Bye-bye Treo, Hello iPhone! Why I Chose the iPhone.
After an exhaustive amount of research, testing, and piloting, a decision was made to move 60 Treo users to the iPhone. Interestingly, this was not an easy decision, and was one of the more difficult decisions made recently. Part of this was due to dealing with staff who anticipated the iPhone, and there was certainly some pent-up demand. Added to the fact I was somewhat resistant to the entire iPhone mania recently, and I am not a big fan of locked down proprietary systems, like Apple. Some background here:
We implemented a Treo smartphone solution 4 years ago, with Good Technology as the over-the-air message delivery system. At the time, this was a sound decision, and the Treo devices were arguably the leading smartphone back then with some advantages over Blackberry devices. However, it was clear that Palm was no longer a leader in the handset area, and likely a sinking ship.
One of the smartest moves was to invite staff to provide feedback about their existing Treo 650 and 680 devices, in addition to comments for their next smartphone. (I used an online service called Survey Monkey). I had a great response rate and it assisted in narrowing our options. Staff enjoyed a touch screen device, which limited RIM’s involvement due to their lack of touch screen devices (this was before the Storm). Staff also mentioned they used their devices primarily for calling, e-mail, calendar and contacts. Most did not enjoy the Treo’s bulky size, keyboard or limited web surfing, and as one respondent said “for crapping out”.
Regarding the keyboard: Let’s face it, there is not perfect keyboard for any smartphone. It is really a case of which is the least painful to type with. I have gotten pretty fast with the Treo keyboard, I tested various Blackberry devices, Google’s G1, and the iPhone. All of these phones are OK when typing brief e-mails, and I have yet to meet someone who composes or replies to e-mails in length - just not efficient. Why do I say this? Initially the software based iPhone keyboard was a concern, but then looking at it objectively, I realized staff will struggle over any of the keyboards.
I also researched RIM’s various offerings, however, the lack of touchscreen was a major hurdle - staff have gotten used to using a touchscreen device. Having them switch to a trackball would have caused a major adjustment and griping. Sound like an exaggeration? I tested the Bold and found myself NOT liking the trackball. I did however like the AT&T tilt for its scroll wheel AND touchscreen.
Other factors with RIM: we would need a BES server, so this would drive up the cost of ownership, in addition to the licensing for the CALs and annual maintenance and support. And, reading scores of forums about the iPhone versus Blackberry devices, you quickly learn that hardly anyone is impartial. They either love their iPhones and dislike Blackberry devices, or love RIM and hate the iPhone.
So, all that to say RIM was out of the picture fairly quickly. What about Google? Well, Google from my perspective was exciting. It was a touchscreen device, open source, so in theory, should lead to some interesting application development. I played around with the G1, and my first thoughts were “pretty cool”. However, we use AT&T and preferred to stick with them due to our international traveling needs, and their good service. The G1 was limited to T-Mobile, which doesn’t always have the best service in Los Angeles, even within our site. So, the G1 will need to wait for another time.
There were no other strong contenders for touchscreen devices. A few other points which favored the iPhone:
1) Aesthetics: The device is slim and well, beautiful. Due to the nature of our business and the clients we meet, a slim versus a bulky devices had to be factored in
2) Cost: We could use Active-Sync on our Exchange Server at no additional cost (unlike a Good Technology server or BES server). No additional licensing costs. NOTE: Depending on how your Exchange licensing is, you may need to purchase additional CALs.
3) The iPhone is fun to use. What is that you say?! How can this lead to a rational business decision!!! I would argue that a device that is fun to use, easy to use, and has a fantastic GUI, will actually lead to greater and faster adoption. How many I.T. projects have you implemented where user adoption caused you a lot of headaches or limited success?
Some iPhone negatives or concerns:
1) The phone is more labor intensive for I.T. staff. With Good Technology, we could push our updates over-the-air. With the iPhone, either staff is responsible for the updates, or I.T. staff must upgrade each phone.
2) No easy way to replace a phone. AT&T and Apple’s desired option is to take the troubled device to an Apple store. Not easy when you have plenty of devices.
3) Poor battery life. However, we purchased additional chargers on Amazon.com including 3-in-1 chargers. So staff have plenty of chargers to use. And, their are some external chargers which can re-charge your iPhone - great for staff traveling.
4) How will the phones work past their 1 year warranty?
5) The iPhone has a few bugs and Apple continues to iron out the wrinkles
The good news is that this was one of these technology decisions that made staff very happy. It’s great to be a in position to provide staff something they anticipate, as opposed to having to force a new piece of technology on them. There is no perfect solution, and the iPhone is not a perfect fit. But then again, no piece of technology is ever perfect. And, obviously, what is a good fit for my institution may not be a good fit for yours
In my next posting, I’ll share post-implementation thoughts with you, and own comments on the iPhone (you may be surprised - I was).
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