Supersmart phones for extreme mobility

The iPhone is wonderful for well-heeled consumers and status-conscious gadget freaks (see my review, "iPhone: The $1,975 iPod"), but business users need more … much more.

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The iPhone also misses the mark with enterprises, which typically run their own wireless operations, wiring back-end services with custom handset software to create tailored solutions. Most enterprises standardize on a given handset that's compatible with their wireless solutions, then deploy a fleet of devices appropriately pre-configured for the company's applications and general IT services like e-mail and intranet.

So what makes a great enterprise handset? It must be highly configurable to match infrastructure and potentially to adapt to changes in geography or work assignment. It must accept custom client/server applications that may place unusually high storage, performance, and UI burdens on the device. It must be manageable from a central point within the business so that the enterprise is empowered to provision, revoke, reconfigure, blank, and alter usage and security policies without bringing the unit in from the field.

It's a tall order, but such devices exist, outside Cupertino. The seven mobile handsets reviewed here all meet the mark, albeit with varying degrees of compromise. At the top end, the BlackBerry 8800 and Nokia E61i satisfy enterprise criteria for functionality, usability, and extensibility more fully than any handsets before them, with each device showing markedly different strengths, some of which will surprise you.

One step down, the Nokia E65 and the T-Mobile Wing (HTC Herald) sacrifice some usability for a sleeker package, but don't cut corners on functionality. Sporting all of the features of an enterprise phone, these mobile executive handsets never leave you having to say "I'll have to get back to you on that" or "I'll get my people on that as soon as I get back to the office."

The remaining three devices in this roundup -- the BlackBerry 8300 (Curve), HTC Advantage X7501, and AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes) -- make the most compromises, usually for the sake of a smaller form factor or more stylish consumer look. But while they may shortchange you on performance or battery life or build quality and durability, they are still professional-grade handsets for serious business users.

Smart and driven executives, as well as top-echelon sales and marketing staff, need mobile devices that give them unfettered access to people, projects, services, and information. No phone is a notebook replacement, but these seven devices give you the option of traveling without a full PC or Mac and the bulging bag of necessities that accompany it. Together, they represent the cream of the crop for executives, mobile professionals, and the enterprises they are a part of.

Enterpriseclass: BlackBerry 8800 and Nokia E61i

When Research In Motion (RIM) started out, there was one thing that its BlackBerry did well: Push messaging. Now that the BlackBerry 8800 is here, we have one handset that does push messaging, mobile phone, media playback, Java GUI, PDA, and GPS navigation equally well.