Revisiting some top handset picks for professionals

A full year has gone past and some are faced with that decision "What phone should I change to?". I assume that as a successful and internationally 'traveling' professional you will have any choice in the world. I do not assume what sort of user you are, so let's go for some quick choices:

- The road warrior: you typically don't care about a phone that allows you to do everything, but you would still like some email connectivity and some browsing. What you do care about is voice and texting...you care about it a lot and you need a long battery life and a nice looking phone that doesn't compromise too much. MY CHOICE: The Nokia E52 - well, it is one of those great phones with a battery life that is just ridiculous with close to 1 month in stand-by and around 3-4 days with extremely heavy usage of voice, email and browsing. It is a 16-key so not a fantastic email experience, but you can still get it on that tiny - and beautiful looking - handset.

- The thumb addict: you really want to message... email is your communication mean of choice, voice is important but typically not all that heavy... as you may even consider having a handset for that. You are typically not a heavy browser. MY CHOICE: The Blackberry 9700 "Bold 2" - thumb addict and Blackberry seem to go together. The 9700 is a great QWERTY Blackberry following such greats as the Curve or the original Bold. It is smaller and lighter than the original Bold and it doesn't have that damn trackball that seems to stop working every once in a while... Mind you, I am not a huge fan of virtual stick (or whatever they call it) but at least it will likely work throughout the life of the handset. The rest is pure Blackberry - great email experience, fast, ok on calls, not so good on browsing. "Why not the curve or some of the other small new QWERTY keyboard Blackberrys"... well, because this one is 3G (actually HSDPA) so it will actually work around the world... now that's international!

- The multimedia guy/gal: you want a decent phone with decent email and phone capabilities, but you want mostly multimedia - your videos, your music, browsing, etc. MY CHOICE: The Apple iPhone 3GS - ok, the 3GS wan't that much of a revolution as it was marginally evolutionary, but the iPhone is still the best multimedia handset out there. You get all the iTunes stuff to just work, you get apps (oh those games !!!) ...many, many, many apps. The browser is probably still the best around, with the exception of the Nokia N900 browser or the Firefox mobile 1.0 version for the same handset... but the N900 is a geek phone...really... trust me.

- The personalization addict: you are probably fed-up of the iPhone; after all, everyone has one. Multimedia is interesting and you do appreciate good browsing and doubletwist (that app a bit like iTunes) sorts out your problems. You are looking for a great phone, that looks good, does everything it should do - voice, SMS, email, IM, etc - and it adds some very nice looking graphics. MY CHOICE: HTC Hero - I know many would go with the "supposedly" top Android phones of the moment - the Google/HTC Nexus One or the Motorola Droid/Milestone. The fact is the Moto Droid (or Milestone) are great phones but they are more texting heavy. The Nexus is great, it feels and somehow looks like an iPhone (hey it took 2.5 years to replicate the look, so no jokes), but it runs... Android. That said, HTC's Sense implementation on top of Android 1.5 is still better than the more advanced "original" (the Nexus One runs Android 2.1): 7 screens versus 5, customizable themes that you can easily switch depending on situation / mood, great looking new widgets... Google's Android is obviously a great choice: multi-tasking allowed, good looking graphics, good performance, great application ecosystem (2nd only to Apple's).

- The multitasker: you want to have a phone that, not unlike your laptop, keeps windows around and you can see everything that is going on. You likely also want some good looking graphics, decent browser, good voice, good texting, email, etc. You likely appreciate that your accounts (those things in the cloud) can sync seamlessly. MY CHOICE: The Palm Pre or Palm Pre Plus. The "card system" to show the different apps that are running is great... it does make life look "diverse". It syncs out of the box with Linkedin, Facebook and Google... which is a great start. It is good looking and the UI also looks great.

Heading to Barcelona and the Mobile World Congress

Well, it's that time of the year again...the mobile world congress.

This year I am definitely looking forward to it: given that it is during Chinese New Year, my wife will join me and finally be able to explore Barcelona... I am unlikely to be able to explore Barcelona but at least will have her around during my birthday and Valentine's day.

The cherry on top is that we will stay at the new W Hotel. I am a big fan and this will be the 10th different W hotel I stay at. We recently had some issues at the W Hong Kong that ended up sorted after several interactions with the GM and a senior APAC VP. To be honest, they did show they care and that is all that matters. So, all and all, looking forward to the first W I visit in Europe.

Finally, looking forward to some of my local favorites, such as Moo Restaurant at the Hotel Omm, the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (yes, the one that isn't finished yet :-)), the Marina, Montjuic and its lovely (and expensive) restaurants... oh, and of course, the MWC itself. I will probably end up with a quick visit to the Hotel Arts (of course, one of my favorites) and will go for some Flamenco show (wife "oblige"). Bullfighting only in April so a no go this time, and tapas time !!!

When one gets this message, what should one do?

While looking at whether I need to fill-in a tax return in China this year, e.g. if I have spent more than 90 days outside the country in 2008 or not, this is the reply I got from my assistant:

"You were abroad for 199 days last year, so definitely no need to declare your income for taxation"

Hummmm?!!! Was shocked, then sad... then simply depressed.

At the Westin Chosun in Seoul watching my DVDs

This is as close to my second home as I can recall. I always bring my stash of DVDs. It's great when your 2nd home, so to speak, remembers you like a swedish pillow, a corner room and that nice DVD player. Ask for these things at your favourite hotels: some will oblige for free and others will even remember.

At Hotel de la Tremoille in Paris

This hotel has become as usual a destination as Browns in London. Beautiful mix between contemporary and classical plus is right next to the Champs Elysees. The standard room is not too large but still nice. The deluxe is better but may not be worth the price if in a truly business visit (although very nice when I was with my wife on vacation in Paris). The Bar is cool, the spa quite nice and the service extremely good by Paris (and European) standards. Receptionists, housekeeping and concierge are indeed very nice. Restaurant employees could be nicer but is tolerable.

On the way to Paris on Eurostar

On my way to Paris on the Eurostar from the St Pancras station. So far so good. Nice dedicated entrance - security and emigration - for business premier travelers, a nice lounge with super fast and free wifi. Only thing that is not so great is that there isn't a dedicated boarding door from the lounge onto the platforms unlike in paris. Today my trip will not be faster than in the past as there are apparently works in the channel tunnel. Better luck next time.

Spicy at Fifty

Just had a Spicy 50 at Fifty in London. Now Fifty is a members only club at 50 St James Street but am sure you will be able to get in. Service is great - or maybe I am part of the family by now. Great spot with 2 Jean-George v G restaurants, Salvatore's bar and 50 Below... And the casino of course. Check it out when you can.

Taxis in London

How i miss the London cabs. Great space, always know where to go. Can't they just replicate this in other places?

... as opposed to me or what I carry when I go on a business trip

- Laptop: my work laptop is a Lenovo X61 and I love it. It is relatively small despite the large battery for the extra power and works as a touchpad which is great for reviewing Powerpoints.

- Laptop accessories: only my large Lenovo branded mouse. I know I should have something better and/or smaller, but for someone who actively used that red dot in the middle of the keyboard as an alternative to a mouse for such a long time, this is a start.

- Mobile email: I use my Blackberry Bold. Although I am not a full crackberry user, I have been using different versions of the BB (this is my 4th to be precise) for more than 4 years. The Bold is the best: the experience is perfect for email, checking attachments on the go, instant messaging... and even knowing where you are (with A-GPS facility), some easy/low quality snapshots and listening to music. Not an iPhone/iPod killer, but decent enough to listen to some music when not on a call or when the in-flight entertainment is boring or "deja vu". I have recently toyed with the Blackberry Storm and am not convinced this will be a normal QWERTY keyboard phone-killer.

- Mobile voice, texting and browsing: given that my mobile phone collection is currently just above 80, I like switching phones quite regularly but there are a couple of rules:
1) I never ever use the Blackberry as my only phone - today is structural as living in China I use a Blackberry with an American SIM and only have contracted a data pricing scheme; in the past, I had bad experiences with voice on Blackberry, but am assured they have been solved.

2) I always bring a back-up phone with me in case the main one runs out of battery while in a car or running at the airport.

3) Given I am becoming more lazy and only want to carry a maximum of 2 mobile chargers (and the Blackberry already counts for one), the back-up phone will typically be the same brand as the main one or at least the same charger type (how nice is mini-USB charging, hey?).

4) If going for a longer trip (more than 3 nights), I almost always take of my favorites "at the time". Currently these are the iPhone 3G which has most of my non-pro (or attempted pro) pictures and music or the HTC/Google/T-mobile G1/G-Dream or whatever is called these days, for accessing all my Google info (email, calendar which I use for personal appointments, etc). Unfortunately these two phones lead me to stronger usage and... you guessed it... to shorter battery life.

5) When not traveling to Korea or Japan (and not in absolute need of 3G), I take as a back-up one of my "road warrior" phones which last and last and last. My recent favorite is the Philips X500, but most of the Nokia 1xxx series are also very good, as well as the Sony Ericsson J110i or J120i. For "3G-oblige" situations, the Sony Ericsson K610i is a surprising good choice.

- Mobile data: I do not carry a data card with me as I think it's a waste given all the phones I have with modem and HSDPA capabilities. I don't use the Blackberry for this and since I don't want to carry all the applications for PC connectivity under the sun or some players don't support tethering I leave the G1 and iPhone 3G at home, if I anticipate I will need cellular data connectivity. My preference is typically for Nokias or Sony Ericssons as I always their PC software installed on my laptop.

- Other gadgets and accessories: I have several bluetooth devices and my favourite is the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS980, since it is quite comfortable to put around your neck, is stereo and the quality is typically good. The Jawbone hasn't impressed me and the Samsung WEP 410 is great, but is so small that I am always afraid to lose it. I do carry wired headphones once in a while when I get fed up of having to charge the bluetooth ones. I always carry a USB to mini USB cable as it works on many of the phone I own including on the ever present Blackberry. I sometimes carry other cables in particular if I have a Sony Ericsson with me and want to access data on the PC through it. I also use a Jabra headset for my company VoIP system through my laptop - cost rationalization oblige.

- The ones that are no longer: my iPods have lost their place in my luggage, having been replaced by the Bold or the iPhone at times.

The "low-tech" execs I have just read about...

I was just reading the FT and something jumped to my attention - an article on the gadgets executives carry with them.

After the initial enthusiasm, I was struck by how low-tech these (very senior) executives are. Granted that there are some interesting devices, but beyond the quasi-old Blackberry Curves, the other one device that stands out from the crowd is the stone-age Nokia 6310i, a craving repeated by many other senior execs I know.

I love the 6310, but it's time to move on and adhere to all these new "shockingly cutting edge" phenomenons such as browsing the Internet, knowing where you are through GPS, etc.

Indeed, the future will no longer be surprisingly mobile... the present already is and it is probably up to the leading businessmen of the world to set the example. After all, gentlemen/ladies, if training is needed, I am sure there will be many happy to help.