(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — A tech site tested 5 MacBooks in 2023 and this one has the best battery life.
Kimberly Gedeon of Laptop magazine gave her top choice of the five MacBook Pros that were reviewed for their battery power. The 16-inch MacBook Pro came out on top at 22 hours on a charged battery. Kimberly goes into detail about how each one was tested and provides of chart with each model configuration — great info if you’re in the market for a new MacBook. (Source: Laptop)
Why this is important for your business:
I think of all the features I need from a business laptop the most important is battery life.
2 — Square Software launches Tap to Pay on Android devices.
Square — the platform that helps small and medium sized businesses track and process payments — has just added the Tap to Pay option on Android — giving merchants the ability to receive contactless payments from their customers. Representatives of the company expressed the importance of giving their customer base the flexibility of doing business on the move. (Source: Finextra)
Why this is important for your business:
At first, I was like: doesn’t Square already have this? But then I realized that no separate Square device is needed to do these transactions. According to the report: “With Tap to Pay on Android, Square is making it even easier for new sellers and established businesses to conduct in-person commerce. Using a compatible Android device, a seller simply opens the Square Point of Sale, Square Appointments, Square for Restaurants, or Square Invoices app, enters the sale, and presents their smartphone to the customer. From there, the buyer will see the total they owe along with the familiar contactless payments symbol, and can choose to complete the payment with a contactless credit or debit card, or a digital wallet such as Google Pay.”
3 — Constant Contact launches the first multichannel AI content generator built for small businesses and nonprofits.
Constant Contact — the online marketing company that “helps small businesses level the playing field” — has incorporated generative AI into its communication systems. Now users can automate personalized messages on email correspondence, social media, and marketing campaigns. The software is programmed to offer suggestions on how specific messages can be crafted based on certain metrics. “Our new AI Content Generator makes it easy to get started on an email or text by blending cutting-edge AI with an intuitive interface that’s designed for smaller businesses,” Russ Morton — Chief Product Officer at Constant Contact — said in response to this announcement. (Source: Cision)
Why this is important for your business:
For now this is a suggestion tool and I’m sure it’s helpful. But watch closely because in the next few years I predict that Constant Contact and its competitors will be creating communications based on what it’s learned from your business and automatically sending to auto-generated lists of recipients most likely to open your messages. And all with little human involvement.
4 — You can get up to $500 from Microsoft by trading in an old laptop.
Looking to trade your old laptop in? Microsoft is offering up to five hundred bucks if your hardware meets their approval — Kimberly Gedeon of Laptopmagazine reported. To bank on a good deal, the laptop needs to be operable, and it doesn’t have to be a Microsoft model. For more specifics visit Microsoft’s online trade-in program to review their requirements and what qualifies as “good working condition.” Your old system might be worth some cash. (Source: Laptop)
Why this is important for your business:
Here’s a good way to make some money back when upgrading your devices.
5 — Small businesses and consumers complete 639 million transactions on Zelle in Q1.
Zelle’s userbase is expanding based on first quarter earnings. The company that processes electronic money transfers to and from participating institutions saw an increase in peer-to-peer transactions — 639 million (29 percent) to be exact. The company also reported that the number of financial institutions on their network has grown — citing it as a variable in overall growth. Also noted was the decrease in fraud reports in comparison to a few years ago — as Zelle has made improvements on system protocols to minimize theft. “We have increased network-level controls to prevent bad actors from transacting on the Zelle Network and reducing their run-time on the network,” Early Warning CEO — Albert Ko stated in a LinkedIn post. (Source: PYMNTS)
Why this is important for your business:
Quietly and quickly Zelle has fast become a payments app that serves as a great business alternative to PayPal, Venmo and others in the space.
