Photo: Rego – twitter.com/w3bdesign / Flickr

The Internet, with its democratisation of information and its global marketplace, has given rise to a new crop of entrepreneurs who otherwise would never have started their own firms. But knowing what you should have for your newly found business is sometimes hard for some. These are some hard learned lessons on what kit you should budget for early if you’re starting your own business.

A laptop

This is the no-brainer, right? You know you need a computer to organise virtually everything, from contacts, to critical documents to being the tool you create your product/service on. We’re very biased towards Macs for small businesses because they require less servicing and are intuitive, too.

As an aside, you should also budget for software. While you may have got away with pirating the odd application here and there, when it comes to business and being found out, the risk of having your whole operation shutdown over negligence like that is too high. As a designer, you owe it to Photoshop, since it enables you to do your work, and so on.

An all-in-one printer… or not

If you rely on faxes, or frequently need to print documents, buying each paper-pushing office machine is silly. The next item in our startup business toolkit is what you should purchase instead – an all-in-one printer. This way you’ll not only save on invaluable space, you’ll also save on those hard to come by pennies, too.

If you’re environmentally conscious, and your business is mostly digitally based, whether it be through online sales or a digital store front, consider doing away with paper altogether.

A telephone system

If you run a small operation, you can make do with a single line telephone – preferably landline because, regardless of what people may say about the future of that industry, it certainly makes your establishment look more professional. By the way, your landline telephone doesn’t necessarily have to be separate, with many all-in-one printers shipping with phones built into their systems, too.

Also, as a startup business tip, make sure you put your phone number on all documentation, whether it’s sales material, internal material or every web page. Seeing a number knowing there’s a real person on the other end of the line is very reassuring to potential customers of a new web business.

Your needs dictate your purchases

As stated previously, this is just a startup business toolkit. You still need to make purchases according to your own needs. But at base camp, across various business and various industries around the world, this is what you need to budget for at the very least.

Photo: laihiu / Flickr

People everywhere keep pointing out how mobile carriers’ reliance on voice calls for revenue has to shift if they are to have any chance at the insane profits they saw throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s. But still, carriers insist on selling us packages that include voice when more and more people are shifting away from that and want a pure data plan. Below are three reasons why mobile providers should react swiftly.

Reason one: all telecommunications can be done this way

With data communication services like Skype, Google Voice, and Apple’s FaceTime on iPhone and iPod Touch 4^th gen proving their viability over wi-fi and over 3G, it’s clear that for a large percentage of users, voice calls can be done away with almost entirely. For these users, give more varied options for a pure data plan.

Reason two: consumers will demand it, and you’ll lose if you don’t react

Consumers already hate having to have multiple data packages for their increasing count of mobile devices. Why should I have to carry a 3G data card for my notebook, a micro-SIM installed in my iPad, and a voice and data package for my smartphone. MiFi devices are looking to sort that problem out today.

If one adds the force-fed voice packages sold with most contracts to that equation above, you realise how silly it is for carriers to not abandon voice for those who do not want voice.

Reason three: it’s about choice

Landline carriers were upended by mobile phones carriers because they refused to innovate. If mobile phones carriers do not react similarly, introducing data-only packages for those who want them, consumers will soon be able to choose other alternatives and walk away.

We’ve all turned our eye from the great text message rip-off of the 90s and 00s, but this force-fed voice issue will become a problem users revolt against. We want a no-frills data plan.

It’s about being creative, and data-only packages and mobile contracts are the way of the future. Or mobile carriers may go the way of the dodo. True story.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

Finland becomes the world’s first country where broadband access is a legal right for every citizen. You read right, Finland has made having access to the internet a right.

Starting yesterday, 1 July 2010, every Finn has a right to broadband connectivity of 1Mbps at a minimum. With a reported 96% percent of Finland’s population already compliant with the law, only another 4000 homes need to get broadband access. As if the fact that the entire nation will be on broadband is not a big enough deal, the Finnish government has committed to upping the minimum speed everybody has a right to 100MB per second by 2015. That’s a 100 times increase in Finland internet speeds in five years as a legal right.

Why the move

Finnish communication minister, Suvi Linden, who oversees Finland internet strategies, told the BBC why this was such a big deal, saying: “We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment.” She continued, saying “Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access”. So, taking a very progressive move, the government made it law, now compelling telecommunications companies to provide service to every citizen. How’s that for a progressive government

How does the UK stack up?

By comparison, broadband penetration in the United Kingdom is at a respectable 73%. At governmental level, one major campaigning point of the recent elections was how fast a connection and to how many people each party could deliver British citizens. In comparison, the ConDem government has committed to delivering 2Mbps broadband to every home come 2012. But it does not appear that they will make having the Internet a right, as well.

This is one example of government intervention in telecommunications having a positive impact on ISPs and widespread broadband connectivity. Sure, the challenges locations like the UK, with its dispersed population are more difficult to circumvent than those faced by countries with high population density, like Finland, but solutions do exist. Making the Internet a right, a basic human right like free speech and freedom of religion is as progressive as it gets. And it’s no wonder the Finland Internet services and networks are among the best in the world.

A mobile par excellence, the BlackBerry Bold incorporates an elegant yet functional design. It is aptly referred to as a Smartphone. This interesting device has not compromised on any features, providing the user with a phone, IM, email, internet option and even an organizer. With a video recording facility and a built in camera you are fully equipped to face your day at work.

This user friendly device requires a data plan to be activated. To increase memory a micro SD card can be inserted to record required amount of video. For advanced users, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can successfully access mobile streaming sites such as 3GPP RTSP.

Taking advantage of the speed of the HSDPA network 1.3, this phone works faster and better. With the help of its 624 MHz processor, you can successfully multitask on this smart device. Data services on Wi-Fi networks enable you to keep connected even in areas without network reception.

Get your BlackBerry Bold today and stay connected to your friends, family and business wherever you are. The instant messaging, email and phone features enable you to be in touch with what matters.

Have endless fun and enjoyment with the help of the media player, camera and social networking facility. It is hard to find any other mobile device offering you more convenience like the Blueberry Bold with its SureType, tethered modem and Bluetooth features.
You are sure to find whatever information you need in a jiffy thanks to the organizer, corporate data access, GPS capabilities, etc. Get your Blackberry Bold today and enjoy its advanced features.

NEC N923 is a one-of-a-kind mobile phone which is compatible with European providers. This interesting model, which was released a few years back, operates on GSM 900 and GSM 1800 frequencies. It is a product of the multi national NEC Corporation based in Tokyo, Japan.

The NEC N923 follows in the footsteps of the NEC N900, which was launched with a revolutionary slim design with a thickness of only 8.5 mm. Being sleek does not mean that the NEC N923 has cut back on features. It comes with polyphonic ring tones. All you need to do is to download the MIDI files from the net and load them on to your phone. Alternately you can also download them using the GRPS. This sleek and elegant mobile phone also incorporates a camera. These are not the only features though. With the NEC N923 you will be able to surf the Internet with the help of the in-built browser. Enhanced message service or EMS is another interesting feature in this mobile which has a lot packed into its small and thin shell.

The NEC N923 with the t9 option allows you to type text messages easily and effortlessly. Advanced browser features include the WAP browser and an added HTML browser which enables the user to browse normal web pages. This also supports Java script. With a 2 MB RAM and voice commands, the package is small and elegant, yet the features are numerous. The NEC N923 has all you can ask for in a mobile phone.