Latest iPhone joins Microsoft and BlackBerry on battlefield

iphone 3G launches into a crowded corporate market

Apple’s second-generation iPhone due to launch tomorrow (Friday) will undoubtedly influence the future of the corporate smartphone market.

Apple is stepping up its pursuit of business users, but faces stiff opposition from the BlackBerry and Windows mobile-enabled phones, both of which are established in the market.

And with Nokia’s acquisition of Symbian, and Google’s Android platform on the horizon, proprietary and open source mobile web applications development is set to become a crucial battleground.

A wide variety of mobile web applications would give any platform the edge over its rivals.

The potential of the iPhone is its ability to offer swift internet browsing and an accessible user interface, assets which make the phone a target for developers, said Mike Grant, partner at researcher Analysys.

“The mobile content sector is driven by the ability to use a browser to access applications, and the connectivity of those browsers for the person hosting those applications,” he said.

“If businesses find that the iPhone allows the kind of seamless experience they are looking for, with easy access to corporate applications, the device could have great success.”

Several software companies have already announced sector-specific applications for the iPhone, Windows mobile and BlackBerry platforms. In the health sector, for example, developers have produced pocket first aid guides, and a visual reference library that doctors can use to identify unlabelled pills.

Early application support for the iPhone will no doubt encourage Apple, but the growing competition between major players will ensure a fierce battle for the mobile market. Just as Apple is expanding from its consumer roots to enter the business world, Research in Motion is targeting consumers with its rival BlackBerry Bold device.

These tactics may indicate a more widespread merging of markets, said Gartner research director Carolina Milanesi.

“I wonder if we are moving towards a world where there’s not such a clear distinction between consumer and enterprise,” she said. “Once you have made sure that a device is secure to use in a business, you really will not see much difference in the applications and services available.”

And in this new blurred market, the popularity of individual devices will determine their success or failure by winning the hearts of content creators.

“Penetration will be one of the keys for developers,” said Milanesi. “The platform that has more users will clearly hold large appeal, rather than one which only offers the chance to reach two million people a year.

“Having said that, there will always be sectors in the industry which have specific needs, but do not drive numbers. There may be a need to address these sectors.”
Recent figures from analyst IDC said sales of Windows mobile phones would be more than double that of the iPhone in the next four years.

In an area such as mobile applications the next big thing is never far away. A startup could deliver the “killer application” for a particular handset, and dedicated platform developers may not be the ones who come up with market-changing software.

Established suppliers such as Adobe and Sun Microsystems are also busy developing platform-independent mobile applications.