Blackberries and iPhones are meant to help workers manage their workload by giving them access to messages and alerts while away from the office.

But people become so obsessive about checking their email accounts and social networking sites that they actually become more stressed as a result, researchers said.

Some are so hooked to their devices that they even begin to experience “phantom” vibrations where they mistakenly believe their phone is buzzing in their pocket, it was claimed.

Balding’s team came to this conclusion after following the smartphone use of a relatively small group of 100 volunteers in a variety of professions and then measuring their stress levels. Anxiousness wasn’t linked to the participants’ profession, the researchers found, but instead to the amount of their smartphone use. The psychologists concluded that checking our phones stresses us out and the more stressed we become the more compelled we feel to check our phones, creating a vicious cycle of addiction and stress.

Simply switching off is the best solution, according to Balding, who urges managers to get on top of the problem:

Organizations will not flourish if their employees are stressed, irrespective of the source of stress, so it is in their interest to encourage their employees to switch their phones off; cut the number of work emails sent out of hours, and reduce people’s temptation to check their devices.

This is a similar conclusion to an analysis of iPass survey data on mobile workers done by another British academic a short time ago, which argued organizations need to help their employees police the boundaries between work and life and create space for genuine downtime.

Honestly, as a manager of mobile workers, are you trying to prevent smartphone overuse or pushing your staff towards it?

Image courtesy of Flickr user Menage a Moi.

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Here are some of the latest and greatest apps I’ve found to help me connect with others, find places to go and document and share my experience.

1. SXSW Go. This is the official SXSW app, which helps to track the multitude of sessions and events you can attend.
2. Plancast. Announce your plans, such as the conferences or events you are planning to attend. Then search for plans, people or categories of events through this app and see where your friends are going. Check out the Unofficial SXSW Events Guide.
3. GroupMe. Create a private text chat room by grouping people in your contact list. Handy for making plans amongst friends and acquaintances to meet up at a conference. Other similar text grouping apps include Beluga and TextPlus.
4. Yobongo. This app runs on the premise that you may want to chat with others based on proximity and may need help breaking the ice to get a conversation started in real time.
5. Hashable. Track the people you are meeting with and introducing to one another using this app to help build your network and augment your address book with key information about your relationships with others.
6. Hurricane Party. With this app, you can specify your location and the time and tap into your contacts to bring people together. Personally, I may use this app to let folks know where I’m having lunch within walking distance of the convention center to invite them over to join me.
7. Liquidspace. This app identifies possible work locations nearby and can issue you with a “visa” for your Liquidspace “passport” to book and access those work spaces. Spaces can free or fee-based and can include empty work cubicles or board rooms at nearby offices; meeting rooms at hotels; backrooms at restaurants, or any underutilized work-ready space. The company behind the app provides the owners of these spaces with tools to manage space inventory including bookings. If you’re at SXSW, look for the workspace in a bus renovated by Steelcase/Turnstone.
8. Paperlinks. I’m embracing the QR Code trend with new business cards courtesy of Paperlinks. I’m also investing $250/year for the custom mobile destination site where my cards lead. See my earlier post on Paperlinks for more details.
9. Retrollect. Remember View-Masters? This app lets you upload, save and view photos in a similar way. I’ll also use my favorite storytelling photo app Whrrl, Instagram, and I’ll check in now and then on Foursquare.
10. Geoloqi. If all this location sharing has you freaked out, this app allows for private, real-time sharing of location data. You can leave “Geonotes” at locations where you’ve been, be notified if your friends are close by or share GPS maps of your locations only with people you know.

For more on useful mobile apps for conferences, check out my post from last year and my toolkit at OneForty.

What apps are on your smartphone for SXSW and upcoming conferences?

Photo courtesy stock.xchng user bvdwiel.

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As I frame my view of where mobile is going, I can’t avoid starting with some numbers I just saw in Seth Weintraub’s post in Fortune about Android.

Globally, market intelligence firm IDC counted 269.6 million smartphones sold this year, compared to the 173.5 million units shipped in 2009.

In 2011, we might see half a billion phones sold worldwide. Smartphones will likely blow by traditional computers next year as the way most of the world gains access to the Internet.

If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will.

Are you thinking about mobile yet? And if so, how are you thinking about it? Let’s plant our feet firmly on the ground and talk about how you should be thinking about mobile. Here are some guiding thoughts:

1. Don’t think product; think platform. People are excited about devices and apps: that is, products. As a marketer, you need to look at devices and apps as platforms for communication, conversation, conversion; pick your “C” word. Develop your app or apps with that broader concept in mind. Look to integrate mobile into your current marketing mix as a new communications and marketing platform. Don’t try to sell a product now; you can add sales later.

2. Leverage the ubiquity. Smartphones — and more recently, iPads and other tablets — are becoming essential tools. Their ubiquity is going to be unprecedented. We love these devices even more than our laptops. We are bringing them into places and situations we never imagined. There’s an intimacy, a necessity, that these devices are engendering in us. Whether that’s good, bad, or indifferent, it’s our new reality. So, as a marketer, how can you leverage this intensely personal, can’t-live-with0ut-it feeling smartphones generate? How can you be present on these devices in a way that’s meaningful, useful, and purposeful? How can your app be indispensable? Don’t think, “I want to create a cool app.” Think, “I want to solve real problems, offer real solutions, create a must-have feature” for your audiences’ mobile device. Create something essential.

3. Put goals in the driver’s seat. Don’t go crazy and forget the fundamentals of business and marketing. We saw companies forget these when they first went on the Web. They thought that they could spend a lot of money to build a website, and all their business problems would be solved. We have seen similar madness with people getting on Facebook and Twitter without any sense of why they should be there, who they are trying to reach, and what they are trying to get their friends, fans and followers to do — other than “buy our product” or “do business with us.” Without a clear plan and strategy, mobile will become this new year’s huge time and money suck.

Mobile can be a new platform for building brand loyalty, stimulating traffic, and enhancing interaction. Eventually, sooner than we think, mobile will drive sales. If you’re going to “go mobile,” make sure that your efforts are framed by clear and attainable goals.

What will be your mobile strategy in 2011?

This post was inspired by Fred Wilson and his post The Smartphone Explosion which references Seth Weintraub’s post in Fortune about Android.

Image by sxc.hu user mrceviz

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Even though having a phone is an important part of my job as a remote worker, the value of an always-on, constant tether to the office isn’t really as great as one might expect, especially when that device connects me not only to work, but also to almost limitless possibilities for procrastination, diversion and play.

It seems that play is by far the most popular thing people use smartphone apps for. A recent Nielsen survey found that 60 percent of apps downloaded are games. Productivity apps? Way down the list, at around 26 percent. And while a quarter of all apps downloaded seems like a fairly big chunk, I have to question what types of apps fall under the blanket category of “Productivity” (Emoji Plus and Better Christmas List are close to the top in the iOS App Store bestseller list for that type of app, for example) and how often those apps actually get used once downloaded (I’ve downloaded at least six to-do list apps in the past three months, and opened them maybe a dozen times combined).

So if charting project timelines isn’t what most people are doing with their devices, then what is? Taking pictures. The most common activity by far for cellphone owners in general is snapping photos, with 76 percent of respondents in a recent Pew poll sharing that task in common. Just 29 percent ever use an app at all, let alone a productivity one.

Even as an email device, a smartphone is quite limited. If I receive an email that requires instant response, I’ll send one out, but usually it’ll be a quick message to let the sender know I’ve seen what they have to show me, and I’ll wait till I get to a computer to either respond at length or act on the content of the message. Sometimes having received the email will make me seek out a computer faster, but a vast majority of the time it won’t.

I pay more attention to Twitter because I have a smartphone. Is that a productive pursuit? In a strict sense, no, but in a broad sense, it does help further my work. But again, most of the time real engagement waits for the desktop, when I can track down links and access real resources with ease. If I’m checking out Twitter on my iPhone, I’m mostly just killing time or uploading a picture I just took.

James Kwak argues that all a BlackBerry really does is act as a totem of mythical efficiency. After four years of lived experience, I’m inclined to agree. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be getting rid of my iPhone anytime soon. Didn’t you hear? A new version of Angry Birds just came out.

Is smartphone productivity a myth?

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It’s becoming standard practice for most robust project management and collaboration tools to at least offer a mobile- optimized version of their website so you can check up on what’s happening, no matter where you and your phone are. Many also have full-fledged mobile applications that make it possible to keep your systems constantly up-to-date.

What’s particularly good on one mobile device may not be so user-friendly on another, which may be worth considering if you’re still searching for the right tools for your organization. If you’re particularly devoted to a certain mobile platform, you’ll want to be sure that there’s a great mobile app for your collaboration tools available for it. These four apps are each great for what they do.

1. Outpost (iPhone): If you’re a Basecamp user, Outpost can make a world of difference. It turns Basecamp into an application that is native to both the iPhone and the iPad, making it much easier to use while on the go. With Outpost, you can have all the functionality of Basecamp on your phone.
2. Nozbe (iPhone): Based on the Getting Things Done (GTD) system, Nozbe offers both task management and collaboration tools that are simple to use. You can see at a glance what your own next actions should be, as well as keep track of what the rest of your team is up to. It is worthwhile having a working knowledge of the GTD approach before you dive into Nozbe.
3. Project Schedule (Android): For project managers who rely on robust tools like Gantt charts, Project Schedule puts a lot of power in your pocket. It allows you to handle scheduling right from your phone, as well as receive notifications (text, sound, text-to-speech or vibration) as you need them.
4. Mobile Project Manager (BlackBerry): While you’re out and about, you can create projects and plan them on your BlackBerry if you have Mobile Project Manager installed. The app will save your data in a format that can be read by Microsoft Project, and you can also bring your Microsoft Project files over to your phone.

Your choice of mobile platform may dictate how you manage your projects: there may or may not be a mobile application available for your project management tool, or even a mobile version of a web application. Of course, there are always options beyond using a mobile device (such as hauling around the laptop and looking for a wireless connection). But  for many teams, having mobile access to see what’s going on with a project is invaluable.

Which project management apps do you use on your mobile device?

Image courtesy Flickr user Mr T in DC

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stock.xchng by bigevil600

While I don’t have a crystal ball, here are some developments that I think are worthy of our attention and will affect how we do things in the social mediasphere over the next few years. Many of the things on this list will not be news to the very well-informed social media consultant types who live and breathe this stuff. But for the rest of us, there are seeds of opportunity here that should not be missed.

1. MySpace: CEO Leaves; MySpace will die. Last year, I was telling my clients “We are cautiously optimistic that MySpace (GigaOM Pro company profile) will make a comeback because their new CEO is a Facebook co-founder.” Scratch that. I think MySpace is about to go the way of Friendster, although it is still a player in the entertainment space. Because Facebook doesn’t allow flexbility and customization, I’m going to miss MySpace. But now I wonder: Who is going to be the next MySpace? Virb? Bebo? (And don’t underestimate LinkedIn.)
2. Virtual Goods: Insane, but insanely popular. The creation and selling of virtual goods and gifts makes absolutely no sense to people who just use the Internet as a basic communications tool. Try telling someone who isn’t really into Facebook that they could buy a virtual bouquet of flowers for 99 cents and send them to a friend — they’d look at you like you were mad. But with virtual goods as an industry already raking in the billions of dollars worldwide and over a billion in the U.S. alone (source: “Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market, 2009 – 2010″), how can anyone ignore them? I’m not saying everyone needs to make and use virtual goods, but there is opportunity here for both marketing and revenue. Have you even thought about how you might be able to leverage virtual goods? Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): How the Next Zynga Could Reinvent Social Gaming
3. Gaming: Not just for kids anymore. I think the very fact that the largest player base of passive online games is women flies in the face of the typical view that games are for kids. According to Nielsen Entertainment in August 2009, of the 117 million active gamers in the U.S., 56 percent play games online and 64 percent of those online gamers are female. And the revenues generated from online games is enormous and growing. Do not underestimate the power of games and gaming — and not just the marketing and revenue opportunities, but also the learning opportunities as well in the form of fun quizzes and polls. Have you used gaming yet in a social media marketing campaign?
4. Twitter: Still transforming communications. Back in 2008, I wrote about Twitter’s impact on the fundamental ways we communicate and the way new tools and applications are being developed, but it continues to grow and evolve. How has Twitter helped you lately?
5. Niche networks: A marketer’s secret weapon. Whether you choose Ning.com or KickApps or any of the other “white label” customizable social network-building platforms, the concept of creating a “gated”online community that is narrow in focus is smart and potentially powerful. The concept isn’t really that far removed from hosting an online messaging board in the early days of the web. If you held the keys to the gate of a more private, closed or niche community, you had everything from an instant focus group to a band of passionate buzz agents on your hands — if you knew how to properly leverage the community participation. Fast forward to today and the tools ca now give your members integrated communications, networking, publishing and social tools — brilliant. What niche networks are you participating in or do you run?
6. Augmented reality. Sounds sci-fi, but it’s really here. I’m having a hard time describing Augmented Reality to people who haven’t seen it (if you haven’t seen it in action, these infographics from GigaOM might help). The reaction isn’t just “what in the world?” but “who cares about that stuff?” AR uses simply boggle the mind, and I plan to explore more of that in this column soon. I do wish we had a better term for it, though (like “data overlay” or “overscreen view”) so it didn’t have such a sci-fi feel to it. What potential uses for AR are getting you fired up? Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Augmented Reality: Lots of Promise, Lots of Hurdles.
7. Google Buzz: Pay attention, even if you don’t care. I am one of the gazillion people who currently do not care about Google Buzz, apart from the fact that just because Google did this it means something in terms of the tools we’ll be using in the coming years. Right now, I feel like Google has the means to just throw tech spaghetti on the virtual walls of our work and lives to see what sticks. Anything it does has major significance and impact, even if it fails. So pay attention as you scratch your head. How is Google Buzz changing the way you communicate, or is it? Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Google Buzz’s True Home Is in the Enterprise
8. Mobile: Be there. I don’t know about you, but I consider my iPhone to be a mini computer and Wi-Fi device first and phone a distant second. I’m never normally an early early adopter because I’m too busy to keep up most of the time, but I will be one of the first to buy the iPad, because it looks to me like a bigger iPhone, and I rely on my iPhone in ways I have never relied on my computer or my regular cell phone. My entire concept of connectivity and my access to everything has changed so dramatically since I got a smartphone that I know I can never go back to the old ways. What forays into mobile marketing are on your radar for 2010? Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes

I could also add the concept of location to this list, but I’ll leave that for another column.

What developments in social media are knocking your socks off?

Photo by stock.xchng user bigevil600

Blackberry Pearl Flip

Editor’s note: With this post we welcome Rachel Murray to the WebWorkerDaily team. Rachel has been building web sites for more than 10 years, and currently manages the online presence of a nonprofit in the Boston area.

I’ve only made the transition from a “regular” mobile phone to a smartphone recently. I had been able to hold off up until now, but then the trusty Razr that I had for three glorious years just gave up on me. After a heart-to-heart with the sales rep at T-Mobile, “we” agreed that perhaps I should try the BlackBerry Pearl Flip for the new contract price of $50 (as opposed to the Razr for $20). I didn’t want to be a slave to yet another device, but he showed it to me, and it actually looked like a regular phone.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is like a secret smartphone. I think that’s why I like it so much. Here are some other reasons the Pearl Flip makes a great transition smartphone:

1. If you’re used to flip phones, you’ll love the comfort of the flip.
2. The design makes it more comfortable to hold than the comparatively bulky iPhone.
3. It handles email brilliantly, and multiple email accounts are no problem.
4. Basic functions are a snap to use: texting, adding/editing contacts, taking photos are all pretty straightforward.
5. The keyboard and trackball are surprisingly intuitive for me as a new Blackberry user.
6. The apps are decent…not mind-blowing, but decent. The NYTimes app is excellent for news in a pinch, and Google Maps is great as well. The UI of BlackBerry AppWorld is not as satisfactory as Apple’s App Store, but it’s still good enough for me.

As a new BlackBerry user, I have to admit it’s not all sunshine and roses. There are still so many things to learn about it yet, but I’m fine with that. When I’m ready to make the step up as a power user, I’m sure the Flip will help me get there.

Have you tried the BlackBerry Pearl Flip?

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Photo by scriptingnews

Conferences and events: For most events, using a laptop or phone falls within the boundaries of acceptable behavior. We use our devices to take notes, blog or tweet about the event, and keep up with our email and other work during these events. Possible exceptions to this rule could be where the event is small and intimate, or where most of the attendees are not computer-savvy and so someone typing on a laptop might seem out of place.

Company meetings: In this case, it depends on the company or the situation. In several of the technology companies where I have worked in the past, everyone brought laptops to meetings and used them to take notes or keep up with important emails during the breaks. In some companies, you might find that laptops are only acceptable in meetings where they are absolutely required: Bringing your devices to these meetings would likely be frowned upon. It also is usually inappropriate to bring your devices to very small meetings with only a couple of people.

Client meetings: You should expect to keep your laptop closed and your phone put away during important meetings with clients (you know, those people who pay you to do stuff for them). This was the biggest adjustment for me when I became a freelance consultant. I’d spent years working at technology companies where I could always open the laptop to take notes or add items to my task list. I had to (gasp!) start carrying a pad of paper and a pen to use for my notes during client meetings. Exceptions can be made when you need to show the client something, or if you need to take a lot of notes (first ask if they mind if you take notes on your laptop).

Important meetings: For important meetings with executives, interviews or other critical meetings, play it safe and keep the devices put away. You don’t want to blow a great opportunity by doing something silly.

Social settings: It depends. When I am hanging out with my techie friends, it isn’t unusual for over half of us to be sitting with computers or our phones while also engaging in conversation. However, with other friends, the devices stay put away. In general, take your cues from the other people in the room to decide whether you should be texting or reading email.

These are some of the things that I think about when deciding whether or not to open the laptop or pull my phone out of my pocket. As you can see, there are no hard-and-fast rules, and I have probably made a few mistakes with my own device usage. I like to be connected, and I probably push the limits of acceptable behavior in most cases.

Where do you draw the line between acceptable and rude behavior with your electronic devices?

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Believe me, I went into this with a sufficiently condescending attitude. There was no way I was going to say anything nice about this App Store wannabe, especially not in front of my two cousins, both of whom work for RIM. And I was justly rewarded when I had some trouble installing The Hockey News on my very first attempt. But other than that one minor hiccup, installing and running apps went surprisingly smoothly.

And then I realized why everyone doesn’t instantly fall in love with the iPhone. Having never owned another smartphone (although I did have a couple Palm PDAs back in the day), I’d just assumed that the many kinks that come along with the iPhone, specifically those surrounding not being able to run apps in the background, and the need to power cycle whenever you install to ensure proper functioning, were just part of the territory. It’s also hard to find the good apps.

Aside from the first issue with The Hockey News app, every other app installed and ran fine on the BlackBerry. They just worked. They ran in the background, they supported copy and paste, and I didn’t have to restart every time I purchased one. It’s true that if I’d wanted to download any paid apps I’d have to have a PayPal account, which isn’t ideal, but there were plenty of free apps that covered my needs.

With App World, a BlackBerry suddenly becomes a much more web worker-friendly device. With neither the bugs nor the potential to distract of the the iPhone, RIM’s lineup of smartphones now seem to me to be the route to take if you’re looking for a straight-up productivity aid. Which isn’t to say I’m switching anytime soon, but the iPhone is an integral part of my professional life for other reasons.

What do you think about BlackBerry App World? Has it influenced your choice of smartphone? If you’re already a BlackBerry user, do you find the new store has helped your online work? If you’re not, has it given you reason to consider switching?

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This certainly tallies with my experience since owning an iPhone, in that I’m far more likely to only tote my phone and not bring my laptop if all I need to do is keep an eye on emails and a few feeds. While at a conference, especially, I’d far rather not be lugging around a notebook when I can keep up to date via email, Twitter and RSS on my phone. Having to carry it around all day is one thing, but also the point of a conference, for me, is to get out and connect with people, something that’s much harder to do if I’m stuck behind my notebook screen, tapping away.

Unfortunately, I can’t use my iPhone as a general-purpose mobile device for doing “real” work: the screen is too small and the keyboard is inadequate for large amounts of typing. So I’m not ready to drop my notebook altogether just yet. But in situations where all I need to do is stay up to date, answer a few emails or maybe catch up on a little reading (via the excellent Instapaper app for the iPhone), say while on a train journey or at a conference, it’s great to be free of having to lug my notebook everywhere — something that I couldn’t have imagined just a couple of short years ago. Maybe in a few years smartphones will have gotten so good that I won’t need to bring a notebook with me at all.

Have you noticed that better smartphones mean that you don’t need to carry your notebook with you as much?

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As a Canadian I have been in the fortunate position of having experienced a BlackBerry Bold since its launch on Rogers in late August.

It’s not simply a new smartphone or “replacement” for an older BlackBerry. The Bold, finally available at AT&T, is a game changer when it comes to not only exchanging information but also its role in both your personal and business life.

So what drives this new mobile life?

The BlackBerry Bold’s screen must be seen to truly appreciate how stunning it is. As I worked with emails, web pages, Google Maps, Twitter and other applications, the screen’s text fonts and photo and video renderings “grow” on you. For example, Wall Street Journal for Mobile and New York Times have a quality that extends their renowned website visual branding as a quality publication to the BlackBerry. Crisp, often small, fonts and vibrant colors make the reading experience just as good as, if not easier than, a newspaper. Google Maps satellite views distinguish buildings while showing street names in small, yet sharp, fonts.

The most important game changing feature of the display is the half-VGA display resolution.

It means you can follow most web pages without horizontal scrolling. It eliminates the constant urge to boot up a laptop while on the road to keep current with not only email but also time sensitive documents, Skype chat sessions via iSkoot and Twitter message streams as well as blog activity and news.

Combining the enhanced keyboard with BlackBerry’s reputation for robust, secure and reliable email is just the start. Entries for Twitter feeds, document editing, instant messaging, website URLs and application purchases at the CrackBerry.com application store all benefit from the speed and accuracy associated with having a keyboard. The trackball pointer is a valuable assistant for precisely accessing text insertion points; a magnifier icon assists zooming.

But two way communications is more that text and media exchange. During recent neighborhood cable outages, I was able to access a daily one hour Calliflower conference call via iSkoot and its support for Skype-based calling with the only cost being local wireless minutes. I quickly realized that it was actually more convenient to have the device mobility when interrupted by activities that took me away from my desk.

The Bold’s 3G mobile connectivity is complemented by its support for WiFi when in an accessible WiFi zone. It means faster download of web pages and multimedia, eliminating or reducing buffering of streaming video, such as available on YouTube.

One example demonstrates the power of the combination of display quality, connection speed and processor performance. Previously I mentioned the quality of Google Maps satellite views; however, recently Google Maps Street View became available for the BlackBerry (for U.S. locations only). Stroll down a street or rotate about an address, the Bold’s connectivity and processor come into play for downloading and rendering the resulting images. The result is not only high quality images of the surrounding buildings and scenery but also rapid image updating with minimum pixelating as you move about.

The Bold also includes a media player supporting both stereo audio and video; its support of microSD memory cards allows easy memory upgrades as your media collection builds. Music can be synchronized from iTunes via BlackBerry MediaSync. During a recent flight I was able to transcribe an interview, recorded from a Skype call as an MP3 file via Pamela (and added to iTunes), where the Bold’s trackball pointer provided the required precision to easily access and replay segments of the interview with an accuracy no touch screen can approach.

So what’s the downside?

While the display provides the ability to keep up with much more information than via email exchanges, the browser still needs some work to come up to the quality of the iPhone browsing experience. But it never prevented me from executing time sensitive work activity. While the Bold readily switches between WiFi and 3G when entering and leaving registered WiFi access points, registering those WiFi access points is not quite the single step stress-free iPhone process.

There are many features left to try out; I am constantly downloading applications and shortcuts. But the overall experience is best summed up by a business professional aquaintance who, after six weeks with the Bold, reported that “I’m beginning to think my Bold is more powerful than my notebook.” A sentiment I started to feel during a recent trip to California where all these factors came into play and I found I was ignoring my laptop, yet keeping fully current. But BlackBerry Bold is a device you have to see to truly appreciate its full potential.

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We at WWD haven’t said much about it because none of our team has had a chance to play with one yet. Our co-workers on the network have gotten their review units and posted initial impressions. We’ll have more on the phone as it applies to productivity and web working, but in the meantime, check out these early hands-on reviews.

The Google Phone Review: What I Love & Hate About T-Mobile G-1

This isn’t an iPhone competitor. If you look at it, you can very quickly see that G-1 is a Honda to iPhone’s BMW. After a few days of usage I have become increasingly convinced that for people who like the Apple iPhone, will find Google-based G-1 aesthetically lacking.

Despite some misgivings, Om says:

Most people who use Windows XP or Vista for their daily computing will find Google Android user interface remarkably familiar and find comfort using this device. In other words, it will sell a lot of units. And yes it is going to become a thorn in Windows Mobile’s side.

Meanwhile, jkOnTheRun has an indepth picture tour.

T-Mobile G1, a hands-on introduction to the first Android phone

…as good as the base functionality is in the phone, it’s the third party applications that will truly set the device apart. Sure, there’s great integration with Google services, but what consumers see after that will help or hurt the success of Android devices.

What do you think, web workers? Should we focus on the device when it’s more widely available? Will you use it for work/productivity?

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E-mail and Web for Smartphone is different than Verizon’s previous data plan because it doesn’t include access to enterprise e-mail systems such as Microsoft Exchange.  To use this plan, you must have a Verizon Wireless SMT5800, Verizon Wireless XV6800, or a Motorola Q9M.

I have long thought wireless carriers’ data access plans are way too expensive, this new price is more in the realm of a reasonable offering.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• A 2011 Mobile Forecast
• Mobile Overview, Q2 2010