PDA+Research

=FYI: How the servers work at HU (in case Carl asks about servers). . .=

My first question was related to understanding how Moodle interacted with the other servers in the university. I understood that we would link out to another server called Citrix when we wanted to use certain software through the University. I wanted to know how all of this integrated. From the top to the bottom: Harrisburg University uses four blade servers to host all of the data that the University uses. These slim machines look very similar in size to a flat cable box. On top of the blade servers sit 12 smaller thin virtual servers. Virtual servers do not hold large quantities of data, but rather tell the blade servers what to do with the data. The virtual servers act similar to a software application, but are self-contained in their own encased hardware. Virtual servers are very powerful and can serve many computers at once. Moodle is an open source virtual server that can run on an open source “My Sequel” virtual server; however the University needed something a little more robust. Harrisburg University uses Microsoft sequel virtual server to cluster the virtual servers, a feature that My Sequel does not carry. Clustering with micro sequel helps keep things rolling if there is a system breakdown. The University has two mirror Moodle virtual severs and if one of them breaks down, the other automatically kicks in. This also comes in handy when system upgrades or maintenance comes into play. Having the backup server has reduced incidents of blackouts and enables the students to be able to access their online resources 24 hours a day. All of this complicated technology is managed by a virtual machine management system. The management system, automatically redirects user requests to the appropriate virtual server. The Citrix virtual server, for example, manages the software licenses by delegating them to the students on a first come, first serve basis. The virtual machine management system also backs up all of the data every night.

Based on Angela's research and all the searching I did - here are price breakdowns for both the phones and Apps.
Here are the iPod for Business resources: @https://www.wireless.att.com/business/iphone/ http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/resources/


 * || **Blackberry Torch9800** || **iPhone4 16GB** ||
 * 2-year contract price for phone || $199.99 (before discount) || $199.99 ||
 * Voice Plan (unlimited minutes) || $89.99 with unlimited text || $69.99 ||
 * Data Plan (unlimited web) || $29.99 || $55.00 also includes 1500 text messages ||
 * Business Discount for 5+ Plans || 8% || 8% ||
 * Activation Fee || $35.00 || $36.00 ||
 * Monthly Cost (without fees, taxes, etc) || $110.38 || $114.99 ||
 * Monthly Cost (without fees, taxes, etc) || $110.38 || $114.99 ||

=__ BUSINESS USES FOR PDA __=

Research results from Angela:

Phone recommendations from Jessica Lusk at ATT:  Black berry torch 9800 Blackberry Curve 8310  Blackberry Bold 9000  HTC Surround   LG Quantum  // (The 8310 is an older model, not sure why she recommended it) // Angie's Pick for ATT



Black Berry Torch 9800 Features

** Touchscreen ** 3.2" High Resolution 480x360 pixel color display with slide-out QWERTY keyboard and optical trackpad ** Web Browser ** Full HTML tabbed browser for "PC-like" Web browsing with tabbed browsing for access to multiple web pages at the same time and pinch-to-zoom capability  ** Email and IM ** BlackBerry Enterprise Servicer for corporate email, BlackBerry Internet Service for personal email, and Mobile Instant Messaging  ** Messaging ** Next-generation messaging including group messaging for up to 10 people and locations  ** Social Networking ** One view of all your favorite sites such as Facebook®, Twitter™, and MySpace®  ** Operating System ** BlackBerry 6 OS with integrated search and new UI  ** Music and Video ** AT&T Music, PrimeTime2Go video-on-demand application, YouTube podcast, video capture, playback and streaming, 3.5 mm headset jack ** Media Synch ** iTunes, Windows Media® Player DRM-Free music, photos and videos on the go from your computer to your BlackBerry. Sync from your home computer music library to your BlackBerry wirelessly over Wi-Fi. ** Wireless Technology ** UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6) GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz ** Memory ** 512 MB RAM + 512 MB Flash + 4 GB Flash + 4 GB MicroSD ** Dimensions Weight ** 161.1 g. (H X W X D) 111 x 62 x 14.6 mm ** Battery ** 1300 mAHr Lithium cell <span style="display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 260px;">** Talk Time ** GSM: 5.5 hrs UMTS: 5.8 hrs

GSM: 17 days UMTS: 13 days
 * Standby time **

<span style="display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 260px;">** Camera ** 5 MP autofocus flash camera with video and scenes

<span style="display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 260px;">** BLUETOOTH® 2.1 ** with A2DP Stereo <span style="display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 260px;">** Wi-Fi ** 802.11b/g/n and AT&T Hot Spots for Wi-Fi access at over 20,000 locations <span style="display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 260px;">** 3G ** Broadband data speeds on the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network

Hello,

Right now just base on the information you have given me. We could set uo 50 lines with 30,000 minutes, unlimited text, and 2 GB of data for each smart phone for about $3658.51. I'm terms of phones I was thinking we could either set them up with window phones which are $99 or black berry phones which range from $49-$199. Again these are rough estimates. If there is any other information I can get to you please let me know.

Thank you,

Jessica Lusk

Business Sales Professional AT&T Mobility (800) 342-3212 x 268269 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Jessica_lusk@attmobility.suth. com available Mon.-Fri. 12pm-9pm EST

excellent resource for understanding wireless networking in a company

[]

T-mobile should be ruled out for this area because the reception is horrific. In fact, my Aunt works for t-mobile and her phone was useless for GPS, she had to buy a separate one while she was here. I am still trying to get some pricing.

Features we would want for our phone: Smartphone Google calender Presentation capacity Mobile office Video output GPS Blue tooth internet in house network

Blackberry 9650
 * Angie's Verizon Pick**

<span style="font: bold 14px arial,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Key Features
<span style="display: block; float: left; font-family: arial,sans-serif; margin-right: 25px; width: 140px;"> <span style="display: block; float: left; font-family: arial,sans-serif; width: 140px;"> <span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Requires a data package.]
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Mobile Broadband Capable] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">Connect to the Internet using one of our wireless devices or Mobile Broadband capable wireless devices connected to your laptop.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Visual Voice Mail] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">An option that allows you to read voice messages as text. See and delete messages without placing a call. Enjoy the simplicity of checking your voice mail in a visual format.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Push to Talk] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">Push to Talk is a walkie-talkie / two-way radio type of service that provides simple communication with the touch of a button. A quick, convenient option to stay in touch with callers you contact frequently.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|V CAST Media Manager Desktop App] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">Organize and manage your pictures, videos, and music on your phone and computer with V CAST Media Manager.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|VZ Navigator] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">VZ NavigatorSM is an advanced navigation system on your mobile phone providing voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions; local search of millions of points of interest in the U.S.; and detailed color maps that can be quickly panned and zoomed.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Skype Mobile] <span style="display: block; font: 12px/15px arial,sans-serif; left: -1000em; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 250px; z-index: 2000;">Put the planet in your pocket. With Skype mobile get unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and IM with anyone, anywhere in the world.


 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Full Retail Price ** || <span style="display: block; float: right; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">$509.99 ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">2-Year Contract ** || <span style="display: block; float: right; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">$199.99 ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Online Discount ** || <span style="display: block; float: right; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">-$100.00 ** ||
 * PRICE || $99.99 ||

<span class="disclaimerText" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; font-weight: normal;">with 2yr activation per phone
 * <span style="color: #0066cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">[|Buy the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Get One FREE!] **

<span class="promoText" style="color: #ff0000; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em;">**Includes Free Shipping**

Verizon is a pain to get business pricing from. We will have to go with retail pricing unless you have better luck talking them into helping us out. However, I did get a chicken bone from Christopher Spurlock at Verizon.

Phones are same price as online. Except business customers can get a $150 credit per smartphone and $75 per reg. 8% discount on plans up to 99 lines. 100 - 499 10%

http://b2b.vzw.com/ productsservices/ businesscallingplans/ nationwideshareplan.html - heres the pricing. add $29.99 to each smartphone for internet. Then subtract the 8 or 10%

<span class="promoText" style="color: #ff0000; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em;">**Verizon Business plan**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; border-top-color: #cccccc; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; clear: both; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"> OR
 * || [[image:verizon_business_shareplan.jpg]] ||

>> Coverage not available everywhere. Airtime charges apply. >> Get the latest news, sports, weather and more.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px; padding: 0px;">Unlimited Business Plan per phone includes:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">No Domestic Roaming or Long-Distance Charges **
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mobile Web **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;">1 **
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Get Unlimited Messaging with our Talk & Text Calling Plans<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;">2 ** || [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/unlimited_talk_text_table.jpg height="92" align="center" caption="Unlimited Talk & Text Plan"]] ||

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Enterprise IT applications are complex and often have unique requirements that drive the need for customized solutions for wireless endpoints. The Verizon Wireless private network and flexible fixed-end connectivity solutions (FES) help customers manage complex enterprise IT applications with additional security. <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Traffic segregation with FES helps reduce security risks resulting from unprotected public networks and access through public gateways. It supports IPSec to enhance security measures, and is compatible with most VPN technologies, as well as the Verizon Business MPLS network. || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Examples of mobile endpoint deployments include:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">The Verizon Wireless private network offers a wide variety of benefits that help enterprise customers improve their connectivity experience. Traffic segregation helps improve overall enterprise network performance by bypassing poor network conditions and unpredictable performance behavior of public network elements of the Internet.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">It provides a variety of benefits that help enterprise customers ensure revenue-generating operations have the connectivity required, including:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Traffic segregated from the public Internet increases security by preventing port scans onto the public IP address, which impacts performance and creates overages.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Multiple connectivity options can extend private IP traffic separation across the wireless access loop.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Provides primary and back-up connections for notebooks, desktop PCs, routers, and telemetry devices.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Verizon hosted connectivity and IP addressing options simplify network management operations
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Supports mobile or at-home workforce, and mobile and temporary locations.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Allows anytime access in most locations to enterprise applications with reduced complexity via a private connection from the wireless device to fixed enterprise locations. || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Enterprise applications that use IP-based protocols like TCP/IP or UDP can take advantage of the Verizon Wireless private network. These include:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Sales force automation, field force automation, and customer relationship management (CRM) applications.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Telematics and telemetry applications, such as automated meter reading, alarm monitoring, vehicle management information systems, automatic vehicle location, and ATMs.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Migrations from legacy networks. Applications that are currently running on networks that may no longer be supported, such as CDPD.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Applications that need increased bandwidth to support new features and added functionality**<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">. **
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Mobile applications:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Wireless notebook access
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Public safety—police car or emergency vehicle terminal

>> >>
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Telemetry:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ATM/kiosk (primary and back-up connection)
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Machine to machine (utilities or meter reading)

>>>> >>>> || <span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Note: the Verizon Wireless private network is available only to Corporate Subscribers. Private network functionality requires a dedicated connection between the Verizon Wireless network and Customer’s data network and is available only in the National Enhanced Services Rate and Coverage Area (Customer using Mobile IP may have coverage throughout the Extended National Enhanced Services Rate and Coverage Area). Customers using customer-hosted Static IP must provide a certified proxy server configured according to Verizon Wireless network requirements. Verizon Wireless may require Customer to submit its proxy server for certification by our authorized representative at Customer’s expense. Private network pricing above does not include dedicated facilities connection or proxy server configuration fees. Deployment of a Private Network requires customers participation for end to end testing and assuming the customer is available after all Verizon tasks are complete, expect the following implementation timeframes: VPN or FES (dependant upon FES circuit availability) solutions 4 weeks, Private IP wireless access (MPLS) 6 weeks and Managed WAN 7
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Primary and back-up remote office connections:
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Businesses using a wireless router that needs a primary or back-up broadband connection to the enterprise network
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/private_network_internet_protocol.jpg height="221" align="center"]] ||

<span style="background-color: transparent; background-position: 50% 100%; border-left-color: #d1d1d1; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: #d1d1d1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 9px; padding-right: 9px; padding-top: 1px;"> <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Private IP customers expect native routing and any-to-any connectivity regardless of access method. Dynamic Mobile Network Routing (DMNR) meets this need by providing bidirectional wireless data sessions without Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels. Unsolicited traffic to applications behind a wireless router is directed to the appropriate device because the wireless router’s LAN subnets are advertised into the Verizon Business Private IP cloud. This allows for: <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Around the clock, help-desk-to-help-desk support is provided. As downtime can impact revenue, Verizon Wireless provides 24/7 support to its private network customers, staffed by experienced professionals who are capable of resolving complex issues
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Reduced complexity, scalability concerns, cost, and management.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Private enterprise networking. Different enterprises may use overlapping LAN subnets attached to the CPE routers.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Enterprises having full control over the allocation of the LAN and wide area network (WAN) addresses of the wireless routers within their private VPNs.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dynamic distribution of Mobile IPv4-based network mobility (NEMO) routes within the enterprise VPN.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Support for a full spectrum of enterprise application protocols.


 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/usb_720.jpg height="84" caption="USB 720"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mobile Broadband Devices ** || Mobile Broadband capable devices include PCMCIA card, ExpressCard®, and USB form factors. ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/01_netbook.jpg height="74" caption="Built-In Mobile Broadband"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mobile Broadband Built-In Notebooks ** || Mobile Broadband capable laptops from manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, and more. ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/htc_incredible.jpg height="107" caption="Smartphones"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Smartphones<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">1 ** || Verizon Wireless Smartphones ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/vzw_meatball.JPG height="88" caption="Rule The Air"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Embedded Modems ** || Verizon Wireless approved embedded modems from manufacturers like Cisco 3G-CDMA-HWIC, Digi International, AirLink, BlueTree, JBM, Linksys, Kyocera, and more. ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/01_netbook.jpg height="74" caption="Built-In Mobile Broadband"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mobile Broadband Built-In Notebooks ** || Mobile Broadband capable laptops from manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, and more. ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/htc_incredible.jpg height="107" caption="Smartphones"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Smartphones<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">1 ** || Verizon Wireless Smartphones ||
 * [[image:http://b2b.vzw.com/assets/images/vzw_meatball.JPG height="88" caption="Rule The Air"]] || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Embedded Modems ** || Verizon Wireless approved embedded modems from manufacturers like Cisco 3G-CDMA-HWIC, Digi International, AirLink, BlueTree, JBM, Linksys, Kyocera, and more. ||


 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Options ** || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Benefit ** || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Consideration ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">VPN ** || * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Low Cost
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Security
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Redundant
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Not all VPN vendors are supported
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">VPN ** || * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Low Cost
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Security
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Redundant
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Not all VPN vendors are supported

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">E-AAA connectivity not supported

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">BGP routing

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">IP Sec/GRE tunneling required ||
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Point-to-Point circuit such as a T1 ** || * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Security
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Full routing control
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Private network redundancy through dual frame-relay configuration to different Verizon Wireless locations
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">BGP routing

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">IP Sec/GRE tunneling required

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Verizon Wireless strongly suggests that customers implement access control policies to protect their networks ||
 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Private IP wireless access (MPLS) ** || * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Security
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Leverages existing enterprise network topology, maximizing application flexibility, and potential for seamless diversity;
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Direct, meshed connectivity to all enterprise locations via a single private network.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Delivers business continuity
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Extends enterprise WAN infrastructure
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Private network redundancy through second Private IP wireless gateway
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Verizon Business Management
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">BGP routing

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Customer AAA proxy server not supported on the same MPLS connections

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Requires separate FES connection between customer's AAA proxy server and Verizon Wireless proxy server

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px;">Dynamic Mobile Network Routing currently not supported for managed version ||




 * **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Type of Address ** || **<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Benefit ** ||
 * Dynamic IP || Enables the home agent to assign a random address from a generally available pool provided by enterprise customers to mobile endpoints. ||
 * Static IP - Customer Hosted (via own AAA server) || Allows mobile endpoint to maintain the same IP address every time it connects to the home agent.
 * Dynamic IP || Enables the home agent to assign a random address from a generally available pool provided by enterprise customers to mobile endpoints. ||
 * Static IP - Customer Hosted (via own AAA server) || Allows mobile endpoint to maintain the same IP address every time it connects to the home agent.

Customers are able to support their own IP addressing management by using their own in-house proxy servers. ||
 * Static IP - Verizon Wireless Hosted || Allows mobile endpoint to maintain the same IP address every time it connects to the home agent.

Verizon Wireless hosts customer IP pools to provide static capability. ||
 * Static IP - Verizon Business Hosted || Allows mobile endpoint to maintain the same IP address every time it connects to the home agent.

Customers are able to support their own IP addressing management by using their own in-house proxy servers. ||
 * Set-up fee without Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || **<span style="color: #d8001d; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">$500 ** ||
 * Set-up fee with Dynamic Mobile Network Routing || **<span style="color: #d8001d; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">$750 ** ||
 * Add Dynamic Mobile Network Routing to existing private network || **<span style="color: #d8001d; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">$250 ** ||

Has a very basic [|buying guide video] to get beginners started. Compares design, multi-media features, call features and memory storage. Also compares additional features, but all products seem to be comparable in these areas.

Directly quoted from [|toptenreviews.com] "As a busy person, you know the importance of staying a step ahead of your clients and your family. You probably know the feeling of being tied to your desk or home so as not to miss that important email or phone call and to maintain convenient access to essential data—proposals, schedules, contact information, <span style="background-color: transparent! important; background-image: none; border-bottom: darkgreen 0.07em solid; color: darkgreen! important; font-size: 100%! important; font-weight: normal! important; padding-bottom: 1px! important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline! important;">business news or the stock market. However, thousands have newfound freedom using PDA-style **smartphones** designed for business (and fun). These cellular devices trace their roots back to the personal digital assistant or PDA. Originally used as businessperson’s right hand to track important client information, project statuses, and task lists, these devices have evolved into an everyman’s (and woman’s) tool.These cellular devices are much more than just cell phones; they provide instant access to the web . Whether you’re researching news to predict the stock market or looking for the perfect golf course on the weekend, you’ll find it on the net.Many of these devices allow you to sync with your desktop computer . This means you can store, view, and work on documents directly on your handheld. You can also receive and respond to emails as they arrive in your inbox on your home computer with real-time push email.These produces can also serve as multimedia devices, so your entertainment goes with you. They can store and display pictures and videos of friends and family and even entire feature-length movies. Most can take pictures and capture video, but the most common multimedia function is the ability to play MP3s—sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite tunes while traveling or during breaks.Another perk of using one of these devices is the fairly recent development of third-party applications (or apps). These apps range from those geared toward hardworking business tasks to entertaining games and everything in between. With thousands of apps available to download in a range of <span style="background-color: transparent! important; background-image: none; border-bottom: darkgreen 0.07em solid; color: darkgreen! important; font-size: 100%! important; font-weight: normal! important; padding-bottom: 1px! important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline! important;">prices, there’s sure to be something that will appeal.In this site, you'll find [|articles on smartphones], comprehensive reviews and a side-by-side comparison that will help you make an informed decision on which smartphone is right for you. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™

=What to Look for in a Smartphone for Business= In the past, business people were easily identifiable—they carried large briefcases, binder planners and perhaps a brick cell phone. The scene has changed and so has the way we conduct life and business. One of these devices stores important data and documents, offers a calendar planner, provides instant access to the internet and email and keeps you in touch with clients, coworkers, friends and family – anytime and anywhere.Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate these cellular devices. **Design**Size and weight, along with screen size and resolution, make a difference in the display and handling of these devices.**Multimedia**The best business cell phones have at least a 2 megapixel camera with zoom features and the ability to play and record audio and video. These cell phones act as life management devices and include organizational features like calendars and task lists. Most sync with home computers allowing for document viewing and editing.**Call Features/Quality**The foundation of business is communication, and these product's first function is as a cellular phone. These devices for business should include all typical cell phone features including speakerphone, three-way calling, voice dialing, call waiting, e tc.**Memory/Storage**The most practical products are compact, include good input and display options, and enough battery life to last through a full day’s work and beyond.**Additional Features**Many cellular devices include practical tools like calculators, map applications and GPS. Some have the ability to support third-party or browser-based programs that can perform a variety of specific functions. Third-party apps are becoming a key component, allowing the user to customize their phones to support their lifestyles."

=**OUR LIST OF REQUIRED FUNCTIONS:**=
 * Increase productivity by using:
 * phone calls (including speakephone)
 * conference calls and call forwarding
 * texting (forum discussion style)
 * contact lists and client information
 * maps/GPS
 * calendar
 * scheduling
 * email
 * task lists
 * access to contracts/data
 * Internet enabled
 * record and watch video demos
 * demo to customers via video
 * camera
 * note taking
 * memory card slot for expandable memory
 * Sync to desktop at office
 * store, view and "work on" documents
 * scan business cards
 * as-needed access to job aids, learning content (text, audio and video)

=__PDA COMPARISONS__= This information is from [|consumerresearch.com]DIRECT QUOTATION FROM SITEPDAs: What To Look For Updated February 2009 "PDAs have now become mainly a niche product for business users who essentially need a pocket-sized laptop computer for tracking shipments, managing business contacts and appointments, and tracking personnel or medical patients. Smartphones, including the iPhone, have pretty much completely taken over, and for the most part, buying a smartphone is less expensive. PDAs still fill a niche for those who need heavy document and spreadsheet work but can't carry a laptop.Here's what experts say to consider when shopping for a PDA: Related Searches Tmobile PDAs PhoneMobile Phone GPSSmartphonePDA
 * **Get the most memory you can afford.** The average is 64 MB to 128 MB these days. Be sure to note the distinction between the total memory (for running applications, etc.) and the memory that is actually available for your files. Except for the most basic models, you can also add memory with SD cards or other removable media. Keep in mind that MP3 and multimedia files take up much more storage space than contact information. It's also important to check if your PDA has non-volatile memory, otherwise you may lose data if the battery runs down.

 =
 * **Decide if dual functionality is important.** The main selling point of some models is their ability to double as a video player, MP3 player, GPS navigator and/or voice recorder. If you have ambitious plans for your PDA, it may be worth investing in one of these multifunction models, with the understanding that every additional feature will cost extra money.
 * **Decide how often you need Internet access.** Most PDAs let you read e-mail offline, after you've downloaded your messages from your home or office PC. Models with Wi-Fi can connect to your home wireless network or at wireless hot spots. PDAs with Bluetooth can connect short-range to other Bluetooth devices, and if you have a Bluetooth-enabled phone, you can use it to connect to the Internet."

= =__SOCIAL MEDIA APPS__= ===Here's a link to numerous free social media apps which may/may not have value for our business. I don't think we'll know until we define our business. []===

=__BUSINESS APPS__= =__Top 10 iPhone Apps for SMBs under $10__=

[|This article has some good suggestions.]I don't understand enough about iPhone contracts for SMBs to know if these can be built into a contract of it businesses purchase these separately.


 * SMBs = small and medium businesses**

Following is a directly quoted (as shown by italics) but edited/shortened version of the info from the article

//__**1. QuickOffice Mobile Office Suite**__ **($9.99)**// //create, edit and open Microsoft Office files; access remote content; share files; manage and transfer files over WiFi with iPhone. includes many of QuickOffice’s solutions, including QuickOffice Connect, QuickWord and Quicksheet.// //__**2. Dropbox**__ **(FREE)**// //best way to sync and share files across multiple phones or computers. Users create a Dropbox folder and fill it with documents, photos, videos, music files and more. The folder is automatically synced with the Dropbox folder on other computers and on your iPhone. best way to share files & collaborate with others. Easy and free way to consolidate all business documents for access to all files at all times, whether on iPhone or business laptop. QuickOffice Mobile Office Suite is integrated with Dropbox (//**Amount of free storage is pretty big but still has a limit.)**
 * NOTE: I (Nancy) have a Dropbox account and it's a great way to backup your files. If you waht your own account see me because I can increase my free storage by making referrals, and once you have an account you will be able to do that too.**

//__**3. Bento**__ **($4.99)**// //Manage contacts, bills, projects; 25 pre-made templates to customize what they need to get organized; integrates with other iPhone apps so users can easy call a contact, view a website or send an email through Bento.// //__**4. A Pocket Scanner**__ **($0.99)**// //Scan documents, books and more with your iPhone’s camera; The scanned files are instantly transformed into black and white PDF files. Take documents on the go or quickly copy files so you have access to them at all times with your iPhone. A Pocket Scanner’s document manager even allows you to copy, paste, cut, delete and rename the files.// //__**5. Print n Share**__ **($8.99)**// //view, store and print emails, documents, photos or any other files from their iPhone. Users can print directly to WiFi printers or other printers over 3G.// //__**6. Roambi**__ **(Basic: FREE; Pro: $99/year)**// //create mobile dashboards from reports and spreadsheets; access, store and manage all business documents on this application. With the Pro version, create SAP Crystal Reports or use Microsoft Reporting Services.// //__**7. GetPaid**__ **(Basic: FREE; Pro: $4.99)**// //Invoices and billing; work time, creates time sheets and instantly creates advanced invoices. built-in calculator, the ability to transform invoices into PDF documents and it backs up all data. View graphs of your income//

//__**8. WebEx Meeting Center**__ **(FREE)**// //Schedule and attend meetings// //__**9. Xpense Tracker**__ **($4.99)**// //expense tracking; record all expenses, sort expenses into categories,upload receipts by using the iPhone’s camera to take pictures;separate expenses by client.// //**__10. Recorder__ ($0.99)**// //Record outgoing calls so you can always refer to them in the future. Users can pause the recordings, email them, WiFi sync recordings and playback recordings. Record calls for liability or record purposes.//

=GoogleApps for Your Business: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly=

Entrepreneur.com reviews[| GoogleApps] from many angles. Gotta love (or hate) the what's to love/hate comments

Following is a directly quoted (as shown by italics) but edited/shortened version of the info from the article. The editing takes away from the writier's entertaining style. **Read the whole thing for a great example of an engaging, informative, opinionated review.**
 * FAVORITES:**

//**Google Apps Gmail** // //** What's to love:** The cornerstone of any small-business venture, Google Apps Gmail supports your company's URL and looks the same from any web browser or mobile device. Employees have complete remote access, and the system requires them to log in to do their work, for total accountability. Gmail conversations are "threaded," unlike most desktop e-mail clients, which means e-mails are grouped by similar subject lines, making it simpler to track intricate, multi-party exchanges.// //**What's to hate:** complicated logging in and managing various e-mail identities ;employees often have trouble telling whether they're logged in to the company's virtual e-mail system or their own personal Gmail account; ad-supported content. many businesses will be wary about opening their private company e-mails to marketers.// //**Productivity factor:** Tremendous.//

//**Google Apps Calendar** // //** What's to love:** common platform to schedule appointments and events throughout your entire business in real time. It lets assistants schedule executives' appointments from a remote location, and it lets your clients update meetings as they need to--again, as it happens. e-mail invitations that include a button to respond. When employees indicate they will attend, automatically adds the shared meeting to your schedule and theirs. It also lets you merge employees' calendars with yours in order to manage your whole team's time with a bird's-eye view.// //**What's to hate:** Like Apps Gmail, Calendar can be confusing and complex; Also, managing permissions and privacy has been difficult in our testing. And, of course, different people manage their schedules in different ways. Be warned: Integration with Outlook is futile.// //**Productivity factor:** There's no other tool out there like it. The scheduling features alone are a must-have for small businesses. Just don't ask it to do too much.// //**Google Docs** // //**What's to love:** collaborative word-processing features, let multiple parties make revisions simultaneously, are a revelation for any fast-moving creative team. Real-time chat and comments put the group's feedback right on the page, and changes are saved automatically and often// //**What's to hate:** will not replace Microsoft Word or OpenOffice when it comes to producing slick, professional-looking documents. More troubling, connectivity can still be an issue, a scary prospect when Docs freezes up in the middle of saving a document. And forget about using the wildly unreliable e-mail attachments and publish-to-web features; both can be unstable.// //**Productivity factor:** Docs rocks. It's simply the best collaborative work tool on the market--and you can't beat the price.//

//**Google AdWords** // //**Google Pack** // //**What's to love:** the first thing you should download when you get a new computer. a free starter office suite: the Google Chrome browser, Google Apps, and Spyware Doctor and Anti-Virus, among other Google software, along with third-party applications such as Adobe Reader and Skype.// //**What's to hate:** Not much, really.// //**Productivity factor:** Easy to install and efficient, it's a great way to get Google-ized fast.// //**Google Presentations** // //**What's to love** stored online, can be updated on the road, great for finding data in real time. relatively easy to insert basic images and videos. Publishing your finished product on the web or embedding it in a website is instantaneous, making it easy to reach a worldwide audience in a flash.// //**What's to hate:** does not have the same level of features as PowerPoint. you can open PowerPoint files of up to 10MB, the transliteration can be way clunky. Text boxes have feeble updating features, and sometimes the layouts get skewed.// //**Productivity factor:** PowerPoint 2010 has nothing to worry about.// //**Google Sites** // //**What's to love:**; drag-and-drop website development tool; exist within your branded Google Apps domain and are easily edited by employees, with permissions set from the main account. integrates information from other Google Apps programs well, making it a breeze to organize Google Docs, Spreadsheets and deadlines from Calendar, along with Gmail messages relevant to the matter at hand.// //**What's to hate:** many other ways to develop a more effective public web space, namely Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.// //**Productivity factor:** clumsy for the tech-inexperienced small shop.// //**Google Voice** // //**What's to love:** This is an attempt to reinvent telephony with the one-phone-number concept, complemented by plenty of bells and whistles. When a customer calls your Google Voice number, they get a recording while it pings your registered numbers to find you or sends it immediately to voicemail. Voice also offers transcription, message sharing, multiple personalized greetings and some spiffy international calling.// //**What's to hate:** tinkering with inbound business calls to loop in a Google-branded automated operator can be a ticklish business proposition. And there have been quality issues for international calling and transcription.// //**Productivity factor:** Not much.//
 * //NOT SO GREAT://**

//**Google Wave/Google Buzz** // //**What's to love:**// //medium-agnostic sharing tool that lets users create real-time content in the cloud as if there was no web browser. And Buzz brings social media to Google's arsenal of products by letting users collect ideas, clips, photos and videos online and share them among a group where everyone can comment on them. Both are simply fabulous technology.// //**What's to hate:** Such cutting-edge tools and most small businesses simply don't have the time or resources to train their people effectively.// //**Productivity factor:** For Google Apps experts only.//


 * AWFUL TOOLS**

//**Google Spreadsheets** // //**What's to love:** basic spreadsheet functions and some pretty cool tricks Nice features include an autofill function that lets you avoid having to retype the same terms over and over, the ability to drag columns to new locations, and a streamlined copy feature that makes duplicates in one click.// //**What's to hate:** downright lumbering compared to Excel, Data entry can be annoyingly buggy; lines will sometimes disappear without warning. And freezing and unfreezing panes is needlessly complicated.// //**Productivity factor:** None.//

//Great Tools// //**Google Apps Gmail** // //** What's to love:** The cornerstone of any small-business venture, Google Apps Gmail supports your company's URL and looks the same from any web browser or mobile device. For example, it instantly turns even an iPod Touch into a work portal. Plus, Gmail has plenty of room for every employee's work e-mail, with 25 GB of storage per user (with a paid Apps account). Employees have complete remote access, and the system requires them to log in to do their work, for total accountability. Gmail conversations are "threaded," unlike most desktop e-mail clients, which means e-mails are grouped by similar subject lines, making it simpler to track intricate, multi-party exchanges.// //**What's to hate:** Google's approach to logging in and managing various e-mail identities is needlessly complicated. Worse, employees often have trouble telling whether they're logged in to the company's virtual e-mail system or their own personal Gmail account. Also, be prepared to be bombarded by ad-supported content. Text ads are Google's main business, so you're pretty much always looking at them. Some may be relevant, but many businesses will be wary about opening their private company e-mails to marketers, even if anonymously.// //**Productivity factor:** Tremendous. If you're not using a Google Apps Gmail account in tandem with Microsoft Outlook, you're either a newbie or a fool. But be forewarned: It's not a complete substitute for Outlook.// //**Google Apps Calendar** // //** What's to love:** Apps Calendar creates a common platform on which to schedule appointments and events throughout your entire business in real time. It lets assistants schedule executives' appointments from a remote location, and it lets your clients update meetings as they need to--again, as it happens. Quite simply, when it comes to group events, it's the scheduling tool of the gods--it even generates e-mail invitations that include a button to respond. When employees indicate they will attend, Apps Calendar automatically adds the shared meeting to your schedule and theirs. It also lets you merge employees' calendars with yours in order to manage your whole team's time with a bird's-eye view.// //**What's to hate:** Like Apps Gmail, Calendar can be confusing and complex; managing Calendar Settings is the devil's work. And you can expect to deploy another project management app like Smartsheet or LiquidPlanner to really make scheduling work. Also, managing permissions and privacy has been difficult in our testing. And, of course, different people manage their schedules in different ways. Be warned: Integration with Outlook is futile.// //**Productivity factor:** There's no other tool out there like it. The scheduling features alone are a must-have for small businesses. Just don't ask it to do too much.// //**Google Docs** // //** What's to love:** Google Docs gained the most in the recent Google Apps rebuild, which solved most previous problems regarding connectivity and collaboration. Offline content creation can actually work. Its collaborative word-processing features, which let multiple parties make revisions simultaneously, are a revelation for any fast-moving creative team. Suddenly, creating a proposal or a presentation is an almost-weightless task. Forget writer's block: Real-time chat and comments put the group's feedback right on the page, and changes are saved automatically and often. You'll never look at writing or editing the same way again.// //**What's to hate:** As cool as it is, Google Docs will not replace Microsoft Word or OpenOffice when it comes to producing slick, professional-looking documents. More troubling, connectivity can still be an issue, a scary prospect when Docs freezes up in the middle of saving a document. And forget about using the wildly unreliable e-mail attachments and publish-to-web features; both can be unstable.// //**Productivity factor:** Docs rocks. It's simply the best collaborative work tool on the market--and you can't beat the price.// //**Google AdWords** // //** What's to love:** Though technically not part of Google Apps, AdWords still is an integral part of any growing business's basic marketing strategy. It forces a firm to boil its value proposition down to a sentence and makes you responsible for how you follow up on leads from your website.// //**What's to hate:** Don't spend more than $100 a month without the help of an online-search-term pro, or you're going to burn money fast. AdWords is much trickier than it appears. Also, competitors such as Facebook and Twitter are breathing down the online ad market leader's neck. So this market is changing fast.// //**Productivity factor:** AdWords can really work, but be careful not to overspend.// //**Google Pack** // //** What's to love:** This is our sleeper pick for Google products that also work for the small business--and the first thing you should download when you get a new computer. Google Pack is a free starter office suite that contains the Google Chrome browser, Google Apps, and Spyware Doctor and Anti-Virus, among other Google software, along with third-party applications such as Adobe Reader and Skype.// //**What's to hate:** Not much, really. Yes, this is a clear promotional vehicle for Google. But it is handy and gets you up and productive in just a few clicks. Surprisingly cool.// //**Productivity factor:** Easy to install and efficient, it's a great way to get Google-ized fast.// //Not-so-great Tools//

//**Google Presentations** // //** What's to love:** Because they're stored online, presentations can be updated on the road, and it's great for finding data in real time. Presentations also makes it relatively easy to insert basic images and videos. A template library gets you up to speed quickly, and the sharing feature lets you collect and share team feedback quickly, keeping everyone on the same page, literally. Publishing your finished product on the web or embedding it in a website is instantaneous, making it easy to reach a worldwide audience in a flash.// //**What's to hate:** Google Presentations simply does not have the same level of features as PowerPoint. And for PPoint heads, this will drive you nuts. Design features are limited. And while you can open PowerPoint files of up to 10MB, the transliteration can be way clunky. Text boxes have feeble updating features, and sometimes the layouts get skewed. And be prepared to bone up on your web coding skills to get Presentations working smoothly, especially when working with multiple browsers.// //**Productivity factor:** PowerPoint 2010 has nothing to worry about.// //**Google Sites** // //** What's to love:** This drag-and-drop website development tool is useful to anybody who struggles with building team-based websites that work inside your business. If you are a Wiki shop building an internal site, or are struggling with Microsoft SharePoint, Sites will save you a ton of time and money. These websites all exist within your branded Google Apps domain and are easily edited by employees, with permissions set from the main account. It also integrates information from other Google Apps programs well, making it a breeze to organize Google Docs, Spreadsheets and deadlines from Calendar, along with Gmail messages relevant to the matter at hand.// //**What's to hate:** Despite its flexibility, there are many other ways to develop a more effective public web space, namely Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Small businesses might find Sites overly complex and just not worth the bother.// //**Productivity factor:** Don't throw away your web development tools quite yet. Google Sites can be clumsy for the tech-inexperienced small shop.// //**Google Voice** // //** What's to love:** This is an attempt to reinvent telephony with the one-phone-number concept, complemented by plenty of bells and whistles. When a customer calls your Google Voice number, they get a recording while it pings your registered numbers to find you or sends it immediately to voicemail. Voice also offers transcription, message sharing, multiple personalized greetings and some spiffy international calling.// //**What's to hate:** Clearly, this is a whole lot of technology looking for a problem to solve. The ritual of business phone usage remains one of the inviolate aspects of business life. So tinkering with inbound business calls to loop in a Google-branded automated operator can be a ticklish business proposition. And there have been quality issues for international calling and transcription. The novelty can get old fast.// //**Productivity factor:** Not much. Your customers mastered the phone 120 years ago. They're not about to change their habits now.// //**Google Wave/Google Buzz** // //** What's to love:** Wave is Google's attempt to create a medium-agnostic sharing tool that lets users create real-time content in the cloud as if there was no web browser. And Buzz brings social media to Google's arsenal of products by letting users collect ideas, clips, photos and videos online and share them among a group where everyone can comment on them. Both are simply fabulous technology.// //**What's to hate:** Such cutting-edge tools require teams that understand exactly how they work; most small businesses simply don't have the time or resources to train their people effectively.// //**Productivity factor:** For Google Apps experts only.//

//Awful Tools//

//**Google Spreadsheets** // //** What's to love:** Not much. This is Google Apps' major disappointment. Sure, you get basic spreadsheet functions and some pretty cool tricks (such as real-time updates of web data and automatic compatibility with Excel and any .xls or .cls file), but little else here impresses. Nice features include an autofill function that lets you avoid having to retype the same terms over and over, the ability to drag columns to new locations, and a streamlined copy feature that makes duplicates in one click.// //**What's to hate:** Turns out collaborating on spreadsheets isn't the holy grail some thought it was. After all, most small companies want only one or two employees managing their accounting or its sales. Also, Google Spreadsheets is downright lumbering compared to Excel, perhaps Microsoft Office's best program, particularly when running in 64-bit environments. Data entry in Google Spreadsheets can be annoyingly buggy; lines will sometimes disappear without warning. And freezing and unfreezing panes is needlessly complicated. Fans of Microsoft Excel, prepare to be disappointed.// //**Productivity factor:** None. Excel has nothing to worry about.//

=Some Phone Apps that PC World likes=

PC World lists [|top 10 apps for business.]I guess some of them are kind of gimmicky. There are a few that could be useful.. I don't know if they are within the scope of this project because they seem to be able to be attached to any iPhone by the user and wouldn't need to be part of a contract. But maybe it would be nice to see if the vendo that we choose has similar apps available.

turn your iPhone into a **[|presentation pointer]** and also allows you to use your iPhone touchpad as the keyboard for your PC (Windows or MAC)

[|LinkedIn for iPhones]

PC world says: "If you receive a Word document by email, the iPhone can read it but not edit it". [|Quick Office Connect Mobile Suite] is supposed to change that but it got some bad reviews. I think we need to be sure that our vendor's product allows us to edit Word documents

[|Timekeeping apps] help independent contractors record and maintain records of billable hours of multiple projects for different clients.

The [|Evernote] app lets you capture four types of notes: Text, snapshots that you take with your iPhone’s camera, photos already on your camera, and voice notes that you record from within the Evernote application. For iPhones.

=__SECURITY AND PDAs__= Washington Technology has an [|article that covers security concerns] for the government use of smartphones. Many of these are probably the same concens that any produent business should consider. They include:

//Use device passwords with a minimum length, defined complexity and frequent updates//

//Define any types of data which should be encrypted considering its sensitivity or prioritary level//

//Require timeouts sfter a user-defined period of inactivity//

//Prevent user changes to read-only parameters// It would save a lot of startup time and palnning if the service provider offered a selsection of IT policies from which administrators could select to customize the controls best suited to the business. Employers should keep in mind that multiple advanced security tools and requirements such as those required by some government agencies are not only expensive but can drain battery power at a rapid rate.


 * Balance between usability and a secure enviroment seems to be the key.**