Gregg Eldred

Comment posted by Lars Olufsen05/14/2008 06:01:42 AM
Homepage: http://www.olufsphere.com

Ah - the Jesusphone.

I was very excited at the opening keynote at Lotusphere. Excited that Lotus was going to be first with enterprise apps on the iPhone. Excited that the "device that will change the world" would do so with Notes.

Since then ... nothing ... nothing and still nothing.

And while we wait, it becomes increasingly obvious, that the iPhone isn't all that hot in the business context anyway, and that actively using the iPhone as a device for professionally handling your Mail, Unified Communication or even ... [gasp] ... telephony, just doesn't cut it.

It's a cool toy - a magnificent revelation in the device market - a first among the next generation of handheld platforms - and utterly useless as a business tool.
Come to think of it, the younger part of the geeksphere has already stopped desiring the iPhone and are looking to the future.

The sexy phone no longer pulls much in the business world. And the sexy software (that would be Notes 8) apparently understands this and has its focus elsewhere, hopefully putting Traveler on the Symbian platform instead.

Comment posted by Ed Brill05/14/2008 06:28:37 AM
Homepage: http://www.edbrill.com

Gregg, the capabilities in that photo were based on DWA, err, iNotes "ultralight" mode which is coming in 8.0.2 and 8.5. As a web-based interface, they are explicitly *not* about the SDK.

Comment posted by Gregg Eldred05/14/2008 10:07:57 PM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf

@Lars - I really appreciate your comment. I think that everything will change with the iPhone when the SDK starts delivering value to the business user. I also think that the imminent release of iPhone 2.0 (or whatever it will be called) will raise the device to "business worthy." Those two events will keep the pressure on RIM as well as Symbian and the others.

Whether it is truly a business tool, like the Blackberry, remains to be seen. But the device is in the hands of CxO's, or their kids, and the demand for connectivity to corporate data and mail will be generated from the top.

@Ed - It can't be easy these days for any company, where your slides get posted on the social media sites. I was just paging through the Lotusphere2008 tagged items on Flickr and came across Chris' shot. It made a nice tie-in to the Apple Discussion post (Nice to see that there is at least one person posting there on Notes and the iPhone - and no flames).

Comment posted by Lars Olufsen05/16/2008 11:00:24 AM
Homepage: http://www.olufsphere.com

@Gregg - don't get me wrong. I'm an iPhone owner and lover myself. Can't keep my fingers from it. I just think that the fundamental lack of a tactile keyboard makes it very difficult to use for large messageformats such as email and "conventional" documents.

But no doubt the iPhone has blown the lid off a potentially HUGE market. Companies are testing all sorts of hybrid phone/pda/mediacenter devices, and someday SOON, there will be a consensus platform that works for wider purposes.

In my family, kids have discarded the iPhone. It's still in use as an iPod or for Youtube'ing, but not as a phone. It lacks the ability to handle kids texting without removing the phone from their pockets (which apparently is how they do it in school, while in class)

But iPhone set a new standard, hell ... it kicked all competitors square in the nether regions. And it will be the direct reason for enormous steps in the market.

But there's still too much it doesn't do.
SDK will help - definately will - but it doesn't bring tactile keys or high-speed connectivity, GPS or DVB-T, Video calls etc etc.

I wouldn't be surprised though, if iPhone2 did - and was first to do so. Actually ... I can hardly wait.

Comment posted by Gregg Eldred05/16/2008 11:18:59 AM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf

@Lars:

Take a look at this post and the links:

http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf/plinks/DOMO-7EGGYY

You can tell from the research that the Blackberry and the iPhone are targeted, and used, by two different groups. But the problem lies when the one group (iPhone users) are in the second group (corporate users).

And then you have the major messaging vendors working to connect the iPhone to their platforms . . .

We live in interesting times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you_live_in_interesting_times