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What exactly are they doing wrong?

Well to be honest, it kinda seems like they're only really paying lip service to the business sector. Yeah, they added Exchange support -- but past that...

Let's take a look:

1) No S/MIME support. There go all the clients who need secure e-mail.

2) No IMAP IDLE. There go all the businesses who use this to provide standard, multi-platform push e-mail without paying additional fees.

3) No remote management. There go security conscious businesses, and any businesses whose IT policy mandates that corporate devices be remotely manageable (a substantial number.) (Yes, I'm aware that the Exchange support includes this -- but there's no way to do it without Exchange.)

4) No encrypted storage. Again, this pretty much takes it out of the running for businesses that are big on security, privacy, and confidentiality.

So yeah, there are some substantial omissions there. Exchange support helped, but until they get at least #1 and #3 I know a lot of companies will pass them up in favor of devices that do have those options.
 
It's impossible to edit documents which have been emailed to you and then send them on.

Without emailing them it's difficult to carry files with you on the device.

For non-exchange users synching your data means having to install iTunes on your machines which lets face it, unlike other 'business phones', it's music software.

The phone has lacked copy & paste for all this time.

Apps from the app store are very restricted because of limitations on the device such as the lack of a user file system (ie documents folder) or support for opening email attachments in other apps (see Quickoffice).

Unable to send vcards.

Poor battery performance.

No To-Do sync.
 
When the first iPhone came out, lack of Exchange support was cited as the reason the iPhone could never be a real business phone. So Apple added it in the 2.0 software to address those complaints.



I'm REALLY curious where you get this idea from. I don't have an Exchange server at home. Do you? If so, you're unusual, not the norm.


I was under the impression that Google was using the exchange protocol to deliver push calendar and mail. Seems to me that couldn't happen if exchange wasn't on the iPhone. I could be wrong on this.
 
It's impossible to edit documents which have been emailed to you and then send them on.

Without emailing them it's difficult to carry files with you on the device.

For non-exchange users synching your data means having to install iTunes on your machines which lets face it, unlike other 'business phones', it's music software.

The phone has lacked copy & paste for all this time.

Apps from the app store are very restricted because of limitations on the device such as the lack of a user file system (ie documents folder) or support for opening email attachments in other apps (see Quickoffice).

Unable to send vcards.

Poor battery performance.

No To-Do sync.

I thought there was already a way to edit certain documents - any takers on which app it was?
You can easily carry files on an iPhone - Air Sharing for one.
Apps are sandboxed and with good reason. You can have your own user file system, but it's within the app. This helps the user know where their files are kept. Battery performance is decent. Yes, if you put on every battery guzzling option, and use the GPS all the time, you'll drain the battery, but for general usage compared to others, especially with 3G turned off, its fine. Even early tests showed this. What is the discrepancy is the desired battery life, and the one it has.
vcards will come in one shape or another.
You can get to do sync in many To Do apps - pick whichever one you want.
 
vcards will come in one shape or another.

Probably, but it's still a significant issue now.

The iPhone still needs a lot of work (particularily on it's exchange support and security as mentioned above) before it's ready for business roll out.

Phazer
 
I thought there was already a way to edit certain documents

There's a basic Word and Excel editor, good for 2003 formats but not 2007+. Both come with a file system app like Air sharing so you can open documents on it. The suite also comes with an email client so you can edit files that have been emailed to you. That is, of course, an entirely distinct email client from the mail app that must download all of your emails a second time to access the file.

You can easily carry files on an iPhone - Air Sharing for one.

It's not that easy nor useful, actually. You run the app and it acts like a server, giving you an IP address and port. You then create a new network connection to access it. Of course, if you bring it to a comptuer you don't have the rights to create the network connection on, you'll have to use a browser and upload your files using an HTML form, which also means you can't create or modify directories. Once on the device, all you can do is view the files - no emailing, printing, editing, nor managing directories or renaming files.

Apps are sandboxed and with good reason. You can have your own user file system, but it's within the app. This helps the user know where their files are kept

How is that a good reason? I have no problem knowing where my files are kept on my desktop. All files are organized as the user wants which any program can access. Each individual program has a unique function and is suited for certain types of files.

The sandbox style is just ludicrous. The word processing app isn't just a word processor. It's a word processor + file system app + email client, just like any other document-based app would have to be. When you get an email with both a word document and an excel spreadsheet, you have to download the same email in each particular app (for a total of 3 separate times). Of course, any files you sync to Air Sharing won't be available to open in any editor. You have to make sure you sync your word documents with your word processing app, your excel files with your spreadsheet app, your photos with your pho... err... with iTunes, miscellaneous files with your file sharing app...

You can get to do sync in many To Do apps - pick whichever one you want.

...your to-dos with your To-do app, etc.

How is this system anything short of insane?
 
There's a basic Word and Excel editor, good for 2003 formats but not 2007+...

Good post.

Addressing the battery... I use my iPhone for calls during my working day, and by the tine I get home at the end of the day I'm usually down to under 20% battery. If you compare that to either a Blackberry, Windows Mobile or Nokia E Series device then it doesn't compete. The iPhone just isn't very robust for serious business use. Sure I could turn off the 3G and GPS, but why should I? Those other platforms all have 3G and GPS and I never had to turn them off to get through the day.

As a consumer smartphone the iPhone gets by fine. Probably because to the majority of iPhone owners it's the first smartphone they've owned. For someone who who uses all of the features of a smartphone in the course of their work, when say a computer isn't always available, the cracks on the iPhone OS start to show through. It lacks many basic features.
 
Citation for "43% of iPhone users make north of $100k": http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cheaper-iPhone-Plans-from-bizwk-15275965.html ("A survey late last year by comScore indicated that 43% of iPhone buyers earned more than $100,000 a year.")

The folks at HowardForums are skeptical about this research, too: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1528290&page=1&pp=15

But beyond the accuracy of these numbers, the fact remains, as others have detailed persuasively in this thread, that the iPhone has serious shortcomings as a business device.

The expected announcement in a couple of weeks of the 3.0 software and a likely new device should give us some insight into what plans Cupertino has for the iPhone in business.
 
When the first iPhone came out, lack of Exchange support was cited as the reason the iPhone could never be a real business phone. So Apple added it in the 2.0 software to address those complaints.



I'm REALLY curious where you get this idea from. I don't have an Exchange server at home. Do you? If so, you're unusual, not the norm.

I sync my Google Calender using Exchange, as probably thousands of other Google users do. Does that satisfy your curiosity?

And probably many, many other people also use Exchange to gain access to their work email accounts from home or on-the-road, which also functions as their personal email account. Just because you use Exchange to access work email hardly makes you a "business" user.
 
I sync my Google Calender using Exchange, as probably thousands of other Google users do. Does that satisfy your curiosity?

Not really. I thought you were actually going to explain what you meant by "everyone." For a minute I really thought that I was getting a hidden benefit from Exchange that I didn't know about.

But it looks like when you said "everyone" you didn't really mean "everyone" so I guess this is as good an answer as I'm going to get.
 
Not really. I thought you were actually going to explain what you meant by "everyone." For a minute I really thought that I was getting a hidden benefit from Exchange that I didn't know about.

But it looks like when you said "everyone" you didn't really mean "everyone" so I guess this is as good an answer as I'm going to get.

You don't really have to be a contrarian for Apple's sake. They will still like you enough to take you money. ;)

Sorry about the semantics, but when I wrote "everyone," I meant to say everyone (from college students to housewives) can *potentially* benefit from Exchange, such that this service is not any more exclusively catering to the "business community" than the Safari app is.
 
As a consumer smartphone the iPhone gets by fine. Probably because to the majority of iPhone owners it's the first smartphone they've owned. For someone who who uses all of the features of a smartphone in the course of their work, when say a computer isn't always available, the cracks on the iPhone OS start to show through. It lacks many basic features.

Good post as well.

By the way, does anyone think a business would ever issue a phone to its employees that had a YouTube App on it that you cannot remove?? :rolleyes:
 
I thought there was already a way to edit certain documents - any takers on which app it was?
You can easily carry files on an iPhone - Air Sharing for one.
Apps are sandboxed and with good reason. You can have your own user file system, but it's within the app. This helps the user know where their files are kept. Battery performance is decent. Yes, if you put on every battery guzzling option, and use the GPS all the time, you'll drain the battery, but for general usage compared to others, especially with 3G turned off, its fine. Even early tests showed this. What is the discrepancy is the desired battery life, and the one it has.
vcards will come in one shape or another.
You can get to do sync in many To Do apps - pick whichever one you want.
Isn't there Quickoffice?
 
Good post as well.

By the way, does anyone think a business would ever issue a phone to its employees that had a YouTube App on it that you cannot remove?? :rolleyes:

Considering that many businesses have already added iPhones to their base of cell phones, I would have to say yes.
 
Good post.

Addressing the battery... I use my iPhone for calls during my working day, and by the tine I get home at the end of the day I'm usually down to under 20% battery. If you compare that to either a Blackberry, Windows Mobile or Nokia E Series device then it doesn't compete. The iPhone just isn't very robust for serious business use. Sure I could turn off the 3G and GPS, but why should I? Those other platforms all have 3G and GPS and I never had to turn them off to get through the day.

As a consumer smartphone the iPhone gets by fine. Probably because to the majority of iPhone owners it's the first smartphone they've owned. For someone who who uses all of the features of a smartphone in the course of their work, when say a computer isn't always available, the cracks on the iPhone OS start to show through. It lacks many basic features.

Agreed.

My friends and I who text and email a lot using push email suffer from the atrocious battery life. Even without using the multimedia functionalities and GPS, the battery is done by 6pm.

I sat there and laughed when everyone defended the first generation phone because of 3G battery drain. Yet the long awaited 3G phone didn't improve much at all in that regard. Bag of hurt anyone?

I'm going back to BB shortly and retiring the iphone to ipod touch status.
 
I thought there was already a way to edit certain documents - any takers on which app it was?
You can easily carry files on an iPhone - Air Sharing for one.
Apps are sandboxed and with good reason. You can have your own user file system, but it's within the app. This helps the user know where their files are kept. Battery performance is decent. Yes, if you put on every battery guzzling option, and use the GPS all the time, you'll drain the battery, but for general usage compared to others, especially with 3G turned off, its fine. Even early tests showed this. What is the discrepancy is the desired battery life, and the one it has.
vcards will come in one shape or another.
You can get to do sync in many To Do apps - pick whichever one you want.

None of those ideas solved anything. All I got was, "well all those features are offered by third-party developers, and some for an extra fee".

And that's the weakness of the iPhone in itself. Trusting some 'basic' business needs to the 3rd parties instead of Apple taking ownership of these features results in sub-par performance vs. other Smartphones. In a business application of course.

Eso went into further detail, but the core issues remain the same - Apple just has not addressed any of the issues when it comes to using this phone for business. Hopefully this will change with 3.0 - but any onlooker will tell you that Apple is not considering enterprise as the first customer for their phone.
 
Others point to the iPhone's lack of a "real" keyboard.

Funny I must be the only person in the world who prefers the iPhone's keyboard over the BlackBerry's keyboard. It's one of my biggest problems with potentially leaving the iPhone for a BlackBerry.

I think the slow enterprise adoption of the iPhone has a lot to do with how invested most companies are in BlackBerry. IT in large companies typically moves very slow. 60% of enterprises are still using IE6 as their default browser, after all (CNet via Forrester Research)

I asked an IT manager I was interviewing with in February about their company's iPhone policy. He confidently stated they were a BlackBerry-only shop because of the heavy investment and thought Exchange support wouldn't be in place for the iPhone until the end of 2009. Obviously by February 2009 it had been available for several months.
 
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