The Guardian, July 2004 Business Solutions supplement: Feature on handheld wars

If youre not already a committed user of a credit-card sized smartphone, the chances are you will be soon. Growth in sales of personal digital assistants (PDAs), according to the analysts, is now slowing down compared to sales of advanced mobile phones which are soaring off the chart. But will the worlds of portable computing and mobile communications converge to a point where one type of handset will ultimately wipe out the other?

If youre a company director, you could be forgiven for feeling confused about where this whole mobile technology thing is heading. You want your staff to be more productive and less tied to the office, but which route should you take? Snazzy camera phones with fast Internet connections? The dedicated Blackberry devices that have seduced the corporate worker? Or a more serious device providing almost everything you could have on a laptop but with far less bulk to carry around?

The decision doesnt end with the hardware either. Theres the type of applications youll want staff to have access to, which means you need to consider the operating system. And do you need a company-wide GPRS or 3G contract, or are WiFi and Bluetooth more appropriate in a business context?

Compounding the problem, youll also need to consider any other devices your staff may be carrying already for personal use. If theyre already having a longstanding love affair with a particular camera phone or deluxe electronic Fil-o-Fax, you may have a hard time persuading them to embrace something else.

According to recent findings from Datamonitor, smaller businesses, while not traditionally big users of mobile devices, are likely to start embracing the technology as costs come down and as they begin to see the benefit of mobilising email, contact and calendar applications.

Blackberry devices have done much to put mobile gadgets on the map for the business community, and this looks set to continue. Initially, these dedicated devices, now five years old and used by 1.3 million subscribers around the world, were designed simply to push emails out to busy executives while on the move, so they could keep on top of emails so that this was one less thing to deal with at the office.

Blackberrys reach is now growing too, as its inventor, Research in Motion (RIM), has now licensed the technology so it can be used on other devices, including phones from Nokia, Siemens and Samsung. It is also broadening the range of applications that can be supported, which can only enhance its appeal to the business community. Says RIMs European vice-president for commercial operations, Rick Costanzo, The server software now talks to any application thats HTTP- or XML-addressable, which applies to 99% of corporate applications, including CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications.

This, along with RIMs decision to open up its technology to other handset manufacturers will be critical to the companys long-term success, since Gartner statistics suggest that, by 2007, 67 million of the 103 million data-centric devices shipping globally by then will be smartphones, compared with a more modest 36 million PDA or hybrid PDA/phones.

That doesnt mean the PDA market is dying, but that it is growing at a slower rate, says Simeon Payne, UK product marketing manager for Windows Mobile at Microsoft, an interesting company to watch because of its heritage in traditional computing. If Microsoft, champion of the PC, PDA and tablet PC, sees the smartphone stealing the market, there must be something in it.

The Microsoft marketing message is that if you choose a device based on Windows, youll be protected from having pockets of information and contacts on different machines which cant be synchronised. (Rival operating systems on smartphones include Symbian, PalmSource and even Linux).

But will companies buy into the mobile phone as a serious device for business data? Payne concedes that this will depend to some extent on how quickly software developers bring to market innovative, must have applications those like the Blackberry push email application. There are already some very simple applications that whet the appetite, he notes, pointing to an RAC traffic information system which feeds critical traffic information to mobile phones for a one-off annual subscription of just 40. This could save companies a fortune in wasted business time spent in traffic jams.

For businesses like IT outsourcing consultancy ihotdesk, which has no offices, working from home, on the move or from a clients site, advances in mobile technology and applications are critical - its staff are dependent on wireless connectivity and smartphones to pick up emails and communicate with colleagues and clients.

The companys 20 consultants use palmOnes Handspring Treo 3000 devices on the Orange network, for phone calls, email, a customer service application, a customer quotation system, and for calendar and notes. ihotdesk migrated to the platform in January, deciding against Blackberry because its Java browser did not support the companys applications.

So what does the future hold will we be downloading our business data onto a wristwatch in a few years time?

Many people now have several mobile phones, just as they have several pairs of shoes. At the weekend, they might choose a mini-mobile, and for work a maxi-mobile, and simply switch the SIM card between them, comments James Stewart, a senior research fellow studying the social aspects of IT at the University of Edinburgh. This, however, relies on standards being developed which allow these multiple devices to work together as a virtual device. This is likely to be very difficult as different industries try to set standards to suit themselves, Stewart notes.

In the meantime, the exciting space to watch is the role of the car in the mobile experience, he says. The car is the main mobile device for many people, and can overcome the limitations of the small handheld. BMW and Renault have some interesting plans in this area that are worth keeping an eye on.

Some of the sexier devices available today or coming soon

1. The Orange SPV C500, claimed to be the worlds smallest smartphone today, measuring 108 x 46 x 16mm and weighing just 100g. Runs Windows Mobile and has a colour screen and versatile keypad. Prices vary by contract. Other Orange phones to check out include the PalmOne Treo 600 which runs a Palm OS organiser, supports Web and email over GPRS and can be used with an existing Vodafone or Orange SIM card. The Treo costs 525.
2. The Motorola MPx, billed as the first WiFi-enabled phone, but with two guises. Open it one way and its a phone, open it another and theres a full computer keyboard. Based on Microsoft Pocket PC, and described by some analysts as the nearest thing to a converged device so far. Other Motorola devices of note: the V400P and the V80. Prices not available.
3. The new Nokia 9500 Communicator, comparable to the Motorola MPx but not due to ship until Q4, supports GPRS, WiFi and Bluetooth, and runs a range of Symbian-based business applications. Built in camera and multimedia messaging, 80Mb of memory and two colour screens. Weighs just over 200g. Likely to cost over 500. Other notable Nokias: the 6800 series.
4. The Sony Ericsson P900, available from 100 on a pay-monthly contract, offers full PDA functionality but looks and feels like a phone. Provides email and Internet via GPRS, and has a car kit solution. Also worth a look: the P800.
5. The Sendo X from Sendo is causing a stir at the moment, supporting up to six email accounts and recording up to 30 mins of video. Sendo claims the Symbian-based device is the most powerful multimedia smartphone currently available. Cost: 335.
6. The Samsung D710 business phone, running Symbian, supports full multimedia and video, and has an integral camera with flash.