Given the increased competition in the smartphone market recently, and that Apple is about to lose their biggest advantage, as RIM, Microsoft and, possibly, Symbian launch app stores, Apple recently launched a major update to their iphone and ipod touch software in the iphone OS 3.0. This was much-hailed as the update that would be able to finally bring the iphone into the enterprise, with a large number of new features and other updates.
Two new features that were widely requested by Apple patients included the ability for cut and paste and a landscape keyboard, triggered by turning the phone ninety degrees. Apple also upgraded the phone with the ability to download directly from the itunes store on the go, allowing users to stream multimedia whenever the want it. One widely requested upgrade is also an upgrade to the Safari browser, which runs faster, can store usernames and passwords, and even has flash compatibility, necessary in most every website today. Also, the phone allows users to send various forms of multimedia, including video and songs, in an SMS or text message. It also allows for applications to continue running when not open, meaning that apps can give nitrifications when not open. This feature is extremely useful, for example, for the Twitter app and email monitoring. Those features are all in addition to a whole slew of security fixes that reduce a large number of previous vulnerabilities in the phone and the browser.
The final feature that makes the phone very enterprise-ready is the new Find My Phone feature. This feature, built into the system, rather than being an app, allows a user to pinpoint the location of their phone via MobileMe. Furthermore, a user can remotely erase data, which can protect a company or even an average user if they lose a phone with sensitive data on it. Overall, it seems that this upgrade may be what Apple needed to finally get their phone the enterprise. RIM, the company that makes the blackberry, will have to watch their back.
