Microsoft slams iPhone as irrelevant

[Nikos Kartalis]

Apple's soon-to-be-launched iPhone will be irrelevant to business users because it is a "closed device" and does not support Microsoft Office, a senior executive with the software giant said this week.

One hundred and forty phone models already run Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, while Apple's new device is not expected to hit the US market until June, and Australia in 2008. The Windows mobile devices have picked up a significant portion of the converged device market, although they are up against the dominance of Nokia and its Symbian OS, Research in Motion and its BlackBerry OS, and decreasingly, Palm.

While the entry of the iPhone (with its cut-down version of Mac OS X) into this market offers new options for consumers, Sorenson believes user familiarity with the Windows Mobile interface -- and the ease with which companies can buy and develop applications for the platform -- will sustain its increasing popularity and help keep the iPhone out of the lucrative corporate market.

While the iPhone will focus on integrating phone, Internet browsing and iPod features, WM6 adds enterprise-targeted features such as better synchronisation of data between mobile devices and office servers.


News Source | ZDnet Australia