Steve Taylor at EVAK Technologies

iPhone - for business or pleasure?

There's no doubt about the excellent entertainment functions of the iPhone. The ability to listen to music, watch/play media and answer the phone in an Apple specific, kinesthetic way is very popular. The iPhone applications have become no less than a phenomenon with the more significant productivity and CRM providers realising the potential (e.g. MarketCircle with Daylite).

The latest Mail server synchronisation is excellent via Microsoft Exchange and the more cost effective Kerio option. The cross platform ability has significantly jumped forward.

ActiveSync works very well and permits a quick and easy set up to receive Mail, contacts and calendars.

Now place the iPhone in a semi-corporate setting, with emails arriving constantly, calendar and appointment changes, SMS messages confirming meetings and network hungry apps. Can the phone cope with the intensive use and reliance that is now assumed and trusted, by, for example, the Blackberry range? Well, it seems once you're used to the touch screen (and some find that very difficult) the phone itself is just about up to the job.

However, and this is a big however, it looks as though the UK phone network provider isn't living up to their end of their ‘exclusive' bargain. The main complaints I've heard, and have to respond to, are the general poor mobile phone network speed, lack of coverage and the inability to use the phone for any amount of constant time (especially when on the move). This in some cases has forced users to have two phones, a Blackberry and an iPhone and reminds me of my days with an iPod and separate phone, very irritating.

The rumours of the current network provider losing exclusivity in the UK seem to be becoming more concrete. Our recent quizzing of some Apple Retail stores and Vodafone partners has again reinforced that October, if not, December could be the time for a change in network provision..

The iPhone is quickly becoming the tool of choice, but until the mobile phone network can match the users’ expectations, other devices will remain at the top of the business user list.