How many of you that say you prefer a physical keyboard have used the iphone keyboard for any length of time? It's like anything that is new and different, it seems to take some people years to adjust. How many of you didn't want to give up your typewriters for computers, because you couldn't touch the paper you were typing on. I promise you, the touchscreen keyboard is the future and your quaint physical keyboard is a dinosaur. Enjoy them while they still exist. The rest of us will see you on the flip side.
The fact that this corporation has its employees buying their own devices has escaped all but one of you so far. In the wash, does that make it cheaper? In the alternative, do you condone cost shifting of what are essentially company assets?
I'd sooner slightly higher pay and allowing me to choose the tools of the trade.
Don't think this is some sort of 'new' thing; heck, businesses who have uniforms pretty much split into two groups - the anal retentive who insist on using their own hand picked suppliers and thus you're issued with a crap quality uniform (many places of employment where the management have chosen a vendor whose uniform falls to bits within 6months and looks like a dogs breakfast after one year) or you get an allowance which allows you to go out and choose the pants and shirts that you want.
Heck, if it were me I'd get rid of computers altogether from the company, provide an allowance which allows individuals to purchase the tools they need for the job - the tools they are most productive using. They support their own equipment and failure to pull your weight in terms of productivity - you lose your job. Basically, you effectively become a contractor where you are responsible for everything.
I actually think Apple should dump OS X desktop and create large 'iPhone' type devices from the rumored 7 to 10" giant iPod Touch to 30" iMac Touches. Imagine PhotoShop or Excel with multitouch? They would be so much easier and faster to operate.)
You really don't want this. If you had a desktop that used a touchscreen and gestures to navigate and do all the things as you do on an iPhone, do you realize what your arm would feel like after a few hours of this?
How many of you that say you prefer a physical keyboard have used the iphone keyboard for any length of time?
I think very few people are really 'qualified' to make the comparison. How many people have used an iPhone keyboard for any length of time AND used a BB keyboard for any length of time?
I wouldn't want a keyboard, because it will make the iPhone bigger. If it's a slide out then the phone will be thicker & more prone to breaking. If it's on the front then it has to be a larger front or a smaller screen. Adding a keyboard must involve a trade-off, it's going to have a negative affect elsewhere, and for me it would need to be SIGNIFICANTLY easier to be worth it.
A physical keyboard may well be easier, I just don't think it's significant enough for me. Besides, my fingers probably would hit multiple keys anyway on a tiny keyboard and the touchscreen at least picks the closest word.
If you had a desktop that used a touchscreen and gestures to navigate and do all the things as you do on an iPhone, do you realize what your arm would feel like after a few hours of this?
I think that it's important to not think of a touchscreen as a replacement to a mouse. There are things it would be very helpful for... but in the end it will be a new interface paradigm that uses touch only where it's helpful - you can bet that a system that FORCED people to use hand movements instead of a mouse entirely wouldn't take on (as you say).
On a somewhat weird note... In some ways the mouse is like "magic". Kids play with the idea of flicking their wrist to throw or lift an object, to push something away, etc. Magic is easier than picking up box and moving it across a room. A mouse lets you twist your hand and move your fingers in a tiny way that moves big things across your screen.... why would we want to lose that advantage?
How many of you that say you prefer a physical keyboard have used the iphone keyboard for any length of time? It's like anything that is new and different, it seems to take some people years to adjust. How many of you didn't want to give up your typewriters for computers, because you couldn't touch the paper you were typing on. I promise you, the touchscreen keyboard is the future and your quaint physical keyboard is a dinosaur. Enjoy them while they still exist. The rest of us will see you on the flip side.
I own an iPod touch. I gave it to my son, and use either my 2nd Gen shuffle or iPod Classic. tactile controls being literally the only reason why. The touch interface is cool for about five minutes, then it's nothing but annoying. Why would I want to get used to a compromise, when what I already have is better?
Actually, C/C/P doesn't work on files, text and images only.
You can copy anything that the app developer wants to allow. The SDK is very open with copy and paste in this way. Developers just need to know how to use it right.
I can't see why Apple doesn't allow the iPhone to be used as a storage device. I want to be able to transfer files from my Mac, download files from the Internet, and attach/upload files.
Seriously, an Enable Disk Use option would do a worlds of good. As is being able to download and upload attachments.
The fact that this corporation has its employees buying their own devices has escaped all but one of you so far. In the wash, does that make it cheaper? In the alternative, do you condone cost shifting of what are essentially company assets?
It said the employees buy and own the device - but did not say it was with their own money - they may be reimbursed for the purchase - and for the plan. Maybe it was not clear in the article but what I got out of that was that the savings was realized in part by no having to replace lost and damaged devices since they are now personal property not corporate property and through less on staff technical support required.
As for "email is better" it was not clear to me in the article whether that was from the user's perspective - or overall from an enterprise support perspective. "Email is better" could mean something very different to the person using the email system as a client than it does to the person responsible for the back office operations that make email possible.
First in regards to the back and forth regarding physical vs software keyboard support, it will be resolved in software 3.0. Application / peripheral developers will be able to connect their devices to the iPhone via the apple connector(USB) on the bottom of the device or thru Bluetooth. I'm confident that several different types of keyboards in various languages will become available to users thru the open market.
New from this article was the issue of turning off the camera in high security environments. I'm currious as to how that will be implementable and possible social concerns that might raise. First the camera and potentially other components/apps could possibly be regulated by an active VPN connection, wifi network connection, currently running application, and/or possibly by GPS location. My concern with this is that an enterprising employee may therefore be able to "work around" those restrictions by disabling their wifi, VPN, or GPS.
Another interesting concern relates to the personal liberties and civil/constitutional rights in that it may also therefore be possible for govenrment agencies to disable some functions (camera/microphone) on the phones of general civilians in the interest of "national security". Thus a protester in a selected area or civilian being harrased at a checkpoint may be unduely restricted in their ability to capture suspect behavior by law enforcement personnel...
I haven't seen if v3.0 of the firmware allows stuff like viewing attendees as well as if you can tell if they've accepted.
Little things like this would really lend to the perception of being ready for the enterprise. In a corporate world of 'meetings' it seems it's an area that they could improve a bit...
First in regards to the back and forth regarding physical vs software keyboard support, it will be resolved in software 3.0. Application / peripheral developers will be able to connect their devices to the iPhone via the apple connector(USB) on the bottom of the device or thru Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, application developers can only make their own application speak to the external bluetooth or USB device. It doesn't permit someone to make a keyboard accessible to all apps.
HOPEFULLY Apple will fill that gap though. New features like that don't need to be revealed to developers...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MWahlman
New from this article was the issue of turning off the camera in high security environments. <snip>. My concern with this is that an enterprising employee may therefore be able to "work around" those restrictions by disabling their wifi, VPN, or GPS.
Yes, but to be secure, a wifi-based security could also disable the camera if wifi was turned off, for example.
I work at a very large (many thousands of users) government office where Blackberries have been prevalent for years and are readily available as government funded (& owned) equipment to most who want one. The IT department has been generally Apple hostile for many years and iPhones are definitely not supported.
I bought my iPhone as a personal phone the day they first came out. (I neither have nor want a 'company' Blackberry.) I quickly started using it at work to access email via our webmail system. It was usable in a pinch, but not very convenient since I could not access our facility wifi on the iPhone (IT won't give guest user accounts for personal phones) and webmail of Edge is a bit clunky. Mostly I used it when on the road.
However, when the 2.0 upgrade came out, with the addition of LEAP I was able to access the facility wifi through my regular user account name & password and to set up an email account on my iPhone that accesses my work Exchange account. It took only a matter of minutes and no help from IT nor any special access. My iPhone now automatically switches from my home wifi to Edge to work wifi, etc. as I move around during the day and all the while keeps my personal and work email accounts updated and in separate folders. The transition between work and personal is now so seamless that I barely even notice, but the emails are all kept separate. If I need to do any heavy web stuff on the phone, the wifi is there at work as well. I can even set the work email for push notifications and I actually get the Exchange mail so fast on my iPhone that I usually finish reading the message before it even shows up on my hard wired desktop machine at work. (I usually leave push off because the heavy email traffic can munch the battery pretty quick and the 15 minute updates are more than good enough.) Going on travel is now like never loosing access.
All without any effort or even awareness on the part of the IT department. There are a number of us 'bootleg' iPhone users there now, even some on ipod touches. It is my phone and my account so there is no conflict with using it for whatever personal stuff I want to as well. It works as well or better than the crackberries for work stuff, let alone being an ipod. As long as IT leaves us alone, I'll be perfectly happy with the situation. The only nice thing would be if I could talk them into subsidizing a data tethering upgrade to my AT&T account when iPhone 3.0 adds that. (Cell modems are still a very privileged perq.)
No way would I ever want to get a 'company' Blackberry phone now. I have one (very slim) device that does all I need for work and personal and I control it. (And NO WAY would I want a clunker of a phone bloated out with one of those stupid chicklet keyboards. The iPhone virtual keyboard is a stroke of genius - hopefully physical keyboard phones will go the way of the command line interface very soon.)
The convenience is unbelievable and the simplicity of getting it set up still seems surreal for the lack of effort required. All at no cost and no effort required from my employer. Like I said, I don't think the IT department even knows us users are doing this. They certainly didn't do anything for us to enable it that I am aware of and they aren't getting charged for us like they are for all the officially sanctioned crackberry users.
As others have mentioned, the only thing beyond the 3.0 updates (hardware & software) that I'd really like to see is a built-in file handling app (sort of a mini Finder). I'll probably try one of the third party ones as soon as 3.0 is out though.
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
It will be interesting to see where corporations go to spend their money this summer when 3.0 is released and when Nokia releases the N97. On just the spec sheet alone, the N97 will simply blow the 3.0 version iPhone away as does the 5800XM. With the inclusion of Skype on the N97 desktop, and a host of enterprise features already standard, Apple will have to sweeten the pot. Most E and N series Nokia phones are BB capable via software installation which is a big advantage.
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
I though that too at first. Perhapse that because we are thinking DOD/Fed? Perhapse he is in State or a less secure Fed agency? I'm DOD, IT aware, but not in that function presently.
You've already been told that Enterprise customers can do this. Regular customers can do it, too. While you need an iTunes account, you don't need to use iTunes to upgrade - you can simply purchase the app directly from the phone.
Of course, since iTunes is free and available for Windows as well as Mac, I'm not sure why it's a big deal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkevwill
There is NO way I would want to use an iphone for these longer emails. (not to mention all the variety of attachments etc). I agree with the article. The blackberry is better for emails, the iphone everything else.
As you've been told, some people find the iPhone's virtual keyboard to be better. There's some element of personal taste as well as the fact that many people bash the iPhone without taking the time to use it.
In any event, if you regularly need to type long emails on your phone, you need a laptop, instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_greer
Think of this like a corporate IT manager: what is the business case for mobile data devices? there are four primary business case concerns in this space
1: Phone - I give this one to Blackberry, voice dialing is a God Send
2: Email: By the articals own statement, the BB wins email, you cant even search messages on the iphone
3: Data tethering for road warriors: BB Wins by Forfeit on this one.
4: Right carrier for the right region; ATT has great coverage in some areas, in other parts of the country, VZW or Sprint and sometimes even tmobile is a better choice...you cant choose carriers on iphone, a big no no for corps.
So I fail to see why a business would select iphone right now, of course 3.0 changes the game, but the article speaks in terms of today.iPhone is a great gadget, but if it is second place to BB on all four counts, so what is the business case for iPhone?
while not terribly important, there is other key, the iphone comes with a camera and no choice, some companies, (think medical and finance) may not want employees having company issued cameras, this is particularly true for third party auditors who go into company and look at the books, when companys bring in outside firms, they don't want to risk unauthorized pics being taken in an R and D area.
1. I agree. I wish voice dialing were standard on the iPhone.
2. Matter of personal taste. I use my iPhone only for receiving mail when I"m traveling. When I'm in the office or at home, I get the mail on my computer. I never have any need for searching emails - and doubt if very many people do. The iPhone is not a personal computer.
3. Yes
4. Actually, you can choose carriers. You need to jailbreak the phone, but it's possible. However, this is not as big a deal as it's made out to be. AT&T's coverage is as good as anyone else in almost the entire country. There may be a few spots where it's weak, but that's true of any carrier. If the contract with AT&T was what it took to get the iPhone off the market, it was a fair trade. (BTW, 99% of all phones purchased are purchased from a cell phone company and are linked to one carrier, anyway, so this is not unique to Apple).
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
The word 'uninformed' comes to mind.
Has it ever occurred to you that there are quite a few different types of government offices? And that the same rules do not apply everywhere? And that some places may not follow the rules as rigidly as you do?
While I have no way of knowing if OP was telling the truth, your immediately calling him a liar is completely baseless.
It's just sad that many people just made the conclusion that iPhone is hard for typing long messages or emails just because it doesn't have a physical keyboard. Often times these people only used the iPhone for a few minutes while disregarding the fact that they practiced using the small physical keyboard much longer than they did on the iPhone keyboard, which made their conclusion very skewed.
As a matter of fact, I type much faster on my iPhone than on my old Treo 650, and it didn't take me a lot of practice to get used to iPhone keyboard at all. There are lots of people that I know of actually prefer typing on iPhone over phones that has physical keyboard.
I'm not trying to say that anyone should type faster on iPhone than on Blackberry. What I'm trying to say that iPhone has a very good potential to type long messages or emails and the conclusion of "iPhone is hard for typing long messages or emails because it doesn't have a physical keyboard" is so wrong. The decision to choose software or hardware keyboard on phones is more of a preference issue.
BTW, I laughed so hard when many people kept saying that iPhone is capable of anything other than typing emails and messages.
Comments
http://Jacobwhitaker.com
The fact that this corporation has its employees buying their own devices has escaped all but one of you so far. In the wash, does that make it cheaper? In the alternative, do you condone cost shifting of what are essentially company assets?
I'd sooner slightly higher pay and allowing me to choose the tools of the trade.
Don't think this is some sort of 'new' thing; heck, businesses who have uniforms pretty much split into two groups - the anal retentive who insist on using their own hand picked suppliers and thus you're issued with a crap quality uniform (many places of employment where the management have chosen a vendor whose uniform falls to bits within 6months and looks like a dogs breakfast after one year) or you get an allowance which allows you to go out and choose the pants and shirts that you want.
Heck, if it were me I'd get rid of computers altogether from the company, provide an allowance which allows individuals to purchase the tools they need for the job - the tools they are most productive using. They support their own equipment and failure to pull your weight in terms of productivity - you lose your job. Basically, you effectively become a contractor where you are responsible for everything.
I actually think Apple should dump OS X desktop and create large 'iPhone' type devices from the rumored 7 to 10" giant iPod Touch to 30" iMac Touches. Imagine PhotoShop or Excel with multitouch? They would be so much easier and faster to operate.)
You really don't want this. If you had a desktop that used a touchscreen and gestures to navigate and do all the things as you do on an iPhone, do you realize what your arm would feel like after a few hours of this?
How many of you that say you prefer a physical keyboard have used the iphone keyboard for any length of time?
I think very few people are really 'qualified' to make the comparison. How many people have used an iPhone keyboard for any length of time AND used a BB keyboard for any length of time?
I wouldn't want a keyboard, because it will make the iPhone bigger. If it's a slide out then the phone will be thicker & more prone to breaking. If it's on the front then it has to be a larger front or a smaller screen. Adding a keyboard must involve a trade-off, it's going to have a negative affect elsewhere, and for me it would need to be SIGNIFICANTLY easier to be worth it.
A physical keyboard may well be easier, I just don't think it's significant enough for me. Besides, my fingers probably would hit multiple keys anyway on a tiny keyboard and the touchscreen at least picks the closest word.
If you had a desktop that used a touchscreen and gestures to navigate and do all the things as you do on an iPhone, do you realize what your arm would feel like after a few hours of this?
I think that it's important to not think of a touchscreen as a replacement to a mouse. There are things it would be very helpful for... but in the end it will be a new interface paradigm that uses touch only where it's helpful - you can bet that a system that FORCED people to use hand movements instead of a mouse entirely wouldn't take on (as you say).
On a somewhat weird note... In some ways the mouse is like "magic". Kids play with the idea of flicking their wrist to throw or lift an object, to push something away, etc. Magic is easier than picking up box and moving it across a room. A mouse lets you twist your hand and move your fingers in a tiny way that moves big things across your screen.... why would we want to lose that advantage?
How many of you that say you prefer a physical keyboard have used the iphone keyboard for any length of time? It's like anything that is new and different, it seems to take some people years to adjust. How many of you didn't want to give up your typewriters for computers, because you couldn't touch the paper you were typing on. I promise you, the touchscreen keyboard is the future and your quaint physical keyboard is a dinosaur. Enjoy them while they still exist. The rest of us will see you on the flip side.
I own an iPod touch. I gave it to my son, and use either my 2nd Gen shuffle or iPod Classic. tactile controls being literally the only reason why. The touch interface is cool for about five minutes, then it's nothing but annoying. Why would I want to get used to a compromise, when what I already have is better?
I'm not surprised. I hear similar things for those I know.
About attachments, I would imagine we would be able to with C/paste. That's the point to it.
Actually, C/C/P doesn't work on files, text and images only.
Actually, C/C/P doesn't work on files, text and images only.
You can copy anything that the app developer wants to allow. The SDK is very open with copy and paste in this way. Developers just need to know how to use it right.
Seriously, an Enable Disk Use option would do a worlds of good. As is being able to download and upload attachments.
The fact that this corporation has its employees buying their own devices has escaped all but one of you so far. In the wash, does that make it cheaper? In the alternative, do you condone cost shifting of what are essentially company assets?
It said the employees buy and own the device - but did not say it was with their own money - they may be reimbursed for the purchase - and for the plan. Maybe it was not clear in the article but what I got out of that was that the savings was realized in part by no having to replace lost and damaged devices since they are now personal property not corporate property and through less on staff technical support required.
As for "email is better" it was not clear to me in the article whether that was from the user's perspective - or overall from an enterprise support perspective. "Email is better" could mean something very different to the person using the email system as a client than it does to the person responsible for the back office operations that make email possible.
New from this article was the issue of turning off the camera in high security environments. I'm currious as to how that will be implementable and possible social concerns that might raise. First the camera and potentially other components/apps could possibly be regulated by an active VPN connection, wifi network connection, currently running application, and/or possibly by GPS location. My concern with this is that an enterprising employee may therefore be able to "work around" those restrictions by disabling their wifi, VPN, or GPS.
Another interesting concern relates to the personal liberties and civil/constitutional rights in that it may also therefore be possible for govenrment agencies to disable some functions (camera/microphone) on the phones of general civilians in the interest of "national security". Thus a protester in a selected area or civilian being harrased at a checkpoint may be unduely restricted in their ability to capture suspect behavior by law enforcement personnel...
Little things like this would really lend to the perception of being ready for the enterprise. In a corporate world of 'meetings' it seems it's an area that they could improve a bit...
First in regards to the back and forth regarding physical vs software keyboard support, it will be resolved in software 3.0. Application / peripheral developers will be able to connect their devices to the iPhone via the apple connector(USB) on the bottom of the device or thru Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, application developers can only make their own application speak to the external bluetooth or USB device. It doesn't permit someone to make a keyboard accessible to all apps.
HOPEFULLY Apple will fill that gap though. New features like that don't need to be revealed to developers...
New from this article was the issue of turning off the camera in high security environments. <snip>. My concern with this is that an enterprising employee may therefore be able to "work around" those restrictions by disabling their wifi, VPN, or GPS.
Yes, but to be secure, a wifi-based security could also disable the camera if wifi was turned off, for example.
I work at a very large (many thousands of users) government office where Blackberries have been prevalent for years and are readily available as government funded (& owned) equipment to most who want one. The IT department has been generally Apple hostile for many years and iPhones are definitely not supported.
I bought my iPhone as a personal phone the day they first came out. (I neither have nor want a 'company' Blackberry.) I quickly started using it at work to access email via our webmail system. It was usable in a pinch, but not very convenient since I could not access our facility wifi on the iPhone (IT won't give guest user accounts for personal phones) and webmail of Edge is a bit clunky. Mostly I used it when on the road.
However, when the 2.0 upgrade came out, with the addition of LEAP I was able to access the facility wifi through my regular user account name & password and to set up an email account on my iPhone that accesses my work Exchange account. It took only a matter of minutes and no help from IT nor any special access. My iPhone now automatically switches from my home wifi to Edge to work wifi, etc. as I move around during the day and all the while keeps my personal and work email accounts updated and in separate folders. The transition between work and personal is now so seamless that I barely even notice, but the emails are all kept separate. If I need to do any heavy web stuff on the phone, the wifi is there at work as well. I can even set the work email for push notifications and I actually get the Exchange mail so fast on my iPhone that I usually finish reading the message before it even shows up on my hard wired desktop machine at work. (I usually leave push off because the heavy email traffic can munch the battery pretty quick and the 15 minute updates are more than good enough.) Going on travel is now like never loosing access.
All without any effort or even awareness on the part of the IT department. There are a number of us 'bootleg' iPhone users there now, even some on ipod touches. It is my phone and my account so there is no conflict with using it for whatever personal stuff I want to as well. It works as well or better than the crackberries for work stuff, let alone being an ipod. As long as IT leaves us alone, I'll be perfectly happy with the situation. The only nice thing would be if I could talk them into subsidizing a data tethering upgrade to my AT&T account when iPhone 3.0 adds that. (Cell modems are still a very privileged perq.)
No way would I ever want to get a 'company' Blackberry phone now. I have one (very slim) device that does all I need for work and personal and I control it. (And NO WAY would I want a clunker of a phone bloated out with one of those stupid chicklet keyboards. The iPhone virtual keyboard is a stroke of genius - hopefully physical keyboard phones will go the way of the command line interface very soon.)
The convenience is unbelievable and the simplicity of getting it set up still seems surreal for the lack of effort required. All at no cost and no effort required from my employer. Like I said, I don't think the IT department even knows us users are doing this. They certainly didn't do anything for us to enable it that I am aware of and they aren't getting charged for us like they are for all the officially sanctioned crackberry users.
As others have mentioned, the only thing beyond the 3.0 updates (hardware & software) that I'd really like to see is a built-in file handling app (sort of a mini Finder). I'll probably try one of the third party ones as soon as 3.0 is out though.
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
I though that too at first. Perhapse that because we are thinking DOD/Fed? Perhapse he is in State or a less secure Fed agency? I'm DOD, IT aware, but not in that function presently.
can you load apps on an iphone without itunes?
You've already been told that Enterprise customers can do this. Regular customers can do it, too. While you need an iTunes account, you don't need to use iTunes to upgrade - you can simply purchase the app directly from the phone.
Of course, since iTunes is free and available for Windows as well as Mac, I'm not sure why it's a big deal.
There is NO way I would want to use an iphone for these longer emails. (not to mention all the variety of attachments etc). I agree with the article. The blackberry is better for emails, the iphone everything else.
As you've been told, some people find the iPhone's virtual keyboard to be better. There's some element of personal taste as well as the fact that many people bash the iPhone without taking the time to use it.
In any event, if you regularly need to type long emails on your phone, you need a laptop, instead.
Think of this like a corporate IT manager: what is the business case for mobile data devices? there are four primary business case concerns in this space
1: Phone - I give this one to Blackberry, voice dialing is a God Send
2: Email: By the articals own statement, the BB wins email, you cant even search messages on the iphone
3: Data tethering for road warriors: BB Wins by Forfeit on this one.
4: Right carrier for the right region; ATT has great coverage in some areas, in other parts of the country, VZW or Sprint and sometimes even tmobile is a better choice...you cant choose carriers on iphone, a big no no for corps.
So I fail to see why a business would select iphone right now, of course 3.0 changes the game, but the article speaks in terms of today.iPhone is a great gadget, but if it is second place to BB on all four counts, so what is the business case for iPhone?
while not terribly important, there is other key, the iphone comes with a camera and no choice, some companies, (think medical and finance) may not want employees having company issued cameras, this is particularly true for third party auditors who go into company and look at the books, when companys bring in outside firms, they don't want to risk unauthorized pics being taken in an R and D area.
1. I agree. I wish voice dialing were standard on the iPhone.
2. Matter of personal taste. I use my iPhone only for receiving mail when I"m traveling. When I'm in the office or at home, I get the mail on my computer. I never have any need for searching emails - and doubt if very many people do. The iPhone is not a personal computer.
3. Yes
4. Actually, you can choose carriers. You need to jailbreak the phone, but it's possible. However, this is not as big a deal as it's made out to be. AT&T's coverage is as good as anyone else in almost the entire country. There may be a few spots where it's weak, but that's true of any carrier. If the contract with AT&T was what it took to get the iPhone off the market, it was a fair trade. (BTW, 99% of all phones purchased are purchased from a cell phone company and are linked to one carrier, anyway, so this is not unique to Apple).
I find your entire story full of crap. I work for the US. Gov't, and what you are describing is completely forbidden. There is no way you are allowed to access your work emails via a personal phone. If you are using a gov't intranet, you have to use a FOB to generate a token, and you have to specify your browser type because the server checks the user agent. Did I mention that I work in the IT department? The word liar comes to mind. Go sell crazy somewhere else. No one is buying it here.
The word 'uninformed' comes to mind.
Has it ever occurred to you that there are quite a few different types of government offices? And that the same rules do not apply everywhere? And that some places may not follow the rules as rigidly as you do?
While I have no way of knowing if OP was telling the truth, your immediately calling him a liar is completely baseless.
As a matter of fact, I type much faster on my iPhone than on my old Treo 650, and it didn't take me a lot of practice to get used to iPhone keyboard at all. There are lots of people that I know of actually prefer typing on iPhone over phones that has physical keyboard.
I'm not trying to say that anyone should type faster on iPhone than on Blackberry. What I'm trying to say that iPhone has a very good potential to type long messages or emails and the conclusion of "iPhone is hard for typing long messages or emails because it doesn't have a physical keyboard" is so wrong. The decision to choose software or hardware keyboard on phones is more of a preference issue.
BTW, I laughed so hard when many people kept saying that iPhone is capable of anything other than typing emails and messages.