Financial people have been using PDAs and smartphones for years, but until recently their use has been more prevalent among brokers and traders than financial planners. This makes sense. Transmitting the data traders crave, such as prices and text alerts, is rather simple technology and doesn't require much bandwidth. But new and improved hardware and software—plus expanded data capabilities from cell- phone carriers—have made smartphones easier to use and more reliable.

Now smartphone users can enjoy better call quality, fewer dropped calls and improved customer service. In major cities, most wireless providers upgraded to 3G broadband networks, which provide significantly faster transmission speeds than the older EDGE networks. Plus, most new phones support Wi-Fi, which delivers a broadband connection when a 3G connection isn't available.

MORE BELLS AND WHISTLES

Out of the box, many new smartphones, including the iPhone, have enough power to play videos, do speech-to-text/text-to-speech conversions and run a GPS program. Phones can handle multiple email accounts, take pictures, listen to audio files and more. Potentially, you could use the GPS to find a client's beach house, photograph the new boat, email the picture to an agent for an umbrella-liability quote and listen to a podcast while you drive back to the office.

iPhone users can download additional applications to the phone through the online app store. Iris Mack Dayoub of Alpha Financial Management in Savannah, Ga., likes Evernote, a free-form database that allows you to capture and sort text, pictures and other files. With Evernote, you can take a photo of a business card, and the app will convert the picture to text, then index the info for retrieval so you can add it to your contact database. Dayoub uses iTalk to record ideas she thinks up while driving and iPunchClock for time tracking.

Pam Poldiak of Fee-Only Financial Planning in Roanoke, Va., says, "I've owned an iPhone since the day it came out, and it's my most prized possession. I use it to enhance my productivity, and it's a great source of entertainment. I can check email when I'm traveling for business, and I rarely feel the need to bring a laptop with me anymore-I can do almost anything I need with the iPhone." Poldiak also used the Fring application to make cheap calls to the United States over Wi-Fi on a trip to Costa Rica.

Another popular application is the HP12C Emulator. "This is my favorite tool," says Delia Fernandez of Fernandez Financial Advisory in Los Alamitos, Calif. "I click on the icon and get a mini version of my favorite calculator." The video feature lets advisors take continuing education classes, learn new software or stay up to date on the latest news.

EXTENDING THE DESKTOP

A smartphone can also "extend the desktop"-that is, provide computerlike capabilities from within the phone. Smartphones offer general applications such as email, web access, scheduling and research, and they can even display slide presentations. A more recent development is the number of firms creating mobile applications that optimize planning software for use with an iPhone. For example, eMoney, an online investment planning software provider, has an iPhone application, as does Redtail Technology, a leading CRM software provider for advisors. Junxure, another CRM software leader, is currently beta testing its smart-phone interface, and Commonwealth Financial is releasing an iPhone app soon.

WHICH PHONE AND CARRIER?

All major smartphone manufacturers have improved screen resolutions, added features and improved usability. New phones on the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems have made significant strides, and the G1, the first phone to run on Google's Android operating system, looks promising. More manufacturers will be introducing Android phones of their own, although T-Mobile is the sole carrier with an Android phone right now.

Some carriers offer promising additional capabilities for advisors. The AT&T 3G network, now in most cities, can transmit voice and data simultaneously. Equipped with a phone such as a BlackBerry Bold, an advisor can read data from the screen while holding a call on speakerphone. Or, an advisor can tether the Bold to a laptop and download information while on the phone.

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

Smartphones' biggest productivity boost comes from their ability to integrate information and present it to the user. You can use a smartphone to watch training videos and financial news or to listen to podcasts on the treadmill. Bus or train commuters can schedule appointments, prioritize tasks, answer email and write notes. At conferences, you can perform nearly all core functions with a smartphone, including, in some cases, PowerPoint presentations. New technologies also help. By integrating customer addresses with a GPS service, an advisor visiting one client can locate other clients and prospects in the area, leveraging a single meeting into many.