“The phrase ‘new enterprise features’ in a recent Apple iPhone-related event invite was all it took for some to anoint the iPhone as the next big challenge for Research In Motion Ltd., the world’s leading supplier of smartphones,” Ben Charny reports for Dow Jones Newswires. “‘Here we go, Apple vs. RIM,’ the Apple news Web site MacDailyNews wrote shortly after the invite was sent.”
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve always had quite the gumption for unction. Extreme*, even. Now, where’d we put that Chrism?
* For the plastic-button-festooned-whether-you’re-using-them-or-not Blackberry, of course.
Charney continues, “Based on expectations for next week’s events, some believe Apple may use the iPhone to gain more share of business hardware and software spending, and possibly improve the company’s overall position in the corporate world.”
“Apple is only saying it will discuss the iPhone’s software roadmap and those few business-facing features at its Thursday event. But there is growing sentiment among Apple watchers that the company is ready to push the iPhone on the corporate market, drawing on ties with enterprise technology giants such as International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp., plus other players such as software maker Salesforce.com Inc., which is said to be developing an iPhone-specific feature,” Charny reports.
“FTN Midwest analyst Bill Fearnley Jr. said that according to his checks, iPhone sales were helped in February by the introduction of a corporate iPhone plan that allows AT&T Inc. to bill employers directly,” Charny reports. “…To be sure, it is hard to gauge what if any boost Apple may get to its bottom line should corporations embrace the iPhone. Apple already has 28% of the U.S. smartphone market.”
“After March 6, the next milestone for the iPhone is making it compatible with the fastest of the high-speed wireless networks. A so-called 3G, or third- generation, iPhone is due sometime in June, according to the latest rumors” Charny reports.
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]
[UPDATE: 2:20pm EST: Attempted to clairify Take with disclaimer.]
What is up with that take MDN?
Every Blackberry owner I know wants an iPhone. They like their Blackberries, but the form factor and internet on the iPhone is soo much better…….
maybe store employees can start using iPhones for POS rather than the POS (other meaning) windows things they have had so far…..
“Apple and AT&T;leapfrog 3G and introduce first subspace network, wireless that is many times faster than fiber-optic.”
“3g,third generation…” How about 3g, 2g iPhone first.
802.1x ???
@ericdano:
“Extreme unction” is the Catholic sacrament of administering last rites. My guess is that the MDN take refers to a desire to perform last rites on the Blackberry.
“maybe store employees can start using iPhones for POS rather than the POS (other meaning) windows things they have had so far…”
I gotta admit, this is one thing that makes me chuckle about Apple Stores.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the concept. But seeing the Apple Store employee pull out the Windows CE-based scanner is just plain sad.
I don’t imagine they’ll be iPhones, though. iPod touches should do the job, collecting the sales info via WiFi.
So the thing is, if you buy into the mindset (and I sort of do) that much of the Mac’s success is due to the “iPod Halo Effect”, then does it not only make sense to follow the same path to conquering the enterprise with the “iPhone Halo Effect”. Makes sense to me.
Shieldzee
Don’t count RIM out yet.
They have some issues to work out. The Blackberry service is a massive single point of failure for Blackberry users, but on the other hand, it is fast, as in E-MAIL DOWNLOADS OVER EDGE FAR FASTER than it does with the iPhone.
And Push for a handheld device rules.
That being said, I find that I depend on Edge less and less as I have to search to find a place that I work that has no WiFi.
me??
I’m right here.
I dunno abpout Blackberry mail dpownloading over EDGE faster than an iPhone. I definitely know that is not true with attachments, which taker just as long, if not longer, and are essentially unviewable on the BB. I have done some side-by-side with my BB and my iPhone, and it seems to me that what makes the difference is the push. In the absence of push, the iPhone can seem to take longer to download accumulated messages, but on a per-message basis, I don’t see it as a whole lot faster.
FWIW, I use Visto Mobile for my corporate mail redirect, and its speed is just fine. With a combination of phone call forwarding and Visto for my Exchange email, I have not turned on my BB, except to test this issue, for months.
With the Apple iPhone onboard, RIM Blackberry has no point…
You forget that iphone limits you to one carrier. You can use a blackberry on any carrier.
@ Troy,
Then other carrier have no point too…
Mac+,
English must be your second language? I just didn’t get your last two comments (…”RIM Blackberry has no point”; Then other carrier(s ?) have (has) no point too… (either?)).
The argument being made about push is exactly identical as the one about the ‘missing’ floppy drive from the first iMacs, or non-replaceable battery in iPods, iPhones, MBAs. It is a non-issue. Push e-mail implies immediate delivery. That is under the assumption that the sender’s e-mail system is configured to deliver the message right away, and no server along the way causes a delay. While this mostly works, in general, corporate e-mail deployments (Lotus Notes, Exchange) tend to delay outgoing messages for various reasons (polling, replication, etc), which makes push totally moot. IPhone could be configured to check e-mail often enough that a 10-minute delay makes no difference.
For anybody who is objective enough, this is a non-issue. Obviously, for those biased against the iPhone by default, this is an excellent excuse to argue against it. Refuting their argument takes time and common sense, both of which are lacking in such discussions.
RIM is desperately trying to come up with a touch-screen. They will be able to do that, but the iPhone and the iPhone’s interface is powered by OS X.
The outer unit RIM can make, but the core OS they will have trouble with. We won’t really see OS X advantage until another software upgrade or two.
Blackberry has to kill the buttons eventually in order to compete. Then we will see why Jobs said the iPhone was 5 years beyond everybody else.
Scramble mode for RIM, as they have to re-copy or re-invent while Apple has nowhere to go with the iPhone but UP.
Apple and iPhone has yet to enter the enterprise market, so we shall have to wait and see. Right now iPhone is for consumers only (I’m one of them). But if you work for American Airlines or the thousand other fortune 500 companies and many other size businesses, iPhone is not a factor with bullshit IMAP.
Dont be afraid Stevie…… make your toy compatible with the majority on this planet. Including your own stores….. or should we all buy those Windows CE POS……..
If I was MS…. I’d exploit the shit out of even Apple replies on Windows to run their stores.
Apple to buy RIM? That would be interesting