Can Apple’s new iPhone tap into the lucrative business market?

The new Apple iPhone is stirring up a lot of controversy. Will this new device be able to offer enough functionality to serve as a viable business choice?

Microsoft’s Take: Microsoft’s Chris Sorenson, head of the Asia-Pacific division disagrees. He describes the iPhone in these terms: "It's a great music phone, and I'm sure it will be fantastic and have an interesting user interface. However, it's a closed device that you cannot install applications on, and there's no support for Office documents. If you're an enterprise and want to roll out a line of business applications, it's just not an option. Even using it as a heavy messaging device will be a challenge.”

Chris Sorenson trusts that users familiar with the Windows interface will remain with devices running Windows applications and that the iPhone will stay out of the more lucrative corporate business market.

AT&T’s View: AT&T plans to market the iPhone to business users as well as consumers. Cingular Wireless recently acquire AT&T Wireless and is now busy building up its back-end billing and support systems to accommodate the iPhone.

Many question this decision, including Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, who considers this a “serious mistake.”

Also the lack of third party applications on open-source platforms, is discouraging to many users.

In response, Mac developer Alykhan Jetha, CEO of Marketcircle Inc., the creator of Daylite and Billings software, defends the iPhone with these arguments.

#1 The iPhone has a multi-tasking Mac OS X processor that is far more advanced than Microsoft’s Desktop OS.

#2 Microsoft Office applications can be opened up in Apple software such as Textedit for Word and Keynote for Powerpoint.

This also then brings to mind the question of third-party software. RIM apparently is developing new software that will create a clone version of Blackberry software for Windows Mobile 6 smart phones.

If Rim is able to develop this software for other platforms, then Apple’s iPhone might be next, allowing the same complexity that currently Blackberry handheld fans enjoy.

Apple’s new iPhone has definitely triggered a lot of change in the business industry, whether it be from Microsoft’s predictions to Rim’s new software development – regardless, the means of doing business is changing. Business owners are attracted to the idea of having a single device for handheld and cellular phone needs, as well as consumer multimedia interests.

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