- find my phone – An app that allows you to remotely lock, wipe, or locate your Windows Phone 7 if it’s ever lost or stolen. You can make the phone ring even if it’s set to silent or vibrate, and you can automatically restore information using online backup for contacts, calendar appointments, and notes.
- social media – One of the hubs makes it easy to quickly perform social networking tasks like tweeting or updating your Facebook.
- Email – The messaging center allows you to easily access other email accounts in addition to your Exchange-based mailbox.
- cloud based applications – The next big thing that allows cloud-based Office 365 from Microsoft to easily integrate into your daily routine on your mobile device.
Is Windows Phone 7 ready for SMB Prime Time?
Website design By BotEap.comIt’s hard to believe we’ve been in the mobile phone revolution for almost 20 years. I remember the “brick” I used in my first job in telecommunications in 1992, saying then that the cell phone would never be a mainstream device given the bulky size and high cost of the service. Of course, my initial assessment was wrong. Like the detractors who scoffed at Marconi’s radio and Edison’s light bulb, those who dismissed the cell phone saw it become a 21st-century staple. I think even the visionaries who created the initial technological breakthrough did not foresee how widespread and diverse their invention would become.
Website design By BotEap.comInitially, the entire world of cellular communications revolved around voice. If you needed to make a call and you were traveling, you wouldn’t have to stand in a phone booth (remember those?) with stacks of change or a “phone card” dialing up the minutes at an exorbitantly high rate. How convenient to be able to pick up your own phone and dial and be contacted at any number of places at any time. In the business world and in making deals, there was a lot of enthusiasm and justification for being the quickest to respond to customers. Wouldn’t a client be impressed if you answered them on the way to your son’s fourth grade recital? Of course they would, and you’d be different from the guy or girl who gets done at five o’clock and heads straight for happy hour.
Website design By BotEap.comAs time passed and technology advanced, it was inevitable that more features would be added. This is how text messaging was born, using a protocol called SMS or Short Message Service. Using a maximum of 160 characters, a cell phone user could send a short message to another user without dialing. The unexpected by-product was the evolution of an entirely new language that some call “textspeak”. If you don’t know what “cu 2nite?” or “143” (I love you) means you’ve been sitting at home with your rotary phone for too long.
Website design By BotEap.comWhile fast and extraordinarily popular with teens and tweens, text messaging isn’t as widely used for business applications. Being able to send and receive email is still the preferred written form of business communication, but it’s not always practical to connect to your Exchange server, Outlook via VPN, or Outlook Web Access. So it was inevitable that the mobile phone revolution would capture email as a legitimate use. One of the pioneering innovators in the space was Research In Motion (RIM), a Canada-based company that began producing BlackBerrys. Although often tagged with derisive terms like “CrackBerry” for its users’ complete and utterly fanatical attention to the devices, the lure of instant gratification and access soon had everyone else following suit.
Website design By BotEap.comAt first, Microsoft simply made it easy for BlackBerry users to connect to their corporate email with middleware for its pervasive Exchange platform. They even made it possible for Exchange to connect to its main rival’s mobile solution, Apple’s iPhone. However, connectivity was only the first step, as Microsoft made it easy to “send” email to devices without having to actively connect. In other words, Microsoft was responsible for that little “duh-DOO” tone that sent everyone checking their device to see if it was an email for them. So now hordes of mobile professionals can be reached by phone, text or email.
Website design By BotEap.comTo take a page from just about every infomercial ever produced, “But wait, there’s more!” As we saw more and more miniaturized chipsets with higher power, the potential to add even more to the mix was like gravity pulling on a parachutist. So the competition for “smart” phones was on. After RIM’s BlackBerry came the iPhone with Apple’s mobile operating system and, more recently, Google’s Android operating system. In the middle of it all was the logical entrant, Microsoft. After all, if you’re trying to make your Microsoft-based email and apps accessible on your mobile devices, why not build a mobile operating system that allows that to happen seamlessly? Thus Windows Mobile was born.
Website design By BotEap.comThe path traveled by the Microsoft development team was not always easy. In fact, the first versions were not well received, but in recent years the momentum has increased and Windows Phone 7 is the culmination of those efforts. As of late January 2011, Microsoft shipped 2 million Windows Phone 7 phones to carriers, but the sales numbers for that inventory are a mystery. With the number of app developers on the rise and sales soon to increase with the addition to the Verizon Wireless portfolio, what does Windows Phone 7 bring to the SMB table?
Website design By BotEap.comWhen looking at the operating system’s skill set, the Windows Phone 7 interface is the first thing that jumps out at you. The display screen features various “live tiles” of information for quick access and viewing. The screen area houses the information that many business users would first look for in applications like Outlook, Office, and SharePoint. Having information at your fingertips is only one part of the business device. There are several advanced features that stand out for businesses.