email article 
print
page
What was not said at the iPhone 3.0 coming out party that should have RIM and Nokia shaking in their boots
The key areas that RIM and Nokia need to address to compete against Apple
By Matthew David
What was not said at the iPhone 3.0 coming out party that should have RIM and Nokia shaking in their boots
The iPhone 3.0 beta SDK has been released with over a 1,000 new published APIs and 100 new features. This is great. The new set of tools shows that Apple is bringing the iPhone to the corporate market. In this article, you will see the key areas that RIM and Nokia need to address to compete against Apple, or see Apple dominate the mobile market the same way it dominates the MP3 Player and Music markets.
The launch of the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK
March 17th 2009 was the launch of the iPhone SDK 3.0. Apple knows they have a hit on their hands with the iPhone and you expect them to invest heavily into the technology. With that said, Apple already has a full plate and is committed to the following technologies:
- OS X Snow Leopard
- Mobile Me
- Mac Centric Hardware
- iPod technologies
- Supporting the massive demand for Apps on the current 30 million strong iPhone/iPod Touch user base
Coming into the launch of the new iPhone SDK it is fair to say that expectations were not too high. The #1 technology change most Apple bloggers wanted was Cut and Paste. What they got is a game changing set of new technologies. And, yes, Cut and Paste was one of those.
The presentation included reference to 100 new visual features and 1,000 new APIs. The new features are important (a comprehensive search feature is coming, so is landscape editing for email and new tools such as an audio editor) but it is the API's that are really important. The APIs, Application Programmer Interface, cover much more ground than was expected. Several technologies were discussed at the news launch. They include:
* Push Services
* Bluetooth Enabled Communication
* Mapping
Push Services are not new. Apple announced them a year ago and promised that the service would be available in September 2008. The goal of Push Services is to get around the multi-processor issue that the iPhone will not developers use. For instance, if you create a Yahoo Messenger app you will need to keep the app open all the time to check messages. This means you can not check email or run other applications. The trouble in running apps in the background is that the phones battery life is significantly shortened. Push services is an attempt to eliminate this issue by allowing messages to be sent to your phone to alert you of changes. For instance, you can have notices sent to you about people chatting with you on Yahoo Messenger when the iPhone App is closed.
The problem is that September came and went without a word from Apple. No Push Services. Well, our patience is being rewarded. The launch of the iPhone 3.0 SDK will include support for a massively robust Push Service that can support billions of transactions a month.
Blue Tooth communication is part of the new Accessories feature for the iPhone. Through either the 30 pin connector or, if you have an iPhone 3G, Blue Tooth you can connect to other devices. For instance, you can have a Blue Tooth physical keyboard connect to the phone; use the phone to communicate to your stereo system or connect custom hardware such as medical devices to your iPhone. The potential here is huge.
A third new feature is the ability to add Google maps to any App you develop. Full, GPS solutions are coming soon.
What was not said
While what Apple talked about was very cool, what is more interesting what they did not talk about. The following screen shots are taken from the presentation:
From these two screen shots you can get a better understanding of the new features coming to the iPhone. They include:
- In App Email
- View Controller
- Proximity Sensor
- Open URL
- iPod Library Access
- GPS Lingo
- UI Table View
- Streaming Audio
- Toolbars
- UI Alert View
- iAP
- Shake API
- Streaming Video
- Text Selection
- Data Detectors
- Cell Styles
- Highlighted Images
- Core Data
- Nav Bars
- In Game Voice
- Battery API
- UI View
- UI Scroll View
- Notes Sync
- Live Streaming
- Shake to Shuffle
- Proxy Support
- Wi-Fi Auto Login
- LDAP
- EAP
- Stereo Bluetooth
- iTunes Account Creation
- YouTube Ratings
- Anti-Phishing
- Create Meeting Invitations
- Auto-Fill
- Call Log
- Parental Controls
- QTA Profiles
- VPN on Demand
- Languages
- YouTube Subscription
- EAS Policies
- Encrypted Profiles
The two screen shots list 44 new features.
Where RIM and Nokia need to focus their efforts
These two slides highlight a number of technologies that RIM and Nokia need to watch. Apple wants to seriously take their phone to your enterprise; to adequately do this you need to be able prove that the iPhone is as secure as the Blackberry and that you can build complex applications on the device. Well, the following technologies illustrate that Apple is, indeed, serious about this:
- Wi-Fi Auto Login
- LDAP
- EAP
- Stereo Bluetooth
- Create Meeting Invitations
- Auto-Fill
- Call Log
- QTA Profiles
- VPN on Demand
- Languages
- Core Data
- EAS Policies
- Encrypted Profiles
The details for what each of these technologies will bring to enterprises will become known when the 3.0 SDK is finally released this summer. Of interest, however, are technologies such as Core Data to allow you to build robust data drive client solutions; LDAP for access to company files and directories; and managed profiling.
RIM, makers of the Blackberry, has arguably the strongest tools already embedded in many companies. They do not need to convince IT departments that they know security. After all, the President has a Blackberry. What RIM needs to develop is a tool that is as fun to use as the iPhone. Kraft were recently quoted that they are releasing 500+ iPhones to their staff each month. Productivity has allegedly jumped because the phones are so fun to use.
Nokia, the global leader of mobile phone sales, has a much bigger battle ahead of themselves. Nokia builds phones. They do not build enterprise platforms. Unless they change their approach very soon they are going to find that Apple and RIM will have out maneuvered them.
The bottom line is that the iPhone 3.0 SDK is a comprehensive overhaul of the already sophisticated iPhone OS. Other improvements that will come this summer for the iPhone include a faster Web browser supporting even more HTML5 standards. Better GPS and much better hardware. It may be easier to start reporting what the iPhone does not support. Currently, you cannot make coffee with it. Yet.
recommend this article
Page: 1Related Sites: IBN - IT Business Net , IBN - Hardware , IBN - SoftwareDev
Related Newsletters: IBN - IT Weekly Newsletter
