Successful Meetings - December 2007 - (Page 22)

Technology Talk > By Michael Goldstein Get Smart For meeting planners, a smartphone is a smart choice to manage an enormously busy schedule. The tradeoff for a phone with Internet, e-mail, camera, and music has historically been size. But now, smartphones (still only five to 10 percent of the market) are becoming more svelte and sexy, while ordinary “feature phones” are getting—well, smarter. Devices linked to the high-speed networks often drain batteries faster, he warns, although charging your phone every night is a small price to pay for the quicker connection speed. Still, the current generation iPhone does not support AT&T’s 3G high-speed network, and carrier T-Mobile doesn’t even have its own 3G network. Instead, both the iPhone and T-Mobile tap another technology—the Wi-Fi wireless connectivity found in offices, hotels, airports, Starbucks stores, and homes across the U.S. Greengart says on T-Mobile, which is offering Wi-Fi capability in many phones, you can make “free” phone calls from a WiFi hotspot (though there’s a $10-per-month charge to enable the service). Wi-Fi also lets users surf the Internet faster, download big files, or, as with the iPhone, buy songs direct from iTunes. SMARTEN UP “The line between smartphone and feature phone has been blurring for years; a smartphone used to be a PDA with an antenna strapped on,” says analyst Avi Greengart of Current Analysis, a research company in Washington D.C. “Now you can get a feature phone with e-mail and a QWERTY keyboard.” I asked Greengart what the hottest smartphones are now. “The iPhone,” he answered. “Are there are other hot smartphones?” He was joking, and immediately cited Samsung’s BlackJack, the Motorola Moto Q, and the BlackBerry Pearl. But the Apple iPhone ($399; AT&T network) will have a continuing effect on phone design, he predicts, because of its innovative use of the touch screen for controls and the on-screen keyboard. If corporate policy ties you to a BlackBerry, Greengart says there’s good news. “Corporate BlackBerrys are getting more exciting, gaining more multimedia capabilities. The BlackBerry Pearl and the Curve both have cameras. They’re broadening the definition of what an enterprise smartphone might look like, with fashionable styles, glossy colors, and, with the Pearl, an easy-to-use trackball.” The big news at a recent cellular phone show was RIM bringing Facebook to the BlackBerry. The free download (if it’s not banned by your company’s IT gurus) lets you send and receive messages, wall posts, and “pokes”; accept new friend requests; and update your Facebook status. VIDEOPHONES FOR MEETING PLANNERS What might really be a popular application for meeting planners is AT&T’s VideoShare technology. “The notion is ‘see what I see’ by sending a video of what you’re seeing to someone,” says Greengart. For planners, that might be showing your boss or co-worker a promising venue or entertainer. You’ll need compatible phones on both ends. AT&T has four phones that support VideoShare, with 60 minutes per month for $9.99. The Sync by Samsung ($249) has a 2-megapixel camera with live video recording capability as well as music player, e-mail, and Bluetooth. FIND YOURSELF Most new phones are starting to offer GPS location technology, so you can get directions or E911 help in an emergency. Verizon Wireless offers VZ Navigator, while TeleNav, available for the BlackBerry, is easy to use with the BlackBerry’s QWERTY keyboard. With so many excellent phone choices, the hardest part can be prioritizing your needs. Yes, irritations like mobile advertising are coming. But there’s even good news on the annoyance front: Les Dorr of the Federal Aviation Authority recently said proposals to lift the ban on in-flight phone use had caused such an outcry they had been dropped for the “foreseeable future.” mimegasite.com DECEMBER 2007 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS ILLUSTRATION: BEATA SZPURA 3G VS. WI-FI U.S. cell phone companies are upgrading their networks to faster 3G, or third generation, technology. Says Greengart: “The 3G networks [such as Verizon Wireless’ EVDO and AT&T’s HSPA] are like having a DSL line for fast connections, downloading big files, or watching TV-type programming.” 22 http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - December 2007

Successful Meetings - December 2007 Contents Editor's Note Special Report Research Industry Trends 2008 Meeting Events Planner Spotlight Websites of the Month Mouth for Sale Technology Talk Food & Beverage Pre-Event On Site Pre-Event Tools of the Trade Goodbye, Booth Babes Five Tips to Improve Your Golf Events When Crime Pays Office for Hire More Miles for Your Money Places & Spaces South Florida Biloxi / Mississippi Gulf Coast Fort Worth Monterey Beijing Gurus Special Supplement: Hawaii Island-by-Island Guide

Successful Meetings - December 2007

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