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iPhone lockbox app on the way

By Christopher Johnston

Real Estate Agent with The Johnston Team

March 18, 2009 01:39 AM

6/24/09 UPDATE: Just got this link from SUPRA via their Facebook page. It appears the eKey for iPhone Basic will be released in August 2010 and the Pro version will follow in December 2010!

UPDATE: for those of you waiting check out this post eKey on iPhone, finally! at GeekEstateBlog.com and eKEY for iPhone is coming soon! from Supra.

For those of you that are iPhone users, I'm sure that you know that yesterday Apple released some info about the upcoming iPhone OS version 3.0.

There are many new features and you can watch the video over on the Apple site and get great reviews all over the web. My favorite is Ryan Block's at GDGT.com. The two things that I think are important for Realtors are:

1. Apple will now allow developers to access bluetooth to communicate with external devices

2. Turn by Turn directions

The first one has been what has kept Supra from being able to develop an application similar to the one on the Blackberry. I have spoken to (name withheld) at Supra and they have assured me that the app was being developed and wold be released pending Apple allowing this functionality. The iPhone 3.0 release will not be out until summer (hopefully June and not August) so I expect this app to follow shortly.

The second option is great for those of us who do not have navigation installed in our vehicles. Since the economy is not getting better quickly I'm not buying a car anytime soon. Garmin and TomTom have been developing proof of concept applications for the iPhone so I can assume they will be releasing apps this summer also. The one caveat here is, because of licensing issues these applications will have to provide their own maps. An entire map of the US stored locally could take up 750MB - 1GB of space. I have an 8GB version so this takes up as much as 12.5% of my storage.

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Eric Reid

Renaissance Realty Group of Keller Williams Atlanta Partners - Lawrenceville, GA

OK ...now you just made my life Good and Bad .. I have the Storm LOVE IT but wanted the IPhone but said no for the two reason you say they are now fixing ...HMMMM looks like I am have to figure out a way .. it get a NEW TOY soon

Mar 18, 2009 01:52 AM

Crystal Ledbetter

Texas Home Group - Montgomery, TX

Would love the supra app on my I-phone, it would be almost perfect then

Mar 18, 2009 02:06 AM

Holly Weatherwax

Associate Broker, Momentum Realty - Reston, VA

A Great Real Estate Experience

The think they mentioned on the news was the new 'cut and paste' functionality.

Mar 18, 2009 02:10 AM

Ryan Hukill - Edmond

The Agency Oklahoma | 405home - Edmond, OK

Realtor, Team Lead

Great information, and to be honest I held on to my last WM phone longer than I should have just to keep the supra ekey, but once I got rid of it I realized it was totally worth the tradeoff. And to clarify for anyone thinking they need to wait to buy an iPhone... the 3.0 release is a software release, not a new or different phone. If you buy now, you're software will be upgraded at no cost when 3.0 is released.

Mar 18, 2009 10:48 AM

Jeffrey Chubb

Boston, MA

Wow, that takes up a lot of space on the phone. I wish there was a way of upgrading the memory on the phone.

Mar 23, 2009 03:53 PM

Joe Pryor

The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK

REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

Thanks Christopher, I had to give up some functionality I liked on the Treo 750 including Supra. However, I have an NRA zeal about this phone. Now, if we could get some Microsoft office apps like Excel, I can use Pat Zaby's spreadsheets in PZ Calc. Any news?

Mar 24, 2009 10:53 AM

Ann Dail

Baton Rouge Area Homes, Louisiana, USA, 225-761-0551 - Baton Rouge, LA

Broker/Realtor,CRS, ePRO, SRS, B.A.Chem

I've been evaluating iPhone versus blackberry. Nice to know this is opening up. May shift me to iPhone. All my LSU "geek" friends I met via Twitter swear by the iPhone.

Mar 29, 2009 09:59 AM

Sally Dunbar

Lyon Real Estate, Fair Oaks CA (Sacramento Area) - Fair Oaks, CA

Fair Oaks Realtor - Fair Oaks Homes for Sale

Very exciting. I want an iPhone, but don't want to lose the ability to open my lockbox that my TREO has. cool

May 06, 2009 05:43 AM

Christopher Johnston

The Johnston Team - Metairie, LA

Joe, you are correct that you will need to carry two devices. The e-fob can fit on a key ring I believe and the added benefit of having a superior platform like the iPhone(when compared to a Treo) far outweighs the slight inconvenice of having to carry one extra very small device.

Greg R., I will sent the link to this article to the Supra rep that I got this info from and encourage him to post a reply. I don't know if he is a member of ActiveRain and now that new members must pay he may not join just to reply to this thread.

iPhone 3.0 comes out today and as I look down at my phone it is about halfway through the update. We should know very soon if they will release an app using the e-fob that they already have or whether they are developing a new iPhone specific one.

Jun 17, 2009 06:41 AM

Malisa Spivey

Key Real Estate Services & Property Management - Lorena, TX

My Opinions are Free and I Freely give them.

Oh I rewarded myself, but need I need to find a way to get addicted to the apps. I am wanting to be told what is super useful, versus just for fun, as I am not there yet. Give me time.

Sep 17, 2009 07:40 AM

Blatt + Cutino

Coldwell Banker Realty - Monterey, CA

Broker-Associate 831/206-8070*Call today*

I would love to hear more about the Supra App! Any news out there? Thanks.

Nov 10, 2009 04:31 AM

Ron E Armstrong

eXp Realty - Asheville, NC

Love Where You Live

Hello all,

Personally as an iPhone user I wanted to know what was available to our users. Here is a direct link to a helpful site that GE staff put together from answering agent questions over time. http://www.gesecurity.com/GESecurity/selfHelp/Support_Index.htm

They are currently in negotiations with Apple to develop software for the iPhone. So the update here is that there is no app for supra of GE.

Ron Armstrong

Dec 02, 2009 07:09 AM

Sam Miller

RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH

Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

An iPhone lockbox app would be a home run. I like the idea of eliminating the need to carry another piece of hardware.

Dec 20, 2009 10:16 PM

Sam Miller

RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH

Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

Has anyone heard an update on this?

Jan 23, 2010 12:46 AM

Greg Russell

GE Security - Salem, OR

Sam,

I can't provide firm dates at this point, however know that we are actively developing eKEY for iPhone. As soon as I have some dates I can share, I will do so.

Thanks,

Greg

Jan 25, 2010 06:48 AM

Sam Miller

RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH

Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

Greg - Thank you for the follow up. This will be an outstanding feature enhancement and one your users will appreciate.

Jan 28, 2010 03:35 AM

Jeff Self

Self Homes Realty - Round Rock, TX

Hold out a little longer and you will see an app that will work with this IF case adapter and open the Supra Lockbox directly from iphone to lockbox. No FOB needed. http://www.powera.com/iphone/iphone.asp?section=0&prod=1

I bet iphone sales will see a bump!

Mar 01, 2010 07:47 AM

Wayne B. Pruner

Oregon First - Tigard, OR

Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Realtor, GRI

Thanks for the post. I am researching Blackberry vs. I-Phone.

Apr 16, 2010 04:32 AM

Ben Rutt

Keystone Custom Homes - Manheim, PA

Real Estate Agent Lancaster, PA

Has anyone heard an update from GE? I don't see why this should be such a big hurdle. Even if it was a special case for the iPhone

Jun 15, 2010 06:27 AM