We asked you what's the most important feature in a business-minded handset, and you had some enlightening answers. Check out the results and see which phones fit the bill.
When road warriors are out in the field, they want to stay connected: that means getting real-time access to their e-mail and PIM info, checking the latest headlines, composing lengthy missives in airport waiting lounges, scouring (and even tweaking) PowerPoint presentations, and of course, a lot of calling. Today's business phones are still struggling to fill the gaps; some have great thumbboards but lack 3G connectivity, while others offer hours of talk time but won't open Word documents. That's why most of us must pick and choose when it comes to the most important business features, and that's exactly what you did in our latest poll.
And now, without further ado, the results. Coming in at number five, with 12 percent: office viewers for opening documents, a handy (and we suspect, a future must-have) feature that's a bit ahead of its time. Next with 15 percent is talk time, a once all-important feature that's losing ground to the rapidly improoving data features and e-mail capabilities of the latest phones. At number three with 22 percent of the vote we find thumbboards, a former novelty that's rapidly becoming a gotta-have as professionals grow accustomed to firing off messages on the road. Neck-and-neck with thumbboards at 23 percent is, unsurprisingly, push e-mail, a feature now widely available on business phones thanks to services such as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, GoodLink and Microsoft's Direct Push Technology. Finally, at number one with an impressive 28 percent of the vote: 3G support, which not only lets you blaze through the mobile Web for news and watch streaming video, but also connect your laptop to the Net for high-speed surfing – just like you never left your desk.
Business phones that make the cut
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Palm Treo 700p
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Score: 60% When: May 2006 Worth: $250 - $650 Carrier: Sprint, Verizon Wireless
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The 700p brings speedy 3G data access to the Palm OS line of Treos, along with wireless modem capabilities, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and even live TV. Ben Patterson gives this long-anticipated smartphone the once-over.
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Read » Gallery » Features » Side-by-side »
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Palm Treo 700w
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Score: 87% When: January 2006 Worth: $250 - $500 Carrier: Verizon Wireless
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Palm and Windows Mobile? Say it ain't so! The EV-DO-equipped Treo 700w politely disagrees, and Larry Garfield takes a look and finds there are benefits to playing both sides.
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Read » Gallery »
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Verizon XV6700
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When: January 2006 Worth: $400 Carrier: Verizon
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Windows Mobile 5.0, a 1.3 Megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and blazing data transfer speeds courtesy of EV-DO; the new XV6700 communicator from Verizon has it all.
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Read » Gallery »
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