Products & Services
What is the most important feature in a business device?
By Charlie on 22 September 2009
GLOBAL – In our series of “most important feature” polls, it seems we left out one type of phone that some folks were asking us about: business phones. But, what makes a business phone? In this day of always-on entrepreneurs, life-work balance, and greater business features across a portfolio of devices (from voice-only to full-blown Booklets), does it still make sense to separate out some features that should be optimized to make a phone more business-savvy? Well, there’s only one way to find out: to the polls!
Image from Foxtongue
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Tags | business, E-series, enterprise, features, poll
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 am
For me this requires a more detailed response than those offered. I use an N97 and the biggest issue I see with it as a business phone is the way in which things like Nokia Messaging are CRIPPLED by the enforced install and e-mail saving to the C: drive. I realise that FW V20, due in October is intimated to increase C: drive available space by 30MB, which would be nice. Presently E-mails are only stored on your phone in Nokai Messaging for 3-days. In the previous version this could be extended to 1-month, but these e-mails can only be stored to the C: drive (which is already limited).
Then comes applications like Quickoffice 6, which is an excellent application, but gobbles up another 10MB of C: drive space. At least it will permit you to save your files to the E: drive.
If you travel on business then OVI Maps is a must, but this consumes an additional 7MB of your C: drive if you upgrade to v3.03 BETA, which if you can live with the poor GPS preformance looks brilliant. At least the Map data is saved to the E: drive.
Basically I suppose what I am saying is that there is more to a business phone than it user interface. There is it’s useability. It’s not just how you physically interface with your phone. It’s also how you mentally interface with your phone. The GUI and interaction can be amazing, but if the device is unstable then this will frustrate the suer much more in the long run. There is only so long that you can keep seeing what the device could be after the next FW update.
I suppose what I am really saying is that the most important thing is PLATFORM STABILITY.
There is nothing worse than device/application crashes resulting in lost data. Less capable but stable is better than morte capable and less stable.
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September 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
Well, being an e-series addict, this is the kind of poll i’ve been waiting for so, here goes:
(i’ll start talking about the poll options, but only the ones i’m familiar with)
“Push email”> Absolutely needed. I didn’t choose this option in the poll because there is no doubt that this one should be a default option by years. How does a business man work without his “allways online e-mail”? See the example of Blackberry..
“QWERTY keyboard”> That’s a question of choice, but as the business man is too familiar with qwerty keyboards on the office, i think it’s clever to leave it on the phone too.. (but that doesn’t mean it is necessary.)
“Touchscreen”> Yes, it can help selling the phone, but i can’t see no use related to the office itself. Maybe if we look at the e-series as “a phone that you use for work, and take home with you at the end of the day”, it works, and in this case, needed.
“Quality materials and finish”> (This is the one i voted for)
The image of a business man is his aspect. Premium car, good clothes, allways shaved: Classy. In a device oriented to this subject, the main thing is the looks. No “bling-bling”, no colours, but a nice chrome/stainless steel, with leather finishes, or maybe even a combination of discrete colours like black & cobalt blue, etc.
Also, if a slide mechanism is used, it HAS to be good/the best. Not that i can complain (my “ex”- E65 had the best slide mechanism i have ever seen), but it has to be good.
It has also to be able to resist some falls…
“Separate work and private modes”> Yes, this is a “must have” feature. I’ve seen it (from far) on the E66, and i loved the idea to be able of separating my professional life from my private life. Simply awesome idea.
“Great camera”> This is probably the second most important feature of an e-series.
I know it’s not usual to e-series phones having a good camera (not mentioning the E72 :p ), but it’s very important.
How many times i’ve tried to take pictures of documents to send them over the air, and with no sucess, c’os the image was too blurry?
Once i’ve ripped off the lens-cover from my (ex) E65 just to try to get “Manual macro mode”? (yes, you can doubt it.. but i can proove it :p http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6zueiG5ws ).
So, i think it’s very important to have a decent camera, and WITH auto-focus on an e-series phone.
“Long battery life”> For obvious reasons, this is another “why have you asked” item. Even a “dummy phone” needs a good battery life. (period).
“Proper productivity apps”> Built in? Yes, like quickoffice for example.. But, working properly, and not just to view documents :p
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September 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
QWERTY keyboard…hands down.
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September 22nd, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Hi,
I think one of the most important things in business phone (E-series) is not some feature, because nokia already did good with the E-series. But the important things in E series is nokia should fix the main-memory problem on their E-series phone.
I know that nokia were promoting IMAP more than POP3. Thus nokia assume that the C drive were not ocupied by a lot of email. But there were a case that some of us want to store email mostly on the phone i.e it would be faster to search email on the phone rather on the server.
Now, the problem with most of E series were the main memory (the C drive) were TOO SMALL!!!!! If I put my email (& SMS) on the micro-SD, then I will lose the ability to hot swap the micro-SD. If I put my POP3 email on the main memory, then I will hit the LOW MEMORY very easily.
So, nokia, please put 1GB or 2GB main memory (C drive) on your low end phone such as E53, and put 4GB or 8GB memory on your mid end phone such as E7x.
one more things. I was wondering why nokia didn’t make a 2 tranflash drive in their phone, just like the old day of drive A: drive B:. It would make easier for us to copy files from 1 disk to another, and we could also use 1 memory for work material such as office doc, office ppt, image that would be use for work. And the other for entertainment (music, photo, etc).
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September 22nd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
For me speed and reliability are critical. If I want to quickly look up an email, I really could do without it crashing – just because I have a couple of other applications running. Similarly, I might want to check a few numbers on a spreadsheet. It should feel instant. I click on the the document that I have just opened from the email I received – bang – it’s open.
If this applied across everything else I did on my phone, including navigation software and map rendering, I would be a v sat customer.
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September 22nd, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Easy to Configure IPSec VPN like apple would be welcome. That said the E71 is amazing once I bought profimail.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 2:58 am
Why don’t you let use select more than one answer?
These questions are pretty tough to deal with when you are split between, qwerty, battery and email functions. They’re all very very important but we can only pick one!
Please don’t give us a headache when we’re trying to give feedbacks.
Can we get surveys in which 15-20 items are listed and then we get to choose maybe like 3 of the most important things?
A easy and fun survey is a successful one.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 am
I think that only being able to select a single option is a bit short. For my use in order of requirement would be something like:
* Long battery life
* Push Email
* SIP connectivity
When you’re out and about, or when you’re travelling, you can go for extended periods without the ability to charge a device. The 1500mAh batteries are a good start.
Push email is becoming more and more a requirement. Timely access to information is a must. If I’m out and a client changes meeting details, or job specifications/requirements, I need to know this before I look like a clown.
SIP connectivity is not so much a must as much as a convenience. When I’m home or at the office, I like to be able to use just my cellphone to receive any call. Whether it be through the PBX or on the cellphone itself. I have multiple numbers in multiple regions all aggregated at a single server. SIP access to that server when I’m out on the road makes life amazingly useful. Clients also prefer calling a free local number over making a long distance call or an expensive cellular call.
More calls equals more business.
More business means I can upgrade my phone more often.
Ironically, the least necessary item on that list for me is the camera. Some sites I attend require that no cameras are allowed in certain parts of their buildings. This is nothing short of a problem with newer phones. Its becoming VERY difficult to find Enterpise capable devices without cameras now days.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
I think this question has a flaw.
There can’t be just one most important feature. There are often more than 1 most important features, which is also indirectly evident from the poll results so far.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 9:31 am
For me the most important of all is a built-in fully featured calendar with categories and reinstatement of all the features that were torn out of the Psion Agenda/Calendar, including the ability to flexibly postpone reminders or reschedule them. The same applies to the Contacts appication.
A business device should be first and formost an organiser and a communicator. The Nokia 9300 was close in terms of its PIM features but even that was a cut down version of the Psion (EPOC/Symbian) original. I use Outlook and I want as a minimum all its calendar and contacts features on my E71, including options for mapping contacts sync correctly instead of new E71 entered phone numbers ending up under differently named fields in Outlook.
Nokia, it really is time to concentrate on these apps and make it a reason for users of other makes to move to a Nokia business device.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 am
I voted for Proper Productivity tools because its the only business related phrase among the choices. We cannot define business with QWERTY because any phone could have this feature, nor email, SIP, directory among others, this things are important to people whether they are in business or not, this are part of communication tools, part of what mobile phone should have being a communication tool itself.
A business phone should have business productivity tools that could enhance business management and developments. Tools like Project Management softwares, Customer Relation Management among others.
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