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Google Maps Street view lets you navigate street level level images of different areas. It is a powerful tool for not only real estate professionals, but anyone buying and selling real estate.

Street View in Google Maps lets you explore places through 360-degree street-level imagery, whether you’re looking at locations in your town or across the globe. With Street View, you can check out a restaurant before going there, find beautiful places around the world to visit on your next vacation, or check out neighborhoods when you’re looking to move. via Google

How To View Google Maps Street View On Your iPhone

Google Maps has a good web app you can access from your smartphone by going to maps.google.com. However, if you want to view Street View on your iPhone, you will have to use the map app that comes pre-installed on you iPhone.

Step 1. Launch Maps, the map app.

Step 2. Type in an address, business name, or landmark.

To view Street View, click the icon button next to the address or business name. Clicking the arrow button will take you to a description about that address.

Clicking the icon will take you directly to the the Street View. You can scroll around 360 degrees to view everything around that area.

You can travel down the street by clicking the white arrow in the road. There is also a compass in the lower right hand corner that shows what direction you are looking.

Don’t know the street address? No problem. You can place a maker anywhere on the map by tapping and holding your finger on the map. A purple “Dropped Pin” will be placed on the map. You can drag the pin anywhere you want and click its icon to view the street view.

How To View Google Maps Street View On an Android Phone.

Ryan Lundquist, a real estate appraiser in California, made a video to show how to view Google’s Street View on an android phone.

You can view Ryan’s real estate appraisal blog HERE and also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

How can the real estate industry use Street View?

• Home buyers can preview a neighborhood before looking at a house. This is especially useful for buyers that are relocating to a different city.
• Investors can use it to help decide if a property is worth in-depth look.
• Real Estate agent or for-sale-by-owners can embed a street view map on their website or blog to showcase their home’s area.
• Home buyers can use it to see how well a subdivisions is maintained.
• Use street view to see what amenities an area has to offer.

The Bottom Line

While street views are not available for every street and could be several years outdated they are a powerful tool for anyone buying and selling real estate. It is an easy way to to get a feel for an area. I use it all of the time to view neighborhoods before I do a real estate appraisal.

Being able to access street views on your Smartphone makes them even better.

Google unveiled its top secret social network on June 28th and it already has 10 million plus users. If you have received an invite and don’t know where to start or just want to know more about it, these 34 quick guides, tips, and tricks should help you learn everything you need to know.

Google+ Guides

1. Google+: The complete Guide. via Mashable.com

2. How to make the most of Google+. via Lifehacker.com

3. Getting started with Google+ via MakeUseOf.com

4. Getting started with Google+. via ChrisBrogan.com

5. Everything You Need to Know About Google Plus and Photos. via Wired.com

6. This Is What It’s Like to Actually Use Google+, Google’s New Social Network [Video]. via Lifehacker.com

7. Google+ explained in 5 short videos. via BusinessInsider.com

8. Concerned about privacy? Here are 5 settings you need to know.
Google+ Privacy: 5 Settings You Need to Know. via CIO.com

9. Still not sure about G+? Chris Brogan gives a good breakdown about what you need to know about Google+.
10 Things CMOs Need To Know About Google.+ via Forbes

10. Concerned about the photos you post to G+?
Getty Images Says Google Plus Terms of Service is “OK” via ReadWriteWeb.com

11. A how-to guide about Google+ created by users and hosted on Google Docs.
Google+ Tips and Tricks via pcworld.com

Google+ Tips & Tricks

12. Sync your G+ updates to other social networks including Twitter and Facebook with Agent G.
Sync Google Plus to Twitter, Facebook & Identi.ca with Agent G via ReadWriteWeb.com

13. Do you want to read your G+ updates in a RSS reader? You can by creating a RSS feed for your Google+ profiles.
HOW TO: Make RSS Feeds for Google+ Profiles via Mashable.com

14. Here is a quick reference guide to some G+ tricks and tips.
Google+ Cheat Sheet via BuzzFeed.com

15. Lifehacker shows you how to use G+ to post your status updates to Facebook. All you need is your Facebook mobile email address and a separate G+ circle.
Update your Facebook status via Google+ without an extension. via Lifehacker.com

16. This video shows you how to easily transfer your Facebook friends to Google+.
How to easily transfer your Facebook friends to Google+ [video] via Alltop.com

17. Your G+ account is tied to your Google profile. Google will not allow anymore private profiles after July 31st.
There Will Be No More Private Google Profiles After July 31 — Here’s What That Means. via BusinessInsider.com

18. Move2Picasa is a web service that will move all of your Facebook photos to G+.
How To Move Your Facebook Photos To Picasa (Soon, Google Photos) In A Flash. via TechCrunch.

19. You can use G+ to help build your personal brand.
5 Ways To Build Your Personal Brand On Google+. via OpenForum.com

20. Do you use Evernote to help stay organized? Now you can share G+ content directly into Evernote.
Share Google+ Content Directly Into Evernote. via Evernote.com

21. Add a Google+ widget to your blog or website for people to follow you.
Google Plus Widget via widgetplus.com

22. Add a G+ widget to your WordPress blog for linking directly to your Google+ profile.
googleCards via WordPress.org.

23. You can share something you find on G+ to your Posterous, Tumblr, or WordPress blog.
Create a circle and add your posterous email address. Then when you find something your want to post, share it to that circle and make sure the Also email box is clicked and G+ will post to your Posterous Blog – this would also work with Evernote and any other email based tool.

Tip and instructions via John Jantsch.

24. How to publish your G+ public feed to your WordPress blog.
I’m sure badges and widgets are coming for G+ but until they do here’s how I published a mini G+ feed on my blog.
First - find you profile #. Then simply use this tool from plusfeed to create an RSS URL with your # -http://plusfeed.appspot.com/yourprofilenumber here, this is an RSS feed for my G+ public feed only (you can actually do this for any public feed if you wanted to publish other people’s feed)
Next I took the RSS feed above and burned it at Feedburner (I know, another Google property.)
Feedburner has a feature called BuzzBoost that makes it pretty easy to republish an RSS and produces the code you need for your widget.
Take that code and create a text widget in WordPress, place it in your theme (you might also add a link back to your profile) and that’s it.
Tip and instructions via John Jantsch.

25. Simple way to give the illusion of an embedded slideshow here on G+.
Upload a series of slides as individual jpegs into a single album on the photo tab and then share the album and the first image shows with a series of images below – make sure you upload them in the order you want with first upload being first slide. Here’s an example.
Tip and text via John Jantsch.

26. Export and backup your G+ stream and +1 sites with Google Takeout.
Google Takeout via Google.com

27. Find public G+ hangouts to join. gphangouts offers a directory of public Hangouts anyone can join. The site shows when the Hangouts are starting and topics to be discussed.
gphangouts via Lifehacker.com

Google+ Extensions and Downloads

28. Download the Enhancer userscript to show the unread item count for Gmail, Reader, and Calendar to G+. It works with Firefox, Chrome, and Opera browsers.
Google+ Enhancer Adds Unread Item Counts for Gmail, Reader, and Calendar to Google+ via Lifehacker.

29. Usability Boost is a Chrome extension will make the Google plus pages flow quite nicely visually. It separates posts and comments. It’s small CSS changes that put the focus on the content. It also fixes the position of the Google navigation bar at the top so it does not get out of sight when you scroll down.
Usability Boost for Google Plus via Chrome Web Store.

30. Google+Facebook is a Firefox and Chrome extension that allows you to connect with your Facebook friends right inside Google+. The extension puts your Facebook news feed into your Google+ interface.
Firefox Add-on: Connect with your Facebook friends inside Google+ via Technology Cloud.

31. Surplus is a Chrome extension that allows you to post and respond to your G+ circles without having to visit a Google site.
Surplus for Chrome Puts Google Plus Everywhere You Browse. Via Lifehacker

32. GTools+ is an extension that allows you to customize the layout and also adds functionality to Google services. It adds a notification counter for Gmail and also Google Reader on the Google+ bar and also allows you some tweaks for your account.
GTools+ Adds Customization Options to Google+ via NirmalTv.com

33. Google+ Ultimate is a Chrome add-on that completely changes the look and feel of Google+.
Google+ Ultimate via Lifehacker.com

34. Google+ Tweaks is another Chrome add-on that changes the layout and design of G+. Safari and Firefox users can use the Adhik addon.
Google+ Tweaks and Adhik via Lifehacker.com

35. Google+ Manager is a Chrome and Firefox extension that adds shortcuts for common Google+ actions.
Google+ Manager for Chrome and Firefox via Lifehacker.com

Just for Fun

1. Do you need some G+ icons for your website? You can download some for free.
Google+ icons. via Dribble.com

2. There is a new G+ URL shotner, G.co, is coming soon.
Google Buys G.Co To Create An Official URL Shortcut For Google Products. via TechCrunch.

3. Google+ for businesses are coming soon.
Over 36,000 businesses may have already signed up for Google+. via TNW.com

4. Is G+ a Facebook killer? Mark Zuckerburg doesn’t think so.
Mark Zuckerburg explains why Google+ won’t beat Facebook (yet). via BusinessInsider

5. Don’t try to put a G+ add on Facebook. Facebook will suspend all of your campaigns.
Google+ Ad On Facebook Is Banned. via TechCrunch.

6. Even though the search giant Google created G+, you can’t search within Google+. But that will be fixed one day soon.
Why Can’t You Search Google+ On Google+? via TechCrunch.

7. How good are G+ Hangouts. They must be good because Dell wants to use them for customer service.
Dell wants to use Google+ Hangouts for customer service. via Gigaom.

8. Google+ might not be a Facebook killer but it does have some killer features.
Five ways Facebook can fight back against Google+. via Macworld.com

9. Will G+ affect Search Engine Optimization?
7 Google Plus Data Points That Could Change SEO. via IgniteSocialMedia.com
How Will Google Plus Affect SEO? via ReadWriteWeb.com

10. Google Plus Doesn’t Need to ‘Kill’ Anything to Be a Winner. via allBusiness.com

11. Google announced it has 10 million Plus users and 1 billion items are shared each day on G+.
Google+ officially tops 10 million users via CNet.com

12. Find the top 100 most popular Google+ users according their followers.
SocialStatistics.com

13. Download the official Google+ iPhone and Android app.
iTunes Link and Android Market Link.

The bottom line

While you might be hesitant to try and learn a new social network, Chris Brogan recommends to think of it as “communication backbone” instead of a “social network”. It allows for private collaboration and works with email instead of replacing it.

Google+ is still an infant with new features on the way. Will Google+ last? I am not sure but Google is definitely committed to it. It will impact search and at the very least you should set up an account for your business once business accounts are supported.

Have you tried Google Plus? What do you think so far?

And be sure and follow me on Google+.

Tablets are becoming popular with real estate agents and appraisers. If you have an iPad 2 but miss having a physical keyboard, this aluminum keyboard buddy case for the iPad 2 might be just what you need.

The iPad slides into the Aluminum Keyboard Buddy Case and is held at an angle. The case has an almost full-sized QWERTY keyboard that includes keys to control iPad functions like media playback and brightness. The bluetooth keyboard is styled with Apple’s Chiclet-like keys that run to the edges just like on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air.

Close the case so the iPad and keyboard are face-to-face and magnets put the iPad’s screen to sleep. The case also protects the iPad display.

You and your iPad 2 won’t want to go anywhere without it. It’s perfect companion for your iPad 2. This Aluminium Keyboard Case has a thin, eye-catching design that gives your device durable protection, added functionality and style.

This iPad case holder can easily convert into a laptop style position for a more comfortable typing, as well as for tablet use by folding its new hinge, which then hides the Bluetooth keyboard out of sight. This iPad aluminum case provides 2 viewing angles in both portrait and landscape modes while assuring full protection for the iPad screen. It also allows access to all the controls and ports at all times, meaning you have full functionality whilst your iPad is still inside the case.

Last but not least, it has a 510 mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery that will last several weeks of normal use without charging.

via micgadget

The case cost: $49.90 and works with the iPad 2.

The Bottom Line

One thing that has held me back from getting an iPad is the lack of a keyboard. I have an iPhone and don’t know how much I would use an iPad. But with a keyboard like this, I think I might come close to replacing one of my laptops.

There’s no multitouch trackpad which might be a deal killer for some but you can’t beat the price of $50.

Check out micgadget for more information.

[Images Credit: MIC Gadget]

Google Maps on Android phones are far superior to the iPhone app and they just got better. You can now download Google Maps to your Android phone.

Remember the days of driving around with a paper map while trying to find an address? Most , if not all, tech savvy agents and appraisers now use a dedicated GPA device or a smartphone with GPS.

Smartphones work well and there are several good apps including MapQuest that can help you find your way. But what if you are traveling to a rural property and don’t have a cell phone signal?

Google Maps can now be downloaded directly to your Android phone so you can view the map even if you don’t have a cell signal.

How To Download A Map On Your Android Phone

First, you will need to download the latest version of Google Maps. Google Maps 5.7 for Android Link

Then you will need to activate the feature. To access Labs on your phone, press your phone’s menu button once in Google Maps, choose “More” and select Labs. On a tablet, click the menu button in the upper-right corner of Maps.

To download a map, press the “More” button while viewing a map and select the option to locally store a map of the surrounding area.

Google will download a copy of the map tiles within a 10 mile radius. You can view, pan, and zoom in on the map even if you don’t have a data connection.

All your downloaded map areas can be managed in your Google Maps cache settings so you can delete maps you no longer need or if you want to free up storage. After 30 days, all downloaded map areas will be removed from your cache; they can be re-downloaded any time.

The update to Google Maps also includes two other features, a Scale Bar and a Measure tool.

The scale bar shows the current map scale. Sometimes it’s unclear what zoom level you are looking at if you zoom in and out of a map. The scale bar should help you understand what zoom level you are viewing.

The measure tool will calculate the straight line distance between two points on the map. Once you enabled the feature, click the tape measure icon. You’ll be prompted to tap two points on the map and Google Maps will calculate the straight distance between those points (this direct distance is “as the crow flies”).

The Bottom Line

It can be frustrating to try and view a map on your smartphone if you have a poor or no cell signal. Being able to download Google Maps directly to your Android phone is a great way to make sure you always have the map you need.

Download Google Maps for free in the Android Market; Android Market Link

According to Google, by the end of this year over half of all Americans will have a smartphone and over half of all consumers are more likely to buy from stores that have mobile websites.

Does your real estate business have a mobile website? If not, you can easily create one with Google Sites.

Google has launched a new service (well, a new addition to Google Sites) that lets you easily and quickly create a mobile landing page.

The new service has several templates to choose from including ones for restaurants, local businesses, lead generation, eCommerce. There is also one called “Social,” which links to your business Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube videos. The service also allows you to get analytics on traffic to your mobile site.

How To Create A Mobile Landing Page For Free With Google

Step 1. Go to sites.google.com/mobilize and choose a template.

For this tutorial we are going to use the “Local Business” template.

Step 2. Pick a color.

Step 3. Click “Try this template”

Step 4. Your mobile website will open and include some sample text. If you think you will be happy with the template and colors click the “Use this template” button.

Step 5. Setup Your Website.

Name your site.

Choose a theme. There are currently 52 themes to pick from.

Type in the verification code and press “Create Site”.

Step 6. Customize your mobile website.

Depending on what template you picked, you can now add your logo, a description, social median links, your contact information, and photos.

You can click on “Edit Page” at the top of your mobile website to open the site editor where you can edit the template information including links and text.

If you are using the local business template, you can upload your company logo by going to More Actions –> Manage Site –> Site Layout –> Change Logo.

You can add a company description and enable Google Analytics by going to More Actions –> Manage Site –> Site Layout –> General.

Press Save and you are done.

It only took a few minutes to create a mobile site for my business. You can view the mobile site here.

The Bottom Line

While the mobile sites are fairly basic and don’t allow for a lot of customization, creating a mobile site for your business couldn’t be easier.

The mobile site could serve as a stand alone site linked to your business listing or as an addition to your blog or full company website.

Does your Real Estate business have a mobile website?

Have you ever had problems giving your contact information to someone over the phone, having to repeat your email or web address? While there are numerous apps, including regular text messages, that can share your contact information, Thrutu is aiming to simplify the process.

Thrutu is an Android app that extends the functionality of traditional phone calls by letting you share contact information, photos, location, and more, while on the phone with just a touch of a button.

Share location, photos, and more – without leaving the phone call.

Thrutu brings new fun and function to the phone call. Share location, contacts, photos and more – all at the touch of a button. It’s so simple that you’ll wonder why phone calls couldn’t always work this way.

The app comes with six buttons. You can share contact information, your GPS location, share photos, and doodles. All without interrupting your phone call.

How Can The Real Estate Industry Use This App?

• Easily share contact information while on the phone. Contact details will appear instantly in the other caller’s address book.
• Share your location. Meeting your spouse or client to look at a house that is for sale? You can share your location and see each other’s position on a map, updating live as they move. The map also has a pen tool, so users can show each other what direction or area they’re referring to by drawing on the map.
• Share doodles. Are you working on a new idea for your business? If one user presses the doodle button, a whiteboard pops up on both screens. Users can draw, share sketches, or annotate photos during a call.
• The Meet Me button lets you quickly find the best place to meet in person.

While the app works the best if both users have the app, Thrutu also works if only one user has it installed. If a Thrutu user is calling somebody without the app, items like photos, locations, or contacts are shared as SMS messages.

You should note that the app only works on phones running on GSM networks like AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s in the US. That’s because those networks can handle voice and data traffic at the same time.

The app also allows developers to create “buttons” for the app. It will be interesting to see what is developed for Thrutu.

The Bottom Line

Much of Thrutu’s functionality is already available on smartphones, but you have to use multiple apps to use all these features. Thrutu simplifies that process by giving you a single unified interface to share information during a phone call.

Do you share information while on a phone call? I don’t think I ever have. I usually wait until I hang up and text photos or contact information. This new app is interesting and is looking to make the process of sharing information while on a phone easier and more common.

The app is FREE and available in the Android Market: Android Market Link.

Real estate appraisers, home inspectors, and real estate photographers all might need to accept credit card payments while out of the office. There are numerous ways to accept credit cards with your Smartphone; Square, Intuit’s GoPayment system, and Sage Mobile Payments. But all of these require a card reader that attaches to your smartphone.

Card.io brings credit card processing to your smartphone’s camera.

How does it work? Customers just hold a credit card up to the phone and card.io reads the card information using the phone’s camera.

How much does it cost? Standard credit card processing rates apply. There are no monthly fees and you don’t have to sign any contracts. Nonprofits can use card.io for free.

It is it secure? According to their website, card.io never saves card numbers or payment information, all data is protected with 128-bit SSL encryption, and their servers are hosted in secure facilities.

Right now the company is still in private beta but you can request an invite and get $30 free credit.

Bottom Line

We are big fans of Square here at REbliss. But Card.io makes it possible to anyone with an eligible smartphone to take credit card payments without any additional hardware.

The best thing about Card.io is that they are releasing the technology as an SDK to mobile developers so they can include this technology in their own applications. I would love to see this technology built into some real estate iPhone or Android apps.

Check out Card.io for more information or to request early access.

Real estate appraisers crunch a lot of numbers including analyzing market trends. It can be difficult to create good looking trend graphs if you have a large data set. That is where Google Docs can help.

Google Docs now supports pivot tables. Pivot tables allow you easily look at large sets of data from different angles with just a few clicks of the mouse.

A pivot table report is a dynamic table that lets you interpret data in different ways without ever having to enter a formula. Pivot table reports are particularly useful when you want to narrow down a large data set or analyze relationships between data points. In just a few clicks, you can summarize and analyze a large set of data through different categorizations and calculations. via Google Docs Help

Click HERE if you can not see the embedded video above.

Getting Started With Pivot Tables

Step 1. Go to Docs.Google.com and start a new spreadsheet. Google Docs is free to use and you will need to have a Google username and password.

Select “Create New” then select “Spreadsheet”.

Step 2. Import your data.

You will need sales data to use in the pivot table. Most Multiple Listing Services allow real estate agents and appraisers to download sales data. Google Docs supports multiple files types including xls., csv., and txt. files. To import a file, select “File” then select “Import”.

Step 3. Create the pivot table.

Select all of the data by clicking the cell in the top left corner.

Then in the menu bar, select “Data” then “Pivot table report”.

A new spreadsheet will open with a blank pivot table.

Step 4. Set the rows and columns to analyze.

The report editor is on the right hand side. You can select what data you want for your rows and columns. Then select the information that you want in the pivot table as values.

That is it! Once your pivot table is populated, you can select the data and easily create a chart. You can also easily select new data to analyze in the pivot table.

Google Docs Pivot Table Example

Lets say you want to look at the average sales prices by city over the past 3 years. Note, your data might have different labels depending on your local MLS or data source.

Select City for the rows.

Select Year for the columns.

Select Sold Price for the values. You will want to summarize the data by Average. As of right now you can not summarize the data by the median function.

Then select the data in the Pivot Table.

Select “Insert Chart” to create a chart.

Here is the chart for the Average Sales Prices in 5 cities in Middle Georgia over the past 3 years.

The best part about Pivot tables is that you can easily drill down even further into the data.

For example, if you want to analyze sales price trends over the past 3 years by month AND year all you have to do is add Month to the column data.

Here is the chart for the Average Sales Prices in 5 cities in Middle Georgia over the past 3 years by Month.

The Bottom Line

Pivot tables are a great way to easily slice and dice data allowing you to look at data any way you want. You can analyze the number of sales by month, the number of sales by type (Bank Owned, Short Sale, etc.), average sales prices by zip code and easily create great looking charts. The only limit is your data.

Send me an email or comment below if you use Pivot tables to crunch your real estate data.

Check out Google Docs Help for more help with creating and editing pivot tables.

Apple officially unveiled iOS 5 yesterday at its Worldwide Developers Conference. While there are over 200 new features coming to iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch), we are going to highlight the top 6 that are especially useful to the real estate industry.

1. Notifications

iOS 5 includes a new Notification Center that will replace the annoying popups that appear of the screen and then disappear. You will now be able to view all of your notifications from one central location and even view your messages without having to unlock your phone. Tap on any message and it will automatically take you to that application. It not only includes app notification, but mini-widgets that show live information from apps like Weather.

2. iMessage

Sending and receiving text messages can be expensive. Free text messages is one reason why REbliss recommends using Google Voice.

iMessage will not fully replace text messages but does let you to send unlimited text messages, photos, and videos to other iOS 5 devices. Because it works between all iOS 5 devices, you can leave conversations on your iPhone and continue them in your iPad.

Other features include group messaging, an indicator to see if someone is typing to you, delivery and read receipts, and secure encryption. iMessage will work on 3G and Wi-Fi networks.

3. Reminders

The new reminder app will sync between your iOS 5 devices and your Max OS X desktop or notebook. The best feature about the app is that it is location aware. Do you need to make a phone call or send an email as soon as you get into the office? The app can remind you to do something when you arrive or leave a destination allowing you to stay productive while on the go.

4. Wi-Fi sync

If you take a lot photos and videos with your iPhone you probably now how painful it can be to sync your iPhone with iTunes. There a numerous apps available that let you sync your iPhone to your computer over Wi-Fi but now this functionality if built into the operating system.

With iOS 5 you will no longer have to plug into your computer to backup and sync your device. Just plug your device into the power cord within range of your Wi-Fi network and it will backup and sync automatically.

5. Twitter Integration

Still not sure if you should be using Twitter in your real estate business? iOS5 integrates Twitter everywhere, in the camera app, to your contacts, and even the YouTube, Safari, and Maps app will support direct sharing via Twitter.

Will Apple’s Twitter integration finally convince you to sign up or start using Twitter?

6. New Camera App and Photos

The new camera app is a welcome addition to anyone who takes a lot of photos and videos with their iPhone. iOS 5 gives you immediate access to the camera right from the lock screen. This will make it much easier to take photos quickly.

The most exciting feature is that you can now use the volume button to take photos. If you haven’t used an app with the volume button feature to take photos you will be surprised by how much you will like this feature.

Introducing iOS 5

Click HERE if you can not see the video above.

The Bottom Line

While many of the new features of iOS 5 are already available on Android, Palm or Windows Phone 7 phones, they will make iOS devices much more productive.

The new notification center is a great way to keep track of all of your messages in one convenient location, iMessage will let your real estate business chat with groups of co-workers, clients, or friends at one time, and the new reminders app will let you stay productive with its location based reminders.

iOS 5 will also include multitasking gestures for the iPad, hourly weather forecasts, Wi-Fi sync with iTunes, a split keyboard for the iPad, a new iPad music app, an iTunes ringtone store, AirPlay mirroring for the iPad 2, a personal dictionary, alternate routes in Maps, Emoji emoticons, and custom vibration patterns.

If you are a developer, you can preview iOS 5 now, everyone else will have to wait until July when it is officially released.

Visit apple.com for more information about iOS 5.

Google Docs is a great set of productivity programs that lets you share, collaborate, and edits your files from anywhere. However, just because your files are stored with Google doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a backup copy. That is one way SyncDocs can help.

SyncDocs automatically synchronizes the files in your Google Docs account to your computer. If you are to new to Google Docs, SyncDocs can move all your files to Google’s cloud. It can even make Google Docs your default document editor.

Simply select a folder on your PC, like “My Documents”, Syncdocs copies it online and across all your computers, automatically. This folder is then kept in sync. via SyncDocs.

Click HERE if you can not see the embedded video above.

SyncDoc Features

Move your files to the cloud.

All of the files in your SyncDocs folder will automatically be copied to your Google Docs account.

Backup your Google Docs files to your computer.

Your Google Docs files will be backed up on your local hard drive.

Access files from anywhere.

Because your computer files are automatically synced, you can access your files from any computer with internet access.

Make changes while your computer is off-line.

Any changes you make to your files while you are off-line will be synced to Google Docs when you get back online.

Sync across multiple computers.

Syncdocs can also be installed on multiple systems. It will keep your files current on all your computers.

Make Google Docs the default viewer and editor.

Create, view, and edit your files, including Office documents with SyncDocs. Whenever you double-click on a .doc, .xls, or other Office file, it will open in a Google Docs session in your browser. You can also keep using Microsoft Office (or whatever you want) as the default.

SyncDocs is free and available for Window only.

The Bottom Line

SyncDocs is a great FREE way to backup and sync your Google Docs files. You can select what folders you want synced, what to upload / download, and even schedule backups to and from Google Docs. SyncDocs is a great addition to your paperless office.

Check out SyncDocs for more information. You can also install the free SyncDocs app from the Google Apps Marketplace.