Mobile Working Experiences

Small business seems to the flavour of the moment - or maybe vendors are finally waking up to the fact that 4 million+ potential customers represent a major opportunity in the current climate. I can't imagine that the banking sector is going to continue to be the cash cow that vendors have milked in previous years!

BT have joined forces with NatWest and Every Woman(?) to promote Small Business Week 2008 starting 13th October - BT promoting their 'one stop' solution for IT and communications needs!

http://www.sbw08.co.uk/

So with several different vendors jumping on the small business bandwagon - who do you reckon is best at meeting the needs of small business? and how does IT compare to other sectors? I hear NatWest mentioned frequently in conversations about small business customer service - has their local branch strategy paid off?

How about a Hall of Fame for small business suppliers?

That reknowned commentator on technology (?!) Marketing Week has published the following story on rumours that Google is set to announce at 3GSM a partnership with Dell to launch a Gphone.

The story lacks detail but it does raise the interesting prospect of a tie-up with Dell. Seems an unlikely partnership to me, Dell has been shy of any first mover initiatives in the past preferring to make money during market maturity. However, it may have been the relative failure of the Dell PDA product that has galvanised them into more proactive development in the mobile arena

I am far from convinced - much of the hype around Google's entry into the mobile handset sector seems to be hopeful rather than informed - but has anyone heard anything to substantiate this?

Story (for what it is worth!) can be found via the following link...
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=59407&d=254&h=260&f=3

Speaking to other users of mobile email devices that have been provided by their employer, I have come across more than a few cases of users who have decided to disable the mobile email functionality or even return the device to their boss. Generally these are not users who were clamouring for email on the move, rather they are users who were 'offered' a new company-supplied phone with email by their boss - claiming it would allow them to manage email more effectively. Subsequently they have found that rather than put them in control, they start to feel compelled to respond to emails more rapidly and at any time of day and night...

The sense seems to be that as more and more employees in companies start using mobile email it exponentially increases the volume of emails in circulation - and particularly outside office hours. HR depts and managers may broadly advocate a responsible approach to email use but all it takes is one or two users to start an email conversation (cc:ing others in..) and suddenly important work dialogue starts to take place outside working hours. There can be a sense that someone is 'missing out' if they do not get involved... It is certainly 'easier' and 'less intrusive' to send round an email at 10pm at night rather than call individuals - but should it be acceptable?

When Blackberries first appeared - the first wave of users seemed to be the senior managers who had a genuine need and who showed workaholic tendancies anyway. Now there are 12m blackberries (not including WM devices) in circulation worldwide and the % of employees using them is starting to creep up from perhaps, 5%, to 10%, 15% and further, what does that mean for business communications? More companies are also trying to manage the proliferation of SIMs by switching to offering staff a single device for voice and email rather than give the option of a phone and email device.

Personally, I am happy to use mobile email, I feel more reassured to know that I am not missing out on an important communication but I can see why some people could become obsessed by that little flashing light in the top corner of their BB.

Has anyone else noticed any kind of backlash to mobile email?

Any other views on whether a more responsible corporate attitude is required? or should users just apply common sense to how they make use of these devices?

Love it or hate it - Apple have certainly upped the ante in the race to be cool amongst mobile phones. Copycat (or better!) products from LG, HTC, Samsung and others seem to illustrate that the vendors are all focussing their efforts on developing smarter and cooler phones. Even Blackberry are looking at the consumer market with serious intent...

However as the phones get smarter and cooler they seem to be prone to be more complex and fragile. Are the manufacturers missing a trick in their R&D?

I have the dubious pleasure of sitting in on a lot of focus groups with mobile users and I am always surprised at how many users want and need a phone that is robust. For example - many still treasure their Nokia 6310s and go all nostalgic when they talk about its reliability. Even more importantly - many people who work in manual businesses need a phone that is robust so that it can survive the workplace. A garage mechanic who was given a free upgrade to an XDA by his supplier ruefully commented that it didn't look or work nearly as well when it had been dropped in a puddle of engine oil....

Many years ago - Panasonic launched their Toughbook range of laptops, at the time laptops were getting smaller, lighter and funkier -so a collective eyebrow was duly raised. They are now established as THE laptop to use for on the road engineers or anyone who needs the a robust machine - and they command a premium price!

I noticed that JCB have recently launched a toughphone in conjunction with a small mobile manufacturer- what a great brand extension! I only wonder why one of the manufacturers did not spot it first... which got me thinking whether they are all obsessed with style and reaching the hallowed top right corner of Charles and Rupert's Axis of Awesome!

Do you have a favourite phone from the past? Any views on the on-going reliability of new phones? Would you buy a rubberized phone capable of withstanding a few serious knocks and scrapes?

Very interesting to read on zdnet that Blackberry are launching a touch screen device in '08 signalling a renewed interest in the consumer market and potentially hotting up the iPhone race.

Of course, the Pearl was launched with a campaign also targeted at extending usage into the lucrative consumer space (remember the 'it would be a shame to use it just for business...' ads?). I may be mistaken but has anyone seen hordes of young, consumer-type users proudly showing off their BBs?

This leads me to question the wisdom of trying to launch another product to this market...

At its core - Blackberry is an excellent business device - it provides push email plus all the organiser functions a business person needs. It has the potential of offering mobilised applications as well (when these materialise). But let's face it - it has never been a sexy device, the early models were chunky and often worn in a frankly worrying belt holder. The later models are better but still lack any obvious coolness (except for the core function). Finally the brand- to me this is a classic business brand, up there with the Thinkpad, Tumi luggage, Mont Blanc, British Airways and hell, even the Economist.

Am I being unfair on Blackberry? I am sure there are examples of brands who manage to maintain a profitable business and consumer presence. However as the mobile email market reaches a critical phase of comeptition why mess with such a successful business model? Business users do have different needs from mobile devices, a quality keyboard, good battery life and robust design and OS. That is why I am not sure the iPhone has great business potential outside creative, media types who already use Powerbooks. Any expansion into consumer markets would need very careful management....

Am I mis-reading the approach? are there loads of consumers waiting for a BB?