Things to be aware if you get an Apple iPhone for business

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freitasm

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#24142 16-Jul-2008 08:34

If you are getting an Apple iPhone for use as a business phone and you rely on an Exchange Server, be aware that it has some flaws in the implementation. For example it will only synchronise the Inbox - so if you have server side rules that move your e-mails to specific folders then you are out of luck.

It also doesn't support meeting requests.

And there are reports of a bug in the photo software that is loading incorrect EXIF information in pictures taken on the iPhone.

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MartiNZ

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#148531 16-Jul-2008 15:41

Mine syncs all my folders, but doesn't follow the junk rules that e.g. Entourage does, so all junk comes to the iPhone inbox. I have been able to move items between folders.

I find it annoying that the iPhone still displays 'from' information in my sent folders, that the new bulk move/delete doesn't also have just mark read, and that sending items results in code-like items in the entourage sent folder. Haven't triedcwuth meeting requests yet, but did notice that a lot of synced events were marked as 'maybe'.

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#148538 16-Jul-2008 16:00

MartiNZ: Mine syncs all my folders, but doesn't follow the junk rules that e.g. Entourage does, so all junk comes to the iPhone inbox. I have been able to move items between folders.

I find it annoying that the iPhone still displays 'from' information in my sent folders, that the new bulk move/delete doesn't also have just mark read, and that sending items results in code-like items in the entourage sent folder. Haven't triedcwuth meeting requests yet, but did notice that a lot of synced events were marked as 'maybe'.

While I don't use an iPhone for business (or an iPhone at all), I really want (mass) mark as read too (as listed in my introduction to the iPod touch 2.0 update). Some mail which I don't need to read need to be completely downloaded in order to be marked as read is a stupid way, wasting time and data in the process.

iPhone doesn't have a junk filter system, so it has to be filtered on the server side.

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MattD

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#148703 17-Jul-2008 00:59

You cannot accept meeting requests on iPhone that are received as ICS files

Cannot open ICS file attachments

Multiple Timezone implementation is flawed

Cannot edit meetings that have been synced after the item has been edited on exchange server

When creating an event, you cannot specify which mailbox to use to send invitation.

MattD

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#148704 17-Jul-2008 01:01

running list so far.....

- No front camera to support video calling

- No MMS: (thirdparty app swirlymms adds this feature, both sending and receiving)

- No selecting, copying, and pasting text

- No voice dialling (thirdparty SpeachCloud Voice Dialler)

- No voice recording

- No video recording

- No bluetooth file transfer

- No bluetooth keyboard support

- No bluetooth A2DP (stereo bluetooth headset)

- No ability to save email-attachments to the device however you can view attachments online.

- No support to tether iPhone as a HSDPA Modem

- No Flash support in Safari browser

- No autofill on Safari

- No Keychain/password storage

- No Landscape keyboard support outside of Safari:

- No 900Mhz UTMS (Optus 3G customers in remote locations)

- No unified email inbox (messages in different accounts)

- No integrated InstantMessaging application (AIM available from AppStore)

- No user replaceable battery

- No Wifi 802.11n

- No ToDo list (yet - expect as software upgrade)

- Cannot use as Mass Storage Device

- Cannot forward SMS

- Cannot call/save the phone number in SMS message

- Cannot search in email

- Cannot sync notes with your computer

- Cannot switch off predictive text or 'learn' from usage

- Cannot accept/reject meeting requests on iPhone

- Cannot specify different Timezone for Calendar events

- Cannot specify sound for various events

- Mono playback from speaker

- Issues with syncing iCal events over multiple timezones

CraigC

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#148881 17-Jul-2008 15:20

MattD:

- Cannot call/save the phone number in SMS message

Not sure what you mean here. I recieved an sms and was able to create a contact from that message. Theres also a big button saying call.

MartiNZ

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#148882 17-Jul-2008 15:20

Ok so the code messages in Entourage for sent items on Exchange is apparently an MS issue that affects Entourage 2004 and 2008. Interestingly I have just found that moving a sent message to a subfolder on the iPhone makes it appear correctly in Entourage!

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charlie_niner

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#149381 19-Jul-2008 05:20

One of the most dissapointing things from my perspective is the inability to chuck a pdf on the device and then be able to refer to it off line. It just seems so damn simple that I didnt even expect bother checking to see if it was possible before I bought it. As a developer there are a number of reference documents that would be great to be able to refer to as necessary.

Yes, I understand you can email it to yourself, etc, etc, but that is just stupid. How can a device which is supposed to be able to be used for business not be able to view pdf's offline. And then there is .doc(x), .xls(x), etc....

Craig

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#149400 19-Jul-2008 09:37

MattD: - Cannot use as Mass Storage Device

Yes you can, just download a program called DiskAid for the Mac or iPhoneBrowser for the PC.

Here is a video of iPhoneBrowser in use with a 3G iPhone. I know you can't see it very well but it shows it works. I personally prefer DiskAid on the MAc (it is more polished). I realise this isn't a "Apple Solution" but it works.

Apart from:

- No user replaceable battery

- No Wifi 802.11n
- No 900Mhz UTMS (Optus 3G customers in remote locations)
- No front camera to support video calling

All the other things can be enabled through software updates, and hopefully they will at somepoint. Not saying they will be, and there are a lot on the list that should already be there, but they will hopefully enable them with an update and listen to all us complaining about it.

MattD

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#149412 19-Jul-2008 10:11

CraigC:
MattD:

- Cannot call/save the phone number in SMS message

Not sure what you mean here. I recieved an sms and was able to create a contact from that message. Theres also a big button saying call.

No worries. I was not referring to the number that sent you the message. Probably should have emphasised the word "IN"

If someone sends me a message that contains a phone number for a business, I cannot save or call that number.

On other devices if the number is enclosed in quotes you can often call it. I thought Windows Mobile also allowed you to save it as a contact.

MattD

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#149413 19-Jul-2008 10:21

nzbullet:
MattD: - Cannot use as Mass Storage Device

Yes you can, just download a program called DiskAid for the Mac or iPhoneBrowser for the PC.

Great I will check that one.

All the other things can be enabled through software updates, and hopefully they will at somepoint. Not saying they will be, and there are a lot on the list that should already be there, but they will hopefully enable them with an update and listen to all us complaining about it.

Absolutely. Software updates in time, and in the meantime a short term opportunity for some developers.

The more feedback we provide on what is important and missing features, the better the solution.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

majsty

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#149431 19-Jul-2008 11:42

I can accept/reject/tentative meeting requests fine on mine... in fact my phone normally asks me before outlook does!

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MattD

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#149435 19-Jul-2008 11:50

majsty: I can accept/reject/tentative meeting requests fine on mine... in fact my phone normally asks me before outlook does!

Are you connected to an exchange server.

If I received requests from a different company's exchange server and receive in pop/imap email (not exchange) these are ics files that cannot be opened on the iPhone. If they were opened on the Mac and then synced to iPhone, I cannot accept on the iPhone

majsty

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#149705 20-Jul-2008 21:10

Yeah, connected to exchange. That doesn't surprise me that it doesn't work if the requests are forwarded, IIRC it won't even work in Outlook if someone on an external exchange server sends you a meeting request.

tonyhughes

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#149708 20-Jul-2008 21:24

majsty: Yeah, connected to exchange. That doesn't surprise me that it doesn't work if the requests are forwarded, IIRC it won't even work in Outlook if someone on an external exchange server sends you a meeting request.

Correct.

bleater

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#149818 21-Jul-2008 11:41

MattD:
- No voice recording

I count 11 third-party apps now providing this, ranging from free (VoiceNotes) to $9.99 (TalkingPics).

- No Landscape keyboard support outside of Safari:

This is supported in iPhone OS, but applications themselves have to choose to make it available.

- Cannot specify different Timezone for Calendar events

Timezone support for Calendar is clunky, but its there. In Settings->Mail, Contacts, Calendar->Time Zone support, you can choose a time zone for calendar events, or have it just use the device's timezone. If you choose a time zone, events in Calendar will be created and displayed in that time zone.

Two other notes. First, if you have bugs and feature requests and you're willing to write them up properly in a full format, you should post them on the Apple bugreporter. http://bugreport.apple.com (ADC membership required, free from http://developer.apple.com). This works more effectively than the feedback form since bugs and feature requests get assigned to specific engineers.

Also, MattD: perhaps you could edit the original list to reflect posters comments? I would also add my favourite iPhone annoyance:No way to edit Wifi AP search list (although you can clear it totally by resetting network settings).