20 Mar 09 Finding The Correct Cell Phone To Manage Your Business

Whether you’re setting up your own business, or climbing the corporate ladder in an established conglomerate, in today’s world you need a cell phone that goes far beyond being a mere phone.  Essentially you need a phone that can also function as a PDA, for those moments when you just don’t have time to fumble around, looking for two or three different devices to accomplish your tasks.  That’s where, most likely, the iPhone 3G or Blackberry Storm come in, but how do you choose the phone that best suits your needs?

First off, let’s compare some of the most important features of the Storm and iPhone respectively.  The iPhone features a wealth of components that could very well make your corporate life easier, such as:

1. Built in memory storage space
2. Safari internet browser
3. Full Wi-Fi support
4. Quick access to multiple email accounts
5. Quick access to stock market reports
6. iTunes app store integration
7. Full virtual QWERTY keyboard

All of which are very important, and make the iPhone ideal for personal management, but there are a few issues that make me wary of using an iPhone to regularly conduct my business.  Like the fact that you can’t remove the iPhone’s battery without voiding the device’s warranty.  Which is a problem because the iPhone doesn’t exactly have the largest battery capacity, and the phone tends to go dead, fast.  I don’t like that your only option for a battery is to go through Apple, and that you can’t even have your iPhone’s battery replaced without paying about $80 at an Apple store.

Another negative, the iPhone’s built in memory, which can be a problem if you didn’t spring for the larger 16gig version, and are stuck with an 8g iPhone.  Because once those 8gigs are used up, you either have to delete programs and files to make room, or upgrade and be forced to purchase a whole new iPhone.

And never forget, one of the iPhone’s chief complaints, just Google it and you’ll see that I’m right, is the iPhone’s tendency to crash just when you’re doing something important, like checking email or stocks.  Not a very good factor if you’re counting on your iPhone to work reliably in a business environment.

The Blackberry Storm on the other hand features a wealth of features and customization that make it almost a perfect fit for the corporate world.  Features like:

1. Removable/expandable memory
2. Removable battery
3. Multitasking programs
4. Full QWERTY keyboard
5. Copy and paste features
6. Wi-Fi functionality

Meaning, while the Blackberry Storm may not be as fun as the iPhone 3G, the Storm is much more important when being used as your main phone for business purposes.  The removable battery means that you don’t have to worry about recharging your Blackberry Storm if you run out of juice, just keep an extra battery on hand, and you’re good to go.

The Storm only features 1gig of memory in the unit itself, but has an microSD media card slot which can accommodate SD cards of up to 16gigs in size.  Which will give you the added ability to store files on multiple cards, so you’ll basically never run out of storage space on your Storm.

Copy and paste, you wouldn’t believe how much this little feature means until you’ve used an iPhone, which doesn‘t include copy and paste.  Imagine using an iPhone to check your email, finding something you want to copy, such as a URL, only to discover you have absolutely no way of transferring the URL from your email to the Safari web browser.  That can be obnoxiously frustrating.

And finally, don’t forget, the main big draw in the business world, the Blackberry Storm allows for running multiple programs at the same time.  Which means you can check your email, while your instant messenger is still running in the background.  Multitasking is invaluable in the fast paced corporate environment, and a major feature that the iPhone and Apple have completely ignored.

Which is why ultimately, if you need a fantastic smartphone for business management, the Blackberry Storm should absolutely be your first choice.

But if all you want are the bells and whistles of a zillion apps that you’ll never find a real use for, the trendier and less practical iPhone 3G is a perfect fit.

Tags: 3g, Apple Store, Battery Capacity, blackberry storm, Business, cell phone, Chief Complaints, Climbing The Corporate Ladder, Conglomerate, corporate, Email Accounts, Fumble, Google, iphone, Memory Storage, Personal Management, Qwerty Keyboard, Safari Internet Browser, Setting Up Your Own Business, Space Safari, Stock Market Reports, Storage Space, T Spring, Wi Fi