls it the Nexus of Forces – the synergy of four platforms or movements that are happening all at once and depend on one another – Mobile, Social Media, Cloud, and Information. These forces are the future and the focus on which IT would be wise to devote resources and strategic thought.More...

The rapidly-growing mobile payments industry is expected to more than double in just two years from $171.5 billion to $617 billion in transactions by 2016, according to Gartner. Simply, mobile payments is an “umbrella term that refers to a wide variety of approaches such as: a smartphone equipped with a special chip; a credit card number stored in a phone app; or a key-fob size device that turns a phone or tablet into a credit card processor,” says USA Today. Though still in the early adopter phase, startups, carriers, and big businesses are investing heavily in this innovative space. More...

Back in 2005, when I bought my house here in Peoria, I was sitting in a downtown law office when I suddenly realized that I had brought only my checkbook to the closing. Knowing that I needed a cashier’s check, I interrupted the attorneys and said, “I have a problem.” After calling my long-time bank in Minneapolis, I learned that the closest branch was 45 minutes away—so I hopped in my car and drove to get the check. Despite the “Check 21 Act” being enacted a year earlier, we were still a long way from the promises of paperless banking transactions. More...