Do smart phones improve your IQ? 'Smart' gadgets live up to their name.

• Author: Smith, Mark
• Position: Do-It-All Devices

Are business gadgets helping you get more organized? Some people walk into a business meeting with a daytimer, multiple cell phones, PDA, MP3 player, laptop, and a pad of paper. On trips, these same people rush to their hotel room so they can hook up their laptop to a phone line to check their e-mail. If you ask them for the phone number of a colleague, they can give you three, but they're never sure which number is correct, since none of their gadgets are ever in synch with each other.

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In contrast, you can attend the same business meeting with a "smart" phone that will store your calendar and contacts, handle your e-mail and voice-messaging chores, take pictures, and even offer you an entertainment function through an MP3 player. On trips, you use your smart phone to receive and answer all of your e-mails during the taxi ride to the hotel--not after you get there. And the smart phone will always have the latest information because it's always in synch with the computers in your office.

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There's a reason these devices are called "smart."

There are three types of smart phones used by businesspeople today. They include the BlackBerry phone, the Treo600, and the PocketPC phone. Each has a different operating system, which means they come with different built-in software and a variety of third-party software to add available features. The BlackBerry and the Treo both include a built-in keyboard, for example, which makes it easy to type a quick e-mail or instant message. All three types can handle voice calls with the built-in speakerphone, the handset, or a hands-free headset.

The mobile-phone carrier you choose is also important. In the U.S., you can choose carriers that use CDMA or GSM (transmission standards) as their networks. Based on numerous tests, CDMA users report a download time of about 70 kilobits per second for e-mail, while GSM users report about 20k/second, which is much slower. The difference will be significant when you start surfing Web sites and downloading e-mails with attachments.

In addition, some carriers include unlimited data with their business voice/data plans. For example, Sprint PCS uses CDMA and includes unlimited data with all of its business voice/data plans. In contrast, Verizon uses GSM and charges up to $99 each month for its unlimited data plans in addition to the fee that you pay for voice services.

The Treo600 includes the Palm OS (operating system)...