Productivity: The everywhere office
In the mobile future just about every document and program in the office will be accessible to workers who are out of the office.

SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - Alas, the mobile future won't be all play and no work. In many cases, mobile devices will stand in for laptops to handle basic workplace tasks like e-mail, messaging, Web access, and manipulating documents.

Convergence will be the watchword, but with a business-oriented twist: On the road, workers will be able to remotely access essential contacts, scheduling information, and business documents.

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Likewise, productivity-oriented convergence will combine the pervasiveness of the cellular grid with the versatility of IP-based data networks and the organizational capabilities embedded in many corporate phone systems.

Voice-mail, extension dialing, and staff directories will be fully accessible from next-generation mobile devices, while BlackBerry-style e-mail will become commonplace, at a fraction of the current cost.

Professionals will have tools to help manage the flow of their communications, in the form of applications that prioritize incoming calls and messages.

The bad news is that, thanks to broadband wireless networks, you'll never really be out of touch. On the bright side, however, you'll also have more sophisticated ways to control how and when you're reachable.

Click here for a photo gallery of companies to watch.

Read more about your wireless future:

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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.