iPhone Vs BlackBerry
The iPhone is a monster. Apple will likely sell more than 10 million of the pricey gadgets this year, which combines a wireless phone, iPod and a mobile Web browser. Now, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker is hoping many of those sales will come from businesses as it starts to pack business-friendly features into an update of the iPhone software due this June.
While Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) has blazed through the consumer market, however, analysts say Chief Executive Steve Jobs will have a lot of work to do to wrest the corporate market away from Research In Motion (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ), which dominates the market for high-end business phones.
While RIM won’t comment–despite a very public slap by Jobs Thursday (see: ” The iPhone Goes Corporate”)–analysts say Apple’s pricey handsets still lack the kind of tight integration with applications such as Lotus Notes that RIM has mastered.
In-Stat Group principal analyst Bill Hughes says Apple’s effort to roll business-friendly applications onto the iPhone might work someday, but right now “there are three or four devices out there today that could work with those applications today that are less expensive.”
Applications are the biggest reason why Apple won’t be able to tear away a big chunk of the corporate market quickly. While businesses using Microsoft’s (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Exchange will be able to pour calendar information and e-mail directly into iPhones, companies built around Lotus Notes or Novell Groupware systems are out of luck.
The iPhone’s form factor is another problem. Its sleek wide-screen display–uncluttered by an ugly chiclet-style keyboard–is ideal for surfing the Web or watching videos. But while the keyboards sported by RIM’s BlackBerry and Palm’s (nasdaq: PALM - news - people ) Treo are ugly, they’re ideal for users addicted to e-mail, rather than the latest installment of Desperate Housewives. “The iPhone touch-screen interface is not as optimal as the BlackBerry interface for e-mail,” said Shahid Khan, a partner at IBB Consulting Group.
Another problem? Cost. Apple’s iPhone costs between $400 and $500. “If I’m I
BM, and I want to roll out 20,000 e-mail devices, I’m not going to go for a $500 device,” Khan said.
Finally, Apple would need to partner with other mobile carriers besides AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) to gain access to more business customers. While AT&T, Apple’s exclusive wireless carrier in the Untied States, has a healthy roster of business accounts, companies that do business with T-Mobile or Verizon (nyse: VZ - news - people ) won’t tear up multimillion-dollar contracts just so they can use iPhones.
None of this, however, will stop Apple from picking up sales from business users. But it will be a long time before Apple will be able to knock off RIM–if ever.
