Can the iPhone 4 Work for Business?

Posted on 18 June 2010

Steven Jobs’ keynote speech at Apple’s worldwide developer conference in San Francisco was again used to launch a new product, this time the iPhone 4. I’m a particular fan of the iPhone because it has brought simplicity of operation to what was previously an over complicated Smartphone market, the user interface is very intuitive, but above all because it has the best mail client available. But is the new iPhone 4 suited to the enterprise business arena?

Whilst security is still a potential concern when introducing a very consumer orientated device into the enterprise market, the versatility and capability of the iPhone does have benefits which could outweigh those concerns for many businesses considering a mobile solution.

The new device brings many new features that could, subject to software development, be interesting in some vertical markets, for example;

1. The ‘Retina’ display has an amazing 960 x 480 pixels, equivalent to 4 times the existing iPhone display. At 326 pixels per inch with a contrast ratio of 800:1 this could prove ideal for displaying PDFs of wiring diagrams or building plans.
2. The accelerometer and digital compass are joined by a gyroscope with the ability to detect pitch, roll and yaw, plus something called ‘rotation about gravity’. This would allow precise user orientation to be determined, with a 6-axis movement detection. While games designers will love the possibilities this presents it could also provide interesting benefits in warehouse and in-store retail applications.
3. The digital camera at both the front and back of the device allow video calling, showing the face of the caller to the receiver of the call. Apple calls this ‘Facetime’ video calling and while it only works for calls between iPhone 4s at the moment, they are sensibly making the protocols ‘open’ to all. Facetime would make some financial calls, where proof of ID is required, possible. Our Auto ID industry would call this biotechnology recognition, but a video call provides facial recognition and has many potential applications.
4. Apple has recognised businesses need controls over the device, which a consumer product doesn’t necessarily need. They have added SSL security and strengthened VPN protocols to cater for this need, reducing the security concerns generated by previous generations of the iPhone.
5. Another crucial addition for the industries in which we operate and deploy solution(s) into is a toughened screen. Long the preserve of more rugged devices, Apple has created a toughened glass for this purpose. Said to be “20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic” this capability certainly adds more viability to the device over previous incarnations.

In short, Apple changed the market with the launch of the original iPhone and competitors have since been trying to catch up. The iPhone 4 seems to be better suited to the business data capture market than previous models and offers unique features to help open previously unaddressed applications.

This may account for why Codegate are receiving an increasing number of requests to develop applications specifically for the iPhone platform.

Of course, limitations are still there; including a non interchangeable battery, a screen which is not test proven or rated and a security infrastructure which is yet to be tried and tested in a data transfer environment. However, these may all be irrelevant if the capabilities of the platform and the apps offer advantages over more traditional data capture devices…

What do you think; will the iPhone 4 make an impact on the business data capture market or are core capabilities such as long battery life and environmental ratings still at the core of the decision making process?