Like yourself, if the internet is not available then I go offline too!
As I write this blog post @ 30,000ft above the ground on a Virgin
America flight, flying back from Boston to San Francisco, I started to
wonder whatever happened to the 'Airplane problem' (or the
Offline problem of online apps) we all used to talk about couple of
years back.
At Zoho, we have had offline support for over 2 years now. Zoho Writer and Zoho Mail supported offline access
and I kind of used them initially, but I have to admit, I quickly gave
up using the offline versions as I never needed them. Sure, there were
times I was offline, but during those times, well, I went offline too,
grabbing a coffee or something.
My behavior is not just with Zoho Apps. Many other apps I use do support offline access
and I never bothered to use them in offline mode. This makes me wonder
if this is just me or do you also fall under the same category? I
created a quick poll (using Zoho Polls, ofcourse) to get your feedback
on this.
Share your opinion in comments section.
Like yourself, if the internet is not available then I go offline too!
If Internet is not available, then I wait. I usually don't go off-line.
No need for offline version as far as I'm concerned...
In American, the offline is probably insignificant because of the excellent. But in other countries, like China, the offline apps is crucial. Besides, the offline apps could assist the traditional customs to build confidence and trust in online service and then transport to them. Personally, I have waited the Zoho Notebook offline to replace my current notebook softeware.
I use offline access for apps all the time - and not just on plane rides. Often when traveling, my computer is using an aircard (which can have various speeds depending on signal strength); I'm in Europe and its not uncommon to see by the hour charge for internet access, or the wi-fi at a hotel/airport isn't much better than dial-up. In these cases, the offline version of the apps is often faster than the online version and I just have to wait when I get to a good connection to sync everything.
I am, too often, inspired with new ideas in places where internet is not avaliable (a park, a mountain, by the sea). Offline versions are very important for people who travel for two reasons: 1. When you realy need to work in planes, trains, taxis. 2. There are many places, even areas in highly developed countries, where still internet is a luxury.
I use offline more as a "security-feature" - to be sure that all data is also offline available on my PC in case the online version is not available anymore or the connection is cut. It gives me "a good feeling". Otherwise, when I open my laptop I am mostly online (I live in Switzerland where 3G and WiFi are available everywhere - in trains, etc).
Zoho creator should be available offline and able to sync with online. This would open up marketshare to companies and orgs with field service personel. Only real competitor on this front is salesforce's platform which charges a premium for the service via their force.com cloud platform.
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