SMART PHONE

A smart phone -- often seen as more of a portable computer with a cell phone than a phone with computer-like functionality -- offers features such as email, video conferencing, text messaging, e-book reading and GPS. Easy access to the Internet, coupled with the ability to send, receive and read documents, make this a valuable tool for communication with employees in the field. In fact, in an April 2010 Ring Central Connect survey, as many small- to medium-sized business owners said they couldn't live without a smart phone as said they couldn't live without intimate relations (40 percent). Furthermore, 77 percent said their smart phone was the phone they most used to conduct business.