iLounge

1

The only flaw in this argument is that at their core, business users are consumers too. Yes, they may *need* specific features for business use, but a lot of them *want* the iPhone.

I know several “business people” (and Windows users) who are already planning to buy an iPhone. To most of them, email is the only absolute necessity for business, and the quality of the iPhone’s internet browser trumps all the other smartphones out there. Being able to use the “real” internet rather than a scaled-down version is a really big deal—even for business users.

Finally, everyone I’ve talked to (business users and consumers) can’t stop talking about how *cool* the iPhone looks. It’s definitely got a huge amount of the “It” factor.

Posted by BJ Nemeth on May 10, 2007 at 9:54 AM (PDT)

2

I think RIM is spot on.  The thing that puts the “crack” in Crackberry- making it truly addictive to the millions of business users who use them is push access to their Microsoft Exchange email accounts.  iPhone cannot offer this.  End of story.  iPhone is great, but is not going to compete much for RIM’s core user base.

Posted by dodo on May 10, 2007 at 10:32 AM (PDT)

3

Have to agree w/ dodo.  I work for an agency that employs close to 20,000 people with about 20% of us using company supplied crackberrys (that’s 4,000 for you math impaired out there).  The number of other phones supported by our IT group - zero and that is not going to change.  Yes, most employees have their own cells, but only a small portion use them for something other than what they were originally used for - making/taking phone calls.

I have no doubt that just about everyone who sees an iPhone thinks it’s “cool” (as BJ mentioned), but that doesn’t mean they’ll buy it.  I think a Range Rover is “cool” too, but my Honda Pilot gets the job done just as well for my needs, and at a much lower cost, just like other cells do relative to the iPhone.

Posted by Jess on May 10, 2007 at 12:25 PM (PDT)

4

So what is so addictive about push email?

Do you have to be tied to email at all times?

Do most people sit at desks or are they at cafes fiddling with their Blackberries?

The other part I don’t get, who needs to open Office attachments in their emails on a device with a small screen and limited input capabilities?

I can see some people need to be on email all the time but I’ve heard stories about bosses getting them for their workers just as a perk more than a real business need.

If that’s the case, iPhone could be just as much a perk as anything else out there.

But there has to be a killer app. in mobile data that people are willing to pay for.  Or the cell phone carriers must price their data plans attractively enough to draw more users.

Posted by wco81 on May 10, 2007 at 3:30 PM (PDT)

5

There are a lot of “coulds” in that statement.

Posted by The Raven in USA on May 10, 2007 at 4:37 PM (PDT)

6

What is so addictive about push email?  I don’t personally know, but it is addictive for dedicated Blackberry users (like my wife).  Push e-mail is the killer app for RIM that has made the Blackberry so successful.  While the iPhone will supposedly support push e-mail through free Yahoo email accounts, that’s not going to cause it to take over RIM’s core Blackberry user base of corporate users on a Microsoft Exchange email network.

Posted by dodo on May 10, 2007 at 6:39 PM (PDT)

7

...and the quality of the iPhone’s internet browser trumps all the other smartphones out there.

Not without 3G service or capability. EDGE, IMO, is too slow and it certainly is NOT leading edge anymore; my experiences with web pages on my BlackBerry with its “relatively simple” browser is painful to say the least. There’s so much scripting embedded in pages that for anyone used to a typical hardwired broadband connection, EDGE is like stepping backwards into dial-up. Shut down scripting and pages load acceptably fast, but so much of the functionality of the pages are instantly lost. Using my wife’s EVDO-capable phone on her Verizon service has been an eye-opener; page loads are incredibly fast and blow my T-Mobile EDGE service away. No wonder Apple talked to Verizon about doing a deal with the iPhone.

Ultimately what brings the best out of a phone—including something as ‘cool’ as the iPhone—is the quality and capabilities of the service that the phone is tied to. ATT doesn’t yet have that capability widely in place, and this first iteration of the iPhone reflects that.

I don’t doubt that the iPhone will sell in decent numbers and will probably make some existing phone makers like Palm and Motorola uneasy, but that’s only because their products are also with ATT. If they have EVDO-capable phones in the pipeline on Verizon or Sprint…well, the sheer quality, speed and capability of the service (like VZW’s mobile TV) will more than make up for the iPhone 1.0’s coolness factor. And of course for us getting the shakes craving for our CrackBerrys…

I don’t personally know, but it is addictive for dedicated Blackberry users (like my wife).

For myself I wouldn’t quite call it addictive, but it IS definitely hard to live without once I’ve became used to having it around. Extremely useful in business, period, and even quite handy for personal use. In terms of dependence on its functionality, it’s akin to living with an iPod for a while.

Posted by flatline response on May 11, 2007 at 1:02 AM (PDT)