I got my hands on an iPhone recently while setting up email for a colleague. If you have not used one before, you might be forgiven for thinking people like the iPhone software only because it is pretty to look at. While this may be one reason, my experience suggests there may be more to it than that.

The iPhone is the first mobile phone I have ever seen that seems to correctly implement email standards such as the Imap email protocol when combined with SSL security. This combination works fine from desktop PCs, but mobile phones usually struggle. Some web sites do not work properly when accessed by Symbian-based phones, for example, and Windows-based mobiles are not faultless in their handling of some of the more obscure email protocols either.

It is possible these “bugs” have yet to be ironed out because of a lack of demand. So long as mobile tariffs for internet connectivity remain high, many people simply refuse to think about using their mobile phone for email or web surfing, especially given the ruinous cost of roaming different cellular networks. I accidentally allowed my Windows-based mobile to check my mailbox every 15 minutes for a day or two while on holiday in Italy last year and paid over £200 for my mistake.

I would still like my phone to properly handle basic Imap/SSL protocols so I can get to my email on those rare occasions when no cheaper methods of access are available, though.

The big problem with the iPhone is that O2 does not yet offer a BlackBerry option, though this would not be such an issue if there was a workable alternative or push email. Having tried just about every form of mobile email, including the Vodafone version of the Visto-based service, BlackBerry-based devices are still the only option I would recommend.

I am not saying that we all need to carry one of those rather ugly and comparatively featureless BlackBerry handsets. BlackBerry software can be run on other devices, such as my Sony Ericsson P990i. The BlackBerry software is a free download on the Sony Ericsson web site, and although Vodafone warned the P990i is not capable of running it, the advice is evidently wrong. When I installed the software I simply told Vodafone my BlackBerry PIN and the phone’s IMEI number and a few hours later my phone was working like any other BlackBerry.

No doubt similar BlackBerry software for the iPhone will eventually appear, and when it does the iPhone could really take off among business users. The market has been waiting too long for a mobile device with standards-based applications that actually work.
‹ roger@rogerh.com