2011 Smartphone Software

Before you shop the app stores for the respective systems, start with providers of software and services you already rely on. Contact your MLS and see which mobile operating systems it supports. Sample the property search apps offered by Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, and SmarterAgent as ways to retrieve listing information in the field.

If you rely on particular programs for contact management, marketing, electronic documents, and so forth, check with those publishers about smartphone support. Then, visit the app stores for the respective operating systems, search for “real estate,” and see which offers the best mix of what you require in mobile software.

Here’s a rundown of the major operating systems in the space:

Android: Google’s operating system, now driving smartphones from several manufacturers, has emerged as the chief rival to the iPhone in sales and software support. There are currently 100,000 apps and counting.

Blackberry: Blackberry devices remain a popular choice with business users.

iPhone iOS: At this writing, the iPhone enjoys the most support from software developers of every stripe, with more than 350,000 apps currently available at little or no cost.

Ovi: Nokia maintains this app store for its smartphones running the Symbian operating system.

webOS: HP now owns and markets the Palm line of smartphones and the proprietary webOS running on the latest models.

Windows Phone 7: For those who want the Windows experience on their smartphone, this latest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system may be the right choice.

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of the products in this category. NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in product info. Prices are the vendors’ suggested retail prices and are subject to change.