Is the i-Phone any good for business?

[stoneyloon]

I'm looking to get a phone with good email capabilities but have been told by our IT folks that the Blackberry is not suitable for our setup.

They suggested an i-Phone or a smart Nokia, so I went to the supplier to check them out. The i-Phone looks great and has all the gismos but is it any good for sync'ing with my emails and other MS Outlook applications?
The other phone I quite liked the look of was the Nokia E75 because it still looks like a phone!

Any opinions?

[Saint-Just]

Only my 2p, not an expert, so use the proverbial pinch of salt :D

1) Blackberry WILL work. What they meant was that they did not have a push email blackberry compatible at your workplace. But it will work to access your mil perfectly

2) If the only business use you have for your phone is email, iphone works well. typing is all right, but I did not like the touchscreen keyboard.

3) the best business phone for me was (and is) the Nokia E90. Very stable, excellent keyboard, brilliant screen. E75 is good

4) you may also look at other platforms...

[dl_griff]

I use the google G1 from T-mobile for emails when i am out of the office, keyboard is pretty good

[stoneyloon]

2) If the only business use you have for your phone is email, iphone works well. typing is all right, but I did not like the touchscreen keyboard.

3) the best business phone for me was (and is) the Nokia E90. Very stable, excellent keyboard, brilliant screen. E75 is good

4) you may also look at other platforms...

The touchscreen is something I'm not sure about.
The E90 is too big for my taste.
It'll definitely be a Nokia if it's not the i-Phone, they're just so easy to use......

I use the google G1 from T-mobile for emails when i am out of the office, keyboard is pretty good

I've read it's no good with MS Exchange, which I think I need......

[paul360m]

iPhone works perfectly well with MS exchange. Touch screen - you soon get used to it!

Best phone Ive ever had by a mile - & the amount of Apps you can put on it is just incredible! Combine that with the all the other functions (including your tunes & photos) I would say its the best all round performer & suits business use as well as social use.

HTH

Cheers

Paul

[ggill]

Not about shooting off loads of emails using a touch-screen interface. If not a Blackberry, Nokia have a few good business phones that are similar. Ultimate is the Communicator, remember having a few of those bad boys!

[JasonG]

Well, the iPhone has certainly been good for O2's and Apple's business. Not sure about anyone else though.

I got rid of my iPhone a couple of weeks back and I'm sooo glad I did!

Go Nokia or Blackcurrant.

[tredders]

iPhone works perfectly well with MS exchange. Touch screen - you soon get used to it!

Best phone Ive ever had by a mile - & the amount of Apps you can put on it is just incredible! Combine that with the all the other functions (including your tunes & photos) I would say its the best all round performer & suits business use as well as social use.

HTH

Cheers

Paul

What Paul said. I replaced my Blackberry with my iPhone. iPhone works exactly like the BB, i.e. not only are emails 'pushed' to the iPhone, calendars sync both way, as do contacts. Best gadget I've ever owned, let alone best phone!

[GraniteQuarry]

Mate of mine swears by a prog called OpenHand, maybe worth a look

http://www.openhand-mobile.com/

[mark996]

I find my iPhone fabulous in every respect except the battery life.

[johnfoxllb]

Blackberry every time for me!

[bydandie]

I've tried the E71 and all Windows Mobile devices over the past six years and the iPhone gets my vote for it's ease of use. The WM platform is more powerful, but the iPhone is more useful. I'm a recent business convert, you can get one from Apple with a 14 day trial normally.

[stoneyloon]

Blackberry every time for me!

Please see first post, Blackberry is not in the running....

[stoneyloon]

I find my iPhone fabulous in every respect except the battery life.

How long does it last?

[stix]

Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone and it works well most of the time for calls, texts and e-mail but if you are heavy business user who wants MS Outlook functions, don't get an iPhone!

Get a Nokia.

I use mine for work but then I have a MAC at home and I am not a heavy business user. Great for games, apps, gizmos and looking cool, the phone that is, not me :)

[Neil.Ldn]

I don't like touchscreens so iPhone is out for me - instead I have a Nokia E71 ( E72 is out soon ). You can use Mail for Exchange to hook into your work MS Exchange and get full connectivity - email, calender, contacts etc, as well as push email for other providers like Hotmail et al via Nokia Messaging. It has faster internet access than the iPhone ( HSPDA ), wifi, great battery life, excellent build quality, QWERTY, etc, etc. I love it.

Neil

[Hubs]

Hi, I run an Iphone and do pretty much all my non-laptop business on it. It works fine for e-mail, although not quite as good as a blackberry keyboard. However, that is compensated for by the brilliance of the multi-synched calander and contacts management, access to our company CRM system, good enough satnav, browsing, music management, network rail app, skype on wireless, facebook etc.
Phone's good too, menu layouts excellent.

Our Sales Director has just moved to iphone from blackberry and has been pretty instantly converted.

In all, it does the job and I'm very happy with it, having previously gone through Palm smartphones, Nokia communicators and all...

[bydandie]

I find Mail For Exchange the worst piece of software out there unless your using Exchange 2007 due to lack of folders support. The 3Gs has HSDPA already as well, the Blackberry is the best mail processing solution, but not the best all-rounder IMHO.

[Hubs]

I suppose one question is how business use is defined by individuals. In my case, an e-mail solution is only a small part of the overall solution, as I have a pretty free mix of applications, text, e-mail and call handling. If e-mail was my only problem, Nokia or Blackberry would undoubtedly do, and do better. Interestingly, IMHO, the crackberry seems to be the cause of a large number of e-mail responses which are poorly done, as the response is created on the run without appropriate thought. Net result, an appearance of response without, necessarily, content..

[deano42]

Hi

FWIW I still think that the touch is not essential for a business tool... nice to flash off a (useless) app, but will not make you anymore efficient in your work.

I've been using the E75 since Feb and its a great business tool, stable, reliable and a real workhorse - I would say my best business device to date.!

In addition for the past few months been using the N97, all the business features of the E75 plus the touch screen and 32gig onboard memory - so great for taking along loads of music as well.!

N97-mini looks to be my next device though - smaller than the N97 due to the 4 way rocker not being installed next to the keyboard - but packed with almost the same spec/features. It does "only have" 16gig onboard memory...

Thanks
deano

[darrenw]

I have a company Blackberry - great for email, but shite as a phone. And after 2+ years of use I still find navigating the menu a right pain in the arse.

I haven't used an iPhone for email, but do have a Touch that I use wirelessly for email. Not sure how I'd get on with the keyboard for heavier use though. I was always a Nokia fan, but the game's moved on. If you want a dedicated phone/mail platform then maybe that's the best choice, but with apps like Train Timetables, Tube Maps, Street Maps etc, the iphone is so much more and will only get better. Plus it's a MP3 player as well. Colleagues love theirs, but the battery life is their achilles' heel.

[Saint-Just]

a note about Nokia vs Blackberry

I use my Communicator a lot. I also travel regularly, both through the country and abroad: Nokia allows you to set up multiple alarms, Blackberry doesn't.

It is a lot more than a detail; and not only for waking up :D

[hogthrob]

I've been using the E75 since Feb and its a great business tool, stable, reliable and a real workhorse - I would say my best business device to date.!

Don't you work for Nokia? :wink:

[082013]

How do your IT dept define it as not suitable? It can handle POP3, IMAP and Exchange for e-mail?

Really comes down to physical keyboard v touch screen. Whether you need to be able to multi-task. Whether BB Messenger would be any use to you, ie the ability to communicate globally with other Blackberry contacts, free of charge.

I wouldn't want to sit down and write dozens of emails on my iPhone, but to be honest, nor would I want to that on my Blackberry.

If you're thinking Nokia, the N900 seems to be a contender against the iPhone, and is out imminently.

[100thmonkey]

iphone is great if you want an ipod and a decent phone / email pusher, bit basic, always break when dropped, but good fun.

Blackberry is my weapon of choice, decent phone / emailer, got the look, rock solid. The business standard,

Id say 1st: Blackberry, 2nd Nokia, 3rd iPhone......for business that is

[082013]

Id say 1st: Blackberry, 2nd Nokia, 3rd iPhone......for business that is

Agree, almost....Unless you want HTML e-mail by default and a decent browser, then you'd need to go:

iPhone, BB, Nokia

[Neil.Ldn]

Id say 1st: Blackberry, 2nd Nokia, 3rd iPhone......for business that is

Agree, almost....Unless you want HTML e-mail by default and a decent browser, then you'd need to go:

iPhone, BB, Nokia

Just for the sake of correctness - Nokia E71 does have HTML email by default. Agree that the iPhone has easily the best browsing experience, followed closely by that horrible Google phone thing. I can recommend the latest Opera Mini beta for the best browsing experience on the E71.

Neil

[Driftwood]

1st gen iphone user here. Went off Blackberry only because of vodafone reluctance to join the real world with regards to prices etc. For email i found the blackberry 100% perfect. But i do not to run my life second to second wearing a big tie, too much hair gel and a coke habit !! I also need reading glasses for this reason the iphone walks all over all other phones. I can have the screen whatever size i want etc. I was not sure about the touch screen to be honest but find it is very very clever. I love mine and it works great for me . I will NOT be upgrading to a 3g etc until prices for those hit the £100 second hand.

I have 4 email accounts and i have never found it takes long to get my emails. But to be fair the Blackberry mail system is almost instant !

But 10 seconds to me is not going to make me worry with the iphone !

[Driftwood]

I find my iPhone fabulous in every respect except the battery life.

How long does it last?

mine does 2 days with bluetooth on as i use that with the Parrot bluetooth system in my car.

[mark996]

I find my iPhone fabulous in every respect except the battery life.

How long does it last?

mine does 2 days with bluetooth on as i use that with the Parrot bluetooth system in my car.

My battery is usually gone by about 8pm every evening, so that's about 12 hours of battery life. Mind you, I'm a pretty heavy user...

[082013]

I found charging mine via the mains as opposed to USB makes a difference to battery life.

[bricktop]

I found charging mine via the mains as opposed to USB makes a difference to battery life.

Yes it does! I charge mine only via the mains.

[Driftwood]

Another mains man here also. USB chargers are girls !

Also many get terrible battery life because they have incorrect settings set for how they use and need their phone.

[markdotreed]

I think the Iphone is rubbish and can't wait to get out of my conrtact

[ggill]

I think the Iphone is rubbish and can't wait to get out of my conrtact

See; viewtopic.php?f=3&t=93414

No contract, no-fuss, maximum enjoyment 8)

I am a shameless advert for B&O I'm really sorry but its just like the watch-bug!

[nate]

Has anyone used the Exchange support with the newer firmwares?

[mattah]

I much prefer Blackberry if only for the keyboard. My ideal phone is a physical keyboard underneath a large touchscreen for multimedia. I think I was looking at the G1 phone for this, but I'm not sure how good their Exchange integration is (It didn't exist when I was first looking).

[bydandie]

Has anyone used the Exchange support with the newer firmwares?

have been using it with Exchange 2003/2007 since 3.0 and it's great although it doesn't sync tasks

[dulux]

No problems with mine, except battery life and just recently it freezes now & again, which is really frustating.
Apart from that, I've linked my business emails and they get pushed on to it no bother.

[mattbeef]

Depends on what you want really as i get asked this at least twice a day.

If you cant type on a touch screen then anything but the iPhone

If you want a device that does it all pretty well then iPhone

As you company doesnt have a BES then any will work as its been mentioned before as you can have Exchange on them all as well as your personal email account if you need to.

Just another thing to throw into the mix is the Palm Pre which is due very soon so could be worth hanging on for?

[richardhurst]

I use my iphone for business and I find by early evening after a day of say 20-30 calls lasting anywhere from 20 seconds o 10 minutes, and a bit of web browsing and app playing the battery drops to 10% and needs recharging. still love it though and would not consider anything else

[EliStone]

I think its usable as busniess phone with the update to OS 3. I tried to use one for a year and finally switched to Nokia E61 later E71.

Biggest problem was: No copy-and-paste - which is now solved.
2nd biggest problem: battery life is weak. I had to have my charger with me all the time - that bulky thing!

I recommend the Nokia E71 though - its small, battery life is excellent and the charger is tiny. I am using two E71: a white for private use and a grey for business as there simply isnt any more verstile phone on the market!

[Warr3n]

......... there simply isnt any more verstile phone on the market!

Have to agree - mine syncs seamlessly with my Exchange Server and call quality is comparable with a landline.................

Just waiting for the release of the E71's replacement, the E72 which is due for release any day now. :lol:

[bydandie]

I think its usable as busniess phone with the update to OS 3. I tried to use one for a year and finally switched to Nokia E61 later E71.

Biggest problem was: No copy-and-paste - which is now solved.
2nd biggest problem: battery life is weak. I had to have my charger with me all the time - that bulky thing!

I recommend the Nokia E71 though - its small, battery life is excellent and the charger is tiny. I am using two E71: a white for private use and a grey for business as there simply isnt any more verstile phone on the market!

the charger with the 3Gs is a svelte thing though. Seeing as I now have Exchange 2007 though, I'll be trying the 71 for my work phone again although the iPhone is still my personal one.

[nate]

Has anyone used the Exchange support with the newer firmwares?

have been using it with Exchange 2003/2007 since 3.0 and it's great although it doesn't sync tasks

Do you need special access from your Company's Exchange server?

[EliStone]

the charger with the 3Gs is a svelte thing though. Seeing as I now have Exchange 2007 though, I'll be trying the 71 for my work phone again although the iPhone is still my personal one.

...still at least 3times as big as the E71 one...

[deano42]

I've been using the E75 since Feb and its a great business tool, stable, reliable and a real workhorse - I would say my best business device to date.!

Don't you work for Nokia? :wink:

Errr yes...

But we do get to play with all the other devices on the market to see how the competition is etc. The worse has got to be Motorola, I could never navigate the menu structure.!!!

Thanks
deano

[Steve264]

I'm no Apple fan boy, in fact I abhor the smug "it just works" Mac BS and all the money grabbing DRM fanaticism that permeates everything Apple are involved in. It took me a fair while to succumb, but eventually I was persuaded to try the iphone and haven't looked back.

I've been using my iphone 3g for just over a year now for business and domestic use. Calendar and E-mail synching with Gmail, Exchange, IMAP and POP3 accounts (yes, all at once) is a cinch and performs fine. It's the best e-mail client I've had on any phone or PDA in over 12 years of usage, and I include blackberry in that. The iphone is the only pda/phone I have ever had that means I can truly go to a meeting without my laptop and make an adequate record of events without resorting to pen and paper - have spent all day at conferences quite happily using it for note-taking.

On my phone in daily use I have a task manager which synchronizes with outlook (Keytasks); a time logging application (iTimesheet) to record hours task per project, per client, which produces csv reports that are a breeze to send to the pc; a mind mapping tool (Mindjet) which synchronizes effortlessly and shares maps interchangeably with the desktop application (this is a killer application for me, it works so well); real time train timetables with live progress and journey planning; maps of the London and Paris undergrounds; a notes application which saves my notes to the web so I can access them from any browser; as well as a legion of games and other stuff. The one thing I don't use it for is music, as I have an 80Gb iPod with all my choons.

I jailbroke my iphone on day 1, so I have been able to cut and paste text for ages (can now do it anyway with v3.n software) am able to do stuff like use it as a 3g modem without having to pay through the nose to O2 and I have memory and applications management software on the phone so I can multi task (more so than the vanilla version anyway) and I can kill memory hogging applications which cause most of the instability you hear about with iphones - the inbuilt browser, Safari being the worst culprit (Safari is the main drawback with the phone - it sucks).

I have not felt the need for a physical keypad the whole time I've had the phone. The multi-touch interface is an absolute joy to use and makes the competition seem really lame, truly.

Based on my experiences, I would recommend the iphone as a business tool if you are prepared to go the extra few yards and adapt to it (and research and install the right balance of applications to support what you want to do with it). I use it more or less constantly throughout a 10 hour day every day and get probably 8 hours of battery life, but since I have it in the laptop's usb slot a lot of the time, that hardly matters.

Hope the above is helpful to anyone... :)

Cheers,
Steve

[EliStone]

I jailbroke my iphone on day 1, so I have been able to cut and paste text for ages (can now do it anyway with v3.n software)

I did know there was an app that could do that? Untill I sold my phone I never found one...neither did I find evidence of it in any forum. A friend is afraid of updating - so I can give him a hint to get able to c'n'p - thanks. When I had my I-phone (oktober thru december 07) there hasnt been such an app unfortunatelly - I might still be using the phone otherwise.

[rfrazier]

I jailbroke my iphone on day 1, ....

Apparently Apple have fixed the bios on the ones they are selling now to prevent the "exploit" which was needed for jailbreaking them.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/14909...24kpwn_exploit

Best wishes,
Bob