DejaOffice Flies Past 100,000 Active Installs

Posted on June 21, 2011 by David Z

I’m happy to share that we’ve passed 100,000 active installs of DejaOffice! That means that amongst you, our customers, there are over 100,000 Android phones & tablets, iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches all over the world currently being enhanced by DejaOffice’s business-class productivity features. All this in just a little over one year, too!

2011 has already been an exciting year for DejaOffice. We’ve added dozens of new features and enhancements, from widgets to global search to grouping, and much more. But we’re not stopping there. We have even more great features planned. While I can’t get into the details just yet, I can tell you that 2011 will continue to be a very exciting year for DejaOffice. Stay tuned!

DejaOffice for Android 1.11.8 Beta Released

Posted on June 16, 2011 by David Z

DejaOffice 1.11.8 beta is now available from www.dejaoffice.com/androidapp and brings a number of improvements and bug fixes. Most notably, we’ve adjusted the colors in the revised month view calendar we introduced in version 1.11.7. Some users reported that, while they liked the new layout, the colors were hard to see. With this update, the category colors should now be much easier to read!

If you’d like to test out the latest features, or are encountering any of the issues that are fixed in this release, head over to www.dejaoffice.com/androidapp and grab the beta!

Release Notes

DejaOffice v1.11.8 (06/15/2011)
-improved month view UI by increasing color luminosity
-month view layout now defaults to tablet style, now with the standard 3 font sizes
-added date to DejaCalendar search results
-fixed truncated text for 0 min duration events
-fixed an issues with editing multi-day weekly recurring events
-fixed issues with list view Go to Date/Today menu options
-fixed Business/Micro mode for View/Edit screens in tablet mode
-fixed an issue where “Show Private” did not work in DejaToday for hidden records
-fixed issues syncing Categories with native contact Phone accounts groups
-fixed an issue where DejaToday did not display All Day events
-fixed an issue where DejaOffice would sometimes not update the native Android contacts app after syncing

DejaOffice.com Receives A Fresh New Look

Posted on June 14, 2011 by David Z

Just a quick update today to announce the brand new DejaOffice.com! We have completely redesigned the site so that it is easier than ever to learn about all of the great features in DejaOffice.

I encourage you to head over to www.dejaoffice.com and check it out. We’d love to hear what you think! Share your feedback in the comments below.

DejaOffice 1.2.2 for iOS Now Available

Posted on June 2, 2011 by David Z

DejaOffice 1.2.2 is now available from the iTunes App Store! We’ve added and improved a number of things, but the two biggest features we’d like to talk about are a separate contact database and “group by” options.

Our Own Contacts Database

We’ve created a separate Contacts database for DejaContacts. Previously, we used native iPhone Address Book to store our data. While this is convenient, it affected usability because we were forced to render our data only as fast as the iPhone Address Book allowed us to.

No more! With our own database, we can optimize speeds to best suit our app and it’s purpose – accessing thousands of business records instantly.

Please note: It is very important that you run the Import Contacts function if you’ve previously synced DejaOffice via CompanionLink. If you skip this step, you could potentially duplicate or delete all of your contacts data!

If you’d like to take advantage of features that the native address book offers (such as caller ID), you will still be able to sync DejaContacts with the native Address Book.

New “Grouping “ Feature

A powerful new grouping feature allows you to organize data in more ways. In our last email we showed you how categories are a highly efficient way to organize data. But what do you do for more granular control?

That’s where grouping comes in.

DejaOffice can sort your contacts by company, category, city, or city and zip code. For example, picture this scenario: you’re traveling to Atlanta and, while on the plane, you use DejaOffice to bring up a list of all your contacts that live there. You can now easily browse through this list and catch up with nearby clients or old friends.

We’re really excited about these new features and think you’re going to love them too! In fact, we’d love to hear how you will be using the new grouping feature.

DejaOffice for Android 1.11.7 Beta Improves Calendar View, Adds Ringtone Management

Posted on May 31, 2011 by David Z

Click to Enlarge

Update: DejaOffice 1.11.7 is officially available in the Android Market.

The latest beta of DejaOffice for Android brings a host of new features, interface improvements, and bug fixes. In this post, I’d like to highlight two of them.

First, we’ve improved the calendar “Month View.” With a large amount of data in DejaCal, the month view could get fairly crowded and hard to read. By cleaning up the interface, we’ve made it much easier to view your agenda. For now, you’ll need to enable “Tablet Mode” to see this change.

Second, due to popular request, we’ve added custom ringtone management to DejaContacts. Now, when creating or editing a contact, you’ll be able to assign a specific ringtone. You can also assign ringtones to categories, making it easy to determine if an incoming call is business or personal! Of course, for custom ringtones to work, you’ll need to be syncing DejaOffice with the native Android contacts.

These are just two of many great new features and improvements in DejaOffice for Android 1.11.7 beta. Full release notes are available after the break, and you can download the latest beta today from www.dejaoffice.com/androidapp. Continue reading →

Sync Outlook and Google 5x Faster Than Before

Posted on May 24, 2011 by David Z

We are happy to announce a new feature that enables a substantial speed increase when syncing with Outlook or Google. We call this feature “Optimized Update Sync” and we think you’re going to love it!

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is now available in CompanionLink build 4044. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, head over to the downloads page to do so now! Our tests have shown sync speed increases of 5x on average. Some sync configurations even synced as much as 18x faster! Take a look at a sample of our tests below:

Reading this chart is fairly simple. “OLx32 Google 5000 50 Off” looks confusing at first, but it means we tested Outlook 32-bit syncing to Google with a database of 5000 contacts that had 50 changes and Optimized Update Sync Off. In a nutshell, the top bar of each group shows the sync with OUS off, while to bottom bar of each group shows the sync with it on. You can see the difference it makes!

A few notes for those of you excited to try out OUS:

– OUS is currently implemented for Outlook and/or Google. Expect it to be implemented for other platforms in the near future.
– OUS can be enabled/disabled via the Options menu. It is enabled by default.
– OUS does not affect initial syncs, P&Rs or rereads.

Full release notes after the break: Continue reading →

DejaOffice for Android 1.11.6 Adds Great New Features, Beta Out Now

Posted on May 16, 2011 by David Z

We recently released an update for DejaOffice for Android and we’ve added some great new features that I think you’ll really like. For the full release notes, head over here. In this post, however, I’d like to highlight 3 of my favorite new features: Group By for DejaMemos, Roll Over options in DejaTasks, and an option that allows you to add a number to DejaContacts upon completing a call!

Group By in DejaMemos works similarly to the Group By feature we added to DejaContacts in version 1.11. In DejaMemos, you’re now able to group memos by category, then sort by subject or most recent. The combination of grouping and sorting allows you to sift through large databases of memos much more easily than before!

Roll Over is a great new feature that helps ensure you’ll never miss an overdue task again. You can now bump the due date of a specific overdue task or all overdue tasks to today’s date. Of course, if you aren’t able to complete everything on your daily task list on a regular basis, you’ll find that bumping overdue tasks can become a task in itself. That’s why we’ve added the ability to automatically roll over overdue tasks at the end of each day. If you didn’t finish a task today, it will simply get pushed to the next day’s to-do list. Personally, this feature is one of my favorites in all of DejaOffice!

Finally, we’ve added the ability to add a number to DejaContacts after an incoming or outgoing call. At face value, this is a fairly simple feature. In practice, we think you’ll find it quite invaluable. For those of us who are regularly adding new contacts to our database, anything that helps to speed up the process is a welcome feature!

These are just three of a number of great new features in DejaOffice for Android 1.11.6. Head over to www.dejaoffice.com/androidapp to download the beta today, and look for it in the Android Market soon!

Google Task Sync: Coming Soon to CompanionLink

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David Z

As some of you may already know, we currently handle the synchronization of tasks via Google by converting tasks to Google Calendar events. When moved to the Calendar, tasks are dated by the due date in Outlook or Palm Desktop. Past Due tasks are moved to a special entry on “Today” so they are on the date of the last sync. This will remain an option in CompanionLink, but soon we’ll be adding an alternative option.

Recently, Google released an API for Google Tasks. This means that we can more closely interact with Google Tasks data. Within the next month or so, we plan to add the ability to sync tasks from programs like Outlook and Palm Desktop to Google. For people looking to sync their CRM database to the Google cloud, this will be a great option. However, for those looking to sync tasks from their database to their mobile device, this is not yet an option. Google Tasks doesn’t sync natively to any phone (not even Android!).

If you’re looking to sync tasks to your phone, your best choice is to use CompanionLink to synchronize via Wi-Fi or USB, directly to your Android or iOS device. With these sync solutions we are able to provide Outlook-like tasks on your mobile device and are not limited by Google’s Task limitations. For example, Google Tasks don’t have Priority and Reminders. DejaOffice, on the other hand, provides a full set of features including priority, recurring tasks, reminders, categories, status, and more.

To learn more about DejaOffice, head over to www.dejaoffice.com.

Prices Are Changing On June 1

Posted on May 2, 2011 by David Z

Beginning June 1, 2011 we are increasing the price of the following products by $10. The new prices will be as follows:

CompanionLink for Outlook: $49.95
CompanionLink for Palm Desktop: $49.95
CompanionLink for Google: $49.95
CompanionLink for Time & Chaos: $49.95
CompanionLink Express: $79.95

This nominal increase will allow us to continue providing free US-based phone support to our customers. Providing world-class support is important to us. In fact, we offer free support even before you buy. We stand behind our software and want to ensure your experience with it is a great one!

If you are still determining whether or not to buy our software, we recommend you do so before the price change. We offer a no-questions-asked, 90-day money-back guarantee in case you decide to return our software.

Support Update: How to Sync the DROID Incredible 2 With Your PC

Posted on April 29, 2011 by David Z

HTC recently released their follow-up to last year’s very popular DROID Incredible. Aptly named the DROID Incredible 2, this Android-powered handheld is a solid update from last year’s model. The HTC DROID Incredible 2 features a 4” display, a 1GHz processor, 768MB of RAM, and an 8-megapixel camera. The phone ships running Android 2.2 with HTC Sense. All in all it’s a great device and a worthy competitor among today’s top mobile phones. For early reactions to the device, as well as some detailed photos, check out Android Central’s initial review.

Such a great device is bound to be quite popular. As such, we’re happy to inform all you prospective buyers and new owners that CompanionLink fully supports syncing contacts, calendar, tasks and notes between the Incredible 2 and PC software such as Microsoft Outlook, ACT! by Sage, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes and more. You can sync direct via USB, over your local Wi-Fi network, via our Secure Hosted Wireless service, or wirelessly through Google. To learn more, as well as download a 14-day free trial, visit https://www.companionlink.com/phones/htc-incredible.html

The Sidekick 4G: Now With More Android!

Posted on April 20, 2011 by David Z

Historically, the Sidekick was always a fairly popular phone. Of course, since the Danger debacle and recent shutdown notice, we’ve seen this popularity fade away to some degree. Don’t expect the slump to last, however. The Sidekick is back and it features some solid specs, including 4G data.

The biggest news, however, is that the Sidekick 4G will be running Android. This opens the door for a lot of potential. Business users who want to move away from BlackBerries, but still want a solid physical keyboard will want to take a look at the Sidekick and its great keyboard design. Those who know a little about the previous Sidekicks might balk at this suggestion, claiming that the Sidekick is not designed to be a business device. Admittedly, it is marketed more towards a younger crowd. However, the Sidekick 4G features a few nice additions, such as WiFi calling and “cloud-based” texting that serve to extend the phone’s functionality and maximize productivity when you’re away from cell signal or at the computer. And, of course, after downloading a few business-focused Android apps, like DejaOffice, the Sidekick can be just as productive as any other Android available today!

Looking for information on how to sync the Sidekick 4G with Outlook and other popular databases. Click here!

DejaOffice Now Available In The Amazon Appstore

Posted on April 15, 2011 by David Z

Amazon has worked hard to help widen and curate the distribution of Android apps. Amazon has their own app acceptance process, which they say will guarantee that only meaningful and legit apps will be distributed on their Appstore.

We want to make it easy to download DejaOffice, no matter which app store you prefer using. Therefore, we’re pleased to report that DejaOffice is now available in the Amazon Appstore!

DejaOffice in the Amazon Appstore is, of course, free and can be downloaded by clicking here. We do want to make you aware of one thing: if you download and install DejaOffice via the Amazon Appstore, you need to continue to use the Amazon Appstore in the future to update DejaOffice to the latest versions. You will not be able to update the app from the Android Market (it will fail to install – you can get around this by deleting DejaOffice and reinstalling from the Android Market if you need). This is due to the way that Amazon handles app installs and is not unique to DejaOffice, so take note for your other apps as well!

We hope you’ll find the increased availability of DejaOffice useful, and we want to hear your feedback. We’d love for you to leave us a review in the Amazon Appstore! It helps us to constantly improve our app, as well as where we distribute it.

Introducing CompanionLink Secure Analog Sync

Posted on March 31, 2011 by David Z

Note: The post below was part of our 2011 April Fools fun. We’ve left it live for you to enjoy!

Sometimes even the most secure digital sync method isn’t secure enough. If you want to ensure your data is 100% safe from even the most advanced hackers, your options are severely limited. Until now.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce CompanionLink Secure Analog Sync. For a monthly fee, we provide a highly trained CompanionLink Secure Analog Sync Agent to hand copy your data and store the information in a secure briefcase handcuffed to their body at all times. So how exactly does the new Secure Analog Sync work?

First, our trained Agent hand copies your data to a legal pad with a pencil, using manual encryption methods that require a secure cypher developed exclusively by CompanionLink to decrypt. The Secure Analog Sync Agent will then lock this information in a military-strength briefcase, handcuff the briefcase to their wrist, and follow you around as you go about your day. Anytime you need data, simply ask! The Agent will quickly open the case, decipher the data, and provide you with the information you need. And since the Agent always has a pencil on hand, you can add information to your database while you’re on the go. Once back at the office, our Secure Analog Sync Agent will input the data into your primary database.

With CompanionLink Secure Analog Sync, we’ve made it easier than ever to protect your data. To get started simply click the button below!

Go Ahead, Make The Switch!

Posted on March 16, 2011 by David Z

The HTC Thunderbolt is (finally) launching tomorrow. As such, I felt it would be appropriate to touch on the process of switching phones. With 4G data speeds, a 4.3” screen, an 8 megapixel rear facing camera, a front facing camera for video calls, a 1GHz processor, and more, the Thunderbolt should prove to be quite popular, causing many customers to trade in their current phone. Of course, this means going through the process of backing up and transferring all your data will become a top priority.

Switching phones used to be quite a pain. Often, you’d find yourself re-entering all your data, which could take a very long time, especially if you used your phone for business. These days, many phones include some kind of sync to help you get most of your data moved over, but it’s not always so easy. A user hoping to switch from an iPhone to the Thunderbolt, for example, will likely run into some roadblocks. Getting contacts, calendars, tasks, memos, and more transferred over isn’t as simple as it is if you were to simply upgrade to a new iPhone. Unless, of course, you use CompanionLink and DejaOffice!

We’ve developed our products in such a way that you can move to a new device quickly and easily. After installing DejaOffice on a new device, you’re just a quick sync away from having all your important contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos back at your fingertips. After all, it’s your data – you should have easy access to it no matter what device you prefer to use!

For more information on how to sync the HTC Thunderbolt with your PC, click here.

DejaTasks Now Supports Recurring Tasks (DejaOffice 1.10, part 4)

Posted on March 3, 2011 by David Z

Welcome to the final installment in our series of posts explaining in greater detail some of the new features in DejaOffice 1.10.6 for Android. Find the other parts of this series here: part 1 (widgets), part 2 (global search), part 3 (DejaCal).

We are pleased to announce support for recurring tasks in DejaOffice! I’m sure this is a very welcome feature among many of our users. Whether you need a reminder to send out a weekly report, to schedule a monthly meeting, or to ensure you send out a birthday card to an important client every year, the new recurring tasks feature is sure to save you time.

To schedule a recurring task, simply open DejaTasks and create a new task. You’ll notice a new “Recurrence” option, which allows you to set the task to recur daily, weekly, monthly by day or date, and yearly by day or date. You can then choose if (and when) you’d like the recurrence to end. Finish adding the details to your task, tap save, and you’re done! Should you need to edit a recurring task, tap the edit button on a task as you normally would and change the “Recurrence” field. It’s that simple!

DejaOffice 1.10.6 was a major release for our Android app. This recent series of blog posts has highlighted some of the main features we’ve added, and has hopefully given you a better understanding of how to use the new features. If you have any further questions on how the new features work, let us know!

Of course, we’re hard at work to add even more. Do you have a feature you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments or head over to our DejaOffice forums!

Small Business Productivity, Tools and Tips – Android and iPhone Sync

Category Archives: Announcements