Research in Motion (RIM) are the Canadian company best known for their BlackBerry range of smartphone handsets. They were founded in 1994 and launched the first BlackBerry mobile in 1999. Since then the BlackBerry has gone from strength to strength.

Very much a corporate device, BlackBerries are best known for their push email, giving you instant access to emails anywhere in the world on your phone. Whilst many other handset manufacturers have made phones with similar capabilities they have been unable to topple the BlackBerry as the ultimate business phone.

Where BlackBerries come into their own is when multiple phones are used by a company. All of these phones can be synched with the business server using the BlackBerry software that has been fine tuned over the years to deliver maximum business benefit.

A BlackBerry smartphone offers a range of other features as well as the standard phone features. The latest BlackBerry handsets are mini-computers in your hand giving you access to the internet, documents and a range of business related applications.

This range of features does mean that there are circumstances where a BlackBerry user, particularly new users, will need help with setting up their phone and ongoing support to get the most from their new smartphone. This is an inclusive service for all business users taking out BlackBerry contracts with us.

For larger companies we also offer a BlackBerry server installation service. We travel the UK installing BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Servers) and ensuring BlackBerry handsets are set up correctly to provide all of the features required by your business.

We offer a full range of BlackBerry mobile handsets. Currently we are despatching a large number of BlackBerry Curve 8520 mobiles to business users. This particular handset offers all of the BlackBerry email features but is very reasonably priced meaning that companies looking for a volume of handsets can get them without tying themselves to a long or expensive contract.

All other BlackBerry handsets available in the UK can be ordered and we offer a range of tariffs that allow you to have the handset free of charge. Many tariffs also have inclusive data bundles - very important if you are going to be a heavy email user.

With regards to BlackBerry email usage, it is possible to change your settings so that you do not download a full copy of each email, just the headers. This allows you to see who sent the email and what it's about without downloading large amounts of data. If the email's of interest you can download the full version to your phone at the touch of a button.

For a free no obligation quotation for BlackBerry business mobiles just get in touch with us.

The figures are in for the Top 10 business mobiles for July 2010 based upon despatch figures across our telecoms group.

BlackBerry handset's dominance from June, with three of the top six, has been broken and Nokia return to their usual prominent position with six of the top 10 business mobiles. This includes the number one phone, the Nokia 2730.

This is a fairly standard talk and text phone ideal for business users. Reliable and easy to use it remains popular appearing in each of the last three months Top 10 list.

Second in the list is the ultra tough Samsung B2100. This rubberised phone is ideal for those that need their handsets to work in difficult environments. Shockproof, dustproof and splashproof it can take a few knocks and come back in full working order.

In third place is the ever reliable Nokia 6303, in the list for the eighth successive month, with the Nokia E52 coming in at 4.

BlackBerry's only entry this month is the BlackBerry Curve 8520 which appears at number five. This handset remains popular with businesses thanks to its price relative to its features. It packs a lot in for little money.

Other notable entries are the Apple iPhone at seven. The iPhone has been missing the last couple of months but bounces back with the release of the iPhone 4. And the Acer Tempo F900 at eight. This one has never appeared before, in fact Acer have never appeared before, and its ranking may be due to a specific customer request which this phone fulfills.

The three remaining business mobile handsets are the Nokia 2700 at number six, the Nokia 3720 at nine, and the Nokia X6 at number 10.

For a full list going back to June 2009 visit the 21c business phones Top 10 business mobiles page.

At Business Mobile World one of our key aims when talking to businesses is to reduce their bills. Saving money on your tariff, and therefore your monthly spend, is obvious and quantifiable. We have some examples of savings we have made for business mobile customers already on our website.

You can see from these examples that savings of hundreds of pounds a month, or several thousand pounds over the course of a year are often achievable. This makes for very happy customers.

Not so obvious are the savings your business could make by improving its communications. Getting new handsets which function in exactly the way you need them to and offer additional services which could be useful will save every one of your employees time. Time is money, so the saying goes.

We find that heavy email users tend to want BlackBerry phones and we can help with both the handsets and the setting up of BlackBerry email, BIS, BES and other email solutions.

These benefits are long term and in addition to savings which can be made on your contract terms. When it comes to taking out a new contract or renewing your current one we will be looking at a balance of both options to deliver the maximum savings to your business.

The business telecoms market is ever changing, particularly with the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK. This means that new tariffs are becoming available and inclusive terms can differ wildly between networks.

That's why utilising the services of a broker to find your business the best deal and save you the most money makes sense. Our knowledge of the latest mobile phone technology can point you in the direction of the best handsets for the way your business uses them.

At the same time we can help with mobile data usage, via a dongle or laptop with integrated sim card, and also advise on the full range of telecoms products we offer including landlines, fixed broadband, tracking and more.

The Business Mobile World website is now listed at Free Index - http://www.businessmobileworld.freeindex.co.uk/

Free Index is an online business directory offering free listings to businesses with a range of features, all free of charge. We have added 2 services to our listings as follows:

• Business Mobile Tariffs
• Free calls to mobiles

These reflect our best current offerings to businesses of all types and size. The opportunity to reduce costs on your own business mobiles and to reduce your landline bills by making free calls to other people's mobiles.

We are always looking at ways of saving your business money, both at our initial review and on an ongoing basis. We also keep you up-to-date with the latest technology which could save your business time and money.

Whilst cost savings are always aimed for when renewing a business mobile contract there are other areas which should be looked at where improvements to your communications can be made.

The pace of technology means that new mobile phone handsets, particularly in the SmartPhone sector, now offer a range of features not available even a couple of years ago. If you are coming to the end of an 18 or 24 month business mobile contract it is likely you will need new handsets.

Could a new SmartPhone benefit your business? With so many apps around it is conceivable that there is one out there that could make your business life away from the office easier. There may even be several which, used in conjunction with each other, could save your business time and money.

Whilst the Apple iPhone is the market leader in terms of available apps other operating systems are catching up. The most notable of these is Google's Android OS which is rapidly increasing its market share. With it being open source Android is going to continue to grow both in popularity and available apps.

It is also worth considering a total business phones solution including landlines and broadband which has the advantage of reducing overheads, streamlining administration and ensuring seamless integration between business telecom products.

Whilst your other services might be bound by contract for the time being, we can transfer them quickly and easily once they fall due for renewal. We can also look at improving your technology for landlines with a VoIP solution, routing your calls via the internet, and free calls to mobiles via an integrated sim card.

Once we have set up your contracts we work with you at all stages to ensure that you always have the latest technology where needed and to continually deliver cost reductions whilst improving communications. Regular reviews ensure that you always benefit from the best business phone deal.

Mobile data usage has increased by more than 1,800% in the past two years, fuelled largely by the iPhone and subsequent SmartPhones in conjunction with mobile operators unlimited data tariffs. Whilst the end of the unlimited data tariff is nigh, the thirst for mobile data remains unquenched and the continual rise in its usage will cause the mobile networks to reach capacity without action being taken.

Reducing the data limits on tariffs will certainly have an impact, but will it be enough to solve the problem? That's unlikely and other methods will have to be employed to get traffic reductions that are necessary to avoid the slowing down or crashing of traffic.

One of the options being looked into is cognitive radio, whilst another is the usage of spectrum previously used for other services. As the UK goes digital for its TV services frequencies are left behind which could be used for data traffic. Ofcom has also explored how enabling phones to switch between service providers to find the strongest signal could be a solution in some areas where signal quality is particularly poor. 

The mobile networks are currently opposing plans to dish out extra spectrum as it is not clear how it would be done and whether they may end up losing out financially as a result. However, one thing is clear, there will soon be a genuine need to reduce data traffic on the networks in order to keep it flowing smoothly and provide a good service for the majority of users.

As technology advances and wi-fi becomes standard on all new phones this means of data transfer may be encouraged by the networks. It is also worth mentioning again that wi-fi usage generally does not come out of your tariff meaning that is free of charge to the end user. You don't have to worry about data tariffs or fair usage policies!

Changing your business mobiles from one provider to another can be a pain. It's a hassle, and one you can avoid by simply renewing your current contract regardless of cost. However, how much could your business save by getting a cheaper deal?

Sometimes the transfer is worth the effort when the cost reductions are significant. We have a page on our website with a few examples of how much you could save on your business mobiles.

All three examples show savings over a year in the £000s of pounds range. Hundreds of pounds each month! No business can say no to that level of savings. These examples are typical of the deals we can put together for medium sized businesses.

At the same time we aim to improve communications by providing improved handsets with extra features and capabilities. We can also help with BlackBerry set up and ongoing customer assistance where required.

We can offer similar savings on landline phones, broadband and other telecoms products. Get in touch with us to see what we can offer your business.

No two businesses are alike so your quote will be tailored exactly to your usage. We look at your past spend history by analyzing your bills and look to the future to see if there are likely to be changes to your business pattern over the course of your contract. We can also make suggestions regarding new technology and how it could improve your communications, both internally and with your customers.

All quotes for any of our products or services are free of charge and without obligation. You have nothing to lose by contacting us, the process of quotation is straightforward and will not entail any more work than passsing us a copy of your bills.

Although originally set up as a specialist supplier of business mobiles, over the years we have expanded our range of products and services to include a variety of business telecoms. It can make sense for businesses to place more than one of their telecoms products with us for a number of reasons:

• Cost savings - by taking out more than one product savings can be passed onto the customer
• Reduced administration - everything on one bill
• Better problem resolution - no more grey areas between suppliers or buck passing when problems occur
• Enhanced customer service - no call centres to ring or expensive numbers to dial
• Dedicated account manager - your account is pro-actively managed

We already have many clients taking multiple services from us. Some signed up initially for mobile phones and, impressed by our service, have subsequently taken advantage of our great landline and broadband packages. Just some of the services we offer......

• Business mobile phones - including BlackBerry
• Landline telephony - lines, calls and hardware
• Broadband
• VoIP - phone systems and call cost reduction
• Device and vehicle tracking
• Mobile Broadband - via dongle

We are currently promoting an innovative phone system which incorporates a sim card allowing calls to mobiles to be routed via the mobile network and thus coming out of your inclusive minutes. Making free calls to mobiles can seriously reduce your landline bills, allowing the system to pay for itself quickly. At the same time you improve your communications with the enhanced features a VoIP phone system can offer your business.

The main problem in consolidating your business telecom services is usually contract renewal dates. This makes transferring all of your services in one go difficult. Instead you can transfer the next due service, test out our customer service and our cost savings, and, if you are happy with our services, transfer more services as they become due.

We have a new product in our range which will enable business users to make cheap calls to mobile phones. It is a new kind of phone system which includes a built-in sim card to route mobile calls via a mobile phone network.

The system is a VoIP unit, carrying calls over the internet. It is also compatible with analogue lines. It can support up to 16 extensions so is ideal for small and medium sized businesses.

The size of a standard business phone handset (see picture), everything is included within the one main unit, including the pbx and sim card reader. Being a VoIP unit it has a number of advanced features which are not available on standard analogue systems.

Best of all this unit allows you to make cheap (even free) calls to mobile phones via the built in sim reader. Intelligent least cost routing identifies all calls to mobiles (starting 07) and routes them via the mobile phone network. These minutes come out of your agreed mobile phone package so they can be included within your inclusive minutes.

All other calls can then be routed via the internet. So all you require is a decent broadband connection, which we can supply if necessary. It is best to pay a little bit more for business grade broadband with a low contention ratio, giving a guaranteed service and call quality.

So impressed are we with this system that we are producing a dedicated website - 21c VoIP Phone Systems - to provide further information and to make it easy to purchase. This is a plug and play device - we program it to your requirements before despatch so that it can be used straight out of the box.

Get in touch with us for more information and pricing.

We have previously commented about the exorbitant costs of using mobile data overseas. Unfortunately the mobile networks have failed to act, or at least failed to go far enough for the EU, who have now imposed a cap on data roaming within the EU.

The cap stands at €50 (just over £40 at today's exchange rate) which should stop the stories of mobile data bills in the thousands of pounds (see our post - businesses counting the cost of volcanic ash for instance). 

In addition mobile networks are obliged to inform their customers when they are approaching the limit and must stop their connection once the limit has been reached. This should stop people running up large bills inadvertently but there are a couple of problems.

Firstly, these rules only apply within the EU, so if you are travelling to a non-EU country or outside of Europe it is likely you will not have a limit. Secondly, your cap can be lifted at your command. So if you do decide you want to remove it make sure you don't go crazy with your downloading abroad!

The cap will also be helpful should your phone be lost or stolen in the EU. Anyone using it will not be able to run up large data bills although they will still be able to make as many calls as they wish. The cost of these calls is now limited to a maximum of 32p per minute following the EU decision.

This price does highlight the need to think in advance if you intend using your mobile phone overseas as there are many packages and bolt-ons that can reduce the amount you pay considerably.

The increasing popularity of smartphones, particularly the iPhone, has led to an even greater explosion in the use of mobile data. So much so that the mobile networks  now feel the time is right to take some action.

Up until recently there have been a number of "unlimited" mobile data tariffs (although these were usually subject to a fair usage policy). It looks like their days are numbered as the mobile networks now seek to impose limits, around 500MB or 1GB per month will likely be the norm.

The mobile networks themselves say that their networks are creaking under the strain of the increased traffic hence the need for restrictions. Others say that this is the networks attempt to increase profits as the amount they make from voice and text dwindles.

Whichever is the reason the new limits will need to be adhered to in order to avoid a nasty bill (out of bundle data usage is extremely expensive). Heavy users will be catered for but will have to pay substantially more for their initial tariff.

Most users will find 500MB of data is adequate for internet browsing and email. The problems come if you are downloading music/movies or streaming video/TV. The latest smartphone handsets will offer you better quality music/video services and this may tempt you to download/stream. Just be aware of your mobile data limits for your contract.

We are finding a number of customers with our fixed business broadband have recently started to approach their monthly 50GB limits. For the first time ever we are having to notify people to moderate their usage in order to avoid penalties. And the reason for this? The World Cup!

It looks like a lot of businesses are streaming the World Cup matches which has led to a major increase in internet traffic. If you are streaming matches to your phone beware - a 90 minute match will likely be up to 1GB in data usage (subject to the quality of the transmission).

We have just added a new blog to one of our other websites. Take a look at the Best Business Phone Deals blog for more information. A blog is a good way of adding extra website content easily and helps promote your website to the search engines.

The larger your website the better chance you have of appearing within the search engines, providing you have taken some basic search engine optimisation action on each page. Even if you employ a scattergun approach of churning out lots of content you will inevitably click with obscure keywords and phrases which you may have used on your pages.

It is amazing how many businesses still don't have websites at all. They are not expensive to set up and pay for themselves quickly even with limited visitors. We offer a business website service including website hosting, design and search engine optimisation (SEO). Take a look at our business website prices to compare our deals with your current one.

You are not only comparing the basic price, you need to think about whether you are happy with your current website and whether it is fulfilling your ambitions for it. If not then give us a call for a quote.

We can take over your current website hosting and tidy up/improve your existing site, taking particular attention to making sure basic SEO methods are followed. We can also redesign and provide you with a fresh new look, helping to turn visitors into customers.

Basic search engine optimisation techniques will only take you so far, so we also offer a bespoke SEO service. This is a fixed monthly fee, depending upon how much work we need to do, and our aim is always to make it pay for itself within the first 6 months.

In order to provide a quotation for search engine optimisation we look at your existing site, the sector of business you are in, the competition within your sector, and calculate how much work you are likely to need to appear on the front page of the search engines (primarily Google) for a variety of different keywords and phrases.

It has to be cost effective for your business, bringing in enough enquiries/leads for you to make a profit from your monthly fee. If there is little chance of this happening then we will not be able to provide a quote.

We don't offer guaranteed results - beware of anyone offering them as nothing can be guaranteed in the realms of SEO - but we do have an excellent track record of promoting our own sites and those of our existing business website customers. Contact us for a free quote for your business.

Mobile phone talk and text bundles have been around for a long time now and the competition within the marketplace has driven down prices. At the same time the cost of handsets has been increasing as more and more people abandon basic phones in favour of smartphones.

This leaves the mobile networks profits squeezed, and their answer is to get some of this profit back via their mobile data charges. With smartphones now being the order of the day, and with predictions that mobile phones will at some point in the none too distant future overtake computers in terms of internet volume, charges for mobile data need to be factored in when choosing your mobile phone contract.

This is particularly so as the variance in pricing between networks for mobile data is considerable. The networks even have different pricing structures for different devices - per MB charges for mobile data accessed from a laptop via a dongle are usually considerably cheaper than for access via a mobile phone. Why?

The difference is so great that it does make you wonder about the actual cost price to the networks of providing the service and the margins they are making on mobile phone data charges - they are considerable!

While unlimited data bundles are available for consumer mobile contracts (beware fair usage policies if you take the word "unlimited" too literally!) within the business mobile world limits are more likely to be 500MB, 750MB or 1GB per month. This would usually be sufficient for a business user looking to check their emails and browse the internet, without streaming media or downloading lots of online content.

How much mobile data do you need?

For 500MB of data you could send and receive each day:

• 250 emails
• 35 Word documents
• 25 PowerPoint, Excel or Acrobat attachments

These are approximate figures as individual file sizes can vary considerably, but you can see the average business user is unlikely to exceed this limit. However there are things you can do to reduce your download amount if you are a heavy user. For instance you can just download email headers, rather than the full content of the email, and then access any emails in full if they require your immediate attention whilst you are away from the office.

For help and advice on mobile data charges and the best business mobile contracts get in touch with us by phone or online.

Mobile phone offers come and go quickly in the fast paced world of consumer mobiles. Within a couple of weeks the latest mobile phone is old news and another handset is taking it's place as the must-have, with plenty more ready to be released on the horizon, with better specs and improved features.

With business mobile deals there is a lot less variety of contracts, although ultimately more choices! The networks don't change their tariffs so often but because they pay brokers such as ourselves a commission for selling their deals, out of which customers can choose any handsets, this means that the number of different configurations is almost endless.

When looking for the best business mobile deals the first consideration is the type of handset. Think about the ways you will be using your mobile and choose a handset which offers you the features you need without the features you don't. Choosing less expensive handsets will allow you to enter into a cheaper and/or shorter contract without having to pay for the phones.

Then you will have to consider the number of minutes, texts and data you need. You need to have enough to cover your usage but not so many that you are wasting your tariff. Two important points to remember:

• Out of bundle services are always expensive - going over your allotted minutes/texts/data can incur serious charges.
• Minutes are not free - buying a 3,000 minute bundle is more expensive than a 2,000 minute bundle and the difference in monthly cost needs to be factored in to your calculations.

If you already have a business mobile contract you will have established a usage pattern which hopefully stays relatively steady from month-to-month. From this you will see how much of each component you need.

Finally you need to consider coverage. For most business users in UK cities coverage across all of the networks is good. In this case you can choose the network that offers you the best deal. If coverage is an issue in your area and you are more limited in your choice of networks shop around between business mobile brokers who will offer different handset choices and possible cashback in some circumstances.

For a free business mobile quotation give us a call or complete our online enquiry form.