Like the Swiss Army Knife of the Internet technology age, the smartphone is small, versatile, and efficient. The ideal tool to have in your pocket when lost in the urban jungle or stranded on an IT island, the smartphone can send and receive audio and video phone calls, surf the Internet, receive RSS feeds, send and receive text messages across many different platforms, read and create documents, navigate via GPS, and even take high quality photos or films.
Although it goes without question that ditching your old cell phone for a sleek, new smartphone is a great idea, if you will be using the device mainly for business or office-related purposes, it’s important that you pick the right smartphone and one that will be as helpful as possible. Business-oriented smartphone users have a specific set of needs, and it is crucial that the smartphone you choose caters to those needs.
The five major smartphone platforms are Blackberry, iPhone, Palm OS, Nokia Series 60, and Windows Mobile. Although each has its own strengths and weaknesses, often the clincher that can help you decide on a system will be finding out what the majority of players use in the business markets that you frequent. Because many smartphones often have special features that allow them to more easily communicate with other smartphones of their same brand, buying a smartphone that will allow you to easily get in touch with your partners and be gotten in touch with by them will do wonders for your networking.
Make it clear to yourself exactly what you will need your smartphone to do for you. If creating and editing Word documents while you run around town is essential to you, a smartphone with the Windows Mobile platform will most likely be the best choice for you. If sending and receiving email is dearest to your heart, the Blackberry has one of the most robust email solutions. If multimedia is paramount, you just might fall in love with an iPhone. If you will be away from a charging solution for long periods of time, you will need a device with an extended battery life.
If you plan to be entering a lot of data on your smartphone, make sure to get one that features some kind of QWERTY-based keyboard. Tactile keyboards are often deeply cherished by those who prefer them, but soft keyboards have their own set of fanatic aficionados. Try out both types and see which keyboard is up your alley.
With all the above considerations in mind, here are five of the best smartphones for office use.
Blackberry Curve
Great for email and data input, the Blackberry Curve features a QWERTY-based keyboard and will alert you the second an email arrives in your inbox. The Curve is the most compact and lightweight Blackberry available and works in over two hundred countries around the world. It also features GPS navigation, a high-quality digital camera, and a great multimedia player.
LG Voyager
The Voyager’s high-res touch screen will give you spot-specific tactile feedback when its surface is pressed. If, however, you need a keyboard with actual buttons, this smartphone unfolds to reveal a complete keyboard and another touch screen on the inside. This device also comes with a high-quality 3G Internet connection.
MOTO Q 9h
Besides featuring a QWERTY keyboard and a 3G connection, the 9h is a Windows Mobile smartphone that allows for a high degree of compatibility with all Microsoft Office files. It is also Bluetooth-capable and features an expandable microSD memory slot.
Motorola Droid Pro
This smartphone offers a complete synchronization solution between the device and your office’s calendar and email. The Droid Pro was specifically designed with office users in mind, and it features a complete QWERTY-based keyboard and plenty of useful Android apps.
iPhone 4
Not the mere toy that it used to be, the iPhone 4 is becoming a serious contender on the business smartphone market. The new iPhone features support for Microsoft Exchange, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available to it. If you are unable to find the perfect business solutions among the wealth of apps available for this device, you may simply be impossible to please.
