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Is the iPhone a good "work" phone?

DiamondMac

DiamondMac

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 11, 2006
3,301
20
Washington, D.C.
I put this in the "Should I wait for Version 2" thread but I wanted to start a new one because my reasons are different for wanting to wait until Version 2.

I am very tight on money. I do own an iMac and MacbookPro at home along with an IPod. I hate my Verizon phone...just terrible....can't email or browse the internet worth a crap.

With that said, I am contemplating buying an iPhone but I need it to be like a Blackberry....a phone that can hold contacts, with a good date book in it, and a machine that can send emails/recieve files/ext....I don't care about music on my iPhone.

So, do any on-the-move type people have one and enjoy it? Or should I wait a few months before I buy it because it lacks software (from what I have read on here)? I say this because I don't want to put down $600 for a machine that doesn't keep up with me in my daily work at this point with a good calender/email/contacts list/ext...

Seems the reason so many love it on here is because of its music capibilities and video stuff...I don't care about that stuff...I need something that can go on the move with me while keeping contact with others through the net.
 
I would have to vote no. As much as I love my iPhone, the lack of todos, note syncing, search feature, categories for contacts and calendar, custom SMTP profiles, IMAP IDLE support on non-Yahoo accounts, etc. are just too many compromises. Had I know I probably would have waited. However, I am amazed at the interface, the thinness and coolness and am going to suffer in semi-silence while version 1.1 of the firmware comes out and fixes some of these shortcomings (I hope).
 
I did web research and decided to get the AT&T 8525 for the same reason you cite, because it has 3.5g, windows mobile office, and generally more software plus third party developers, etc, etc,... went into the AT&T store and while waiting picked up the display iPhone,.... I left the store and i'm now back to square one. :D

I think the logical and reasonable choice is a proper business oriented device,... however, I would think that apple will have software or firmware updates, maybe sell some software since there will be a huge market to do so.
 
I'll vote 'no' - the inability to check mail automatically more than every 15 minutes is a deal-killer for most business use. Even a check every 5 minutes would work, but many/most business users are used to true 'push', where e-mail is instant, so waiting 15 minutes is a lifetime.

The calendar is also pretty weak, with no support for different 'calendars' or 'categories', to differentiate between work and personal events, for example.

No to-do list at all, and no synchronizable notes. All key business tools.

I'm a mixed business/personal user, and I'm struggling a bit - I LOVE the personal tools like iPod, maps, video, etc., but without push and a good calendar, I'm having a hard time working...
 
I'm waiting until iCal can be updated via wifi (not just with sync). It would be hard for me to use the iPhone for business without this, but ymmv.
 
OrleansMac said:
With that said, I am contemplating buying an iPhone but I need it to be like a Blackberry....a phone that can hold contacts, with a good date book in it, and a machine that can send emails/recieve files/ext....I don't care about music on my iPhone.
Click to expand...
I really like the email, calendar, and especially the contacts, but there's no real way to work with files other than as email attachments. If I were you, I'd see if you could make your current system last a little longer! :)
 
I say yes go get it.
I use it for my business and thus far have loved it.
You can check the email every 30 sec. if you want to, you just have to open it and it will check it for you, granted it would be nicer if it would check every minute or so automatically but you can manage.
It also will definitely do better then what you have now.
Everything has limitations you just have to learn to work with them instead of fighting them.
I also have to say that 90% of my business is over email and the net.
For files I need to look at or send and such I use gmail storage via Safari, you can also email your notes and to do's to your main computer.
Like I said there are plenty of workarounds till Apple fixes some of those things.

Good luck.
 
I appreciate everyone's responses. I have learned a lot reading this forum.

I think I am going to wait a month or so to see if any updates/patches are issued.

I still have a few more weeks left on my cell phone contract.
 
Workarounds

Don't settle for "workarounds" right now.

The 8525 has a good re-sale value if you absolutely need a new device right now. I was coming from an 8125 modded with windows mobile 6 (made it quite a bit faster and more stable) to an iPhone. I bought one, tried it, and loved the fun stuff but didn't want to deal with workarounds so I returned it the next day.

My 8125 is nowhere near as fast as the iPhone was, but it still got everything I wanted to done. I may switch back in a while after some changes.
 
sbrownla said:
Don't settle for "workarounds" right now.

The 8525 has a good re-sale value if you absolutely need a new device right now. I was coming from an 8125 modded with windows mobile 6 (made it quite a bit faster and more stable) to an iPhone. I bought one, tried it, and loved the fun stuff but didn't want to deal with workarounds so I returned it the next day.

My 8125 is nowhere near as fast as the iPhone was, but it still got everything I wanted to done. I may switch back in a while after some changes.
Click to expand...

Right. That is what I am worried about.

The corporate email problem with iPhones isnt a big deal as I use my .mac account anyway along with Gmail....

But its the Calender/Contacts/Email that I need so desperately. If I do buy the iPhone, it will be my phone for a LONG time...just afraid of spending so much money (for me at least) on something not work-friendly at this point.
 
I vote yes

I have a work blackberry and right out of the box I was typing on the iPhone at triple the speed. I know in a few days I'll be typing much faster.

Also email sucks on the Blackberry compared to the iPhone as far as being an application. I am surprised it is called a business phone.

If this was "Bizarro World" and the iPhone was the business phone and Apple came out with the Blackberry then I could see people saying the Blackberry wouldn't be good enough for business.

I can only guess the support people need will eventually come.
 
I agree that it's more of a consumer phone. I certainly wouldn't consider it for "corporate" type work at this point. But it might be an acceptable "work" phone for a small business owner or something. In fact, I may use it for something like that myself.
 
Big Corp-- No. Small Company-- Maybe.

I've had to resort to opening up a new Yahoo mail account to use it to push mail to the iPhone. Easy enough to do, but a kludge from hell. Apple needs to address this quickly-- I won't survive until any upgrades that might come as a part of Leopard Server.

That said, I like it better than my blackberry. There are places in my building where I don't get any signal from AT&T, so the WiFi fallback is great. Shame it doesn't work for the phone. Maps work fine, and the browser is acceptable. Voice quality is much better.

After just three days, I am typing faster on the iPhone than I did on the blackberry, and with fewer mistakes.

If Apple decides they want to get into the enterprise, they had better make an honest push. There are some big things they need to keep working on. I wouldn't let that stop me, but that is mainly because I enjoy making things work. Look into the limitations people are listing and see where it fits for you.
 
OrleansMac said:
...But its the Calender/Contacts/Email that I need so desperately. If I do buy the iPhone, it will be my phone for a LONG time...just afraid of spending so much money (for me at least) on something not work-friendly at this point.
Click to expand...

Umm... Have you gone to an AT&T or Apple store to try it out? That would pretty much answer your questions as far as if it will work for YOU.

And keep in mind that a lot of the current limitations will "probably" be addressed in future software updates.
 
what problems are you all talking about

Hi.

I am using my iphone for business and absoloutly rely on email and my contacts list. I am not seeign all these limitations that people are referring to and would absoloutly say for small business that needs to be in touch this is a MUST HAVE.

I will give you that the email push would be nice - and Yahoo is NOT a solution for any type of business use with the lack of a reply to address - hopefully everyone.net will be the solution there - still looking for confirmation of that though. But I had my phone up and synced with my existing ancient pop3 email accounts and all my contacts and calander across on June 29th and havent looked back. Luckily our email provider has a pretty good spam filter so that has hardly been a problem either.

I made a few changes to my rules in Mail, some of the copied messages that I used to get sent to my desktop for archival purposes from our notification applicaitons and then move to another folder I now send to their own accoutn so they do not appear on the iphone.
I set my Pop 3 account on the desktop to delete after 1 day , and now get email to both locations. I am sure there are better solutions such as forwarding from your desktop to a specific account for iphone only etc and I may look at these , but truely this is the first usable portable email solution I have found actually beneficial.

The absoloute deal breaker on the other devices for me is the lack of WiFi support. I work from home and it is so nice to be able to take a quick look at email from in front of the tv to check if anything urgent has come in without the "back to work" feeling you get by sitting back in front of the computer in the office and getting sucked back into work mode.

Maybe there are holes that I havent found yet, and I know there are obstacles for people tryin to integrate into large corporate environments with the strict IT departmental rules in place , but having tried a few other devices ( granted not recently ) as they came out and literally thrown them away as less than useless for any real application, I am in love with the iphone and would not be without it.

I have not even used the ipod functionality yet other than checking it out on the first day, but now feel totally connected wherever I go and would not be without it - Definately a work phone in my book.

Todays bonus feature / discovery was finding a way to send presentable faxes from the iphone - that is just a bonus i hadnt forseen.

oh and the bonus non-work feature for me is the Telekinesis Remote control of itunes so i can pause and adjust the volume of Itunes playing over airport express rempte speakers right from bed.

I really cant see how anyone could advise you to hold off. This thing doesnt leave my side , whereas I used to hate having to take the cell phone with me wherever I went.

Drew
 
Thanks for bumping this! I forgot about it.

Well, I bought it so let me give my 2 cents.

Am I glad I bought it? Yes
Does it suit my needs? Yes

The only thing I am disappointed with is the battery BUT it is not a deal-breaker for me because it gets me through most of the day and I have an extra-charger for work.

I enjoy the email a LOT MORE then my old phone. I can send things quicker/easier.
I enjoy browsing the net a LOT MORE then my old phone.
I like how messages come with the history!

I would just say that if someone has a Blackberry or another work phone that they are happy with on a daily basis, maybe holding off would be the best option.

But, if you are unhappy OR like iPod stuff on your phone, GO FOR IT

:D:D
 
Depending on your work situation, I would say not yet. I have a Treo 750 from work and I need Exchange interfacing capabilities. Also, my iPhone is having a hard time recognizing the WEP wireless set up at the office. Unfortunately, IT will not reconfigure the entire corporate set up to accomodate me (yet). So I'm carrying two phones for now. I had a personal cell before this anyway and that is being retired.
 
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