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Apple iPhone for enterprise – Still inconvenient

Apple’s iPhone is  currently the king of Smartphone Jungle, there is  serious push from users in consecrations for its adaptation. And many have written articles regarding the improved security features  etc.

But in terms of usability of some of its basic enterprise  features iPhone is still lacking in a big way. I was quite surprised by lack certain features in the iPhone when I had the opportunity switch from Blackberry to iPhone 4.

When Apple first launched iPhone,  people who live on Blackberry questioned how can you seriously expect someone to type on a touch screen keyboard, but it wasn’t bad after all, and people quickly adapted to the virtual keyboard. But now after a few years if you take iPhone its email still lacks ability fine tuning. Like customizing alert/notifications  for a different mail accounts,  having a different setting for accounts/messages etc. Even  a proper profile management for sounds/alerts , which is available in almost all basic phone is hard to find in iphone.

These are just few examples but there are many little things, and makes me wonder if  Im using a Beta product.For many it might look silly, how could these features affect enterprise usage, but in the competitive world  missing an important message is as bad as getting disturbed by a silly message in middle of a meeting. And these fine nuances will definitely irritate serious users.

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Blackberry (RIM) facing a Grim future with BES

Blackberry Manufacturer , Research In Motion is facing a tough challenge in the Mobile Device space, with competition from Apple and whole bunch of new Device vendors powered by Android.  And its device fortunes are tightly coupled with Enterprises continuing to use BES for Mobile email.

Though RIM has brought out quite a few new devices in the recent past like the Blackberry Torch, still its Device space is pale in comparison to Apple or Android Ecosystem. Though RIM allowed BES client softwares for other Mobile devices in the past, it ceased this practice in hope of growing its Handset business. But this could backfire in the current scenario.

Most of the big enterprises use Microsoft’s Exchange server or IBM Domino, and there are others  who use simple POP/SMTP, or IMAP service through vendors like Google. And Blackberry devices provide a way of accessing the mails through its BES – Blackberry Enterprise Service and BIS – Blackberry Internet Service. BES is a costly affair , the data plan costing 3 times than an regular basic data plan. For instance ATT charges $15 Minimum data plan for iPhone and other smartphones, whereas a blackberry with BES needs a Minimum data plan of $40.

Cost being one factor, But the device adaptation is another.  With so much fanfare and push for devices running iOS and Android, many enterprises are thinking of allowing the device access through less costlier services like Exchange ActiveSync (from Microsoft), which needs a basic data plan. My employer recently , silently rolled out Active Sync  access to enable  Iphones and iPad’s in particular, a decision pitched by Some Senior Managers who wanted to use iPhones.

With feature set of Microsoft Active Sync increasing rapidly with Active Sync 12 (currently 14), and licensing with Apple and Many Android device Manufacturers,  RIM is facing a bleak future.  If RIM doesnt move fast and introduce new compelling features or reinvent its Device segment  it is going to be very tough  ride.

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Blackberry 4G PlayBook LTE Preview and Specifications

Blackberry 4G Playbook has 7 inches LCD display with 1024 * 600 pixels resolution, multi-touch capacitive screen, 16 million colors, its dimensions are 130 * 194 * 10 mm, and weighs 400 g. The tablet has Long Term Evolution network, they also offer other network configurations such as Blackberry PlayBook with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Blackberry 4G PlayBook with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n + WiMax and Blackberry 4G PlayBook with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n + WiMax + HSPA+.

 

The camera is of 5 MP resolution which is on the rear side of the tablet, the front camera is of 3 MP resolution, and can take video/ chat with 1080p HD video; H.264, MPEG4, WMV HDMI video output like Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports. It has stereo speakers with 3.5 mm audio-jack. The tablet has 1 GB RAM and 1 GHz dual-core processor, Symmetric multi-processing, and there are no card slots. The OS is Blackberry Tablet OS which is best for multitasking with critical reliability.

 

The other features include Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi, microUSB v2.0, Multitask function for jumping between apps, Adobe Flash 10.1 enabled, Built-in support for HTML 5, can make wireless connection with Blackberry smartphone for Email, adress book, calendar, task list and etc., Dual video cameras, supports POSIX OS, SMP, Open GL, Web Kit, Adobe Flash and Adobe Mobile AIR, Corporate data access, Document viewer, Media Player, Video player, Games, messaging through IM, Push, Email and etc., The battery is of standard Li-Po 5300 mAh battery

Blackberry 4G PlayBook LTE Specifications :

Network : 4G LTE

OS : Blackberry Tablet OS

Processor : 1 GHz dual-core processor

Memory : 1 GB RAM

Screen : 7 inches LCD display with 1024 * 600 pixels resolution, multi-touch capacitive screen, 16 million colors

Dimensions : 130 * 194 * 10 mm

Weight : 400 g

Camera : 5 MP resolution which is on the rear side of the tablet, the front camera is of 3 MP resolution, and can take video/ chat with 1080p HD video; H.264, MPEG4, WMV HDMI video output like Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports

Stereo speakers with 3.5 mm audio-jack

Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR

Wi-Fi

MicroUSB v2.0

Multitask function for jumping between apps

Adobe Flash 10.1 enabled

Built-in support for HTML 5

Can make wireless connection with Blackberry smartphone for Email, adress book, calendar, task list and etc.,

Dual video cameras

Supports POSIX OS, SMP, Open GL, Web Kit, Adobe Flash and Adobe Mobile AIR

Corporate data access

Document viewer

Media Player

Video player

Games

Messaging through IM, Push, Email and etc.,

Battery : standard Li-Po 5300 mAh battery