In addition to more functional smartphones, Jones foresees the development of ultramobile PCs that are smaller than the smallest PCs now on the market.

Bob Bracey, a systems integrator at Florida Technology Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla., said he's very familiar with the cry from mobile users for fewer and lighter devices. "We hear that all the time," he said, adding that Florida Technology currently is working with a large company that is rolling out unspecified devices to about 5,000 sales workers.

Bracey said he's hopeful about the HTC X7500, which will have a screen about 5 inches wide -- making it larger than existing smartphone screens but much smaller than the ones on laptops.

Previously, the Sony Vaio notebook PC was sought by many business executives because it's lightweight, Bracey said. But carrying the peripherals that come with the Vaio has detracted from its appeal, he noted. In addition, the Vaio and many small laptops "still take too long to boot and have been fraught with other connection problems," he said, pointing to the instant-on capabilities of smartphones and other smaller devices as one of their big selling points.

Neal Dillard, chief of wide area network management for the federal court system in Washington, said he would like to avoid taking a laptop on short trips but usually must do so because he makes many presentations while on the road. Sometimes, Dillard has been able to leave his laptop in the office and travel only with his BlackBerry device, but that's only if he doesn't have any presentations scheduled.