I have been waiting for a smart phone that utilizes a built in GPS antenna that would support programs like MS Streets and Trips Pocket version without the need for a monthly service charge. Other key items that mobile professionals are looking for include USB connectivity to external storage, larger internal memory to support user add-in programs, voice dialing, full featured voice recording that can be transferred via email for transcription,and contact data that is able to handle Outlook's fields w/o truncating them so synchronization can be done both ways w/o loss of data. One thing that has amazed me is how the need to enter or access data into programs like Outlook while you're talking on the phone has not been a big issue in the reviews that I've read. This is a key requirement to avoid a wallet full of notes. In my case, a USB port is a big deal so I can scan receipts and email them to the accounting office while I'm on the road.
I would like to recommend that Network World start of poll of its readers asking them what functionality that they would aspire for in a smart phone that was an open ended survey instead of a packaged "check Y/N" survey that leave no room for input from the survey takers. After waiting for 4 four years for a smart phone that address most of the needs, I can't help wonder where the phone manufacturers are getting their guidance for their new products. I have never seen a survey related to what smart phone users need... which is a shame. Should Network World do a survey, I would recommend that the input that they receive from the survey be use to create a matrix of features that would be applied to all future smart phone reviews - even handedly. I would also strongly suggest that no smart phone reviews be published w/o a link to where readers can download an owners manual. Also, concerning smart phones and features, I am always left with a void trying to figure out what features are supported by what carriers. This is a royal pain and I would recommend that if the matrix is included, that the matrix should address this issue as well.
With the recent linkage to brain cancer and the use of cell phones, I would REALLY like to see "EMF" and "RF" exposure data in the matrix. Most health conscious people use a headset or the speaker phone and the quality of that functionality is also often left out of the reviews. When it comes to docking the smart phone so it is connected to your wired home or office phones, I seldom see anything about that in the reviews as well. I know that the smart phone market has been dynamic since it became a reality, but by now, I would have hoped that the number of compromises that a user would have to make would have been much lower than what it is.

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