Exploring iPhone’s Killer App
by Bill French on 06/05/09 at 1:03 am
Bill French is an information architect specializing in Internet applications. He is also the co-founder of MyST Technology Partners and Senior Editor for iPhoneCTO.
In a forum recently, someone commented that if you had lots of emails to knock out, smartphones such as Xperia, and Treo Pro were superior to the iPhone. Perhaps, but if you have lots of email to process and it’s a common event in your business role, none of these (including the iPhone) can hold a candle to a good laptop.
Unfortunately, much of what is read on forums and blogs about which phone is better are fanboy biased rants akin to religious or political debates that are largely driven by personal tastes.
We all have biases; this is a natural human feature. My personal bias openly tilts toward iPhone. However, I believe that my bias is influenced by good data; experience with other phones and PDAs such as Palm and Windows Mobile and a deep understanding of the iPhone SDK. Combined, these attributes enable iPhone to dominate their market across many consumer and business interest groups.
ReadWriteWeb: The State of the Smartphone: iPhone is Way, Way Ahead
Even in the face of significant and persuasive data concerning the iPhone, I’ve learned to balance my bias; get the business requirements first – save the implementation details for later.
In any IT project, it’s important to understand the business requirements before claiming any device is right (or better) than any other device. Fitness-of-purpose is a term typically used in consumer product warranties to describe the intended purpose of a particular product. Establishing context with specific use-cases is also a critical step in the process of deciding how best to implement an IT solution. It’s probably safe to say that the iPhone was designed with no intention of its users hammering out lots of emails. In my view, no phone is ideally suited for serious email message production; email consumption is a different story (to a point). But most important in the requirements management process is a clear separation of business requirements and implementation details. Define the business requirements, and then have a debate over the implementation options – i.e., place cart squarely behind horse.
Ongoing religious debates about which phone is better — iPhone or [fill-in-the-blank] remind me of the superfluous, mind-numbing arguments between Java and .Net programmers of the last decade. While these two camps continue to take pot-shots at each other, they have come to the realization that solid business requirements lay the foundation for success in every IT project. The decision process for any communications device in the enterprise deserves no less.
The killer app for any cell phone is a phone call.
There, I said it. Pretty much, all competing products deliver on this promise and it’s a fundamental irony that slaps the convergence beast in the face time and time again. Notwithstanding the obvious humor in this conclusion, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the confluence of data, voice, and business logic in a unified hand-held device. Smartphones are [indeed] the new laptop. But before you uncork the champagne, take a long hard look at the requirements then party-on knowing you implemented a solution based on clear, rational thinking.
Unlike most phones, requirements management for the iPhone can be a little tricky because of the immense agility inherent in the hardware platform – ergo, iPhone can be shaped into just about anything imaginable while also factoring in enterprise-specific requirements. Requirements management for the iPhone is further complicated by two significant factors; (i) hundreds (perhaps thousands) of applications already exists that are at least enterprise “helpful” and (ii) the iPhone SDk, the clear path to enterprise “ready” applications. This is a good problem to have. As already demonstrated in the consumer applications market, lots of killer apps are on the way for the iPhone.
