Apple has been very successful creating consumer devices lately, from the iPod to iMacs. The Apple TV is another consumer device receiving great reviews, and should also be very successful once a few flaws have been addressed. Apple has always struggled with gaining a place in the workplace. Many of their business centric products, and while they have been moderately successful, none of them have been a run away hit.

When the iPhone was announced, everyone just assumed it was another consumer device, since it is mostly a newly styled iPod, with a phone built in.

Two interesting bits of information came out this week regarding the iPhone. First, a Microsoft Employee blasted the iPhone, saying it would never make it in the workplace.

[The iPhone is] a closed device that you cannot install applications on, and there’s no support for Office documents. If you’re an enterprise and want to roll out a line of business applications, it’s just not an option. Even using it as a heavy messaging device will be a challenge,” the executive added.

While Microsoft doesn’t have a direct competitor to the iPhone (yet), they do push WM6, the new Windows Mobile version.

A few days later, MacWorld reported that ATT is going to target the iPhone to enterprises. Say what?

Cingular, which was acquired by AT&T, recently decided that the iPhone will appeal to business users and the operator is now working hard to ensure that its backend enterprise billing and support systems will accommodate the device when it ships, said a source familiar with the company’s plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The most interesting part is that the entire report is full of analysts staying this is a horrible mistake, that businesses would never buy. Closed system, first phone, Apple not Windows, etc., etc.

When the iPhone was announced back in January, Steve Jobs demonstrated a few features of the phone, but also said there were many hidden features that were not yet announced. As far as we know, no one besides the people at Apple and ATT has seen the iPhone since January. Imagine the iPhone being released with built in terminal, Blackberry support, full Office compatibility, access to Outlook servers and a way to add custom apps. Is is possible that the folks over at ATT may know something that Microsoft and the analysts have no idea about? With built in Office support, 8G of storage for your files and emails, Enterprise email support and the option to add custom programs, the device will have to be considered by companies.

It will be interesting to see what Apple will be adding to the iPhone. I think many will be surprised by previously undisclosed applications.

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