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Apple Dumbphone: A Social Tool NOT A Business Tool

a456 said:
This is not the attitude that will see broad business adoption. At the moment the iPhone is a social tool not a business tool. Must do better.
Click to expand...

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. The AT&T 3G iPhone is marketed and built to also be a business tool, unlike the first generation. From AT&T's provisioning, billing, and support, it is business friendly. The synchronization with Exchange and IBM's thin client for Lotus Domino will allow some corporations to embrace the iPhone. The primary (and one of the few legitimate complaints) is the lack of a dedicated keyboard. This will turn off the e-mail road warriors, but there's always the Blackberry for people that don't like to look up very often. :)

Senior executives are clamoring for this device. They've put up with PDA's that do e-mail well and not much else (use an HTC Tilt for awhile and you'll see what I mean). They want the bells and whistles. Not to mention the sales force that need the other features.

The phone has been out for just over three weeks. Business needs time to adopt a new device and generally they don't deploy just one model. Give it a chance.
 
internet-serious-business.jpg
 
a456 said:
OK, so I knew this would wind people up, but I view myself as part of the Apple (business) demographic: self-employed/small business, in the publishing industry, and I would be interested to know if others in this demographic, such as graphic designers can hand on heart say that buying an iPhone is worth the money as a business tool or if they bought it because they wanted it.
Click to expand...

i.e freelancer
 
a456 said:
1. If you are talking about NetShare it has been removed from the App store.

2. Almost ready, OK fair point and there is Truphone.

3. You can't attach a file to an email. You can only receive and forward attachments. Therefore if you are away and have a laptop on which you have been working, but no available WiFi, then there is no way to get that file onto your iPhone and send it anywhere (or alternatively to tether it and send it direct from the laptop) - this is a common requirement for those who don't work in cubicles and travel around.
Click to expand...

1.your right i wasnt aware they removed it again. it had been put back up for a while. but i believe the extra usability and functionality of the iPhone are worth investing in a 3g router from a company such as ATT or sprint. that would solve your problem in #3 as well. then youd actually be able to use a laptop on the go while also making important business calls instead of your phone being the network card and therefore being out of commission whenever you need the internet. probably something an on the go businessman such as yourself (according to what youve said, perhaps im jumping to conclusions) will probably end up appreciating in the end
 
If the iphone is a "dumbphone" then my Razr that I had before mustve been somewhere in the realm of "drooling-idiot-who-can't-figure-out-how-to-dress-itselfphone".
I'd venture to say it's more of a smartphone. That's just my two cents though. Nobody has to agree.
 
I've never read such rubbish in my life. Talk to a corporate IT department and get the real story.

I posted in another thread here about the real issues preventing the iphone gaining traction in the corporate side -

- No bulk configurations (take a business with 1 or 2000 handsets and you get the idea).
- No remote wipe ( if you lose it which staff do all the time)
- No encryption of data (read customer sensitive data)
- No replaceable battery so you have to take the handset from your senior exec, wipe it ( data protection laws dictate that you have to) , and send it off to get a battery replaced (and these need replacing at least every 12-18 months) and tell the exec that they won't have a phone for a couple of days!
-No IT department installable apps (have to go through the app store)



I could go on and on. Remember its not execs or sales people that decide what handsets a company uses - its the IT department and they are by and large conservative and want to see check boxes checked off.

The iphone is a great consumer phone. Its terrific and has set the bar a lot higher so the others like Nokia etc will have to try and match. But its no business phone. My Nokia E71 beats it hands down for everything except internet browsing - whether is local storage, use as a modem for a laptop, sending attachments, podcasting, corporate and user address books etc. Thats what I use it for 18 hours a day.

I got my wife an iphone and she really likes it. I like it and use it a lot, but not for work. I can't wait for the day that the iphone can do all the things business people and IT departments need it to do - It will be a fantastic device then.

I agree 100% with the OP. A great (consumer) social tool but not ready for the corporate world.


PNutts said:
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. The AT&T 3G iPhone is marketed and built to also be a business tool, unlike the first generation. From AT&T's provisioning, billing, and support, it is business friendly. The synchronization with Exchange and IBM's thin client for Lotus Domino will allow some corporations to embrace the iPhone. The primary (and one of the few legitimate complaints) is the lack of a dedicated keyboard. This will turn off the e-mail road warriors, but there's always the Blackberry for people that don't like to look up very often. :)

Senior executives are clamoring for this device. They've put up with PDA's that do e-mail well and not much else (use an HTC Tilt for awhile and you'll see what I mean). They want the bells and whistles. Not to mention the sales force that need the other features.

The phone has been out for just over three weeks. Business needs time to adopt a new device and generally they don't deploy just one model. Give it a chance.
Click to expand...
 
kevinof said:
...
I agree 100% with the OP. A great (consumer) social tool but not ready for the corporate world.
Click to expand...
Agreed... and everyone would be happy with that if it weren't for the fact that Apple had "enterprise ready" plastered all over their site at launch! Then all the fanboys took up the call and started calling it a blackberry killer. :rolleyes:

It's suitable for my needs, but there's no way in hell this is "enterprise ready".
 
kevinof said:
- No remote wipe ( if you lose it which staff do all the time)

-No IT department installable apps (have to go through the app store)
Click to expand...

I haven't done any more research since it came out, and maybe this feature ended up not making it, but wasn't remote wipe included as part of the enterprise abilities?

And didn't they also work out a way for companies to deploy specialized in-house apps among their own employees? Or schools, etc? I thought I read/heard that somewhere, but I may be wrong.
 
kevinof said:
- No bulk configurations (take a business with 1 or 2000 handsets and you get the idea).
- No remote wipe ( if you lose it which staff do all the time)
- No encryption of data (read customer sensitive data)
- No replaceable battery so you have to take the handset from your senior exec, wipe it ( data protection laws dictate that you have to) , and send it off to get a battery replaced (and these need replacing at least every 12-18 months) and tell the exec that they won't have a phone for a couple of days!
-No IT department installable apps (have to go through the app store).
Click to expand...

Your opinions != everyone's requirements. But to your points:

1. Not sure what you mean. Our PDA's are stock OS with mail transfer software. We do not have (or need) a corporate custom image.
2. Remote wipe is available.
3. For those who want mail on the device (as opposed to a thin mail client that leaves no data on the device), the other enforceable security polices may be enough. What protection you need (if any) is determined by the data on the device and what internal policies and outside regulations govern it. Encryption is not required in all cases.
4. Not true and not worthy of a response except, "Wow, did I really just read that?"
5. You didn't mention what else you need the iPhone to do, but it is not a desktop or a laptop and I stated that the iPhone isn't the best choice for road warriors. Some business requirements eliminate the iPhone, but nobody said it had to be the only mobile device for a company.

The outstanding issues may be addressed or some will choose not to use it. It can already do what some IT departments need it to do. Sorry, the world isn't as black and white as you make it out to be. Here's some information to get you started (Google is your friend):

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9110882&sou

Also, the E62 has the best speakerphone I've ever heard.

Edit: I fixed the quote tag. Bleh.
 
1. Its not about customer image its about settings. The last company I worked for had over 2000 BB's. They could at any time change the settings (any setting) on all 2000 BB's with one click. They could open up or restict the handset at any time and apply it across all devices. That's one big issue for IT depts.

2. Last I checked its wasn't but I'll take your word.

3. Agreed not required in all cases but a LOT of corporations do require it. My point is that if you want the device to play in the corporate world you need to at least match the competition.

4. Stop thinking about North America- There's a whole other world out there. In Europe, the data protection laws are strict. You leave your phone in to get fixed (or a battery replacement in the case of the iphone) and by law the service centre must first wipe the device before giving it to the tech.

5. I agree it doesn't have to be the only device in a company but then again IT departments like standards and like to only have to deal with one company or one device.

I now run my own company and there are 5 of us. Even though we're small I've standardized on the Nokia E series for the very reasons (and more) above. If the iphone ticked the appropriate boxes for me then we might have even gone with it instead of the E71 - but it didn't. It may in the furture (not this hardware version because of the battery) but maybe down the road.

Again these are my opinions and yours and everybody elses may be different but if the iphone wants to play in the business world it needs to at the very least match what the BB's and Nokias etc are doing. That at least gets the phone past the first IT department check point and then it has a chance.

PNutts said:
Your opinions != everyone's requirements. But to your points:

1. Not sure what you mean. Our PDA's are stock OS with mail transfer software. We do not have (or need) a corporate custom image.
2. Remote wipe is available.
3. For those who want mail on the device (as opposed to a thin mail client that leaves no data on the device), the other enforceable security polices may be enough. What protection you need (if any) is determined by the data on the device and what internal policies and outside regulations govern it. Encryption is not required in all cases.
4. Not true and not worthy of a response except, "Wow, did I really just read that?"
5. You didn't mention what else you need the iPhone to do, but it is not a desktop or a laptop and I stated that the iPhone isn't the best choice for road warriors. Some business requirements eliminate the iPhone, but nobody said it had to be the only mobile device for a company.

.
Click to expand...
 
This is not about having a backup, its about batteries holding charge. Batteries die. Doesn't matter who makes them or what phone they are in. Repeated charging/discharging over a year or 18 months will everytually impact the battery and they no longer hold enough charge. My Nokia's did this, so did my BB and my Moto. The iphone will too.

You have 100's or 1000's of devices in a business and chances are you need to replace batteries regularly. With non iphones you have a shelf with a bunch of new batteries there just for this reason. with the iphone you wipe the device, package it up, tell the sales person/exec/whatever to go cry somewhere else and you send the phone off for a couple of days to get the battery replaced.

That just wont fly in the enterprise space.

Small White Car said:
The difference between a replaceable battery and this:

http://richardsolo.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=264

...is what, exactly?



Where are the droves of 1st-gen iPhone users whose phones are dying? You'd think that would be a big story, now wouldn't you?

Unless it's, you know, a totally made-up fact.
Click to expand...
 
kevinof said:
- No bulk configurations (take a business with 1 or 2000 handsets and you get the idea).
- No remote wipe ( if you lose it which staff do all the time)
- No encryption of data (read customer sensitive data)
- No replaceable battery so you have to take the handset from your senior exec, wipe it ( data protection laws dictate that you have to) , and send it off to get a battery replaced (and these need replacing at least every 12-18 months) and tell the exec that they won't have a phone for a couple of days!
-No IT department installable apps (have to go through the app store)
Click to expand...


Half these statements aren't even true.
You must be talking about regular data plans and not the enterprise data plans...
or you must be repeating things you "heard."
 
kevinof said:
I've never read such rubbish in my life. Talk to a corporate IT department and get the real story.

I posted in another thread here about the real issues preventing the iphone gaining traction in the corporate side -
Click to expand...

Hmm. On the subject of reading rubbish:

- No bulk configurations (take a business with 1 or 2000 handsets and you get the idea).
- No remote wipe ( if you lose it which staff do all the time)
- No encryption of data (read customer sensitive data)
Click to expand...

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/iphoneconfigurationutility10formacosx.html
http://support.apple.com/manuals/en_US/Enterprise_Deployment_Guide.pdf

-No IT department installable apps (have to go through the app store)
Click to expand...

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/apply.html (ad hoc distribution and in-house distribution, see Enterprise program).
 
kevinof said:
4. Stop thinking about North America- There's a whole other world out there. In Europe...
Click to expand...

Please don't do that.

My response to #3 didn't refer to any particular location because I never assume everyone is in the US. If so, I would have quoted US regulations. This applies to my entire message.

In regard to #4, my glib response was to the idea of taking an exec's phone for days to service.

Your response indicates I am not communicating clearly or you are not fully engaged in the conversation. Not to be rude, but I believe I know which one.
 
a456 said:
From the 72k+ views that the NetShare thread has received it is obvious people want (and most expect) tethering.
Click to expand...

Yes, clearly 72k+ views of a thread on an apple enthusiast message board should be the driving force behind apple corporate strategy for success in the mobile phone market.

I'm probably responsible for 50 of those views and don't really care if Apple embraces tethering or not.
 
a456 said:
This is not the attitude that will see broad business adoption. At the moment the iPhone is a social tool not a business tool. Must do better.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, don't buy one then.

Meanwhile, it does exactly what I need it to do in MY work, and MY business. So, I'm glad I did buy one, as did a few coworkers. :)
 
I'm not going to say that the iPhone doesn't have it's share of issues, but the OP lost my attention when he began using arguments my 6 year-old would refrain from. :rolleyes:
 
a456 said:
How can Apple call the iPhone a smartphone if they are going to continuously restrict and censor its usage? After all, they made bluetooth tethering so easy with other mobiles years ago and now won't implement it on their own phone. From the 72k+ views that the NetShare thread has received it is obvious people want (and most expect) tethering. Come on Apple you must have leverage with the mobile providers given the success of the iPhone - get stroppy with them and demand better.

Then there are VOIP restrictions. Sure O2 have to make money but 3 managed to offer the Skype phone without going bankrupt - can no similar deals be struck? I run a small business and I'd like ideally to be able to enter the SIP ID for any VOIP provider in order to use the iPhone at home.

Then there are email attachments, which FileMagnet say they are working towards. But if there's no tethering, the ability to send documents synced from our laptops and computers should definitely be there.

This is not the attitude that will see broad business adoption. At the moment the iPhone is a social tool not a business tool. Must do better.
Click to expand...

Tethering is restricted per At&T terms of usage.

Based on your complaints, it appears to me your life is 100% business and 0% social.
 
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