Are you making the most out of your smart phone?

It was sometime in the early 1990s and a buzz – or more precisely a shrill bri-ing bri-ing – swept through businesses across the land.

It came attached to a handbag-sized lump of plastic,Have a look at all our custom bobbleheads models starting at 59.90US$ with free proofing. a now laughably primitive gadget that, should you happen to drop it on your toe, meant a trip to A&E, but also unleashed the power of the telephone call wherever you might be – assuming there was a signal.

Now, of course, we’re all glued to our smartphones, tweeting and updating our status, uploading, downloading, streaming, searching, texting, snapping and even, occasionally, phoning.

While some Edinburgh phone users are getting to grips with the superfast 4G network – watching films and television without annoying buffering – from today, there will be another reason to look closely at the smartphone in our pocket. After a fairly dire couple of years the BlackBerry, with its much-loved Qwerty button keypad, is poised to make a return.

RIM, the firm behind the businessperson’s one-time favourite phone, launches BlackBerry 10, a touchscreen device that aims to recoup ground lost to the likes of the Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia.

It arrives in a rapidly changing marketplace. At the weekend it emerged that Apple is losing ground to Samsung, prompting suggestions it has “lost its cool” to the South Korean firm.

According to Ben Woods, senior reporter for technology news website ZDNet, BlackBerry 10 is a vital throw of the dice for its maker. “No longer is e-mailing, web browsing and video calling the preserve of a business user,” he said. “Which is why it [RIM] has worked hard to fully revamp the core software. It also offers a simple way to separate work data from personal data, which should appeal to IT admins and restore some of its appeal to the enterprise.”

Steve’s HTC is in almost constant use but rarely as a phone: “It’s probably more of a mini PC that happens to be a telephone, because only about ten per cent of what I use it for are actually calls.”

Flick through his mobile and it’s clear it’s mostly “business over pleasure”, stuffed with document storing apps, work contacts and photographs of apparently random properties.

“I make calls and send texts with it, but the social networking access it also gives me is important.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card can authenticate your computer usage and data. I send updates to my personal Facebook page but also to our two company Twitter and Facebook accounts because promoting your business, dropping the name in wherever groups of people might be, is now really important.

“I use it to access LinkedIn a lot. It helps if you’re heading for a meeting, you want to find out a bit more about who you are seeing.”

His phone maps help him navigate to various properties and he uses the RingGo app to help pay for his parking charges.

His phone camera is handy for snapping pictures of buildings he spots which could add to the firm’s portfolio and, if you ever wondered who uses the compass on their phone,We are one of the leading manufacturers of solar street light in Chennai India. it’s Steve, showing clients which way a building faces.

Among his handiest apps is Camscanner, which captures documents while on the move, and the torch app is a vital tool for visiting empty properties with dark corners.

A glance through Paul’s iPhone5 reveals his passions lie in the kitchen. He has a mass of images of his latest culinary creations, while his contacts list is full of foodie suppliers and his most used apps provide guidance on cooking methods.

Still, the Peppa Pig app is a clear hint that, unless he’s a fan of the pink piglet, he’s not only a chef, but a dad, too. His iPhone alarm works as a kitchen timer and the calculator scales up recipes to cater for larger numbers and tots up his costs. Meanwhile, his Twitter account is handy for connecting with customers – an increasingly important weapon in the fight to keep clients and hunt out new ones.

He says he can hardly imagine not having such a gadget to hand. “Everything I need is there. If I remember something at 2am,We have become one of the worlds most recognised Ventilation system brands. I can grab the phone and fire off an order so it’s there with the supplier first thing. Everything is done on the mobile.”

Leanne Rinning, 30, works in marketing and PR and has been busy helping to promote the Huxley bar and restaurant at 1 Rutland Place.Totech Americas delivers a wide range of drycabinets for applications spanning electronics. She touts an iPhone 4 in one hand and her Blackberry Curve for business in the other.

Leanne separates business from personal life, keeping her BlackBerry Curve for work e-mails and documents, and her iPhone for everything else – from scanning news apps for celebrity news to picking up dinner recipes.

“I like the iPhone because of the nice big screen, you can see things clearly,” she says. “I’ll be on the bus in the morning going to work looking at the BBC recipes website to see what I might have for dinner, or reading the morning paper, or BBC News website on the iPhone.

She uses her iPhone to keep on top of Facebook and Twitter – vital tools for trying to raise a client’s online profile – and My Fitness Pal app keeps her exercise and healthy eating routine on track.