“When the one-year anniversary of iPhone 1.0 rolls around this summer, iPhone fans will get what is essentially Version 2.0 of their favorite smart phone. The added features and apps expected then — some of which were showcased by Apple today — will transform the iPhone [and the iPod touch] far beyond what it has been so far,” Seth Weintraub reports for Computerworld.
“The App Store, which will allow iPhone owners to buy and download programs directly to their phones, should put a slew of jazzy new applications at users’ fingertips, further expanding the phone’s uses and reach,” Weintraub reports.
“The SDK unveiling wasn’t even the big news of the day,” Weintraub opines. “The big news was the inclusion of support for Exchange, something that could be a game-changer when it comes to corporate IT acceptance of the iPhone.”
“IT administrators may have a much harder time telling users that it no longer meets corporate security policies or doesn’t work properly with their Exchange Messaging system. In fact, Microsoft Exchange business users will be able to take full advantage of the iPhone’s ActiveSync functions, including push e-mail, push calendars, push contacts and global address lists. They’re all there,” Weintraub writes. “It isn’t just Exchange enterprise functionality that the iPhone will soon offer business users. The market-share-leading Cisco IPsec VPN is also supported. IT administrators will soon be able to enforce security policies and device configurations and even do a remote wipe of iPhones.”
Because of what Apple announced yesterday, Weintraub writes, “There should be significant concern in the RIM camp… By summer there could be hundreds, if not thousands, of applications ready for the iPhone.
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
