Solving the Small-Business Smartphone Challenge

By Frank J. Ohlhorst

Sure, everyone wants an iPhone, but small businesses are finding that the device and associated plans are cost-prohibitive, especially when it comes to equipping multiple employees. Those high costs along with integration difficulties have forced many small businesses to forgo mobile technologies, often placing them at a competitive disadvantage.

Solutions providers — VARs, systems integrators, agents, dealers — can solve those problems by offering some alternatives that make mobility affordable and create the opportunity to deliver additional services. However, those solutions require taking a different route to product and services delivery than a solution provider may be comfortable with, involving consumer-level technology and contract-less service plans.

Several small carriers offer contract-less wireless plans, some focus on voice, others include data and texting while others offer unlimited services. For the small business user, business-related features such as e-mail, scheduling, voice and Internet access as well as the ability to run specific applications prove to be of greatest importance. That helps to narrow the choices down to a handful of carriers — ones that offer unlimited data/text/e-mail plans that use RIM’s BlackBerry device. The majority of contract-less carriers are based regionally, meaning that some may not offer their services across the United States.

For this article, I took a look at three carriers that offer contract-less BlackBerry devices and related services in my region, which is the Northeastern United States, and more specifically, the New York City metro area. Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile and MetroPCS Wireless Inc. are the primary contract-less service providers available in my area — all three companies offer the BlackBerry Curve, as well as unlimited Web, texting, IM and e-mail. Boost Mobile and MetroPCS also offer unlimited voice, while Virgin Mobile bundles in 300 minutes voice on its basic plans.

The Carriers. Virgin Mobile offers the BlackBerry Curve 8530, a $249.99 device that is loaded with features. The company offers a contract-less $35 per month prepaid plan that includes 300 minutes of nationwide talk time specifically for the BlackBerry Curve 8530; for an additional $15 per month, the talk time is increased to 1,200 minutes per month. For those who primarily are looking to use a smartphone for e-mail, IM, texting and surfing the Web, Virgin’s plan proves to be very affordable. However, many mobile workers use their cell phones as their primary phones and a 300- or even a 1,200-minute talk time plan probably will not be enough. For those users, Virgin also offers an unlimited talk plan, but that boosts the cost to $70 a month, making Virgin Mobile the most expensive of the plans covered here. Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint network and I found coverage to be quite good where I tested the unit, which included Seattle and New York City, Long Island and Minneapolis as well as the outlying areas and major airports around those areas. Virgin Mobile offers several applications that can be used for a number of needs — from interactive maps to remote control of PCs to GPS services. All in all, the service proved to be robust, albeit expensive.