What phone for workforce....

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

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What phone would you provide your workforce if you wanted to sack off your BlackBerrys and the latest iPhones were a bit too expensive?

I know this only leaves Android and Windows Phone devices but i'm curious to get some peoples ideas on what handsets they'd recommend.

We're in the process of our contract renewal and have had no end of complaints about our BlackBerrys (9720, 9790, 9900's) and think the workforce want something a bit easy to use and with a better GUI.

They only need access to send/receive from their Exchange email account and calendar with the ability to view documents (PDF's and Word/Excel/Powerpoint) and to browse the web......as well as the usual phone call and text gumf!

Anyone any recommendations?
 
Have you looked into OS10 and the newer Blackberry's? It's a fantastic phone, more so now considering the price (under £200 per handset).
 
With the requirements of Word/Excel etc and wanting Exchange Server, I'd go for Windows Phones, they're very simple and are decent throughout the price range. They all (to my knowledge) come preloaded with the office suite.
 
Hyburnate said:
With the requirements of Word/Excel etc and wanting Exchange Server, I'd go for Windows Phones, they're very simple and are decent throughout the price range. They all (to my knowledge) come preloaded with the office suite.
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Yep, has the Office Suite built in, able to read/ edit native Office files.
 
Are people just saying Windows phone because they think Microsoft will work well with Microsoft?

I have a Windows Phone 8 for work and its crap. Exchange is no simpler than on Android. It need a Microsoft account that isn't your work email to work. It lacks basic common sense functionality, is a pain to use, and doesn't connect to VPNs. It also doesn't have half the apps I want.

My Android phone is a far better work phone. Moto G all the way, buy shed loads.
 
AlecR said:
Moto G or Nexus 5. Windows Phone sucks.
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Its a work phone, i wouldn't give two poops if the selection of apps was lacking and the interface isn't customizable to the same extent as android. Its a tool for your employees to make calls and conduct business with, nothing more.

Build quality and longevity are what i would be looking for, lumia 920s all round would be my choice.
 
Bennie-Mac said:
Its a work phone, i wouldn't give two poops if the selection of apps was lacking and the interface isn't customizable to the same extent as android. Its a tool for your employees to make calls and conduct business with, nothing more.

Build quality and longevity are what i would be looking for, lumia 920s all round would be my choice.
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Agreed. After something that has decent battery life (if it exists) and copes well with being tied up to an exchange email account all day. Will probably also need some sort of universal MDM solution too to administer/monitor all handsets across the estate so a mix of tablets along with the senior managers iOS devices and either the new android/wp8 devices we get.

Nexus 5's might be a good shout, however I'm thinking they might be a touch too big.

I had thought about the new BB's however you can't run them through a BESx server anymore (like we are doing at present) and the licensing cost to do so through a full fledged BES server for OS10 is ridiculous from what I remember, unless its changed.

I've had nothing but complaints about them off our staff to be honest and have sent a fair few back for repairs over the past 12 months. They seem to have a mind of their own at times and lock up etc for no reason.

I highly doubt a Windows Phone/Android device will be any more reliable but it's probably going to satisfy the workforce if we ditch BB's at the earliest opportunity. Plus I'm not convinced in RIM's longevity as a company, I know they are focusing on the enterprise market again but have their new handsets really been their saving grace? I've been led to believe and am inclined to think not.
 
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If your users are anything like mine they'll find fault with anything you give them until it has an Apple logo on the back but once they've got them they'll just ignore all of the problems and leave you alone :o

We give our non customer facing minions Nokia Lumia 520/620s and they've been bomb proof. Reliable, excellent signal and good battery life. I'd happily move all of our users over to higher end Lumias rather than iPhones. The budget Android phones we bought (HTC Wildfires) were a complete disaster and put me off wanting to support Android users in the future.
 
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That would've worked better than a budget Android phone to be fair :D

Unfortunately we're tied in to an Orange contract and have to pick out of their brochure. At the time the minions had a budget of £150 and the Wildfire S was about the best phone we could buy until the Lumia came along and **** on it from a great height.
 
Without a doubt back then, but here and now, the Moto G has redefined performance in the low end Android space.

The Wildfire was a horrid handset, so so horrible....shuddder. :D
 
AlecR said:
Moto G or Nexus 5. Windows Phone sucks.
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How so? Are you turning the phone on? The problem with Android is, when the phone gets older the manufacturer will cut support. All Nokia windows phones have had every single GDR update and they're all set to receive 8.1
 
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