Android as a Business Phone?

[atljogger]

Anyone here a business user of Android that can a recommend a business-friendly phone? I need to upgrade for business use - currently I have Blackberry on T-Mobile that is about dead. I have great legacy plan so I don't want to switch - otherwise I'd grab a Droid on Verizon. Multiple Email syncing and calendar syncing is critical - I have calendars with Zimbra and Microsoft Exchange. I am less concerned about multi-media capabilities but they are a plus.
Are the upcoming WP7 phones supposed to be enterprise-friendly? Not too impressed with T-Mo's current selection.
Thanks,
J

 

[A.Nonymous]

I don't know if I'd recommend Android for an Enterprise environment. I've found enterprise support for Android to be somewhat sketchy at best. I'm told WP7 integrates just as well with Exchange as WinMo does. I don't know that for sure though. Why not stick with the Blackberry since it works for you?

 

[GeorgeinLA]

I switched over from Blackberry a month or so ago, and my work email and contacts have sync'd perfectly, but I'm still working on the Calendar for some reason. Everything on my work calendar shows up on my phone, but it doesn't go the other direction. ???

If I was with T-Mobile, I'd get the G2 for sure. I'm already jealous of that phone.

 

[woop]

The upcoming Droid Pro looks to be oriented towards business users.

 

[takeshi]

"Enterprise" and "business" are fairly vague descriptions. You mention Zimbra and Exchange but what are your other specific needs? Not all "business" people have the same requirements.

 

[atljogger]

Thanks for the feedback. Zimbra and Exchange calendar integration is probably the most critical factor for me (work both directions). Were calendar features upgraded in 2.2? I'd like to reduce bulk so slimmer phone with virtual keyboard is fine for emailing. G2 looks a little bulky but haven't handled one yet. Good reception/GPS for travel (as far as T-Mobile goes at least). Flash, PDF, and Office compatibility (I assume apps can take care of a lot of this).

I will take a hard look at the upcoming HTC HD7 - Windows Phone 7 is not my first OS choice but if they can make a competitive enterprise phone I will consider it.

 

[LaTuFu]

I currently use a Blackberry at work with no exchange functionality. I sync my calendar on my BB using Google sync, which syncs to my outlook. Yes its two steps, but once I set it up it is seamless and operates in the background.

Our company is switching carriers, so I'm picking up a Droid X this week. I plan to set up a similar deal on the Droid.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. Zimbra and Exchange calendar integration is probably the most critical factor for me (work both directions). Were calendar features upgraded in 2.2? I'd like to reduce bulk so slimmer phone with virtual keyboard is fine for emailing. G2 looks a little bulky but haven't handled one yet. Good reception/GPS for travel (as far as T-Mobile goes at least). Flash, PDF, and Office compatibility (I assume apps can take care of a lot of this).

I will take a hard look at the upcoming HTC HD7 - Windows Phone 7 is not my first OS choice but if they can make a competitive enterprise phone I will consider it.

If you're looking for something that integrates seemlessly with Exchange, nothing is better than WinMo. I've not seen WP7 so I can't compare the two, but I would imagine it integrates just as seemlessly as WinMo does. This is one thing MS does an excellent job of on its mobile platforms. I've heard nothing but rave reviews of WP7 so far, but we heard rave reviews of Vista before it came out too.

 

[GeorgeinLA]

Flash, PDF and the full Office suite all work great on my Droid 2.

 

[fangorious]

I'm under the impression Flash and PDF will work on any 2.2 device of the current generation of devices.

 

[johnkerr]

My office actually uses this cloud telephony solution so I was in a similar position only I wanted to be able to synch up with the office network as well.

Looking back I think any android phone would have handled it fine but I used a Droid first and then later an Xperia.

The upside of Android is it's flexible enough to handle a lot of corporate demands. If it's not capable with baseline specs you can just mod it.

 

[scooterinmn]

I just switched myself and my users (~20) to an android platform from BB. We use a hosted Exchange service for now and are all VERY moblie workers so connectivity, uptime, and feature set was critical. We didn't look back. The comment from all of them is the same. "Why didn't we do this sooner"? Ditching the BES cost ($30 per month per user) was nice but nothing is missing from what we need. We are on Sprint to take advantage of the unlimited data (love it!) The only complaint that I get is that none of the available office applications have spell check.

 

[indybail]

As the owner of a small business I love my T-Mobile Android. Can't live without it. Go for it.