Mobile pros who juggle a variety of Bluetooth peripherals also will appreciate the upgrade to Bluetooth 2.0, with its ability to handle up to six peripherals. Additionally, Cingular is promising Push-to-Talk through a software upgrade for the 8525 in 2007, which is likely to generate interest from field-service techs.
ALL APPS FOR ALL PEOPLE
The key for any device platform is application availability, and the 8525 takes full advantage of the large community of independent software vendors offering enterprise and consumer apps for the Windows Mobile platform. The 8525 comes standard with mobile versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which let users view and edit Office documents. Most PDA phones provide this capability, though BlackBerry owners must purchase a third-party app to edit Office documents; many other Windows Mobile smartphones suffer a similar fate, with view, but not edit, capabilities. The added ability to open Adobe PDFs with ClearVue PDF ensures that users should be able to access most files they find in their inbox.
Speaking of inboxes, the 8525 comes with a variety of mobile e-mail apps aimed at enterprises and individuals. In addition to typical access to POP and IMAP servers, Cingular serves up Good Mobile Messaging and Xpress Mail, both popular options. As a Windows Mobile 5 device, the 8525 also supports Microsoft ActiveSync, so getting to your Exchange server shouldn't be an issue. The Microsoft Messaging and Security Feature Pack is pre-installed, so enterprises that are ready with Exchange Server 2003 SP2 can take advantage of Microsoft Direct Push, as well as added management capabilities, such as remote device wipe and device password enforcement. Although the Nokia E62 has a leg up on the 8525 with its BlackBerry Connect support, the 8525 should meet the mobile e-mail needs of most enterprises.
To demonstrate the 8525's capabilities in the field-services arena, Cingular gave us access to its Field Services Automation Solution, a work-order/service-management combo powered by software from Corrigo. It's a helpful app for service techs, with a mobile application and a Web-based interface, built-in workflow, ad hoc reporting and GPS integration for personnel tracking. Cingular isn't the only operator partnering to provide these types of applications; Verizon and Sprint Nextel also have third-party partners who provide these important real-world capabilities.
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