Which Handhelds Get The Thumbs-Up?

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For Rob Eby, director of merchandising at D&H Distributing, which is building a handheld practice inside its computer products division, the emergence of VPN technology in the segment will provide a major leap forward.

"I think it's going to be a very big deal," said Eby, whose company has distribution agreements with vendors including Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Samsung, Linksys (with VoIP products) and others that are gaining traction in the space.

"To be able to access all my data is key for me," Eby said. "In corporations, people want to be able to get behind the firewall and pull down everything." Vendors are delivering increasingly sophisticated technology for corporate handheld solutions, including integration of GPS satellite functions, push-to-talk and better integration between voicemail and e-mail on the go.

The functionality curve for handhelds is at a blistering pace. Consider that in 2004, Research In Motion touted a BlackBerry 7100 that could "place and receive calls," provided "push mail," had a slim form factor and supported Bluetooth headsets. Today, the BlackBerry Curve 8310 is about half the size, has built-in GPS, full support for Microsoft applications and, yes, it can place and receive calls.

"Push mail" is now a standard function on devices that compete with the BlackBerry, including the consumer-focused iPhone (although the iPhone doesn't support Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange natively, like other devices).

Several vendors either offer VPN support or have it in their road maps for handheld devices, a move that would eliminate barriers for many business users seeking secure access to data, whether they have access via Wi-Fi, EDGE or 3G networks.

The market isn't slowing down, either. Manufacturers ranging from Motorola to HP to Nokia are all pushing out new devices with greater frequency (HP is slated to begin shipping its new lineup of iPaqs in December) so that a new device hits the market almost every day. Add to that the hard-charging attempt by Google to spearhead the Open Handset Alliance with a raft of technology providers, and you can bet the pace will continue for the future.

What about now? CRNtech took a look at several handheld devices—smartphones, PDAs, an ultraportable PC and a stand-alone GPS device. Put into the context of delivering part of a commercial IT solution, rather than a consumer device, these handhelds bring new options to the table for connecting customers to their businesses.

Eby says Harrisburg, Pa.-based D&H is experiencing some growth, thanks to the increase in functionality, and is ready for more when issues like VPN support become more widespread.

More than perhaps any other segment of IT, the handheld arena is moving at warp speed. In addition to the new Google-backed platform, companies including Motorola and Palm have been spitting out new smartphones with regularity, and Nokia continues to move forward with a number of devices over the next several months for both the consumer and IT space.

And that's merely scratching the surface. In January at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the industry's single biggest event of the year, show organizers have set aside an entire section of the conference to deal with wireless technology, including handsets, smartphones and pen-based devices. This all comes on the heels of Apple's successful iPhone launch; even though it's a consumer device and unavailable to the channel, the iPhone has incorporated technology that its rivals may well start trying to integrate into their own products—namely multitouch screens, visual voicemail and highly efficient Web caching that makes up for the otherwise lousy EDGE connectivity offered by AT&T.

Consider, too, that only a fraction of the number of devices in the marketplace integrate Wi-Fi with basic cellular voice and data. Also, WiMax—the wide-area wireless technology—is right now available in fewer than a dozen deployments in the United States, but could start rolling out in much greater availability throughout 2008.

For the IT solution provider channel, speed bumps remain. For example, most vendors have yet to roll out widespread programs for resellers and integrators while the network carriers, including AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, have traditionally provided tepid, if any, support for the channel. But some vendors do actively engage solution providers, including RIM and HP. D&H has positioned itself on point for VARs looking for smartphones and handhelds, and the support that goes with them.

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