Bear Stearns study shows iPhone overcoming corporate barrier

[AppleInsider]

Although some executives still see the lack of explicit business e-mail support as an obstacle to buying the iPhone, a growing number of these users are sidestepping corporate demands and buying iPhones for their own use, Bear Stearns reports in a new survey.

Tracking a relatively small group of financial and technology leaders in the weeks following the iPhone launch, senior analyst Andrew Neff noted in his mid-August study that the lack of full support for traditional business-class e-mail is no longer as strong a deterrent to buying the Apple handset as it was in June or July.

While the absence of complete Microsoft Exchange support was still enough of a barrier to prevent 34 percent of non-iPhone users from buying the Apple device, the corporate issue was no longer the primary factor in their decision. More (41 percent) were either tied to their existing carrier or else had reservations about AT&T, according to Bear Stearns. And in what was labeled a positive new development, a small percentage of previous holdouts from July had bought the iPhone strictly for their own use, regardless of its ability to reach corporate e-mail that had kept them from buying in the past.

"We found several people who bought an iPhone as a 'personal device' for its other attributes," Neff said, referring to its iPod and personal e-mail services. "While we still view corporate e-mail as an important issue, this emerging trend could be a positive leading indicator as well."

Enthusiasm for the device also showed few signs of cooling, Neff added. Unsurprisingly, the initial surge of extremely content users had dropped after prolonged use, but a full 90 percent of customers were either "happy" (49 percent) or "very happy" (41 percent) with the iPhone roughly six weeks after its introduction. Less customers were inclined to return the phone at 5 percent, although the number of dissatisfied users had jumped to 10 percent.

Most had also come to accept the iPhone's controversial on-screen keyboard and calling ability, though again the number of extremely pleased customers had settled for both the keyboard (from 49 to 27 percent) and calls (from 90 to 33 percent).

Hardware defects weren't an issue, the study said. Complaints about battery life rose to 20 percent of owners, but significantly less users (33 percent) complained about the slow performance of AT&T's EDGE Internet serivce. The touchscreen dead spots reported by some users were absent in the survey sample, according to Neff. Only 5 percent reported issues that primarily related to freezing or lagging after touching a command.

The survey was too small to be completely representative of all executives or the population as a whole, the financial researchers warned, but the combination of a very positive overall reaction and the trend towards personal-use phones indicated to Bear Stearns that Apple was successfully building a third channel for growth beyond the iPod and the Mac.

"From a larger perspective, unlike a year ago when Apple's growth was primarily based on [the iPod], we believe that [the] Apple story has improved and can now benefit from multiple engines of growth," Neff wrote.

As a result, Bear Stearns continued to maintain an "outperform" rating for Apple's shares with a price target of $199.

[Ireland]

All I can say is I said I wasn't going to buy one when they come to Europe, but I have since changed my mind. I need something for mobile email, so why not get a cool phone and iPod at the same time. I am thinking about an iWood case, anyone have one? Any reports on it, like do those wooden sleep and volume buttons work or not? Etc.

[apologeticus]

This author needs to learn the difference between "less" and "fewer," among other things.

[Matthew Yohe]

While Exchange support is of concern, I believe an oversight of Apple's that seems to continually be absent from reviews is the lack of enterprise level WPA/WEP (802.1x) authentication. Currently the iPhone only allows Personal (preshared key) security, which is not an option when you leave the residential/small business environment.

If this is of concern to you, please take a moment and voice your desire to have this feature implemented.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

[city]

I going to put wheels on my iPhone and pull it around with a leash. The survey didn't address the number of people during that or potential downsides.

[bg_nyc]

Originally Posted by apologeticus

This author needs to learn the difference between "less" and "fewer," among other things.

The rule usually encountered is: use "fewer" for things you count (individually), and "less" for things you measure: "fewer apples", "less water". The author says 'less customers' and 'less users' like a jackass.

[mgkwho]

Originally Posted by bg_nyc

The rule usually encountered is: use "fewer" for things you count (individually), and "less" for things you measure: "fewer apples", "less water". The author says 'less customers' and 'less users' like a jackass.

Not only that, but:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Hardware defects weren't an issue, the study said. Complaints about battery life rose to 20 percent of owners, but significantly less users (33 percent) complained about the slow performance of AT&T's EDGE Internet serivce.

Isn't 33 percent more than 20 percent? I don't understand the numbering here...how is 33 "less users" than 20 percent?

-=|Mgkwho

[physguy]

Originally Posted by mgkwho

Not only that, but:



Isn't 33 percent more than 20 percent? I don't understand the numbering here...how is 33 "less users" than 20 percent?

-=|Mgkwho

I believe that they are referring to less than in a previous survey.

[anantksundaram]

Huh? What is this analyst report saying? I don't really follow.....

[Duddits]

Originally Posted by city

I going to put wheels on my iPhone and pull it around with a leash. The survey didn't address the number of people during that or potential downsides.

The downside is iPhone is a wireless device and the leash will hurt its feelings. You will also have to watch out for poo.

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by apologeticus

This author needs to learn the difference between "less" and "fewer," among other things.

I was about to post the same thing. AI: get your copy editor an AP style book (and a journalism degree).

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by mgkwho

Not only that, but:



Isn't 33 percent more than 20 percent? I don't understand the numbering here...how is 33 "less users" than 20 percent?

-=|Mgkwho

Two different issues, I think.

Story and sentence structure leads to a little confusion but the way I see it, is issue one - battery life - complaints rose to 20% of owners from previous percentage of complaints (what ever that might have been, but apparently lower than 20%) and issue two - regarding performance of AT&T's EDGE Internet Service being "slow" decreased to 33% from what I would imagine would have been a higher percentage number regarding all the posts in forums complaining about the iPhone's lack of 3G and how EDGE stinks as a internet service prior to the iPhone launch back on June 29th, where one might say, if questioned, it would be close to 100 percent of people agreeing that AT&T's EDGE Internet Service was thought to be slow.

I could be wrong, but again, that is how I read it.

[murphyweb]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Huh? What is this analyst report saying? I don't really follow.....

The Analyst seems to be saying that iPhone may well be a great business device after all becasue some business people have bought one to use personally.

I am a businessman and whilst shopping this morning i bought a tin of sweetcorn, does that mean that a tin of sweetcorn could be now classed as a business lunch??

[addabox]

Originally Posted by murphyweb

The Analyst seems to be saying that iPhone may well be a great business device after all becasue some business people have bought one to use personally.

I am a businessman and whilst shopping this morning i bought a tin of sweetcorn, does that mean that a tin of sweetcorn could be now classed as a business lunch??

Mmmmmmm......... tin of sweetcorn.

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

While the absence of complete Microsoft Exchange support was still enough of a barrier to prevent 34 percent of non-iPhone users from buying the Apple device, the corporate issue was no longer the primary factor in their decision.

WHA? 100% of people who don't buy it, won't use it either!

or am I missing something?

I don't know if thats Appleinsiders doing or a direct quote from the report but it sounds 100% stupid to me.

[Kendoka]

>>prevent 34 percent of non-iPhone users from buying the Apple device

>100% of people who don't buy it, won't use it either!
>or am I missing something?

They have obviously asked people who considered buying an iPhone *why* they didn't.
One third (of all corporate users?) said it was (among other things) because of the lack of complete Microsoft Exchange support.


>... (33 percent) complained about the slow performance of AT&T's EDGE Internet serivce.

This is great news, meaning that most users find the AT&T-speed reasonable or better, despite initial claims of it being painfully slow.


>Bear Stearns continued to maintain an "outperform" rating for Apple's shares with a price target of $199.

Originally Posted by Kendoka

>(08-01-2007, 07:47 PM)
Prediction:
APPL drops to <$130 (buy!) after the tuesday event (because of overreacting analysts) - but reaching a new all time high mid-september, an Apple-split in february followed by the stocks breaking the $100 (sell!) barrier spring 08.

[BRussell]

Wow, you people are quite obnoxious.

[murphyweb]

Originally Posted by BRussell

Wow, you people are quite obnoxious.

So that is an intelligent statement, have you got anything else to add to that or do you not feel it necessary? Interesting take on the article anyway, on behalf of the Apple Insider readership i would like to thank you for your well thought out contribution to the discussion.

[Buck]

What's the deal with Exchange support though? I read multiple times that for example Entourage supports Exchange 'partially'. Just how do you do that? Something either supports a protocol or it doesn't, no?

[mstone]

Originally Posted by Buck

What's the deal with Exchange support though? I read multiple times that for example Entourage supports Exchange 'partially'. Just how do you do that? Something either supports a protocol or it doesn't, no?

Being able to get an email is only one feature. Outlook/Exchange Server provide several other features such as synchronizing schedules etc. Personally, I've never had to use either Entourage or Exchange but I can assure you it is not just a single protocol.

[user23]

Originally Posted by BRussell

Wow, you people are quite obnoxious.

agreed.

Fewer complaints about grammar would be nice.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by user23

agreed.

Fewer complaints about grammar would be nice.

First, I am not part of the grammar police since I don't know it well enough to carp. But you'll notice from my post above (#9) that I had trouble following what exactly this analyst was saying. If poor grammar interferes with a reader's understanding of content, I think that suggests a problem (btw, it is not only the grammar that people were complaining about).

Second, even if it was not an issue of interfering with one's understanding, I see little that is wrong -- indeed, much that is right -- in people demanding that AI articles meet some reasonable standard of decent English usage. Indeed, we should demand that in all aspect of our lives, since sloppy usage is often correlated with sloppy thinking.

Third -- even if neither argument above persuades you -- given how often links to AI articles show up at the head of the line of news aggregators such as news.google.com, I would imagine that it is in AI's interest to not come across as sloppy in its writing (and by inference, its thinking). IMHO, I actually find that sites such as arstechnica.com make a genuine effort at good language use. Indeed, I think it is time for AI to hire someone with copy editing skills to oversee some of their writing.

(For the record, English is not my first language, so I work hard at using the language as correctly as I can. I imagine it should be even easier for native speakers to do that.)

[aaarrrgggh]

Boy, reports like this scare the living sh!t out of me!

First off, the iPhone makes a fantastic mobile device. It is prettier and has a better screen than almost anything else out there, and at a reasonable price. It offers the best mobile internet browsing experience of anything I have experienced.

But-- e-mail is crap, and the iPhone is barely functional when it isn't on Cingular's network. Travelling outside the US, these issues become a very big deal. I fear my bill, when I have not deliberately used any edge data.

If Apple doesn't fix the e-mail soon, I might be forced to go back to a Blackberry. Need real PUSH, and an e-mail client at least as good as Blackberry's far from perfect offering!

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by user23

agreed.

Fewer complaints about grammar would be nice.

As would fewer grammatical mistakes.

[mstone]

Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh

First off, the iPhone makes a fantastic mobile device. It is prettier and has a better screen than almost anything else out there, and at a reasonable price. It offers the best mobile internet browsing experience of anything I have experienced.

But-- e-mail is crap, and the iPhone is barely functional when it isn't on Cingular's network. Travelling outside the US, these issues become a very big deal. I fear my bill, when I have not deliberately used any edge data.

I agree that in light of the reports that Edge data use abroad is too expensive, Apple should address the issue in a similar manner to the airplane mode solution by allowing the user to turn off selective services such as Edge.

On the email complaint, I guess I can only be thankful that I don't need push email. I would rather read email at a time of my choosing and not be alerted every time a message arrives. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a critical email message. Because email is inherently unreliable, nothing mission critical should ever depend on it.

m

[aaarrrgggh]

Originally Posted by mstone

On the email complaint, I guess I can only be thankful that I don't need push email. I would rather read email at a time of my choosing and not be alerted every time a message arrives. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a critical email message. Because email is inherently unreliable, nothing mission critical should ever depend on it.

While at home or in the office, I would agree with you almost without hesitation. People do make too big of a deal as a business communication tool. When traveling, either for work or pleasure, sometimes being able to be notified of an e-mail (subtly) at a reasonable time interval and without draining your battery checking every 30 or 60 minutes, it can be the difference between a four week "soft" vacation and a one week "no contact" vacation.

The alternative is to have my secretary call me if anything import comes up, and that is reluctantly what I am doing right now. I get a 5-minute warning for a conference call, try and wake up and be coherent, and get back to sleep when it is over. Not the best life, but sacrifices to be made when you love scuba diving.

My gripe is that the Blackberry actually did this for me, no secretary required. Three years ago, I could never have gotten to the position I am at now without the Blackberry, unless I matched my sleeping schedule to the US when abroad, which almost completely defeats the purposes of being away.

[pmjoe]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Huh? What is this analyst report saying? I don't really follow.....

Absolutely nothing. Along with the grammatical issues noted above, the author(s) also admit that the sample size is too small to represent anything. Or as murphyweb put it:

Originally Posted by murphyweb

I am a businessman and whilst shopping this morning i bought a tin of sweetcorn, does that mean that a tin of sweetcorn could be now classed as a business lunch??

That about covers it.

[whoami]

tough crowd!

anyway i've held off on buying one, got the wife one instead.
gotta have exchange for work and they won't budge on enabling imap.
i'm gonna wait for V2 and hope it's got 3G, GPS, and exchange!
btw... edge does suck completely. people are just lowering their standards because they love everything else about the phone!

[riprod]

The iPhone will never be a serious business tool until they sort out the international data situation.
At&t's charge of $20 per Mb is absolutely outrageous.

For example, to open the Apple.com home page on your iPhone costs you $14.50 when you are in France.
Apple has also not included a feature to turn off edge, so it's constantly checking stocks and weather in the background and costing you a fortune, even when you think you're not on the internet.