*This is not intended as a BB vs Iphone thread, please don't take it or comment on it as such*
As part of my job I manage a growing pool of remote e-mail users world wide. Naturally we use Blackberry, for a couple of distinct reasons
1. Cost. In the UK a basic BB 8520 is £150ish + tax while a basic Iphone 3g is more like £400
2. Roaming rate. The BB trims it's e-mail down on the BB server before it hits the mobile network, dropping the rich text formatting and keeping the data rate low. In the country of origin this isn't an issue on the Iphone as the data bundle included in the contract is fine, however the roaming cost or data abroad is still massive.
It seems to me that rather than heading towards the corporate marketplace the 4th iteration of the iPhone is actually moving away if anything from becoming a business style device
My question is do we think the iPhone is going to propose a serious challenge to the dominant Blackberry in the business field at any stage, or will it try and avoid becoming associated with suits like me! I ask because I can't see a reason for not cloaking the old 3GS model in maybe cheaper clothing and pushing it out at a budget rate to corp customers only - Cost aside it offers things like Citrix support which is really attractive to a lot of companies
As part of my job I manage a growing pool of remote e-mail users world wide. Naturally we use Blackberry, for a couple of distinct reasons
1. Cost. In the UK a basic BB 8520 is £150ish + tax while a basic Iphone 3g is more like £400
2. Roaming rate. The BB trims it's e-mail down on the BB server before it hits the mobile network, dropping the rich text formatting and keeping the data rate low. In the country of origin this isn't an issue on the Iphone as the data bundle included in the contract is fine, however the roaming cost or data abroad is still massive.
It seems to me that rather than heading towards the corporate marketplace the 4th iteration of the iPhone is actually moving away if anything from becoming a business style device
My question is do we think the iPhone is going to propose a serious challenge to the dominant Blackberry in the business field at any stage, or will it try and avoid becoming associated with suits like me! I ask because I can't see a reason for not cloaking the old 3GS model in maybe cheaper clothing and pushing it out at a budget rate to corp customers only - Cost aside it offers things like Citrix support which is really attractive to a lot of companies