The last review we did on a Sony Ericsson device was for the Xperia Arc which unfortunately although sold as a super sleek device was let down by feeling cheap and plastic. The Xperia Ray could not be more different if it tried. It looks feels and pretty much operates as a top end candy bar style smartphone.
You have probably seen the advert for the Motorola Atrix and the big claims it is the Worlds most powerful smartphone, we certainly had and of course the first thing we wanted to do was put that claim to the test.
The Atrix is a dual-core Android phone running 2.2 (Froyo). Some of the key features include an extra-long life battery, aGPS with Google Maps, a 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording, every kind of connectivity including Wi-Fi and DLNA, 16GB of onboard memory and even a fingerprint scanner. An optional docking station turns the phone into a powerful laptop (who needs the Xoom?), or you can purchase the HD Multimedia Dock and combine it with the Wireless mouse and keyboard to turn your 40inch LCD TV at home into an office.
Its the dawn of week 4 of our Technical Roadtrip 2011 and with it comes a very busy day. This time we are off to Glasgow, Edinburgh and then back to London for our BES Express Installation and Administration training.
After an early start at a bright Southampton Airport it was a short flight up north to Glasgow International Airport before a drive east for a visit to a dealer in Edinburgh and then fly back out of Edinburgh airport to pick my car up again at Southampton. Now, with these longer journeys where we are reliant on other forms of transport I always build in some cushion time… just in case. Today though that was immediately eaten up when the plane had yet to land from its previous flight at the time we had been due to depart, and when added to the fact our booking company had booked my hire car at Glasgow airport for a month previous (even though they booked the flight on the right day) I could immediately see that today was going to be a challenge. That’s great, I’m in to challenges 
Arriving at my first appointment just 30 minutes late was a good result for starters, and this was a return visit to an account I visited a couple of years back. This time they had moved offices (thankfully closer to the airport) and are trading from a converted garage built on to the side of the owners house, really nice and lower cost to the serviced office they used to have in a converted mill. The challenge for this business is their email, they just are not able to do many of the things us Exchange users take for granted and this lead perfectly into a full session on Office 365. As I type this blog I have actually just received an email from the dealer which perfectly sums up our day together:
“Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the cloud so that we can finally sell it with a more confident tone and for showing us the new technology and their benefits it was a great training session.”
Excellent session and it was time to move east to Edinburgh. Now this is a very interesting city, and for those that haven’t been I would already recommend. From the classic buildings to the cobbled streets its like I imagine London used to be 60 years or so back, really beautiful. This was to visit a dealer that I hadn’t seen before, and is a very long standing platinum partner of Vodafone. The business trades all other networks through HSC and also purchases some SIM Free, we had a look at the latest devices and as they already used PlayBook’s they knew just what they are capable of. I was then introduced to the Managing Director of the business and we engaged in a conversation on Office 365, he wanted to know what it could do for his business so I gave a tailored overview to his situation. We also discussed BlackBerry World 2011 which we both attended, stayed in the same hotel and strangely had much to same activity… Spooky! By this point it was time to move on to Edinburgh airport (I got lost half way!) for a flight back to Southampton and then to Heathrow for our BES Express training tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and see YOU soon.
After a fantastic day at Microsoft for our Office 365 training it was time to hit to North with our Microsoft account manager. Today we’re set to not only deliver the full technical support and service visit, but also allow these accounts to discuss and enhance their Office 365 offerings.
First up is a dealer that trades from the border between Bradford and Leeds. This dealer has long been a popular destination for mobile connections in the local area and had started to push Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) a few months back whilst also connecting their own business email to it and with the introduction of Office 365 are excited with the full mobile solution it now allows them to offer. This has not been without its challenges however and part of the reason for this dual visit with Microsoft was to ensure the dealer was comforted with the robust support structures and processes that Microsoft have in place around this product. We also had a look at the latest devices that are coming to market such as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 which was a bit hit with everyone around the office, along with the amazing power of the PlayBook and surreal experience the LG Optimus 3D offers.
Next up and we were off into Leeds for a dealer that has been trading with HSC for longer than I can even remember. This dealer over the years has grown from a small mobile dealer, to a trusted communications supplier dealing with almost everything involving fixed and mobile communications. What they didn’t have is a solution like Microsoft’s Office 365 could offer that is until HSC and Microsoft entered the building. Immediately it was clear that not only did this business need to diversify themselves to continue their role as a leading business mobile supplier in Leeds but also they had a requirement themselves. Their server was down and had been for hours with the local IT company wanting to charge them to fix it.
We discussed how when these services go cloud based with Microsoft, then Microsoft look after it inclusive in your subscription. Your business benefits from knowing that with a simple monthly rental you can be safe in the knowledge that not only is your data more secure, its also guaranteed to be available 99.9 percent of the time or Microsoft with give you some of your monthly fee back. After further discussion it was agreed that we would migrate their business to the service and then build a proposition to take this to their customer base. Brilliant.
What a great day, HSC and Microsoft delivering market leading, mobile enabling solutions to YOU.
Review by Kristian Wingfield-Bennett.
It feels like we have been waiting a long time since learning about this device at BlackBerry World 2011. But finally we have managed to have some hands on time with it before the launch in August.
The BlackBerry 9900 Bold is a touch and type hybrid and continues on (in terms of size) from the Bold 9000, which is still a favourite among corporate customers the world over. While the BlackBerry Torch offered both a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard, many users complained that the keys were too closely positioned together. So although the touchscreen was a nice addition, typing was a bit of a nightmare for all involved. The Bold 9900 has rectified this.
