AT&T iPhone going corporate on the 21st!
Thanks to one of our tipsters, we just got news that AT&T will be announcing iPhone compatibility to corporate and business accounts on January, 21st. The best part? If you have a corporate discounts, they are still valid! There’s said to be special iPhone data plans of $25 or higher that the business customer must subscribe to. Additionally, there will be no equipment discounts (obviously), and there’s a special activation process you’ll have to run through before going to iTunes and activating. This should be available for current and new corporate and business account holders! Now if we could only get some Exchange support…
Why does apple want to sell a niche product to a market already dominated by mass purchased blackberrys and absolutely no apple products whatsoever?
May I offer a perspective on the “RIM owns the market” debate:
RIM has their products languishing in the 50% range for customer satisfaction.
Apple’s **first attempt** iPhone is up in the order of 90% satisfaction.
People: Their very first try at a phone.
Mr. ‘pheer6224′ there above me has a good question.
Why on earth *would* Apple/ATT bother the corporate world with yet another phone?
The answer is that as soon as any corporate honcho up in his ivory tower gets his hands on an iPhone, he’s going to lose his ever lovin mind. After years of Micros**t abuse he’s going to want to know how he can get IT to support his new toy AND he’s going to want to know what else Apple makes that could make his life easier.
And so it begins.
I was disappointed to find out that my corporate discount didn’t apply to iPhone rate plans and decided not to get one. This news definitely has me back in the market!
pheer6224:
Apple sells “niche” products like the iPhone (20% if smartphone market) because they make a profit and that is why they are in business. If they could make a profit selling 4 of them it would be worth it. If they make a profit selling 4,000,000 it is worth it. If they make a profit selling one to every man, woman, child and orangutan, it will be worth it.
Are there benefits to market share? Sure. Does market share = profit? Without a monopoly it is generally the opposite.
Cheers!
Question: My company has told me to buy the phone of my choice and they will pay the bills (expense reimbursement). I want an iPhone… been a mac guy for a long long time. Since employees of our company qualify for a discount with AT&T does this mean I will get an discount rate on my plan? Sorry to ask what may be a dumb question, but I am kind of a newbie with this and don’t completely understand what this announcement means. And… what do myIT guys have to do for me to get my mail on the phone without me having to forward it to another address first?
I don’t see it being big on the Corp. Side…at least not yet. Still need to sync to other aspects such as calendars, etc. It’s also a multimedia device, thus the issue with productivity. The fact you can’t swap the battery causes a problem for road warriors. The OS is exactly what it is, an OS. Causes concern for security issues. Plus the keypad isn’t for everyone either. I’m sure some high level exec’s will get their way, but for the masses, it’s going to be a tough one to sell management on.
heres the thing appple likes price gauging for basic stuff an minaima fetures with marketing spin calling it revulutionary.
but the COST of the device versis Rims cost at bult at that an low service fees copmaterd to the iplans beat apple low cost an and effective harware is rims strongsult an coprate amrica dosn’t like trendy crapthats overpiced big turnoff they want somthing that aplies to the kiss rul an is cheap and mass prduced an works werever they go and is open to that bussiness specification or open to modificatoins
apple has the close non interoperable platform an only wants to work withh att in the states
One more time, but in English please?
welcome back Gal, but F on your post. Spelling is horrible as usual and you contradict yourself in the end.
Iphone will gradually gain acceptance as people use them. In the summer you give them a 3G model and it will get stronger. Not all companies wat the Corp / Govt. customer base. Yes its large numbers of clients but they don;t buy very often and require such strict security that the OS of the preferred device (RIM) is old and in need of an update almost as much as Palm OS.
Apple will go after who they always go after, young professionals that like good looking and easy to use products. Their is plenty of profit in that segment. They don’t need major Corp., same as they don’t need gamers on their PCs.
Yeah, but it’s not that good at all. Trust me, I use it. There is no push, and more problematic there is no syncing of calendar and contacts — this may not seem like a big deal, but if you are used to using a WM device or a BlackBerry you get used to having all your calendar stuff synced wihtout worrying about plugging it in every couple of hours. Of course, I think the costs of this are well outweighed by how much better of a device the iPhone is than any WM or Blackberrry, but there’s no reason why Apple shouldn’t fix it. To get serious about corporate email, Apple needs to license ActiveSync from MS, which supposedly they are working on.
Apple doesn’t NEED corporate, but it sure as hell wouldn’t hurt. I know TONS of young professionals that are holding out on buying an iPhone for the specific reason that true exchange support is not there.
They don’t want business people and they don’t want gamers. That’s a pretty stupid viewpoint (what’s left?) and explains why they only have a sliver of the market they could have.
at&t’s edge service is notoriously unreliable, even in metro areas and the onscreen keyboard sucks compared to full qwerty on bb. Corp. buyers beware
You guys that are constantly trying to talk everyone out of wanting an iPhone are just silly. You sound like a guy trying to plug the dike with his thumb against the inevitable tide of more people wanting and getting iPhones. There’s a reason why they are popular…people enjoy using them. This article is just stating that those folks who have their cell phones paid by their employer may now have a chance to get an iPhone, and you guys have to come over and crap on the thread. Get a life and quite trying to rationalize your own choice of WM or RIM phones.
Good Laugh,
I don’t get why you’re bashing on WM and RIM? Like WTF, man?
It’s not like they’re bad. So why are you trying to piss on the fire?
Yea I’ll admit it, I like using the iPhone, the keyboard bones and there are a few key features missing that I use on my Tilt everyday, that’s why I bought my Tilt. Until they add those features and lower the price, I’m not going to get one. (or until my contract is up.)
Everybody just has to accept that the phone they got is the best for them and even though some people are finally starting to realize that the key features I wanted were key features most people wanted and are recommending other phones that satisfy that need.
I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just some people need more features than others, or want to get more “bang for their buck”, or just don’t like the keyboard and can’t live with it every single day. So they get a different phone and try to make people want theirs because they like it so much that they want other people to like it so much and give said company more profit.
It all just comes down to what you want and what you need. -The Boy Genius himself told me that, and now I’m adding; you can either deal with it or shut the f**k up because this is getting old and I don’t think anybody is caring anymore.
And if it seems like I’m rambling it’s because this was my last stop at 12:10 A.M. before I go to sleep. Long days and short nights suck.
Yeah, corporations are going to drop physical keyboards for software ones…
look in SMART (car) not the apple
For mu knowleg toyota have allredy sone orders
I have to laugh at those above crying about edge, honestly a bb on edge is no better or worse than an iphone on edge.
What WILL hinder iphone adoption by true corporate road warriors are lack of real keyboard, and lack of swappable/upgradable battery.
I think this “news” is more of interest to folks whose companies get employee discounts through att more so than for people to actually get a iphone for corp use.
What company would announce such a stunner on a BUSINESS HOLIDAY?
You asked “What company would announce such a stunner on a BUSINESS HOLIDAY?”
Answer…. the same company that support Randy Neuman getting up at MacWorld and spewing a bunch of political poison when the event was supposed to be about new products, upgrades, and creating shareholder value. The same company that screws early adopters of their products by huge price reductions and charges to upgrade the equipment they bought when it first came out.
Apple is the most arrogant company I have ever dealt with and they treat all customers the same, like crap. But, I will agree their products are cool.
The difference between EDGE on an iPhone and EDGE on a BB is that a BB can, essentially, skip over any constraints of the EDGE or GPRS or whatever and communicate BB to BB or BB to e-mail server directly. RIM’s network is already at 3G speed. You can use this connection to send e-mail, media, files, etc. For corporate users that communicate person to person, this makes a big difference.
If you know anyone who has one, send a PIN message and an e-mail message and see which gets there first.
I have had too many devices to count and I am waiting for the iPhone to work at full 3G speed before I invest.
IMAP is not an acceptable solution for enterprises. We need Exchange support like Blackberry or Good provide.