The Microsoft Exchange group understood the power of the iPhone when they licensed Exchange ActiveSync to Apple. Last night Apple reported sales of 6.9 million iPhones in the last quarter. According to Steve Jobs, this outpaced sales RIM's Blackberry sales for the quarter. Since every iPhone is shipped with Exchange ActiveSync they are capable of connecting with Exchange Server, however for now I am sure there is only a small percentage of iPhone users like myself which connect to Exchange. This is mainly due to corporate IT blocking the iPhone and the lack of marketing of Hosted Exchange Services for individuals and small businesses. Apple also chose to implement the minimum functionality for Exchange ActiveSync to work, but they have a dedicated team working on adding key features like the ability to create invites to calendar appointments and synchronizing tasks.
As of today Apple says that they have sold more than 10 million iPhones this year. At this point I am not sure how the Blackberry and Windows Mobile fend off Apple's attack. Today is also when T-Mobile's Android based G1 goes on sale in retail stores, I will be curious to see if any lines are forming... There are reports of 1.5 million units pre-orders, I seriously doubt it, but that does not rule out the G1 being a success for T-Mobile and according to reviews it is somewhat a worthy competitor to the iPhone. I think the iPhone needs a competitor to keep Apple on its toes, unfortunately I think the G1 is the closest one we have. The HTC Touch Diamond/Pro/HD, the Samsung Omnia and Sony/Ericsson X1 are all very good attempts at making Windows Mobile more of a touch environment but they are hobbled by what is now considered an archaic user interface paradigm. I am sure some will differ and praise the paradigm as more efficient, but that does not mean it is user friendly or intuitive. I think it is clear that the overall marketplace has decided that touch is better than using a stylus. The lessons of the current marketplace is probably why Microsoft has chosen to delay the launch of Windows Mobile 7. They have a lot of work to do...
To paraphrase Mark Twain, I think that reports of Windows Mobile and Blackberry's death have been greatly exagerated. The smartphone's marketplace is huge, Windows Mobile and Blackberry both currently have a lock on corporate smartphone use, and Apple has a ways to go to meet corporate functionality needs. But with Apple current quarterly results the marketplace has spoken and even though it is the consumer who has chosen the iPhone hands down, Windows Mobile and Blackberry need to step up or in the long run they could become a casualty.
I think the good news for Windows Mobile is the appointment Terry Myerson as corporate vice president of the mobile communications product group. Myerson oversaw the successful re engineering of the Exchange platform into Exchange 2007. Hopefully he can make Windows Mobile 7 a success, until then I am sticking with the iPhone.
I'm sticking with the iPhone as well. Even better news for the small companies that I support is that HandBase Database by DDH is now available for the iPhone! Yes.
Posted by: Dantv | October 22, 2008 at 07:36 PM