BYRACHEL SPENCE

KATHLEEN SPONSELLERALAN STALEY

SCOTT SUTTON

Time to Leave the Laptop Behind

Introduction:

Shift from using laptops on the road to Smart Phones

Smart Phones have handle nearly every chore business travelers need to do like checking inventory levels

Laptops are used for “heavy-duty” computing like creating Power Point presentations

Some do all of their mobile work from Smart Phones

Carry On Larger screens and

keyboards on laptops will remain superior to Smart Phones

Simple jobs like note-taking are tedious on Smart Phones

Firms warn against relying entirely on Smart Phones

In a survey of 1,402 technology users, only 3% of Smart Phone users said they rely exclusively on it when traveling

Slimming Down

Surveys show people leaning toward more smart phone use

Change is result of Apple’s iPhoneUsing laptops for presentations and using

smart phones for everything elseSoftware available for store sensitive

business information on smart phones

Shows shipments of smart phones compared to laptops

Pole Postion

Verizon Communicatoins Inc. of New York started testing BlackBerry smart phones

Verizon field technicians used onlineTechnicians did those same chores on laptopsVerizon is Phasing out the-- eight-pound

Panasonic Toughbooks that are "ruggedized" to withstand shocks

AWKWARD !!!Technicians raved about five-ounce BlackBerrys.12,000 of Verizon's field technicians over to

BlackBerrys

The first-year costs of a BlackBerry under $1,300

Compared to $3,500 in first-year costs for a laptop with wireless service

Replacing a lost or damaged BlackBerry costs about $129

Compared with more than $2,000 for the laptops

BlackBerry is more efficient, too.

BlackBerrys, are "always on“

Business users, smart phones offer another advantage

So what’s next for smart phones?

Microsoft is starting to come out with ports that let users connect the devices to digital projectors through a cable for giving presentations.

Palm Inc. developed a “mobile companion” product called Foleo. It is a laptop size keyboard and screen for mobile phones. This product is currently shelved but might be released someday.

Celio Corp. offers a product called the Redfly. This has been a very successful product.

Change in Computers

Hardware makers are creating slimmer, smaller classes of computers that are getting closer to the size of smart phones. Ultramobile PCs (UMPC) like Asustek Computer Inc.’s

Eee PC Mobile Internet Devices (MID) like Nokia Corp.’s

N800 Internet tablet

These are both about the size of a small paperback book.

Jim Malloy

VP of sales for Miyachi Unitek Corp.Japanese manufacturer of welding and other

industrial equipment.Believes the distinction between laptops and

smart phones will get less clear.“Laptops seem to be getting smaller and

smaller,” says Mr. Malloy. “Smart phones are getting bigger and bigger. There's a melding or mixing happening.”

Conclusion

Laptops are still a very important part of the business world today, however smart phones are starting to take the role of laptops and are much more accessible.

It is expected to see laptops and smart phones become more like each other as time goes on.