OZ Minerals should have picked the iPhone

ZDNet.com.au
news editor
Renai LeMay

commentary The news this week that Australian mid-cap miner OZ Minerals had chosen to standardise on the BlackBerry platform following its creation from the merger of Oxiana and Zinifex, left me with just one burning question.

Why didn't the company pick Apple's iPhone device instead?

Sure, on paper, the decision, which will see an additional 150 BlackBerrys deployed to company executives to make a total of 250, makes complete sense.

After all, Research in Motion, traditional Canadian manufacturers (since 1999) of the fine line of BlackBerry phones, currently enjoys what some have described as an almost unassailable position in the pockets of corporate Australia.

The BlackBerry line has seen off several past challenges from the likes of Nokia and is still almost a compulsory acquisition for anyone of a middle manager rank or up, although some doggedly prefer Symbian devices or *gasp* sluggish Windows Mobile handsets.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, OZ said it surveyed the market comprehensively (including, communications advisor Sally Cox told ZDNet.com.au later, the iPhone). "The BlackBerry smartphone came up trumps," she said.

"Research in Motion's email and data offering is absolutely unbeatable," Cox added, noting security and cost advantages had helped the BlackBerry beat the iPhone and other handsets to the punch.

The problem with these statements is that while they might be true, they don't reflect the competitive reality in the smartphone market.

The iPhone is simply a far more flexible and user-friendly device than the BlackBerry.

Yes, the BlackBerry's email offering is great, with the back-end combination of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and it is extremely efficient in the way it consumes costly mobile data. Despite BES's link to the head office in Canada, even most governments rate the well-established (some would say default) mobile platform as secure.

But the iPhone's email functionality (including the ability to securely connect to Microsoft Exchange) is also fantastic, and at launch the iPhone blew the BlackBerry out of the water when it came to web browsing capabilities; a feature BlackBerry users have been demanding for years. Despite its best efforts, RIM still hasn't caught up.

It's impossible to over-estimate the importance of a great mobile browser in an age when most business applications are heading into the web-based cloud.

Furthermore, the iPhone is simply a far more flexible and user-friendly device than the BlackBerry; as its stellar sales figures and the rapid proliferation of applications demonstrates. The BlackBerry has done mobile email well for a decade; but the iPhone does email almost as well, and so much more besides.

This is a reality that corporate software giants like Oracle and Salesforce.com have not failed to notice; SAP even went so far recently as to release an iPhone version of a salesforce automation suite ahead of the BlackBerry version.

The iPhone's price tag is also comparable with most BlackBerrys ... of course, if you're really worried about that you should probably go with the much cheaper Nokia E71, which is still a pretty decent choice but still not up to the iPhone's benchmark.

Of course, I don't know OZ Minerals' specific situation (the company hasn't provided further details about its decision-making process) and the BlackBerry does have a number of advantages over the iPhone: superior manageability, a more proven platform, more handset choice, and overall a more sophisticated approach to the corporate market.

But the mere fact that Research in Motion went so far as to issue a statement regarding OZ Minerals' BlackBerry decision indicates heightened competition in the corporate mobile market.

I expect to see more large Australian organisations follow the University of South Australia's lead and formally offer the iPhone to their staff soon, and if I were a chief information officer I'd do my staff a favour and pick the iPhone.

iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile or Symbian? Or even Palm? Tell us what your corporate phone poison is and why.

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Should have picked Windows Mobile instead BChau -- 18/12/08

The WM platforn is well suite for business and general usage. And there are plenty of phones to choose from. From slim and compact to full qwerty keyboard models to suit everyone's need.

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Slow? Renai LeMay -- 18/12/08 (in reply to #320119465)

I think WM is coming ahead in leaps and bounds ... but it still feels a lot to me like Windows has been shoehorned into a mobile phone rather than a real mobile O/S. Some of the add-ons are really fixing this, though. I would like to see MS have a really hot offering here. There are some speed improvements that could be made, too.

Just my personal impressions!

Cheers,

Renai LeMay
News Editor
ZDNet.com.au

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Comparison Anonymous -- 19/12/08 (in reply to #320119465)

I've used Palm, Blackberry, Windows Mobile (in all 3 options - PDA only, 'Smartphone' and as a messaging client with email on Windows Mobile). Unfortunately haven't had a chance to use an iPhone (but Christmas is coming ;-)

Can't comment on the relative merits of iPhone vs Blackberry but I have absolutley no doubt that Windows Mobile is NOT the one to use. Microsoft have tried hard but it is still a clunky and somewhat unreliable solution - even with3rd party add ons.

The Blackberry on the other hand is reliable, easy to use and allows you to keep in touch wherever you are travelling. The lack of a sophistitcated browser was annoying sometimes - but there is no way I could claim it impacted on doing work - and the Windows Mobile one is not much improvement.

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Blackberry still ahead of iPhone Anonymous -- 18/12/08

We currently have BB8800s and Bolds. Exchange on iPhone is great but it's still not as reliable as BB emails. The Exchange ActiveSync is a battery hog and iPhone still lacks some basic email functionalities. BB offers easy management/administration and its easy to get support for any BES server version/phone.

Apple needs to do some work if they want to share enterprise market with RIM.

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Valid comments! Renai LeMay -- 18/12/08 (in reply to #320119470)

All valid comments -- but enterprise is not just about email ;) What about the stellar browsing on the iPhone, which will be a great drawcard for businesses which thrive on data?

Cheers,

Renai LeMay
News Editor
ZDNet.com.au

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Are you kidding? Anonymous -- 19/12/08 (in reply to #320119499)

Enterprise is not just about e-mail - it's also about security, handset management, calendar & tasks, but browsing? Are you kidding?

Users love browsing but the enterprise doesn't have much need of it.

Blackberries might be able to do browsing better, but enterprises have not ranked it high on their wish lists.

Better management of handsets in the fleet from the BES will ensure that iPhone remains locked out until they rectify this issue.

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Agreed... Anonymous -- 18/02/09 (in reply to #320119541)

Agreed - the real reason enterprise goes for blackberries is always centered around a need for e-mail on the go and control over those phones.

Also agreed that browsing on the iPhone is superior to blackberries.

However, I can't see a real need for browsing unless Developers can come up with useful applications/websites for blackberries that would actually warrant it (salesforce perhaps?)

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Why Browsing Graham -- 19/12/08 (in reply to #320119499)

For some enterprises web browsing is not a concern or requirement and more a handy extra for the user. If the idea is for operating of web based or enabled applications then I would be inclined to offer notebooks for this purpose. I know I don't like working applications on a tiny screen.

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most have laptops Paul -- 28/12/08 (in reply to #320119544)

Generally speaking when an enterprise customer needs internet rather than just email, he'll plug his phone into his laptop an use it as a modem instead of using the tiny screen.

that would be my take.

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Security? Anonymous -- 18/12/08

Advantage of using Blackberry is that when your staff loses one that has company confidential information you can have the Blackberry wiped in an instant... The iPhone is great for browsing and is definitely years beyond other phones, and most execs love it cos its a great toy, but in terms of communicating its still behind due to its lack of a touch qwerty keyboard. BTW, ever tried changing the battery in an iPhone? or broken covers etc? One needs to also understand the additional costs of keeping these devices maintained - when your staff know they don't own it - they don't always take care of it.

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Huh? Dan Warne -- 18/12/08

The iPhone's killer problem is its atrocious battery life. The Blackberry also has a physical QWERTY keyboard which is doubtlessly easier to type on than a touchscreen.

And the latest version of the Blackberry Bold firmware (e.g. not the one on offer from your regular Australian telco, but literally the latest one available from an overseas telco, AVEA) actually renders web pages very well.

I agree that the Blackberry browser in the past hasn't been great but they've obviously been hard at work at improving it, because this latest version renders sites basically perfectly that the Blackberry browser could barely render before.

Info on this new firmware and how to install it here:
http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-9000-series-discussion-bold/160810-latest-os-9000-4-6-0-331-4-6-0-190-multilanguage.html

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Battery life Renai LeMay -- 18/12/08 (in reply to #320119479)

hi Dan,

I have an iPhone 3G, and haven't found battery life to be much of a problem, unless you are using the 3G network a lot (ie, several hours in a row) or watching a lot of video.

You do get quickly used to the soft keyboard, and I actually prefer it to hard keys now. Likewise, the BlackBerry browser is doubtless improving, but it's not quite up to iPhone level yet, especially in terms of integration with the rest of the phone etc.

But of course the BlackBerry still does a lot of things better ... and Apple has some steps to take in terms of enterprise manageability and so on. Hopefully some of their new firmware pushes will focus on the corporate sector as well.

Cheers,

Renai LeMay
News Editor
ZDNet.com.au

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Idiotic argument Anonymous -- 18/12/08

This is an extremely bizarre argument. One is a work tool and the other is wannabe.

Just because some liberal arts university decided to roll out toys does not mean a MINING company should too.

You have to doubt the judgment of some-one who makes the opposite decision.

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ActiveSync support on iPhone is fairly woeful Anonymous -- 18/12/08

ActiveSync support on iPhone is fairly woeful. It ticks a couple of boxes; remote wipe, device pin, auto-discovery... but that is well short of the 20+ policies that a Windows Mobile 6.x device using ActiveSync to connect to Exchange supports.

And when compared to BlackBerry and BES, they're both shameful, with over several hundred security policies available alone. It's no suprise that RIM is king in the corporate environment.

... but it sure is a nice browser!

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Another one falling for the iPhone hype Anonymous -- 19/12/08

The iPhone is a great consumer device, but it does not match the requirements for a business seriously taking on the PDA platform they use considering full synchronisation (Exchange and Lotus Notes - yes, corporates are still using Lotus Notes out there), security, PDA management (policies, etc). Also, if you are a road warrior, writing several emails and documents on the road, you will miss the BB keyboard, soft keyboard is not up to the experience of using a real physical keyboard yet.

In summary, someone already said it: iPhone is a w
In summary, iPhone is a wish list consumer product, not a fully business solution yet - about the same applying to Apple computers.

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Your opinion is not news Anonymous -- 19/12/08

So some organisation picks RIM and they make a press release about it. You like iphones better - so what? I'd rather here the reasons behind the mining company picked the blackberry.

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Is someone trying to get freebies ? Anonymous -- 19/12/08

This article stinks of someone trying to get freebies by writting utter trash.

The iPhone is a toy, it's great for small business and personal users but for all else browsing is not the need email is. Productivity is lost with the browsing functions and data costs are way too high to allow general access.

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opion versus fact? Anonymous -- 19/12/08

This 'story' is one person's opinion masquerading as fact. You claim in the article that you don't know the specific situation that led to Oz Minerals decision yet the headline is 'Oz Mining should have picked the iPhone'. Why? Becuase *you* like it better than the Blackberry? I'd be worried about any business that makes a purchasing decision based on that..

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Commentary Anonymous -- 19/12/08 (in reply to #320119547)

This 'story' is marked as a 'commentary', which means it is an 'opinion' and you, sir, are a 'moron'.

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Buying priorities Anonymous -- 19/12/08

I'd assume OZ Minerals had prioritised their required feature list. By the sounds of it email was more important than browsing, which is fair enough. If they have no need for great browsing then they made the right call in not getting sucked into buying what looks cool rather than what meets their business needs. Pretty simple really...

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What rubbish!! Anonymous -- 19/12/08

How dare ZDnet put such crap up as editorial rather than first disclosing PAID-VERTORIAL.

Firstly the author has no idea how the OZ Min will use the devices or what they intend to integrate it with (systems).

I was unfortunately an early adopter of the idiot-phone the ("i" stands for idiot doesn't it??) overhyped and admittedly well marketed iphone. I dropped it once whilst putting in my pocket and it was the happiest day of my life. the screen cracked and that was the end of it. I last saw it (sans Sim) under the wheels of a bus on George St in Sydney (opposite the cr-apple store).

Windows Mobile is a fantastic platform for a PDA and the ability to develop applications and port desktop software into the handset makes it a much better choice for organisations not looking for BB Server setup.

The iphone keyboard is slow, inaccurate and clunky to use. I was personally able to type almost 50% faster with a BB, O2 or Palm.
The iphone battery life was abhorrent and unacceptable for an executive or even a sole trader.
The screens scratch too easily and overall in my experience, its a toy rather than a business tool.

Why would the author take issue with RIM that they are happy to announce a deal they have done with a customer??? Is that not an acceptable celebration of a successful sales process??
Why does that then receive a public forum post, flogging an alternative product, if the writer does not have some kind of incentive from Apple? (should that not be disclosed up front?)

The iphone is a consumer toy, not a business tool. To be honest - who cares about internet browsing speed when most execs (in my 15 years of IT experience) use it predominantly for email and phone calls (and the occasional GPS). They generally don't play games or listen to music or download extra apps. of the 50 or 60 people i know who use BB's almost none regularly browse the web as they are too busy to play with toys.

The BB can be VPN enabled and also use VNC and other corporate integration products. I have even seen VM software (Virtual machine) running on one at a trade show.

Nobody cares that a university adopts an apple product - that is Apples bread and butter market (students and academics who dont know any better, and are yet to experience the corporate world).

In a few years time iphone may have the product development and pedigree to enter into the corporate world, but by then the other manufacturers will also be in the same place; and android based phones may well be a serious competitor on all features.

We use Novell GroupWise and iphones will not integrate with our network. Only BB's and serious handsets such as the Palm Treo's will work for us and our legacy software and systems.

Its time we let the market decide what is best and stop commenting about what should have been purchased, without any idea of the clients requirements, selection process/criteria or any other details of the acquisition.

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Blackberry's are relativley bullet proof Anonymous -- 19/12/08

In a corporate enviroment we look for several things. The first is durability. Nothing touches the Blackberry for taking an absolute beating. We have blackberries that look like they are dead but still keep on going. Usage charges come next and then functionaility. I think if any competitor wants to touch the corporate blackberry market they would need to concentrate on durability and usage charges before they even look at functionality.

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Amateurs Jhunneski -- 19/12/08

Inane comment and presumptiousness about certain device/technology/vendor/solutions without understanding.

They "should have picked the iphone", a very "hubristic" commentary from the looks of it.

It's horses for courses. Give the people who analysed, done their due diligence and who understand their enviroment and needs better the benefit of the doubt.

who cares about iphones vs BB vs smartphones vs any other stupid gadget.

As long as it works and addresses the needs of the organisation and you're not fired because of your decision then it's sweet.

FYI - We use both BB and iphones.

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Seemed a little suss to me too Anonymous -- 19/12/08

This story seemed to be covert PR masquerading as commentary.

This sort of 'article" only servies to dilute ZdNet's credibility.

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Wordsmithed drivel! Fruit is not so good at work. a meet eater ;) -- 19/12/08

I must be confused; I didn't see a page title of "advertiser sponsored blogs" so mistakenly thought this was something resembling an 'article'.

I take it that the author has not the foggiest idea of the criteria OZ minerals used in selecting the device to address THEIR NEEDS? Couple that with perhaps an apparent ignorance that appropriate firmware and config can make a very reasonable browsing experience on blackberry (Particularly on the Bold) shows contempt for anything without the fruity logo - another apple fanboi perhaps?

For some 10 years, I have used (Often simultaneously) Windows mobile, Palm, Blackberry and more recently iphone "powered" devices and there's a fair statement to be made here regarding all of the: They're different!
Its different strokes for different folks here otherwise we'd all be attracted to Renai's girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/significant other. Just 'cause HE likes a certain thing doesn't mean the masses will follow.

Perhaps, unfortunately, there have been a collection of sheep that have maintained their glassy eyes with respect to the iPhone due to great marketing and brand loyalty but, in certainly most business circles, there is little business case to be made for the iphone and its features, or lack there of, and enterprise suitability, versus Blackberries, win mobile etc

"The iPhone is simply a far more flexible and user-friendly device that a blackberry" - says you.
It's certainly not flexible for big "fat" fingers with its touchy touch interface, at least real keys with a tactile feedback make fewer mistakes. My current tool of choice, a Bold 9900, takes pics, has a couple hundred songs loaded, does mail and browsing exceptionally well, has full lookup of exchange GAL/phonebook to find contact details from the thousands of ppl held with, decent battery life, quick WiFi, great clear screen, has a GPS with directions "out of the box" various IM options, centralised management and security, oops!! I'll stop. Now I'll look like a fanboi.

So, what’s so "flexible" and "user friendly" about a music player that makes phone calls? PARTICULARLY when to be used in a corporate environment?

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It's about security, ease of use and functionality Anonymous -- 07/03/09

Any IT Manager that offer the iPhone as a corporate device is asking for a data security problem.

Beautiful device, yes, but it's a toy. Apple has added phone and PDA functionality to the iPod.

Windows Mobile...god, which device manufacturer do I choose? And Microsoft's back-end security and device management strategy is all over the shop....I can't keep up.

Research In Motion has some competition, it should be acknowledged, but they're several years in front as far as solution maturity goes.

Your insistence that the iPhone browser set it apart is pretty one-dimensional analysis. It's internally stored data that business users need to access remotely, and there's no way I'd be trusting my iPhone or Windows Mobile device with it's HTTPS browser to access my best kept corporate secrets.

I'll take the security offered by the internally managed and connected BlackBerry Enterprise Server any day.

Just ask any of the 700,000 BES-enabled businesses the world over.

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