Alex Iskold's post from last night, Why Apple Will Dominate Next Gen Computing, has generated over 70 comments as of writing. Many of them challenged the article - but it was also interesting to see some commenters fact-checking other comments ;-) The comment of the day comes from "IT", who was skeptical about "the level of 'Exchange Support' that Apple is really going to be able to build into the new IPhone."]]>
That ties in with our current poll: iPhone Exchange Support; Did Microsoft Make a Mistake? (embedded below).
Congratulations IT, you've won a $30 Amazon voucher - courtesy of our competition sponsors AdaptiveBlue and their Netflix Queue Widget.
Here is IT's full comment:
"I'm most interested in the level of "Exchange Support" that Apple is really going to be able to build into the new IPhone. As a heavy user of both an IPhone, and a Windows Mobile phone (personal/work), the only way I can see the IPhone even coming close to being comparable to the WM phone (at least in terms of exchange feature sets) is if Apple can completely copy the WM exchange integration. It's not just about mail anymore. I'll need complete integration with my exchange calendar (online free/busy, shared calendars, resource scheduling), access to the Global Address List, as well as my contacts, as well as complete access to my e-mail. AND, all those things will have to work as well as they work on my WM phone. That's a pretty tall order, even with the SDK and the avid (but relatively small) group of apple developers. Additionally, Apple and their carriers (CINGULAR, I'M TALKING TO YOU) will have to put forth a cheaper phone. $299 IPhone that I can't insure and has a more expensive unlimited data plan, or a $49 (or god forbid free) WM6 phone that I can insure for $5 a month, has a cheaper data plan, etc. Which of those costs would you like to try and justify to your CFO? Overall, I just don't think the IPhone, even with all the changes, will ever be thought of as a good WM6 / BlackBerry alternative."