| I asked this question of a large business networking | | | | Someone steals my phone, and it's already locked, so |
| community recently..... "What features/factors do you | | | | no use to them, as soon as I call the office, bam.. |
| consider most important when choosing a business | | | | now it is also erased and deactivated. Instant |
| cell phone....and why?" | | | | paperweight. |
| Here's more of their answers for your education and | | | | My current Favorites ..... Moto Q Global, Blackjack with |
| enjoyment: | | | | the WM6 update, or Black Jack II. |
| * "It's going to sound dull, but...business benefit and | | | | I am a bit of a cell phone addict, and have owned |
| value for money. | | | | practically every type of phone that has existed, the |
| Assuming you've got a corporate tarriff sorted, then | | | | rest are all lacking in some way. |
| I'd be looking for .... | | | | Cingular/ATT 3125 (aka HTC Star Trek) was actually |
| * economy | | | | really cool. Full Windows smartphone features, but |
| * connectivity - e.g. quad band so we can standardise | | | | eventually I decided that I could no longer live |
| on a couple ofhandsets globally | | | | without a full qwerty keyboard." |
| * functionality - e.g. sync to work PC for Outlook etc. | | | | * "I would choose the Nokia E61 for businesses. The |
| * decent vendor support. | | | | best feature about this phone is that you do not |
| Pretty low down on the list are things like eye candy | | | | need a SIM Card to access internet or your IPLC in |
| and mp3 playback - no iPhone for us unfortunately!" | | | | the office premises if your wireless is activated. It |
| * "When it comes to a "business cell phone" a lot | | | | supports an email client and that enables you to |
| depends upon what you will use it for, where you will | | | | access your personal and official mail. The phone has |
| use it and how often you will use it. | | | | all the features of a desktop and supports most of |
| If you just need email access and your HQ is in North | | | | the files types." |
| America then RIM is still King....even when roaming | | | | * "First and foremost, as I travel internationally quite |
| abroad. If you need more than simple email access | | | | often, I need an unlocked gsm phone so that I can |
| then the world gets more complicated. Bottom line is | | | | easily swap SIMs, and it should be quadband (world) |
| to look at the TCO of any solution you choose and | | | | compatible. |
| make a platform choice not a cell phone choice." | | | | Wifi and VoIP ("real" VoIP -- ie SIP, not Skype --both |
| * "My preference list: | | | | over GPRS and Wifi) is a must. |
| - Good data connectivity. EDGE or HSDPA. | | | | Easy syncing with Microsoft Outlook. Full QWERTY |
| - Very good EMail client. | | | | keyboard. IMAP email client, full web browser. |
| - Good PC-Sync capability. | | | | The obvious choice for my needs is the Nokia E61i... |
| - Able to view and edit MS-OFFICE, Acrobat files | | | | absolute best phone I have ever found for the |
| - BLUETOOTH connectivity. supporting boardroom | | | | international business user that has to stay |
| presentations from mobile. | | | | completely connected from remote locales. |
| - QWERTY keypad is must. will be helpful if a foldable | | | | Also should add that bluetooth is a must and the |
| keypad with mobile cradle attached is provided. notes | | | | ability to expand (with FlashSD or whatnot) the |
| can be directly created using original keypad. | | | | memory to at least 2GB. Should also have full media |
| - Wireless connectivity and seamless switching | | | | player capability (both video and audio) for watching |
| between GSM/UMTS and WLAN." | | | | movies or listening to some tunes on those long-haul |
| * "The following features are a must for my business | | | | flights. Also needs to support ACCD2 orwhatever it's |
| cell phone: | | | | called for stereo bluetooth audio (I love my Motorola |
| - Qwerty keyboard | | | | S9 headset!).... again, the Nokia E61 or E61i (same as |
| - Office suite/editable | | | | E61 but with camera) wins hands down..only |
| - Adobe support | | | | cell(smart) phone I've found that meets all of my |
| - Sharp organiser | | | | demands." |
| - Effective email support | | | | * "Business means that you'll probably have to deal |
| - VPN connectivity | | | | with many people, many calls and many tasks. |
| - 3G enabled | | | | Important things are: |
| I think IPhone is defintely a good bet for this | | | | 1. how call history works. If somebody calls you |
| category though currently I am on a Motorola PDA." | | | | several times it is good if the phone can store |
| * "Simplicity. I hate it when mobiles have so many | | | | EVERY call instance, not only the last one with a |
| gimmicks that making telephone call almost becomes | | | | given person. My TREO was storing histories of all |
| an option. I don't want a camera, don't need to text, | | | | incoming and outgoing calls for months and months (i |
| I don't send emails, I don't need a colour display. I | | | | was having at least 50 calls a day). So call history |
| just want a simple phone, with large buttons and a | | | | must be full and long. |
| simple menu. | | | | 2. big memory for contacts - for obvious reasons. |
| * "First off I look for a phone that has a good | | | | And many fields for contacts - also helps put more |
| battery, excellent radio and lots of storage. | | | | information about people so that when you have 3 |
| Next I look for something that works with Office, | | | | persons with name John Smith you'll be able to find |
| since I need to be able to synchronise with Outlook | | | | out which one you need. |
| and view documents. In the messaging suite it needs | | | | 3. Fully functional keyboard. When you know |
| to be able to effectively do email. For example, I | | | | somebody is on the meeting and you can not speak |
| want it to have some form of keyboard device | | | | to him it might help sending him/her a message - it |
| rather than just touch. | | | | will be seen even if person is in the meeting. If you |
| In the past I have also looked at the ability for the | | | | have QWERTY keyboard then composing a message |
| device to run a number of enterprise applications | | | | will take you 70-80% less time than doing it on |
| such as SAP, Oracle, etc.so that I can access CRM | | | | atraditional mobile. |
| and Financial Data Systems. | | | | 4. Phone must be reliable. The last thing you want is |
| At present I have a Sony Ericsson P1i as my main | | | | your phone to fail killing all your contacts when you |
| handset and have replaced a Blackberry with an HTC | | | | are for a business trip out of your country. You also |
| Touch Plus as my data device. However, I also have | | | | do not want to lose tons of calls because phone has |
| a Sony Vaio SZ61XP which runs with embedded | | | | hanged up for a couple of hours and you did not |
| HSDPA so my Laptop has become my smartphone. | | | | know it. |
| What I would say is that despite the effort of .dot | | | | 5. GPS sometimes is helpful for people who travel |
| mobi to get better ..... the most effective way to | | | | much. But not for every business person. |
| squeeze the web onto a phone has been to run the | | | | The model of the phone does not really matter, but |
| Opera browser which I do on all three devices." | | | | I think that NOKIA is a reliable brand, PALM Treo is |
| * "ok.. I'm not sure how the iPhone can qualify as a | | | | also a good thing." |
| business cell phone. Like most Mac products it hinders | | | | * "A phone which you can answer , find the contact, |
| business more than helps it. | | | | and call them without spilling the coffee on your suit." |
| In a phone, it must MUST be able to work with and | | | | More real life comments on the question will be |
| exchange in "always up to date" / real time email. It | | | | shared in Part III of this series. |
| also must be able to support email encryption and be | | | | For anyone looking for a business cell phone......drop by |
| remotely managable. Such as Blackberry, or Windows | | | | Broadband Nation for information and resources. |
| Mobile 6 devices. | | | | |