Given the wide variety of tasks that mobile workers perform each day, the following roundup of smartphones presents a veritable smorgasbord of wireless delights.
Here we provide a wide range of mobile alternatives that can fit the needs of road warriors of all kinds -- from globe-trotting executives and sales staff to technicians and other types of service personnel.
Samsung i730
The new Samsung i730 (US$599.99 from Verizon) drew our top marks for having just about every feature that a mobile worker could want. Designed to operate over Verizon's high-speed (EV-DO) network  , this advanced handset is capable of downloading data at speeds ranging from 300 to 500 Kbps. Moreover, the i730 can switch seamlessly to a lower-speed mode whenever the smartphone travels beyond the reach of Verizon's network.
The Samsung i730 ships with the speediest smartphone microprocessor around: the 520-MHz Intel PXA272. Storing large files and applications is not a problem with this device. The smartphone sports 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash ROM. What's more, the device integrates a SecureDigital card slot, which means that users can add memory at will. Best of all, the unit includes both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities for the ultimate in wireless connectivity.
But that's not all. The i730 features a slide-down Qwerty-style keyboard, which is far less prone to mechanical failure than the flip-open form factors of yesteryear. The handset also draws high honors for offering the PocketPC editions of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, which means that users can move work documents easily between desktop PCs and the handset.
The i730 does lack a built-in digital camera, and the standard battery is capable only of delivering 2.5 hours of talk time. But the battery is removable, which means that busy mobile workers merely have to swap batteries to keep on trucking.
Treo 650 from palmOne
Like the Samsung i730, the Treo 650 ($399.99 from Verizon; $449 from Sprint) offers nearly everything that a road warrior might wish to have. Equipped with a 312-MHz Intel XScale processor, the Treo 650 ships with 32 MB of RAM as well as a SecureDigital card slot that makes adding more memory a snap. The smartphone also sports built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. (continued...)
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