Microsoft Says iPhone Is Irrelevant To Business

An anonymous reader writes "A Microsoft exec has turned attack dog, lashing out at Apple's iPhone by saying the device isn't good for business. Why? Because the iPhone is 'a closed device that you cannot install applications on.' Specifically, he's talking about Microsoft Office. 'While the entry of the iPhone (with its cut-down version of Mac OS X) into this market offers new options for consumers, Sorenson believes user familiarity with the Windows Mobile interface — and the ease with which companies can buy and develop applications for the platform — will sustain its increasing popularity and help keep the iPhone out of the lucrative corporate market.'"

Comments

Jealousy and Fear

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, because I always use my telephone to write Word documents. You can bet that if Microsoft is trying to cut this down, it means a threat to Microsoft. And this early too -- the product does not even ship until June. How does Microsoft know what the iPhone can and cannot do?

Re:Jealousy and Fear

[hotdiggitydawg]

FUDJE... Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, Jealousy, and... Envy?

Re:Jealousy and Fear

[Original Replica]

FUDJE...

I believe that is "JE FUD" which is french for "I make shit up about the competition."

Re:Jealousy and Fear

[hotdiggitydawg]

FUDJE...

I believe that is "JE FUD" which is french for "I make shit up about the competition." Even better... how about Jealousy, Invidiousness, Hubris, Agitation, and Doubt. Now where else have I seen that acronym?

Time to update the US corporate slogan

[robkill]

It used to be "What's good for General Motors is good for the USA."

I guess now it should be:

"What's good for Microsoft is good for business."

Wow

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Microsoft complaining about a company locking competitors out? that's rich...

Re:Wow

[Reality Master 101]

Microsoft complaining about a company locking competitors out? that's rich...

On the contrary, this is why Microsoft is dominant and Apple is tiny little niche player. Microsoft has ALWAYS generously courted developers for their platforms. They understand that they can't do it all... a vibrant third-party market means more people by Microsoft's platform. Why do you think there's no such thing as the "Microsoft PC"?

Apple has always been incredibly hostile to third parties.

Re:Wow

[AusIV]

They understand that they can't do it all... a vibrant third-party market means more people by Microsoft's platform.

Have you not seen Microsoft try and completely dominate everything remotely related to computers? They pretty much wiped the floor with alternative Office Suites. They started focusing on web browsers, and for a while pages were built solely with IE in mind. They've created unnecessary media formats where good alternatives were readily available. And what the hell are they doing with a search engine? It's never made sense to me that the company who makes an OS also needs to make a search engine. Then you've got the Zune, the XBox, a number of devices that run Windows Mobile. In server space they have web servers, mail servers, etc. The only thing remotely related to computers that I haven't seen Microsoft try to dominate is CAD software.

There may be a wide variety of third party software and hardware, but it's not because microsoft has just yielded the field.

Re:Wow

[4e617474]

They understand that they can't do it all... a vibrant third-party market means more people by Microsoft's platform.

The only thing remotely related to computers that I haven't seen Microsoft try to dominate is CAD software.
There may be a wide variety of third party software and hardware, but it's not because microsoft has just yielded the field.

Stop. You're both right. Microsoft plays nice for a while, lets a lot of other players take all the risk of innovating to see what products keep their platform valuable, waits for the hard work of perfecting the design to be over, watches to see what features have the most to do with market appeal, and then swoops in with their version - shoddy, but universal to the platform. No sane IT department would want to vet IE as a safe and desirable application, but they don't have much choice ("I can't get on the Internet!" "What happens when you try?" "I can't. It's missing!" "What?" "The Internet! The blue 'E'! I think a virus ate it!"). Not many web application developers would want to code for IE, but it's a safe design assumption. They can't very well tell a potential corporate customer "To use all the features, you'd want to get Firefox or Opera", the company already has web filtering and proxy software, not to mention Windows group policies, that are only capable of locking down IE. Release some CRM software that doesn't suck (please, pretty please do that) and watch how quickly you get "embraced".

I smell a ZunePhone...

[Penguinisto]

...or something very similar to the iPhone coming out by MSFT in the next few months...

'course, a more likely explanation is that MSFT already has a cell phone OS biz they'd rather keep protected from such things as competition, no?

IOW: Nothing to see here, move along... :)

/P

Not Irrelevant, But Limited in Appeal

[jratcliffe]

Irrelevant? No. Limited in its appeal to mobile corporate users? Yes. Without the ability to install custom apps on it, the chance that the iPhone will be a popular choice for mobile corporate users does seem pretty slim. That being said, I hardly think Apple cares, it's not their target market anyway.

Blackberry made it

[gral]

And I haven't seen MS Office on the device. It runs Java, which is not Microsoft owned as well. Business is addicted to the things so much they are referred to as crackberries. The blackberry blackout was BIG news, so it seems to be prominent.

I think they are being a little delusional.

Who exactly....

[budword]

has ever edited a .doc on their phone ? Is there some secret sub-class of ubber biz user who works on biz docs on his phone ? I'm a geek and I've never even thought of it. Porn, well, ya. Work on that merger ? No.

So?

[flanksteak]

keep the iPhone out of the lucrative corporate market

So?

Apple doesn't target large business/enterprise markets. They never have. Their products are always marketed as tools for empowering individuals. If you didn't know better and could only guess from reviewing their advertising, you might think that businesses don't use personal computers. Often in these cases they behave more like a consumer electronics company rather than a PC maker.

Apple has never shipped HP or Dell level volumes and they've never seemed interested in trying. They get waiting lists for some of their products as it is.

Adding enterprise app accessibility would only introduce bugs, increase complexity, and reduce the overall user-friendlyness of the device, none of which would be Apple's fault (and I'm not even a fanboi). Besides, can anyone imagine Jobs up on stage at some show, introducing the latest email or ERP integration piece? No one drools over that kind of stuff.

It's clear that part of Apple's rep for simplicity is due to the avoidance of the products and systems that can't be made simple. Enterprise apps are necessary and useful, but their deployment and use are a clusterfuck and probably always will be. Apple can't change that, so why take the downside?

Not FOR business.

[Mr. Flibble]

What would you rather sell? 1 iPhone to every business person, or 1 iPhone to 1 out of every 100 Mr. Joe Public? I would rather sell to the Joe Public market because of the sheer volume of sales. The target market of the iPhone is not to kill the blackberry - yet. It is to go after the market that the Razr has. And since it is essentially a pocket PC, if there is demand, then maybe other apps could be installed with later revisions.

Apple is not stupid, they did their market research for this thing and know exactly what features Joe Public wants, not what Mr. Jack Business or Mr. Slashdot Nerdling wants. They want to woo the Joe Publics, and I strongly suspect that they will.

I think MS is complaining because they know that the iPhone is going to destroy the Zune, and they have nothing to compete with it. Not only that, once enough Joe Public's get a hold of these things, there market for WinCE will be under fire - and then their market for Office on such devices. Apple is smart, they are picking their battles. They are not even trying to compete with the business market at this point. They are targeting a totally different segment, and MS is scared that they will win.

Think of the changes in the marketplace, if everyone owns an iPhone in the public space, and becomes accustomed to using OS X on their handheld... What sort of PC will Joe Public consider buying after using a OS X device? I suspect more iMac's will fly off the shelves after the iPhone becomes established. I think Microsoft is seriously afraid of losing the mobile market, the DRM/Music Market, and eventually the desktop market. And the iPhone is the device that will drive in that wedge.

Umm, no.

[Penguinisto]

Since (IIRC) no one outside of Apple has even come close to actually using an iPhone for anything at all, let alone for business purposes, it'd be impossible to tell if/what the things actually do business-wise, let alone if they do them well.

/P

Re:Umm, no.

[Overly Critical Guy]

Apparently, Microsoft isn't aware of the full-featured web browser that will allow the use of online office applications. You know the stuff Microsoft has been talking up lately. It's odd that they've apparently forgotten the web revolution, given that they've been talking about how into it they are now. Guess it was more bullshit from Redmond.

This Just In!

[pak9rabid]

Apple says Vista is irrelevant for business...

Re:Microsoft are correct

[hotdiggitydawg]

That exec has it pretty much spot on. Yes, of course he is. As a poor, penniless business user, I can't possibly afford an actual PC to use for my office applications. Which is just as well, because a full keyboard is sooooo much harder to use for writing large technical documents, specs, marketing material, etc... than a phone.

Seriously, get a clue.

Re:Microsoft are correct

[kimba]

That exec has it pretty much spot on. But you know what? It doesn't matter. Because the type of people who'll buy the iPhone prefer form over function anyway.

With the increase of rich applications in the browser (AJAX etc.), the need to install binaries on a mobile decreases. If, as promised, the iPhone basically has the full build of Safari on it -- then this should be possible.

I'm no Mac fan boy, but realise with each passing year I use a web browser more, and stand-alone applications less. The iPhone fits with that trend.

Re:Microsoft are correct

[MidKnight]

That exec has it pretty much spot on.

Sure he is... assuming your office only uses desktop-installed versions of MS Office software. But what if the iPhone had a full-capability web browser installed on it, and you used one of several web-based Office-like applications, and your company had web-based email & calendaring interfaces, and used IM for business communication as well?

Suddenly that non-business iPhone looks pretty darn business-capable. Microsoft has already stumbled several times in recent memory by dismissing the ability of these internet tubes to route around their monopolistic strategies... how many more of these mistakes can they afford to make?

not for business anyway

[Pumpkin Tuna]

Go take a look at the ads for the iphone on Apple's site. Here's what you WON'T hear:

MIKE: I need to call Chet ask him about that spreadsheet ::touches picture of guy wearing a blue tie::
CHET: My phone is ringing! ::clicks picture of guy wearing red tie:: Hi Mike, I've got that spreadsheet you were waiting on.
MIKE:Great, let's call Sue and look at the powerpoint!
CHET: As long as it has plenty of bar graphs!

See for yourself. Apple doesn't give a flying flip about the suit, at least not while they are at work. Their ads are filled with attractive youngsters talking about meeting up for bike riding and whitewater rafting! They don't CARE about the business market.

Re:Microsoft are correct

[Wandering Wombat]

I'd buy it because it can't run Microsoft OfficeBloat 2007. I've uninstalled that program TWICE now... know what I use? Wordpad.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Request for comment

[stefaanh]

Please will all persons here that actually use MS Office on their PDA raise there hands please?

Anybody else? ...

Thank you sir, you may lower your hand.

Re:Request for comment

[CurlyG]

*raises hand reluctantly*

I've used it. It's one of the few things on WM 5.0 that actually works more or less as you'd expect it to. That said, it's really not terribly useful. I can't see any situation where it would be more useful than, say, an automatic Word-to-txt converter on the phone.

begin sort-of on-topic rant:

WM 5.0 has one of the worst interfaces I've ever seen on any computing device. Inconsistent from things like the "dismiss" button which swaps sides depending on the app you're dismissing, to the utterly abitrary selection of which functions have buttons on the bottom bar and which have nice big buttons in the main screen, to the random way you quit various applications - do I click the "OK" button, or the "X" in the top right, or the "close" text on the bottom bar - the answer is different with nearly every app. Or the fact it takes 7 clicks on tiny little menu items and icons with the stylus to find the task manager to switch between running applications. Some of our more impatient and less technical users were just rebooting their phones when they ran out of memory rather than navigating that maze each time.

Then there's the flat out bugs and glitches (some of which I'm told will be fixed in some subsequent release... on a thousand dollar phone... which is a crucial business tool in my job... great, thanks, let me just bend over a bit more for you) like the way the hard buttons just stop working every so often (sometimes all of them, sometimes just one or two, like the "answer call" button). Or the screen which sometimes randomly fades to white. i.e., when you're on a call to a client and want to hang up, but the buttons don't work and the screen has gone white so you can't see where to click, the only way to hang up is to take the battery out. Prior to this I'd never seen a telephone handset that crashes and has to be rebooted.

These are the barest tip of the iceburg of the problems with these phones. They're totally unsuitable for business use or any other use where the phone needs to be relied upon. The idea of the makers of this toy dissing the as yet unreleased iPhone as irrelevant for business is hilarious.

If you need a phone to impress your friends at the bar or to play solitare on the train home from work, a WM 5.0 device is perfect for you. If you actually need to rely on it as a phone, mobile data connection, and PDA, i.e., as a business tool... I'm not sure what your other options are, but loads of phones do PDA stuff now, and plenty can do email, and although admittedly Exchange calendering integration is well-implemented and handy in WM 5, if you can give that one feature up it is well worth doing so.

These bloody things were pushed on us geeks by management and have been an unmitigated disaster from day 1. My immediate manager, not a particularly technical guy, implied I was some kind of Luddite when I expressed some doubts (fairly mild ones, as it turned out) prior to the rollout. We previously all had Nokia 8210i handsets and iBurst PCMCIA cards for our laptops, which worked reliably and quickly about 95% of the time.

I am *not* a blind MS hater. I use and deploy their products at work, and they're much better than they once were. But WM is simply crap in the very worst traditions of half-assed marketing-department-driven Microsoft dross.

Apple would have to try pretty hard with the iPhone to make it any less relevant than Windows Mobile.

*sigh* end rant. Sorry about that, WM 5.0 has made me quite bitter.

Re:Oblig Python reference

[Dorceon]

Our chief weapon is surprise. Surprise and fear. Fear and surprise. Our two weapons are fear and surprise... and ruthless efficiency... Our three weapons are surprise, fear, ruthless efficiency... and an almost fanatical devotion to Bill Gates... Our four weapons... no, amongst our weapons... amongst our weaponry are such elements as fear, surprise... I'll come in again.

Re:Microsoft are correct

[Anonymous Coward]

Etch-a-sketch is better than Windows Mobile

Step 1

[noewun]

In the Microsoft playbook: say device is beneath your worry;

Step 2: Attack device as imminent failure;

Step 3: Watch as device becomes success;

Step 4: Purchase company which produces device. If this is not possible;

Step 5: Release half-assed version of device which fails on all levels except hype.

the iPhone can read Microsoft Office

[nanosquid]

The iPhone has KHTML, and that's powerful enough to display Google Docs. So, it can load, display, and edit Microsoft Office files.