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iPhone OS 4.0 Makes iPhone a Business Contender

08.04.2010
Apple held its big , announcing 100 new user features for the next iteration of the iPhone operating system. The media event focused on seven of the features--most of which position the iPhone as both more capable, and more manageable in a business setting.

Many of the features in the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 will be welcomed by all, but have little or no serious application for business professionals. Apple revealed that the new OS will have 5x digital zoom for the camera, a spell-check feature, customizable home and lock screen wallpaper (a ), and the ability to rotate photos among other things.

But, those are just the bells and whistles. The updates that fundamentally change the functionality of the iPhone are of much and business professionals. Specifically, multitasking, background VoIP, updates to e-mail capabilities, data protection, and remote iPhone management features will all contribute to make the iPhone a much stronger contender for smartphone dominance in the enterprise.

• Multitasking. The necessity of multitasking on a device with a screen as small as the iPhone . However, competing smartphones continue to highlight it as a weakness of the iPhone, and the iPad tablet--which uses the same iPhone OS--. Double-clicking the iPhone home button will display the apps that are currently running. During the media event, Steve Jobs demonstrated as many as 12 apps running simultaneously.

• VoIP in the background. A combination of the multitasking functionality and changes that Apple has made to how audio is handled mean that apps like Skype can be actively engaged in a VoIP phone call while users continue to navigate through the device and activate other apps and functions. As more enterprises embrace VoIP solutions and implement unified communications, the ability of the iPhone to work with VoIP will be a key element in determining its success in the business world.

• E-mail updates. Aside from multitasking, this was the next biggest deal in my opinion. Apple is introducing a unified inbox with iPhone OS 4.0. That means that you can have multiple e-mail accounts and have them all displayed in a single inbox rather than having to hop back and forth switching between inboxes. That said, Apple also made changes to make it faster to switch between inboxes, and has added the ability to connect the iPhone with more than one Exchange Server account.