Which is the best smartphone for business professionals and business owners for maximizing productivity?

The ultimate promise of technology is to make us master of a world that we command by the push of a button.  –Volker Grassmuck

Being an IT business owner, I really need to get lots of things done in the nick of time. In the process of really mastering my world with the push of a button, I’ve used a number of smartphones to boost my productivity. Here, I’d share my real world experiences with different smartphones and which ones were really able to match my work speed. :)

Business owners need smartphones with support for mails, video-conferencing or online meetings; huge storage capability; and high battery backup.

But in addition to all these, smartphone for business should also have the latest mobile operating system with productivity enhancing business apps because OS is the heart of any mobile phone.

I’ve used smartphones with major operating systems – Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and Microsoft’s Windows and I’ve found that productivity through a smartphone finally zeroes down to the number and usability of apps it provides and how secure it keeps your critical data. Discussing both in detail below:

Variety of apps:  

 Android Apps
Apps in Android smartphones are available through Google play store, which at present has 1.8 million apps. It has all the apps that a business owner need. Two worth mentioning:
1. outlook.com app unifies your emails, cloud storage, contacts and calendars, thus making it easier for business owners to get things done.

2. Office 365 mobile apps for business including:

? Email apps for setting up email accounts.
? Office apps for setting up Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
? Other Office 365 apps for installing OneDrive, Skype for business and Yammer on your Android phone or tablet.
The availability and quality of apps on iOS and Android is almost the same.

iOS Apps

Although some apps like Paper by Fifty Three, Adobe Photoshop Sketch etc. are exclusive to Apple App Store, most apps useful for business owners and professionals are the same as Google Play Store.

1. outlook.com for iPhone and iPad can be used for managing emails with very easy swipe gestures and you can effortlessly share your availability with your contacts through it.

2. Office 365 mobile apps for business including:

? In-built iOS mail app for setting up your email account.
? Office apps for setting up Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote on your iPhone or iPad.
? Other Office 365 apps for setting up OneDrive, Skype for business and Yammer on your iPad or iphone.

Windows Apps

Windows Phone Store has relatively lesser number of apps than its contemporaries. At present, it has 669,000 apps, up from 525,000 last November. Being a Microsoft product, Windows phone has a lot to offer to business professionals, including:

1. outlook.com app on Windows phone. Just tap settings> Email> accounts and sign in by entering your outlook address and password.

2. Office 365 mobile apps for business including:

? Email apps for older Windows versions; mail and calendar apps for Windows10.
? Office Mobile apps on Windows 10 for setting up Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote and Office apps for other Windows versions.
? Other Office 365 apps for setting up OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business and Yammer on your Windows phone.

Security of critical data:

Safety of critical business data is a major concern with smartphone usage. Keep your data secure by not downloading any third party apps- however useful they may seem.

Android  
Security of data in an Android phone is totally the responsibility of the user. You can keep it secure by regularly updating it and by not downloading dubious apps. Android for Work app- available in many latest Android phones safeguards your business applications. Samsung Knox addresses main security gaps in Android phones.

iOS

Apple not only controls its OS strictly but also the apps in its store. Thus, it’s able to provide highest level of security, albeit with some restrictions at the user level, which may irritate some users, like only one copy of an app can exist on a device.

Windows

Windows Phones although improving on all fronts, had a gloomy past when it comes to security. But with centralized control and with more users onboarding, the performance is increasing each day. 

My Conclusion:

Eventually, all three leading phones have a number of productivity enhancing features and apps beneficial for office use.

Whereas, Android phones are quite personalizable with handy features; iOS phones offer an impressive and secure interface providing value for money; and Windows phones offer an amalgamation of much familiar Office 365 features with new modifications like Live Tiles.

Ultimately, it is your personal choice as no one size fits all. All three- Android, iOS and Windows gave me the balanced mix of privacy and power at different times and as per my varying business needs. :)