The BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 has added several new features for messaging and e-mail.  The OS now features a unified inbox for personal and work e-mail, as well as social networking messaging accounts, tabbed e-mail for keeping multiple messages open at once, support for rich-text such as fonts and formatting, and inbox management capabilities that include search of multiple accounts and setting of auto-reply from the tablet.

RIM has also added new functionality that consolidates information from social networks and e-mail messages about contacts, both in the updated Calendar app to provide consolidated information about meeting attendees, and in the new Contacts app that pulls in recent status updates, conversations, and related mutual contacts.

For mobile working, Playbook OS 2.0 features enhanced Documents To Go functionality such as improved virtual keyboard support and chart and table embedding in spreadsheets.  Users trying to open content from their BlackBerry smartphone will be aided by BlackBerry Bridge, a new feature for linking other BlackBerry mobile devices and the Playbook.  Via Bridge, users can open and edit files, and even use a smartphone as a wireless keyboard and mouse-style controller.

For the company’s line of smartphones, RIM previewed BlackBerry 7.1 OS.  The new release of the OS adds BlackBerry Tag, which uses NFC to allow users to share information with other BlackBerry phones by tapping them together.  Other new functionality includes mobile hotspot capabilities for up to five devices.

To test App World I used a BlackBerry Bold and AT&T’s 3G network, later switching to Wi-Fi to see if downloads were significantly faster (they weren’t).  Installation was reasonably fast and simple.  Once in App World, I found hundreds of applications in categories such as News, Weather, Finance, Games, Productivity, Social Networking, and Health.  Many are free but some were relatively pricey ($59.99).

Installing a free app was straightforward.  I downloaded multiple apps, including Viigo and Slacker Radio, and was soon listening to the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra playing the Sabre Dance. I was able to also check the weather and news reports in Viigo while the radio continued to play.  This app is particularly useful for the business traveler since one can set up weather reports for cities around the world all on one page.

Purchasing applications was far clumsier than what Apple offers in its App Store: the first time I selected an application I wanted to purchase, AP News for $2.99, instead of offering to charge it to my mobile phone number, it offered me only one payment method: PayPal.

It was easy to find and learn about new applications.  Most have screen shots and product summaries and many have reviews.  Features include keyword search, reviews, recommendations, and a folder called My World, which keeps track of downloaded applications and facilitates reinstallation and transfer of applications to another device.

–Paul Riegler is a Contributing Editor at Executive Road Warrior.

Some of my favorite mobile devices have come from Research in Motion, including the BlackBerry Pearl.  Now there are three new BlackBerry smartphones: the Bold from AT&T, the Pearl Flip from T-Mobile, and the Storm from Verizon Wireless.

BLACKBERRY BOLD

The Bold is the BlackBerry that has it all: 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, high-res display, and full keyboard.  If you liked the Pearl or 8800, you will love the Bold.  A new UI provides bolder and crisper graphics; the keyboard is even better than previous models, and the display is the best I’ve ever seen on a mobile device.  It’s bright when you need it; the auto-dim feature adjusts to your surroundings.

In the greatly improved Web browser, the pointer is a zoom-in pointer by default, which makes reading Web pages faster and easier.

BLACKBERRY PEARL FLIP 8220

I’ve always liked flip phones and loved the original BlackBerry Pearl so I was very much looking forward to the Pearl Flip.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.  The Flip lacks the clean design language of newer BlackBerry devices and has somewhat of a cheap, clunky feel to it.  The flush keyboard made it somewhat difficult to touch type.  In its open state, it’s rather tall and the design of the hinge makes it uncomfortable to hold..

On the plus side, the Pearl Flip shares the new UI and browser with the Bold but it seemed somewhat sluggish.  The external display is versatile; you can even preview new[BA1] e-mail.  The Flip comes with Wi-Fi with UMA support, which means it supports voice as well as data over Wi-Fi, as well as quad-band GSM support and EDGE.

BLACKBERRY STORM

The Storm is the latest smartphone resulting from the touch-screen hype that started with the Apple iPhone and it is also the first BlackBerry without a physical keyboard.

It’s also the first BlackBerry I can’t recommend.

The 3G BlackBerry Storm features a touch-screen with multi-touch, an accelerometer that will switch between landscape and portrait mode, and a virtual QWERTY keyboard.

RIM made the display into one big button so that pressing a button on the screen gives the user a satisfying click. Because it’s a touch screen you have to look at the screen to do anything, even place a call.

In using the Storm, I found that pressure from my cheek would regularly turn on the speakerphone during a call.  Also, the device would occasionally slow down or freeze and then function normally.  This happened less after a software upgrade but it was still a problem.

Web browsing was much slower compared to the Bold, due to a combination of slower entry via the virtual keyboard plus tricky highlighting.  And did I mention that the Storm lacks Wi-Fi?

Unfortunately, the phone’s glitches will keep you from using some of the best features in the phone until (hopefully) RIM fixes them with yet another software update.

WHICH BLACKBERRY IS FOR ME?

While the Storm looks to have a much larger display, appearances can be deceiving: the functional height of both is about the same (when the Storm is in landscape mode) and the Storm’s display is a little over one centimeter wider.  The Bold’s browser is much easier to navigate thanks to the Pearl-like pointing device, which the Storm lacks.  It’s also easier to use on the go, thanks to actual buttons.

While the original Pearl is still a good choice, especially for business travelers looking for a small but functional device, the Pearl Flip is more of a fashion accessory and less useable thanks to the flat keyboard which is less ergonomic and not as good as the original Pearl’s.

Voice quality was excellent for all three devices with minimal background noise or distortion.  People I called frequently couldn’t guess I was on a mobile phone as calls were crystal clear.  Built-in speakerphone quality was acceptable.  All three paired easily to a variety of Bluetooth headsets and several BMW motorcars.

For international calling, all can roam outside the U.S. (the Storm uses CDMA in the U.S. but GSM outside the U.S.)

E-mail is at the heart of these devices and small but significant enhancements such as the ability to see pictures in a message, full HTML, and attachment viewing are welcome additions.

The media player supports a variety of music and video formats as well for entertainment on the go.  All three support editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and include a useful alarm clock and the unparalleled BlackBerry Messenger.

The bottom line?  The Bold represents the best all-around upgrade for the business traveler/power user but all three devices have their own strong points.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

Smartphones are much easier to lose track of than a laptop; they are also much more likely to be damaged or stolen.  Many don’t have remote wipe capabilities, a security feature popularized by Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices, allowing the IT department to remotely delete all data from a lost or stolen device.

Before going out the door, make sure that you password protect your device (and please don’t select 123123 as your password).  It may be a bit inconvenient at times but it’s far better than the alternative.  If you are using a memory card, make sure it’s encrypted too.

If you are a CIO, you might want to standardize on a device type or platform (i.e. Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian) and limit what information can be moved onto a mobile device from the corporate network.  If employees provide their own smartphones, require that security software be installed on the device or consider a move to employer-provided devices that are under your direct control.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

Both T-Mobile and Cingular offer the BlackBerry Pearl by Research in Motion, although only T-Mobile has the new white Pearl.  The Pearl is an 88 gram quad-band device with a 240×260 color display.  It supports GSM/GPRS and EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) and includes a memory expansion slot for a MicroSD card.  It supports BlackBerry e-mail, public instant messaging via AOL, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo, corporate instant messaging (Lotus Sametime), an HTML browser, and uses RIM’s SureType keyboard technology.  Phone features include voice activated dialing, a speakerphone, simplified call management for conference calling and smart dialing, and Bluetooth wireless technology.

Unlike other BlackBerry devices, the Pearl has a modified QWERTY keyboard with shared keys in many positions (i.e. E and R and U and I).  This gives it a more phone-like form factor although typing suffers slightly (keep in mind that most people do not type out War and Peace with a handheld device anyway).

The Pearl is my personal favorite due to the combination of the candy bar mobile telephone form factor with PDA functionality. The pearl-like trackball allows for very easy navigation and the display provides sharp clear text.

In short, it’s a better mobile phone with no compromises.

PALM TREO 750

The brand new Palm Treo 750 is available from Cingular at $399 and unlocked from Palm at $649.

The Treo 750 is the first Palm five-band device I’ve tested. The UMTS service from Cingular supports simultaneous use of phone and Web or e-mail.  If UMTS is not available, the 750 will fall back to EDGE. The Treo 750 will, for the time being, arrive enabled for UMTS with a free upgrade, scheduled for later in 2007, to Cingular’s high-speed HSDPA technology.

It runs Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push Technology, and supports e-mail, messaging, Web browsing, productivity tools, as well as many other applications.  The 750 features a full QWERTY keyboard (an improved design), 1.3-megapixel camera, a 240×240 touch screen, and support for Bluetooth stereo headsets.  The built-in 60 Mbytes of user-available storage can be expanded to 2 Gbytes via a miniSD slot.

This is not your ordinary Windows Mobile: Palm has greatly enhanced the interface, adding a new messaging application with threaded chat for text and MMS message; Today Screen enhancements, including a fast dial-by-name feature; support for call and voicemail management from the Today Screen, including VCR-like controls such as rewind, fast forward, and delete for voicemail; and my personal favorite, the ability to “ignore” a call while simultaneously sending a quick text message to the caller such as “in a meeting – will call back soon” directly from the incoming call screen.

I was skeptical on the robustness of Windows Mobile as the Treo 700w I’ve used crashed frequently (compared to the Treo 700p, which uses the Palm operating system and didn’t crash at all) but the Treo 750 did not share this trait.

I was happy to see that the 750 has a hidden aerial, a design trait started with the Treo 680, with which it shares its basic form factor.  The 750 has an elegant soft-touch exterior (no need to purchase a case) and despite its size, feels comfortable in your hand.  If you want 3G service and a standard QWERTY keyboard, this is an excellent choice.

PALM TREO 680

If your mobile telephony needs don’t require broadband, the Treo 680 is worthy of consideration.

The Treo 680 is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band mobile device.  It supports e-mail, Web browsing, messaging, multimedia, calendar, and contact management.  It has an internal antenna and slim form factor, with a 320×320 color screen and full keyboard.  It also supports Bluetooth 1.2, which includes support for multiple Bluetooth connections.

It’s available from Cingular for $199; an unlocked model from Palm is available at $399.  The twist: the unlocked version is available in four colors: crimson, copper, arctic, and graphite.

The Treo 680 uses the time-tested Palm operating system.  Compared to older Treos, including the 700 family, it’s faster to use (thanks to an improved phone application) and feels more comfortable in the hand.  It also has a much improved keyboard (the buttons are redesigned, making thumb-challenged typists less clumsy). Similar to the Treo 750, calls arriving at an inconvenient time can be ignored while sending out a quick text message to the caller.  It also supports the display of threaded chats.

Mobile business travelers can access various Cingular-enabled wireless e-mail solutions as Cingular Xpress Mail, Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, and Good Mobile Messaging from Good Technology, as well as e-mail from POP3 and IMAP accounts.

If you’ve lusted after a Treo and price is a consideration, you need go no further than the Treo 680.

SONY ERICSSON W810i

A slightly different path is taken by Sony Ericsson, with its line of Walkman phones.  The W810i is a small, candy bar form factor mobile that has a large, high resolution color display and a very clear, easy-to-use user interface.

Its design is reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite mobiles, the Sony Ericsson T610. The W810i allows the business traveler to take his own music with him, whether it’s from CDs or music stored on the computer. It supports MP3 and AAC formats.  You can also purchase new music from mobile operator specific over-the-air download services.   Music is controlled by the dedicated Walkman button (which sometimes can be inadvertently pushed, the only downside I found in testing the device).

The W810i also has a 2 megapixel camera built in, which is really good for a mobile phone (most still have 1.3 megapixel sensors at best).  You can share photos with your computer or other devices including Bluetooth-enabled printers using Bluetooth.

What impressed me most about the W810i is the form factor – it feels great in your hand and doesn’t take up much pocket space.  If you are listening to music and a call comes in, the music pauses.  You can also operate it in a music-only mode for air travel.  This is the only mobile in our review that isn’t a smart phone.  If you want a great phone and music for your business trips that will work in 190 countries, look no further.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.