Making the most of mobility

Apple’s much-lauded iPhone 3G has finally landed in Australia, but it’s just one of a number of sophisticated mobile phones that let users conduct business from the palm of their hand. Along with the old chestnuts of push email and calendar access, such phones often let you surf the web, edit Office documents and even run presentations directly from the handset. The inclusion of GPS for satellite tracking also opens up a range of new features, from in-car navigation to the automatic collection of spatial data by a mobile workforce.

When properly integrated into an organisation’s backend systems, a smartphone can allow managers to monitor key business processes remotely. The phones can also tie into systems such as Microsoft’s Sharepoint to speed up the approval process, creating a more nimble organisation equipped to make decisions quickly. Security policies often let administrators remotely lock or wipe lost phones to protect sensitive corporate data.

In Australia, the biggest hindrance to smartphone adoption has been slow data speeds and high data costs. The rollout of HSDPA mobile networks such as Telstra’s national Next G network have offered a significant speed boost, while over the next few years Vodafone and Optus aim to expand their metro HSPDA coverage to span the country. This year’s mobile data price war between Vodafone and 3 has seen their mobile data charges drop dramatically, while Optus and Telstra have offered limited pricing relief.

As for the the phones themselves, the competition is really between platforms more than between individual devices. BlackBerry and Apple both build their own hardware and software for their mobile devices, generally offering a stable platform with a smooth user experience. Many other mobile operating systems also support BlackBerry connectivity. Palm’s smartphones switched from using Palm’s own software to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile several year ago, and a wealth of other hardware makers such as HTC, i-mate, Samsung and LG also use Microsoft’s offering. Nokia recently announced plans to fully acquire Symbian, which makes the software used by Nokia and several other smartphones builders. New mobile phone operating systems are also coming, such as Google’s Android and the open source LiMo Platform.

The line between consumer and business phones is starting to blur as the iPhone becomes more business-friendly and BlackBerry becomes more consumer-friendly. With many people forced to carry a business phone 24/7, they’re demanding features for both work and play. Many smartphones feature a full QWERTY keyboard, either below the screen or sliding out from underneath. Some feature a virtual QWERTY keyboard on the touchscreen, while others support handwriting recognition with a stylus. Most smartphones feature an MP3 player and camera, but this can create issues as some workplaces ban camera phones as a security precaution.

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