Batchbook Blog

The BatchBook iPhone app is here!

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Today is an exciting day for us here at BatchBlue: we’re pleased to announce the official launch of our very own iPhone app for BatchBook. Ever since we first got our hands on the original version of the iPhone (way back in 2007!) we’ve wanted to get BatchBook its own spot in the App store. And now we’re there, free and available for our BatchBook users!

We went through a couple different iterations on the app but ultimately are glad we took some extra time to make sure we produced a solid first version.

Lets get to the features of version 1.0 (to see it in action, check out our fun iPhone commercial shot by two local kid filmmakers):

Contacts

Contacts are the heart of BatchBook and where focused most of our attention.  You can add comments, tag/untag, and even use your phone to take and upload pictures of your contacts. Using the social media SuperTag on your account? We let you add and view your contacts’ Twitter profiles right on the phone. A quick and handy way to stay up to date with what your contacts are up to. We also put in a link to the BatchBook record on the web so if needed you can take a look at anything not included in the iPhone app.

Deals

We thought it was important to include Deals on the mobile app. You can add comments and tags here as well so you can keep up with your deals on the road as well as the office.

To-Dos

See all your To-Dos on the go as well. You can also assign To-Dos to members of your team on the phone, which is a great way to delegate while on the go. We even included one of our favorite features: the procrastinate button. Hit the “Zzzz…” button and we will move the date forward a week. You’ll get it later!

Setup

A quick note on setting up for the first time: we download all of your data to the phone directly to provide better speed and usability overall. The downside to this is that it can take a few minutes to load when setting up your account. The loading indicator will go away once we have all your data on the phone. After the initial download, just pull down on your screen to refresh your data on the browse pages instantly. Additionally, every hour we will automatically download and recent updates made to your account.

We’re looking forward to continuing developing the app (for instance, more SuperTag support as well as full Communications support is on the radar.) We hope you enjoy the app as much as we do. Go download it already!

p.s. The app is only avail on OS4. Our apologies to those with the original iPhone but we made a choice to stick with the latest software release as it’s easier for us to test and support. We have OS4 running the app successfully on 3G,3gS and 4 iPhone models.

  • http://darrinrich.com Darrin

    I am freakin EXCITED about this!! Yes!

  • http://drrosedale.batchbook! fiona westby

    whohhoo.. this is great, thank you so much..

  • Adam Bouse

    Great job! Any plans to extend to other platforms (Android for example)?

  • Philip

    Nooooo not OS4. I was so looking forward to this release. Have waited with baited breath while hanging from the tenderhooks!!!

    Now sadly not going to be able to use it unless I throw out my 6 month old phone and pay Apple all over again.

    May have to go elsewhere for my CRM

    Very Sad

  • http://www.relylocal.com Michael Baker

    Need to know before signing up…

    Will this work using the new iPOD Touch or iPAD? Any plans for the Android Platform?

    Just need confirmation.

    Thanks!!!
    Mike

  • http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com Jeremy Davis

    @Philip
    Make sure you don’t confuse OS4 with iPhone 4. Since you said your current iPhone is only 6 months old, I don’t image you’d have gotten an original iPhone from 4 years ago.

  • http://www.GroupFit.ca Ryan Doherty

    2nd the comment request to extend the app to the iPad, hopefully the layout can be put in place for when the iPad is iOS4 ready.

    I have not yet got by the loading screen for the contact page, maybe because there is 2000+ contacts in my system? I’m hoping that once it gets by the initial load, it will be able to handle the data, otherwise it is of no use to me personally.

    All in, great work and thank you!

  • http://www.coast.co.nz Alex

    Awesome – so glad this is now up and running

    Is this different from the Big Secret Product I have seen mentioned elsewhere?? Confused…. But happy

    • http://www.batchblue.com Michelle Riggen-Ransom

      Hi Alex! This is indeed different from the Big Secret Product. That will be coming out in early 2011. All will be revealed :)

  • Ward van Beek

    Good start…

    As with any great introduction, version 1.0, immediate requests for enhancements: iPad version and Android version please…

  • http://batchblue.com Sean Ransom

    Thanks all for the comments. We really appreciate it.

    We run it with about 3500 contacts no problem. Once the load is finished you should not have any issues.

    As for the iPad yes this app will work with the upcoming OS4 for iPad being released. However it will not be optimized for the iPad. Just the same as the phone version. We may consider a separate iPad version in the future though.

    Sean Ransom

  • David Culton

    Woo hoo!! Very excited…and it has more functionality than I had thought…certainly enough for now. Nice job!

    Have spent about 5 minutes with it but have noticed a glitch for me; added a To-Do on iPhone but when I select it, the detail is for a different to-do; the To-Do titles don’t match the detail. Help please!

  • David Culton

    Hi. Restarting the app seemed to fix it. When I restarted the Today To-Do (the one I added) moved from being at the top of the list, when I added it, to between overdue and upcoming, which is where I think it is supposed to live. When I added a new to-do it went to the right place and everything was fine. Probably should have put this on the support site…sorry

  • http://www.gustavoreis.com Gustavo Reis

    This is just plain awesome!!!
    And check it out: a teacher who also happens to be an avid BatchBook user gets BatchBook on his iPhone on teacher’s day (yes, thats October 15th in Brazil)! How cool is that?
    Thanks a bunch, and eagerly looking forward to future releases already!
    Gustavo

  • http://www.thebridgetraining.com Natalie Brady

    Have downloaded the app but its saying Authentication Error when I try and log-in. We have an account so dont understand the problem. Please help.

  • http://jeffkorhan.com Jeff Korhan

    Thanks for this – everything is working great except I cannot get my contacts to download. It tries to download but then the app closes before it can complete the operation.

    I did delete and reload the app but the problem persists. Any ideas?

    Jeff

  • Jon Starks

    My initial load is taking way more than a few minutes – granted we’ve got over 6k in contacts. And it keeps shutting down every so often. It’s probably been going over 20 minutes so far in total. Hopefully I can get it past the initial load. Hopefully.

  • http://batchblue.com Sean Ransom

    Hey All,

    Sorry to hear some folks are having trouble. Do send us an email to support@batchblue.com with your phone model and software version and we can try to help troubleshoot.

    Sean Ransom

  • Faisal Misle

    You dont need an iPhone 4.
    You can use a 3G or 3GS, but they have to have
    the iOS 4 SOFTWARE UPDATE

  • Geert Leerentveld

    Hello, I contracted Batchblue because of the iPhone app! I have an iPhone 4 with the latest update installed. After uploading 4000 contacts it is loading for a while after which I get the message: Load Failed…

    Please help me solve this!

    • http://www.batchblue.com Michelle Riggen-Ransom

      Hi Geert- Sorry to hear about the trouble. Could you please write in to support@batchblue.com with your account name so they can help trouble-shoot? We’ll get you sorted out!

  • Scott

    Will you be bringing this application to the Android line of phones? Currently our company does not subscribe to AT&T and only have access to Android Phone thru Verizon. I am always on the road and feel this application would be very helpful.

  • http://www.vmrcommunications.com Hugh Macken

    Happy to hear about this!

  • Todd O’Neill

    Bummer
    I have a first gen iPod Touch; no iOS 4. :-(
    Great idea!
    Will wait until Verizon gets the iPhone or you go to Android and I update my Treo.

  • http://evadot.com Michael Doornbos

    I really want this on android now :-(

  • Jim C

    Just wanted to drop a quick post from a Highrise user now trying out BatchBook.

    I have both company’s iPhone apps on my 3Gs.

    The Batchbook app rocks. While I’m limited to the number of contacts I can have right now (so I don’t have the initial download issues previously mentioned,) everything worked well. It is very easy to use and doesn’t get in the way.

    The implementation of the Highrise App requires the phone to query the site for each search which is VERY slow, even on Wi-Fi. So applause to the BatchBlue Team!

    Jim in Atlanta

  • http://www.connectedworldmedia.com David Jacobs

    Yes, this is all very well and nice. Unfortunately all the cool kids have moved to Android. Android version please, or a much improved html 5 mobile version.

    Thank You

    • http://www.batchblue.com Michelle Riggen-Ransom

      Oh no, does that mean I’m not cool ;) ? No worries, we’ve got an Android version in the works. No ETA but we recognize super cool users like yourself are anxious for one!

  • http://www.coast.co.nz Alex Webster

    Ouchy. This is bad news as my entire self-worth was predicated on my iPhone being cool. As opposed to merely functional, which is, like, so lame.

    • http://www.batchblue.com Michelle Riggen-Ransom

      We think you’re cool Alex! Quite cool in fact :)

  • Dmitry Hashimoto

    My contacts only sync once at the initial load and then they do not update. My Dashboard and To-Do tabs show updated information, but if I change my information on the deal or in a contact it does not immediately change in the app, and even after refreshing and saying “loading…” I still have the same unsynced contacs and deals. This is the same with my iPhone 3Gs (os4) and iPad. I tried to delete and reinstall the app and it worked again on the first load, but then it does not sync my contacts. Any suggestions?

    • http://www.batchblue.com Michelle Riggen-Ransom

      Hi Dmitry – there’s about a fifteen minute delay on the sync. However, if you need it immediately, you can also pull down at the top of the Browse page, will force an immediate sync.

      Hope this helps, but if you are still having trouble, please write to support@batchblue.com and they can take a look at your account.

  • http://www.vinambassador.com Andres

    Same issue.

    Authentication failure when I attempt to login to Batchbook for iphone

    Have tried re-downloading, syncing with desktop, updating software, power down/up – help please

  • http://batchblue.com Bradford

    When you log in to the app, make sure you are just entering your account name. So if you go to mybatchbook.batchbook.com to open your account, then mybatchbook would be your account name. If you include the rest it will give you an authentication error.

    If that doesn’t solve it, please send us an email at support@batchblue.com. Thanks!