The mobile phone is arguably the most essential piece of technology for the modern business person, acting not just as a way of communicating with people, partners and colleagues around the globe but also as a personal organiser, pocket PC and media hub.

The modern mobile phone handset has become so sophisticated that it has made obsolete some of the clunkier, less convenient items that the business world revolved around, and with 3G networks it is now possible to access the internet at broadband speeds from your mobile phone wherever you are in the country. However, not every mobile phone will have all or any of the functions that you will come to need, so its important to look carefully at the mobile phone market and consider all of the various manufacturers and their models before making a choice. Lets take a look at the key areas of the mobile phone market and what makes them distinct.

The Smart Phone
The idea of a smart phone that combines multiple functions in a single unit has been around for ages, but with the current generation of business and entertainment centred handsets you're spoilt for choice. Everyone will of course be aware of the powerhouse that is the Apple iPhone 3G. With unrivalled web browsing software and trend setting features like the App store, the iPhone manages to be a style icon and a functional smart phone. Its not quite won over the business world, however, and that market is still largely dominated by various offerings from Blackberry. This is largely because of the full QWERTY keypad that is offered with most models, as well as compatibility with various pieces of business software for monitoring the markets and balancing the books on the go.

Nokia have also taken up a respectable proportion of the smart phone market with their N series, of which the N96 is the current incarnation. The N96 packs in as much functionality as one can reasonably expect from a handheld device, and then gives you even more, with multimedia capabilities being its speciality. Search engine giants Google have even had a stab at the smart phone market with the G1, though its choice to put function over form has yet to win it the main stream attention that it so desperately wants.

The Camera Phone
The second most vibrant area of the mobile phone market is dominated by the picture phones, with ever increasing megapixel counts being strapped to newer models. Samsung phones like the Pixon offer 8 Megapixel camera and large, detailed touch screen interfaces, combining digital photography and video capabilities with other modern functions that allow them to compete with their smart phone brethren. Offerings from Korean company LG, like the Renoir or the mid range Cookie phones are also trying to get some of the camera phone market with varying degrees of success.
How you choose the handset that is right for you is down to the kind of functionality you're after, as well as your budget. Most handsets will do the basics like voice calling and SMS messaging, but with pricier handsets comes things like mobile internet, decent software packages and applications for the business user.