Comments on: IT on the iPhone: 'Use at your own cost and peril'

By: James, Toronto, Ontario

James, Toronto, Ontario — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:58:12 +0000

Someone should do a formal survey on percentage of enterprises cutting back on issuing blackberries to employees. I hear different sources saying 12% to 44%, it's ridiculous. Many employees bring their iPhone or even Pre to work.

By: Theo - Phx, AZ

Theo - Phx, AZ — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:38:30 +0000

Corporate IT has a job to do, and within a budget. Although it pays for IT to not change, to NOT INNOVATE, life itself "changes" daily. Thus, the rub.

If Apple continues to actively respond to IT concerns, it becomes IT's responsibility to keep up with those responses.

Beyond preferred use by corporate officers, clearly iPhone progress will be lead by Professionals (like "medical" and "legal") and Industries (especially Transportation – air, sea, rail, land (trucks); Media; Design; Publications; etc.) with their IT managers awakening to sheer demand for iPhone support ("corporate system integration", not that an iPhone has problems needing IT help)

i.e. Drivers and their Trucking Company as of June'09 find the iPhone 3GS irresistible because of GPS and the magnetometer directional Compass, and its unsurpassed combination of Internet access (email, browse, Maps, etc.), WiFi, 3G cellular communication access, and instant Application access (56,000 with continued growth by geometric progression!). Accidentally, the iPhone 3GS (because of 3G, GPS and WiFi capability) is replacing satellite communication dominance within the continental USA previously dominated by Qualcomm especially in trucking (over 90%). SatCom is no longer necessary.

iPhone use is about to rewrite the book on navigation for consumer travel (auto, RV, walking, hiking, etc.).

If Apple migrates GPS and magnetometer (compass) chips to its expected 9.7" touch screen MacBook NET and all other MacBooks (Pro, Air, etc.), domestic GPS devices, if not international ones, may soon all but disappear.

Will Apple's MacBook Net become the new TomTom GPS savvy device with Turn-by-turn capability?

Besides wireless WiFi & Bluetooth, will it have some sort of 3G cellular access?

How about actual cellular Phone service beyond Skype via the Internet? (Audio, Video, texting, etc.?)

With sophisticated Voice Control that really works, couldn't a MacBook Net become a hands-free phone with a Touch Screen [smile]? especially useful when mounted in a vehicle (truck, car, boat, etc.) on something like a JottoDesk (in cop cars)?

More universal IT support of iPhones and Macs is a matter of "when" not "whether" anymore. Steady increases in demand for use of communication user-friendly Apple iPhones, iPods & Macs will continue to erode dominance by RIM, MS and others.

"Control conscious" IT will have no choice but to play nice and follow a serious leader > Apple, Inc.

By: George, Boston MA

George, Boston MA — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:25:12 +0000

Summing up user opinions sofar:

- The majority of CIO's are a failure; you could easily replace them with a decent trained chipmunk.

- IT budget is never spent to refresh techs, instead its used to maintain decade old infrastructure, because people making decisions are too short sighted to make changes.

- Corporate IT environments is Windows only. Platforms such as ESX, Linux, Unix flavours and System i only exist in fiction novels.

- The iPhone is the biggest breakthrough in telecom hardware and anyone not embracing it is so 1990's.

- IT managers who have not already chosen to migrate to the iPhone must be either evil people wishing to see their firm collapse, or on RIM's payroll.

In light of recent events, I will go order one of them iPhone 3GS ASAP, hoping for salvation.

By: Jim, Scarborough, Ontario

Jim, Scarborough, Ontario — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:49:14 +0000

Our CEO's iPhone is customized with a battery with 38 hours of talk time and 5 weeks standby.

By: James, Toronto, Ontario

James, Toronto, Ontario — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:40:10 +0000

PS. I would love to have dead batteries on a company issued iPhone, who can stand having a nagging blackberry that refuses to die when desperate peace is required?

By: James, Toronto, Ontario

James, Toronto, Ontario — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:36:24 +0000

Everytime the blackberry rings or buzzes, my stomach tightens up involuntarily, fearing something's gone wrong at the office. It occurs mostly in the late of nights, weekends, only to find out that it was some company emails for unimportant events or FYIs. The actual alerts or emergency emails thru the blackberry is less than 10%, I hate the blackberry, and it is not only of the glut of email misuse, enterprises are lousy using the lousy blackberries, I have not another person who doesn't dread and hate the blackberry as much as I do.

Blackberry is bad news, always. Unless if it is I who sends out the email.

Many times the BES server crashes, so I fumble for my laptop, plug in the RAS, and get real work done. Recently almost every other workers simply ditch the blackberry and use the company Asus Aspire One with the RAS, I prefer to talk to the support desk rather than reading those useless email. I let my kids play with the blackberry, they use it only for IM with their friends, all the people with blackberries do that, the company data plan is free, so my kids can safely IM for hours using the corporate blackberry secure data plan saving me tons of $, terrific and stupid, come to think of it.

By: James, Toronto, Ontario

James, Toronto, Ontario — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:40:54 +0000

CA Associates should extend it's product line to include a administrative workbench to the iPhones as part of the ITRS infrastructure allowing iPhone complete accesses to the enterprise resources and securities as well as the business partners to enable maximum reach and flexibility, not just email and document services. The iPhone is the only device capable of meeting all the ITRS and other technical or regulatory requirements.

By: DuH, NY, NY

DuH, NY, NY — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:51:37 +0000

A a company phone, iphone is bad.

I have both crackberry and iphone.

crackberry battery lasts 4-5 days.

iphone last less than 1 day on stand by. If you uses it actively, it last less than 3 hrs.

…

Posted By houston,tx : July 12, 2009 4:54 pm

My iPhone's battery stayed full for 3 days on standby, from Friday to Monday. I went on a trip this weekend and have forgotten my phone home. On heavy use, mostly internet and calls, the charge would normally last a day.

By: Mike, Chicago, IL

Mike, Chicago, IL — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:03:31 +0000

I love these boards. yeah you are all so sophisticated….So are you telling me its wrong for a CIO to want to minimize the devices they support to keep cost down?? Grow Up

By: Mike Kaylor Christiansburg Va

Mike Kaylor Christiansburg Va — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:53:46 +0000

Typical Information Technology, they are supposed to be support, not dictators. People should be able to use the device that helps them get their jobs done best. I know that IT has only a certain amount of time and funds, but I don't think that is the problem here, the problem here is the same as it was in the 70's with IBM, and with Microsoft for the last 15 years. The problem being IT sticking their head in the sand and not wanting to see anything new or "BETTER" Just play it safe.

The iPhone is a much better device than the Blackberry, and I don't think there is much room for argument. I think people are getting tired of this, including CEOs of companies that are saying, I don't care if you support it or not, I want one.

I'm wondering if this will ever change, but as devices get easier to use, and do more without the assistance of IT, it will cange.