GE lockbox products are moving into two distinct camps -- basic access (RISCO) and basic access with advanced productivity features (Supra.)

Supra CEO Greg Burge announces that Supra is introducing a whole new level of productivity and basic access with its new mobile wireless information platform.

Now's the time to upgrade, says Burge, because cellphone number portability means that now you can merge multiple wireless devices like cellphones and PDAs into a single convenient piece of hardware.

The company has converted about 15 of its electronic key metro markets, says Burge, to its new "iBox," and is working daily to add more carriers like Sprint and Verizon and qualifying new phones by manufacturers such as Samsung and Kyocera so that Realtors will have more choice in how they want to work and which features they want their software and hardware devices to have.

The company, sensitive to Realtor choice, is going to make it easy for customers to upgrade to convergent technologies like smartphone/PDA's or downgrade to basic service, says Burge.

"There are no more mobile professionals than Realtors," says Burge, "and their customers expect them to be connected and to secure information at the drop of a hat."

He believes that number portability will be a driving force for Realtors to make the decision to stay with basic electronic key access, or step up to access with more productivity attached.

"If someone is using an old Nokia phone, and the carrier is AT & T," suggests Burge, "and they see a new smartphone from Kyocera that is supported in their area by a different carrier, they can roll their existing phone number into the new device and service plan. They can make a technology decision."

Supra is laying wireless electronic keybox access functionality on top of wireless communications, but the wireless MLS access is desirable, too.

"What consultants say is these phones are great," says Burge, "but they become brilliant with vertical applications. We listened to our customers over three and a half years ago when they told us it would be great if your device could open a keybox. Now they can carry a device by Samsung, get voice services, access to the Internet, and use their smartphone to open the keybox, and then they have access to current MLS information like solds, pendings, and current active listings. They can do comps right there on the phone. Let's say the buyer has looked at several homes and decides that they need to go up in price $50,000 to get everything they want in a home. The agent can create a profile on the smart device to search all listings and frame them to meet new criteria, and they have a map to get them to those listings. They can tap on the listing agent's name and it connects to a roster with the agents' number, and they can phone the listing agent directly."

Tied to an old phone service contract? Burge says Supra plans to make it easy to switch. "Just get the basic access until your contract runs out, and then upgrade."

In some conversion towns like Jacksonville, Florida and Kansas City, phone service carriers like Sprint and Verizon sent sales technicians to Supra preinstallation sessions to help agents switch to new phones and service contracts on the spot.

"We look at the marketplace as needing choice," says Burge. "Supra offers a full range of productivity."

Supra already has over 200,000 iBoxes in the marketplace, says the company.

Published: December 5, 2003

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.