Smart Phones: Form Must Follow Function

As mobile workforces become more prominent, developers are releasing applications that bring many back end functionalities to the front end mobile worker. As those applications are deployed and used, a need for voice and data convergence has emerged. This March, when I attended CTIA Wireless 2005, this fact was reinforced for me. I spent my time at the show meeting with executives of various technology providers and traversing the show floor, looking at the various smart phones on display. Those observations and conversations made it clear that the vendor community recognizes the need for convergence, and the pressure is on for manufacturers to produce devices that address this.

Mobile professionals have always been able to connect to the office via voice, and many use a PDA-type device to check e-mail or read stored files and information. Recent software advancements have enabled those workers to connect to back end data systems in the office, bringing databases and sales tools right to the point of work on those PDAs. But users are still carrying two devices around, which can be inconvenient and unwieldy. As we detailed in our April mobile feature, the Visiting Nurse's Association of Florida, Inc. (VNA), eliminated the need for 400 mobile home caregivers to carry both PDAs and cell phones. These devices were tethered together and were cumbersome for employees to use. VNA deployed Audiovox' 4100 Pocket PCs, which operate on Cingular Wireless' GSM/GPRS (global system for mobile communications/general packet radio service) network. With the converged voice and data upgrade, VNA increased its productivity by 25%.

This is just one example of the demand for a single device that offers both voice and data communication capabilities. However, until recently hardware manufacturers have been operating with the strategy of integrating phone capabilities into PDAs. The result was large, awkward devices. And if you want QWERTY capabilities-which is vital to taking advantage of the data capabilities out there-we're talking a phone that approaches the size of a paperback book.

Now, it seems, phone manufacturers have taken a better approach and are operating under a reversed strategy: mobile phones that have PDA capabilities. Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry products, one of the go-to standards for mobile professionals, have traditionally been bulkier devices. But RIM's new 7100g (Cingular) and 7100t (T-Mobile) devices go a long way toward addressing the form factor issues with their smaller, streamlined designs.

Manufacturers are also addressing the need for QWERTY capabilities in cell-phone sized devices with flip-down, flip-out, and pull-down features. Look at another favorite of mobile professionals, the Sony Ericsson P910. This device is only a little larger than a traditional cell phone, and the numeric keypad flips down to reveal a QWERTY keypad. Sierra Wireless developed its Voq Professional phone with similar capabilities; the numeric keypad opens like a book to reveal a QWERTY keypad twice the width of the phone.

This trend of addressing the form factor means more variety in your device choices as you consider deploying or upgrading a mobile solution. I expect the streamlined form factor will also provide a greater range of uses than we've seen in the past. The wireless train is obviously here, and these recent developments mean getting on it just got a bit easier.