Here are some interesting statistics you might want to be aware of:

• According to Symantec, a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds in the USA — and 97% of them are never recovered.
• 600,000 laptops stolen in the USA alone in the year 2004
• In most cases a PDA will carry more vital data than the computers they pulled data from. PDA theft is twice as high as mobile PC theft. 15 to 20% of PDA’s are stolen each year.

The key to successfully securing your pda or laptop, which as you know contains a great deal of information on your business, is to plan for what could happen. Your plan should include these three items: backing-up, software and hardware.

Backing up this will allow you to retrieve data that was lost or on your stolen machine quickly helping elevating some of the stress of losing your device.

The software you need to consider installing to protect your stolen or lost device is encryption software. Review the slides for other software options and let me know your thoughts by commenting below. Click here

Now if you ask Verizon they will tell you that it is not their fault Maria lost all her data, and technically they are right. Companies like Cingular, T-Mobile and Verizon are only concerned with making your phone work. Having your all-in-one device work, that is their sole objective; they need to make sure it syncs but are not concerned with what can happen during the sync. Some technical support representatives may warn you that you may loose data during this process, but some do not even think to bring it up. If it is not on the technical support script they read, they may not even know that this is an issue.

Therefore, if you have an all-in-one smart-phone like a Blackberry or Treo here are a few things you can do to keep this from happening to you.

First, start by truly understanding how your sync program works. Does your PDA over ride the computer when there is a conflicting appointment or item? Or is it the other way around? Take the time to learn what items are syncing, for example are you updating your calendar, contacts, tasks, email or all of these items? Are they all syncing to the same desktop application or different software products? For instance, some people may have their calendar and contacts synced with ACT and email synced with Microsoft Outlook.

Second, don’t go it alone. Ask a family friend who has a true grasp on this process or hirer someone you trust to help you out. You can even ask them about the items in point one to see if they truly understand.

Three, backup your information to a third location like a flash drive or external hard drive. If you are having major PDA device issues before you call technical support create a backup. Backup the data on each of the applications you synchronize with. For my readers who may have concerns now and don’t have time to create a backup because you may need some help with this process, print your information out. A print copy will at least allow you to feel for the short term you have something if your technical expert makes a mistake.

Four, learn how to use the backup. Once you created the backup of all your information be sure you know how to restore it if you ever need it.

Five, ask your cell phone technical support representative some of these questions:

• Is what you’re asking me to try to fix on my phone effect my synchronization software?
• Will I loose any data if I have not backed up my phone recently?
• I am concerned that the changes you ask me to make will cause a loss of data: how can I avoid this?
• Can you walk me through backing up my information, before we start making changes?

I have seen too many of my clients deal with this problem, with all of the wireless companies out there. You may get lucky and work with a support expert that does know what they are talking about, but you may not, and you need to be prepared. Remember the cell phone companies are only focused on making your phone work. They may not be aware of, systems you have set-up or even support those systems. Being an informed consumer will help eliminate the frustration you may feel when working with technology.

Everyone can use a little Technology Therapy… please pass this on to friends who may need this therapy session, and please feel free to vent with me. Post your good and bad experiences here and help others avoid this issue in their life.

1. Usability
2. Compatibility
3. Features

Usability: is the device simple to use? Can you move around with ease? Are your fingers too big or too small for the keyboard? Does the system feel comfortable for you? Does the system work to enhance your business?

These questions seem like simple questions, but many of my clients have complained about these very items. Many of my male clients do not like the Treo because they find the keyboard to be too small. Other clients have not been happy with the blackberry because they came from a palm, and liked being able to tap on the screen or use the stylus pen to write. It is important that you be prepared to adapt and change if the device is what you want, however find one that will make the migration a little easier on you.

Compatibility: Will your new device work with the software on your computer? For example, will it sync with Outlook, ACT or Entourage? Do you need to sync with a server? Does the device support the ability to talk to your company’s server?

ACT for Palm is a separate piece of software that allows ACT users to work on a version of ACT for Palm, but if you buy a new Palm Treo this software will not work on your Treo. You will have the ability to sync using ACT for Palm sync but it is not same. It is no surprise that Macintosh computers prefer the Palm device to the Pocket PC.

Features: This is the area that seems to cause the majority of my clients the most anxiety. What features were you using on your phone? Did you download ring tones? Were you using third party software like zagat.com’s mobile addition? Did you have a mobile service for finding addresses or maps? If you are switching devices will the features for setting up and retrieving email be different?

In setting up a clients new Motorola Q last week, I found that the new version of the Windows Operating system did not support downloading ring tones with ease but they did support making your own ring tones. Is that easier? Depends on the user’s personal comfort level with technology?

On another occasion, I had a client make a jump from blackberry to a Palm Treo and then back to Blackberry because he did not like the way the email feature worked.

Switching back and forth can be costly, investing your time and money in a new device and finding out it is not what you thought it would be. The biggest complaint I hear is that “the salesperson did not warn me about these issues!” That is very normal with technology changing as rapidly as it is and many sales people can not keep up. Or do not get proper training, and just don’t think to ask you these questions. As business people it is our responsibility to make purchasing decisions based on understanding about our lives and our businesses. If you don’t know where to start then talk to a technical adviser you trust, invest a small fee to pay for some advice on what you want. You may find a half-hour investment will save you hours, rather days of pain and anxiety over what will and will not work for you and your business.

Please tell me how you feel about this. Do you agree? Do you have a story you can share? Help us all grow by sharing your thoughts and comments