Smartphones and Pocket PC Phones - They Are For Real

This week I had the honestly enjoyable experience of attending the Cisco IP Telephony Users Group (or CIPTUG) convention in Las Vegas.  The show was well organized and my company - Spanlink Communications - had a successful show.  Las Vegas is fun but given I'm not one who gambles, I don't have as much draw to the place as some.  Still, if you really want to see the wild side of America, this may be the place for it.

As I worked our booth during the show, for the first time, I noticed something that I had never seen before at any other show:  Smartphones and Pocket PC Phone editions were everywhere.  Now don't get me wrong, there were plenty of traditional cell phones as well as Trio's and Pocket PCs out and about.  But this was the first time that I had seen these devices in large quantities beyond a Microsoft based show or convention.  I would guess that I asked no fewer than 50 people about their Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone while at CIPTUG and that doesn't count the other 100 or so that I saw throughout the week and didn't get an opportunity to question.  Given that the attendance of the show was just shy of 1,000 people, that's a nice and healthy 10% of the attendees with these devices.

Although I was there primarily to discuss Cisco IP Telephony and Spanlink's product line surround it, every chance I got I stopped people and spoke to them about their devices.  After the first few times of just random questions,  I started asking a set of questions to get a feel for what was driving people to the platform and what they liked and disliked about them.  My questions were...

• Why did you get a Smartphone (or Pocket PC Phone depending on what they had) over a traditional cellular phone or Pocket PC?

• Is there one feature that you couldn't live without now that you have had it?

• If you could add one thing to your device, what would it be?

• What is one thing you don't like about the device?

Now the survey is by no means scientific and shouldn't be considered as such.  This was simply a curiosity on my part more than anything.  But the answers in some cases were surprising.

On the question of why they got a Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone over a traditional device, the answer was mostly the added functionality of synchronization, calendar integration, ability to dial from a calendar event or contact and overall functionality.  To me, this wasn't all that surprising and I did not get any answers that were totally out in left field so-to-speak.  The general consensus was increased functionality, especially on the road.

Equally, most people said that the one feature they couldn't live without was the calendar and contact integration.  Most people said they liked the idea of only having to keep up with one calendar no matter what device they were using.  Again, not surprising.

The question of what they could add to their device was surprising however.  I was amazed by the amount of people who knew about the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Messaging and Security Feature Pack - even among those running Windows Mobile 2003 based devices -  and were eager to see it.  For those who don't know, the Messaging and Security Feature Pack allows, among other things, for over-the-air email, calendar and contact synchronization with their mobile device if they are are using Exchange 2003 in their enterprise.  For more information on the package, go visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/5/default.mspx.  Essentially, this is a "push" technology that will allow Windows Mobile 5.0 devices to function much like a Blackberry device.  Frankly I was not expecting this answer.  When I asked further, most of the people I spoke to said that they had Blackberry devices and while they considered them a "necessary part of corporate life" the majority of them wanted to have all of the features in one device.  Others mentioned concerns over loosing the email functionality that Blackberry's offer with the pending lawsuits against Research In Motion (RIM) who make Blackberry's. 

As I said, I really didn't expect this answer.  For one, I didn't think that many people out there knew about the Pack and secondly, I just didn't see this as a feature that most would be interested.  But as more and more corporations turn to Blackberry's - my own company included - the desire to have email "on demand" is increasingly important.  I really expected more answers surrounding the Mobile Office applications and their functionality or the like but I actually received only a handful of those answers.

The challenge for this is if the OEMs will pick up the Messaging and Security Feature Pack then if enterprises will enable the Exchange components.  Frankly I would have loved to have seen this as a part of the standard ROM image of the new Windows Mobile 5.0 devices but it is easy to see why it wasn't.  As I've stated in a couple of newsgroup postings, I'd like to see Microsoft push the OEMs to put it out there and do so quickly but I'm not so sure that will happen.

On my last question, the complaints around the device generally were around battery life and search ability in Calendar and Contacts.  Having a Smartphone I can agree with the searching features:  they could really stand to be improved.  As for battery life, I've gone days without charging my Audiovox SMT5600 and have had no issues there.

So are these devices for real?  Yes, I think they are without question.  While it is granted that I was in a fairly technical group of people here in Vegas, it is clear that if these people are adopting them, they are gaining traction in the general population.  Non-technical people tend to go to technical people for help on selecting devices and as more people in the technical fields of business adopt Smartphones and Pocket PC Phones, the more they will be used by the general populous.  Further there are more and more site adding Smartphone coverage to their sites or new sites appearing online.

When I made the decision to add Smartphone reviews to Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! starting in January 2006, I debated if was a wise idea.  I didn't have a good feel for how these devices had been accepted.  It is pretty clear to me that the decision was a good one and I can't wait to get the reviews out there.

What has your experience been?  Do you have a Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone?  If you do and want to add to my little database of knowledge, send me an email (management@clintonfitch.com) or catch me on MSN Messenger at the same address.  If you were at CIPTUG and I didn't get a chance to ask you about your Smartphone or Pocket PC Phone, email me as well.