iPhone in the Enterprise?

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Just a few thoughts and questions...



1) Has Apple officially stated in documentation that the iPhone camera can or can't be disabled via AD policy? I would assume that if administrators can do a remote wipe and push password policies that you can also leverage AD/Exchange/ActiveSync to disable the iPhone's camera, right? I have downloaded all of Apple's iPhone enterprise documentation and I don't see any comments about the camera per se. I would assume this would be a pretty hot topic.



2) Has anyone been using the deployment tools yet? The manual and Web config options seem pretty cool, but I don't understand the email-based deployment. How you can push installation configs via email? Wouldn't the email account be setup via the config tool first in order to get email in the first place? The tail is wagging the dog.



3) Does anyone know if it's possible to access an Exchange shared mailbox from the iPhone?



4) My Inbox is always synced in a timely manner via Push (ActiveSync). But other folders are not alays in sync. Is this a server side Exchange option or a client-side iPhone issue? Can this be modified via ActiveSync perhaps? I never paid attention to this behavior in the past on my Windows Mobile 6 Dash device. I have nothing to compare the iPhone to.



5) I have Exchange server 2007 (up to date with service packs). I just did a test on my first gen iPhone running the new 2.0 firmware. I searched the AD GAL (user directory) by first name, last name and user name. All 3 returned information as expected. However, I did notice that I dont see much info on the selected user (lots of fields are missing). For example, when I look for myself in the GAL I see my email address, my office phone number and my job title, but part of the company field is cut off (truncated). Not sure if this is server side security filter or not. Does it reduce the amount of fields and meta data for the purpose of bandwidth?



6) I have heard that nesting sub-folders inside the main Inbox folder on an Exchange server will cause problems with iPhone syncs. I personally don't put sub-folders in my Inbox (I create nested folders outside of my Inbox for organizational purposes). However, I DO know people who prefer to put everything inside their Inbox (including sub-folders). Comments?



7) I have created several appointments and meetings in Entourage 2008 on my main Exchange calendar. When I look at the same meetings on my iPhone, it always shows up like I have not accepted the meeting (I have the option on the iPhone to flag it as Accepted, Maybe, Decline etc). This is strange because I CREATED the meeting, so why would I ned to accept it - its already in my calendar. Anyone else see this behavior? On a positive note, reoccurring meetings that are sent out to my entire department from my boss show up accurately. Calendars in general seem to sync pretty fast.



8) Anyone find a way to connect/browse AFP and SMB/CIFS network volumes? Would be handy to grab a file off of a file server via VPN in a pinch.



9) Any word on a local SSH client/terminal app yet?



10) I have tried the Mocha VNC lite app from the Apple AppStore. I haven't tried the commercial (i.e.; pay) version. Has anyone purchased it?



11) I noticed that BlackBerry's can sync Exchange notes but the iPhone can't sync Exchange notes for some reason. Any comments on this? Do you expect notes to be expected. I'm not a heavy notes user, but this may be a deal-killer for some BlackBerry switchers.



12) Pictures in Exchange contacts: I have noticed that if I associate a picture with a contact on the iPhone (take a picture with the camera, etc), the picture is INSTANTLY updated in my Outlook contacts on the Exchange server (I mean INSTANLY - its crazy how fast it updates the contact's record actually). However, Entourage 2008 is NOT able to display the picture data. Has anyone else noticed this flaw in Entourage 2008 (12.1.1)? I se a picture field in Entourage 2008, but it never gets populated with the Exchange picture from the iPhone.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    skp_srskp_sr Posts: 21member
    love all the commentary and notes.



    we are about to embark on this journey and so far I can't see that exchange sync has all the features that I was expecting.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    skp_srskp_sr Posts: 21member
    ok just go the activesync test set-up and although very cool, the battery seems to get really hammered.



    anyone else have that issue or is it just some settings that can be changed either on the device or server?
  • Reply 3 of 10
    skp_srskp_sr Posts: 21member
    so after using exchange active sync for a bit i figured out what to change the settings to, in order to get max battery life.



    use fetch every 15 min (not push)

    turn off 3g

    turn off bluetooth unless planning on using it

    turn off location based services.



    email wil sync every 15 minutes as well as when you manually check it.



    Now if we can just figure out if any of these things will ever be available, it might be a great enterprise tool:



    sync notes and tasks

    ability to actually create a calendar item and invite people

    ability to create private calendar entries

    ability to FLAG an email message for follow-up

    ability to change the sort order of emails (i.e by sender, subject, unread......)



    in essence, (Apple if you are listening) you have to have teh features and ability that you do at the desktop (at least some)



    other stuff on the wishlist -

    ability to mass delete sms txt messages (even if it's like the method in exchange sync)

    ability to forward sms txt messages



    Call me crazy, but we want this to be an enterprise tool then it's gotta have enterprise features.



    I would love to hear feedback on my comments from ANY enterprise users out there. Feel free to post here, send pm or email me.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    Subfolders still dont get push. Did anyone Solve this yet?



    Thanks!
  • Reply 5 of 10
    skp_srskp_sr Posts: 21member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enabled View Post


    Subfolders still dont get push. Did anyone Solve this yet?



    Thanks!



    I get subfolders.



    As a matter of fact, I'd like to know I'd there was a way to set them to show expanded....???
  • Reply 6 of 10
    you got push to work on subfolders?
  • Reply 7 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enabled View Post


    you got push to work on subfolders?



    if I go to my inbox then back out of it to the folders (hit the mailboxes button in the upper left) , it shows me all my subfolders.



    if i choose one of them, i see all the mail items that i have filed in that respective folder.



    That's what you mean right?



    Now i have a ton of sub folders so as I cruise through random ones, it takes a bit to pull down the items, but they do show up.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    no I mean real push email for exchange. Mine works for the inbox.But not on subfolders. I have to visit those to get an update. ;(
  • Reply 9 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enabled View Post


    no I mean real push email for exchange. Mine works for the inbox.But not on subfolders. I have to visit those to get an update. ;(





    then I'm not sure then... i don't use true push because the battery just gets hammered
  • Reply 10 of 10
    I know I'll probably get slammed for posting this on this site, but does anyone know if there is a plan for Microsoft Office Communicator (mobile) for the iPhone?



    I just figured if they were making Exchange sync compatabilities, then maybe OCS as well.



    Anyone???
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