Tag Archives: Kurt Collins

About 2456 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

What’s the Right Cell Phone for You?

MP3 capabilities. Fancy cameras. Bluetooth connections. The more advanced cell phones get, the more purchasing one feels as arduous as deciding on a new computer. The same principles are involved in both. But there are several basic questions that will make buying a new mobile phone easier. “If you are someone who needs persistent access to multiple modes of communication, then consider battery life, network speed, and the feature set,” says Kurt Collins, a mobile technology analyst. The total number of cellular connections in the world has reached 2.5 billion, passing the 2 billion mark just a year ago, according to Wireless Intelligence, a global mobile tracking venture sponsored in part by the GSM Association, which represents dealers of GSM mobile phones in more than 200 different countries. Cell connections are on track to surpass the 3 billion mark by the end of 2007, the organization says. A growing number of cell phones contain features that resemble their PCs’ most valuable offerings — e-mail, a keyboard, and Web browsing. Others contain entertainment applications — for example, a digital music player or a camera. While these features are great for consumers, the first thing a business owner has to decide is what features make the best sense for you, your business and/or your employees. Here are some key features to look for and business questions to consider: Bluetooth capabilities: A wireless system, Bluetooth is the new way advanced cell phones can communicate with other phones and even your office computer. But there are security vulnerabilities associated with the Bluetooth technology that could leave your company’s confidential information vulnerable. Keyboard: Typing cryptic love notes out on the cell phone’s traditional number-oriented alphabet pad is fine. But that won’t cut it for company e-mails, particularly those to clients or customers. Look for a device with a full QWERTY (or standard) keyboard. Some new phones have a QWERTY keyboard in a hidden compartment, on the number pad or as a larger attachment that you can use for lengthier correspondence. >E-mail: It’s not quite standard yet, but many cell phones now can connect you to popular e-mail services like Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail. That could mean your small business could utilize one of these e-mail accounts. But if you are a larger firm with many employees, you need to consider whether you want your employees sending personal e-mail from these accounts while on your dime. Instant Messaging (IM): Many cell phones have IM options or other real-time text messaging now, too. Many companies use this type of instant chat to conduct business and foster communication between employees. If your firm doesn’t do business over IM, or it you want to better track what your employees are sending, then avoid this feature if you can. Battery power: The general laptop rule applies here: the more applications you have running on a phone, the faster the battery gets drained. If your business needs two to three days service with no recharging, consider purchasing a simpler phone. Camera: Photo capabilities are almost a cell phone standard now. But the average resolution is 1 mega pixel — three times weaker than the average digital camera. Unless you don’t mind blurry shots for your website or presentations, it may be better to get a real camera. MP3 player: Recent devices from Motorola and Verizon have headphone jacks and enough memory to hold music. The challenge comes in storage and delivery. The capacity is, at best, a handful of songs, well below even the smallest iPod, the Shuffle. A bigger issue comes when purchasing music from the phone company. Their selection pales in comparison to the Apple Music Store or the new MTV Urge catalog. This may be a great perk for an entrepreneur or trusted employee who travels. But having an MP3 player in a cell phone may lead to abuse on company time. Multi-band: If you’re doing major international travel, it is worth investing in a “multi-band” phone. Multi-band means that it will be compatible with phone systems throughout the world. The more bands the phone understands, the higher the chances of you getting a clear cell call when your business trip includes stops in both Paris and India. Compare carriers: Your business may have the “best” phone, but that doesn’t matter if your employees have proper coverage to make phone calls. Metropolitan areas usually have great coverage, including in subway systems, but in the suburbs or the country service can be spotty. Advises Collins: “If you do a lot of… outdoor activities or live in a rural neighborhood in which you want a phone, keep in mind network coverage.”

About 2456 days ago Mobility Tips and Tricks

Why Cell Phones are Replacing the Laptop

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Ten years ago, the BlackBerry was known as a Wall Street icon or a geek organizer, far too expensive and nerdy to be used by mere mortals. Today, “BlackBerry” is the new “Kleenex,” the generic name people give to any personal digital assistant, or PDA. Treo and other companies are giving BlackBerry a run for its money, while cute devices like the T-Mobile Sidekick have made owning a PDA-like cell phone hip. When little portable computer phones get Paris Hilton endorsements, it’s safe to say that their bigger cousin, the laptop, is going the way of the dinosaur. “In a physical sense, there are many phones that now have QWERTY keyboards and scaled down Intel processors,” says Kurt Collins, business development manager at Photobucket, an online publisher of visual digital content. “Many PDA phones come with software that allows the user to not only check e-mail, but also read and write Microsoft Office documents.” Cell phones and PCs now rank as the most important devices for American consumers under 40, outranking even the TV, according to a survey by Forrester Research. The way that translates into the business market is that more and more consumer technologies are being used by workers in the office and out in the field. Laptop sales are, by some estimates, on schedule to outpace PC sales. But cell phones are already surpassing land-line phones in such locations as Europe and certain states, such as North Dakota, according to regulators. In mid-2006, the number of cellular connections in the world reached 2.5 billion, having just climbed over the 2 billion mark a year ago, according to estimates from Wireless Intelligence, a research venture that tracks the global market for mobile technology. The sharp trajectory of growth for cell phones and the growing number of PC-like features being incorporated into their design are fueling the theory that the cell phone is becoming the new laptop. Here are the reasons why: It can e-mail. The most mundane cell phone — the kind that comes free with a phone plan — has e-mail as a standard feature. It is usually carrying AOL and Yahoo!, but MSN’s Hotmail can be accessed indirectly. The low-budget phones require multiple number pad strokes to type individual letters, but several reasonably-priced phones have QWERTY keyboards, the standard computer keyboard. Some brands offer nearly full-sized keyboard attachments that connect to the phone. It can Web-browse. Every major cell service offers Web browsing for a few extra dollars a month. Many sites, such as Google and MSN, format their pages for easy cell phone reading. Cell phone companies also aggregate content, making it easy to get the latest world, business or entertainment news on the phone. It is small. Traveling with electronics is cumbersome, especially for those who are on-the-go all the time. At airports, laptops must be taken out of their bags, placed on the security conveyor belt and gathered up on the other side of the gate. A cell phone simply needs to be turned off at takeoff. It has Windows. Windows Mobile has now come into its own on portable devices. It’s getting to the point where all software — Word, Excel, perhaps even PowerPoint — will be on your cell phone. It has Bluetooth capabilities. Also becoming a standard, Bluetooth allows your cell phone to communicate with other phones and computers in a fast, efficient way. Files can be transferred quickly between your computer and your cell, turning your phone into a virtual memory stick. It is cheaper (for now). The biggest threat to the bulky laptop is price. A top-of-the-line, fancy cell phone will cost you about $600, or one-fourth the cost of a top-of-the-line, fancy laptop. Until the mythological $100 notebook is commonplace, cell phones are the cheaper and more efficient road to take.