Business Mobile World

Despatch figures for May are now in and the Top 10 business mobile handsets have been compiled. Only three manufacturers have made it into the list and there are no surprises they are Nokia, RIM (BlackBerry) and Samsung.

The number one business mobile for May 2010 is the Samsung M110. This tough phone is ideal for hard workers being shock, water and dust proof. It returns to the top spot after a three month absence, although it never seems to leave the Top 10.

BlackBerry have three mobiles in the Top 10. The first is the BlackBerry Curve 8520 at number 2. Always popular due to the cost effective nature of the handset this one appeals to savvy business users.

Nokia occupy the next three places with solid talk and text phones being the 6303, 2330 and the 6300. Reliable business phones these have mass appeal for businesses of all types looking for no nonsense mobile phones.

At six is the BlackBerry 9700 (the new BlackBerry Bold), and seven is the Nokia E52, a business mobile smartphone. At eight is the Nokia 2700 and nine is the final BlackBerry in the list, the BlackBerry 8900 (the new BlackBerry curve). Rounding out the Top 10 is the Nokia 2730.

No surprises this month with many of the usual suspects making the list. Expect to see many of them return when next month's figures are announced.

Whilst Nokia always show up well in our Top 10 business mobile phone lists, April proved to be an even more successful month than usual for them with 6 entries, including all of the top 5!

At number 1 was the Nokia 1209. A no frills handset this one has not been seen before in any of our lists so it's a bit of a shock to see it go straight into the top spot. However fulfilling an order for a single large company can skew the figures a bit so don't expect it to retain its crown next month!

The Nokia 6303 shows up at number 2. Rarely out of the top 5 and the deposed number 1 business mobile handset from February and March. At 3 is the Nokia 2323 retaining its top 10 slot from March.

New entries at 4 and 5 for the Nokia E52 and Nokia 2600. And another Nokia E-series phone, the E55, rounds off the top 10.

In between are the usual suspects. Two BlackBerry phones in the form of the 8520 (6) and 8900 (9), the hard wearing Samsung M110 (7) and the Apple iPhone (all variants) at number 8.

No major surprises in the list overall in terms of manufacturers. Sony, LG and HTC are noticeable by their absences. May's top 10 business mobile phones will be provided here around the 2nd June.

It's been a while since we updated the latest business mobile phones available for business users. Here are some of the newest phones and "coming soon" handsets to give you an idea of the mobile technology currently available.

• Sony Ericsson Experia X10

The first obvious striking feature is the 4 inch touchscreen, one of the largest currently found on mobile phones. After that the internal features are just as impressive, including a 1Ghz processor, GPS, an 8mp camera, Android Operating System, up to 16GB storage, Wi-fi, 3G, bluetooth connectivity - it really is an impressive SmartPhone.

• Samsung Galaxy Portal

Also known as the i5700 and Spica. Not as impressively specced as the X10, but not as expensive either. 3.2 inch screen, 3.2mp camera, 800mhz processor, Android OS, GPS - it's still a pretty impressive phone with a relatively low price tag.

• Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two

Microsoft are the latest computer giant to get involved with mobile phones. As mobiles and computers converge, technology firms need to have a foot in both camps to try and ensure they are in the running when the next major development happens.

Due out in America in May, these handsets will likely come to the UK later in the year. Full specs are not yet available but they will both be utilising the latest Windows Phone operating system.

• Nokia N900

A side-slider with a 3.5 inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. 32GB storage, 5MP camera, Nokia's Maemo operating system, 600Mhz processor, GPS - another powerful SmartPhone.

All of these phones are/will be available at Business Mobile World. To get one for your business get in touch with us and we'll get you the best tariff currently available.

The latest business mobile despatch figures are in for March 2010. From these we have compiled a Top 10 business mobile phones.

No major surprises, the list is still very much dominated by Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry, with one notable exception (can you guess?).

At no 1 is the perennial favourite the Nokia 6303. The successor to the 6300 this stylish little handset does the job for most business users in terms of talk and text. Reliable and easy to use it is a solid business phone choice.

The second best seller is another old favourite, the BlackBerry Curve 8520. Keenly priced yet providing most of the necessary business features and legendary BlackBerry email. This is destined to be in our top 10 for a while yet.

Third place goes to the Nokia 2700. Another solid Nokia business handset. And similarly in fifth is the Nokia 2323.

By contrast, in fourth place we have our old friend the Apple iPhone. We have lumped together all of the different versions to give a single sales position.

Will it ever make number 1? Certainly there is plenty of demand for it amongst business users and if the price drops significantly this will see the major barrier to ownership disappear and we will certainly sell plenty more. The current price for the 3GS is just a bit too high for most business users to justify.

Sixth place goes to the durable Samsung M110. This tough phone continues to sell well with business users needing reliability and toughness. Two more standard Nokias occupy 7th and 8th in the form of the Nokia 6300 and Nokia 1208.

At 9th is a new entrant, never been seen before in the lists - the Samsung Tocco Lite. And finally completing the 10 is the Nokia 6600i.

The figures are in for February. Based on our despatch records these are the Top 10 most popular business mobiles:

At number 1 is the Nokia 6303. A good, solid business phone, great for calls and texts and keeping you organised. No frills but a reliable business tool.

Coming in at number 2 is the BlackBerry 8520. This budget BlackBerry remains popular as it can do the majority of functions that its bigger, more expensive stable mates can at a fraction of the price. Great entry level BlackBerry mobile phone.

At 3 is the Samsung M110. We call this the builders phone, or the tradesmans phone, as it is a rugged, rubberised mobile designed to withstand shocks, dust, water and pretty much anything you can throw at it. In a similar vein is the Samsung B2100 which makes its entry at number 4.

Number 5 brings the Nokia 2700. Another no frills handset but reliable and easy to use. These features are often overlooked by those looking for a more flashy mobile.

Which brings us to number 6 - the Apple iPhone. We've actually lumped all of the variants 8GB/16GB/3GS together which brings it the no 6 ranking. We're sure we don't have to explain much about this phone, you will all have seen the adverts and the hype! We're not going to knock the phone, as many people seem to love it, but before you order one for your business do think about whether you need such an expensive phone when others can do the same job for less.

The last four places are all ocupied by Nokias. In order 7-10 are the 2330, 3110, 5800 and 6300. Not the most exciting of phones (or names!), with the 5800 standing out as a touchscreen phone with a lot of media features which we haven't seen in our list too often.

And that's it for February. No major surprises again with Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry dominating. It's hard to see their dominance being challenged in the near future as they seem to best understand the needs of the business user.

The figures are in for December 2009 and we can now reveal the best selling business mobile phone for the month. And the winner is........

The Samsung M110. Back on top after a four month break, although it has never left the top 6. This hard-wearing phone, ideal for those in manual trades, is dustproof, water resistant and shockproof. Free on even the lowest of tariffs it makes sense for businesses where breakages of "ordinary" mobile phones are commonplace.

A re-entry at 2 for the Nokia 6303. A solid unit for business users everywhere, this no fuss handset sells by the bucketload to businesses with basic mobile needs of talk and text.

Third place was occupied by the Apple iPhone. The intuitive nature of the iPhone's user interface is catching on with business users who like their touchscreen phones. Plus the constant media attention means that this handset is never far away from the thoughts of many looking for a new phone.

RIM take fourth and fifth with their BlackBerry 8520 and BlackBerry 9700 respectively. We have no problem selling BlackBerry phones to businesses where email is a prime driving force behind their choice of handset. Still the first choice manufacturer for many business users.

Nokia fill four of the remaining places with their 6300, 2700, 6600 and 7100. Samsung break in at 7 with their B2100. Another phone built along the lines of the aforementioned M110 this is a rugged phone for hardworkers.

A top 10 filled with sensible business mobile choices (iPhone excepted!). Each month is becoming fairly similar with only 4 manufacturers represented. No sign of LG or Sony Ericsson, they seem to be very much concentrating on consumer mobiles.

No entries for HTC either. They make good phones for the business user but many seem to shy away from them as they are not a household name. Their recent TV advertising may address these issues so look out for them making an appearance in the top 10 in the coming months.

Finally a reminder - we can help your business with its mobile phones and we don't only stock the phones shown in our top 10 listings. We can get you any handsets on a variety of business mobile tariffs with all of the major mobile networks. Contact us for your free quote.

Reports are that over the Christmas period Samsung have been outselling Nokia and have gained the crown of most popular mobile phone manufacturer. This is for all mobile phone handsets, including consumer phones, rather than just business mobile phones, where Nokia are still the best sellers, at least according to our own in-house figures.

The rise of Samsung is led by a series of fun and funky handsets, often low cost, that appeal to the generation buying the most handsets. For business users the colour and design of a phone is less likely to impress. It's the phone features at the top of the list when choosing a handset.

Samsung do make mobile phones for business users, notably the durable and hardwearing "builders" phones. The Samsung Solid Extreme is one such example offering water and dust resistance and compliance with MIL-STD-810F. This means it can survive military standard testing including exposure to high and low temperatures, rain (including wind blown and freezing rain), humidity, sand and dust exposure, shock and random vibration.

Nokia, on the other hand, are still producing good, solid phones, ideal for business users but without any great innovation or fanfare that is going to rival Apple's iPhone or Google's new Nexus One. They persevere with series phones, such as the N series, even though they are tarnished by bad reviews and software problems in the past. Once people become aware of such problems they are less likely to trust such phones in the future, even when the problems have been sorted.

Expect a fightback from Nokia soon, although with a host of non-traditional manufacturers such as Apple and Google entering the market as competition with their own USP it is going to be hard work to win back a sizeable chunk of market share in the consumer arena.

The business mobile market is moving too and new technologies will be adopted by business buyers looking for better ways to interact with their customers. It moves much more slowly but it is definitely moving. BlackBerry and Nokia need to be on their mettle if they are to keep up with the young guns, particularly if Google do decide to aim their next handset at the business user as is rumoured.

Business mobile buyers also need to keep their eyes on the new technology and think how it could help improve their business efficiency. For some free advice get in touch with us and let us show you how the latest handset technology can help you connect with your customers and make more sales.