iPhone not for you
Sure it
looks snazzy, but will Apple's new iPhone make any inroads into the enterprise market? Probably not, at least not initially, conclude consumer electronics Web news outlet
Engadget.
For the site's
Jan. 10 podcast, editors Peter Rojas and Ryan Block pointed out a few of the failings in the much-discussed phone's announced feature-set, at least when it comes to meeting the needs of today's roaming informational worker.
The phone doesn't work with Microsoft Exchange, which is essential for tapping into most organizational messaging set-ups. It doesn't do 3G, essential for tapping the Internet at any sort of workable speed. (Apple
cut an exclusive deal with AT&T, whose Cingular Wireless uses the poky EDGE data service.) And Apple won't allow access to the platform for third party developers, who would be essential for building some useful mobile applications.
On top of all this, add Apple's seeming reluctance to service the enterprise space,
particularly in government, and we may not be seeing a government iPhone anytime soon.
The only upside? The sleek design of iPhone may force Research in Motion and the cell phone manufacturers to revamp their own models. They need to confront 'why cell phones in the year 2007 are still just so abominable,' bemoaned Block.
In related news, Apple has
shortened its corporate name, from 'Apple Computer Inc.' to 'Apple Inc.,' reflecting its iPod-supercharged expansion into consumer electronics.
Posted by Joab Jackson on Jan 21, 2007 at 2:33 PM