WiFi Smart Phone - a road warrior's best friend

As a veteran road warrior I feel well qualified to comment on the WiFi smart phone and highlight the benefits of these amazing tools. Better than anything else they encapsulate for me the enormous shift in technology over the last decade.

Mobile technology has always been a weakness of mine. In the late 90's I would head for the airport carrying more electronic gadgetry than the space shuttle. My stuff included a mobile phone(s), affectionally known as "bricks," a so called "laptop," assorted wires, plugs, modems, chargers, adapters and power supplies. Last but not least there was the Palm Pilot PDA.

The Palm III was one of my more indulgent investments. It was expensive ($600-$700) and looked good, but that was about the sum of it. It was most useful as a prop when meetings became uncomfortably intense. One could break the concentration of half the room by pensively tapping a few notes on the screen.

I've still got the Palm III today. It still "looks" sleek and business like. Sadly it was poor investment. In fact I hardly ever used it for its intended purpose.

After the Palm III, I didn't bother with PDA's for over a decade. Laptops had become smaller and less of a burdensome. Cell phones could be synched with Outlook and contact management systems. The PDA was relegated to the bottom drawer.

So until quite recently my traveling tool bag contained only the essentials: a cell phone, laptop, writing pad and a few pens and pencils. Despite that I always yearned to leave the laptop bag at home. It was the discovery of the WiFi smart phone that helped me join the dots and learn to travel lighter.

The WiFi Smart Phone - a substitute for the Laptop

Unlike the early PDA's, smartphones with WiFi are actually useful. They are in fact capable of doing more than a laptop in many situations.

1. Voice communication - options include GSM, 3G, VoWiFi and VoIP.

2. Email - wherever and whenever.

3. Look up and retrieve contact details of customers and associates even when standing in the street.

4. Web browsing with a screen big enough to be adequate for casual use.

5. Download files and documents via GSM, WiFi or VoIP from a corporate server or the "cloud."

6. The technical term is Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC). For me it means staying in contact on the one number via the one device wherever I am. The answer is clearly a dual mode cell phone with some extra smarts.

7. Amusements: videos, music and games.

8. Integration with back office applications and business processes: sales force automation and customer relationship management systems.

Above all WiFi smart phones are about minimalism and efficiency, not to mention the comfort of traveling light. Within a few years I suspect that most business travelers will leave their laptops at home or the office and rely on a WiFi smart phone instead.

Looking for a WiFi smartphone? Check out the following:

Why Your Next Cell Phone Will be a WiFi Cell Phone

Belkin WiFi Phone: the good - the bad - the ugly

The WiFi PDA Phone - a field force automation tool

WiFi PDA Phone - is there a business case?

Skype for Business

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