Voyager VX 10000

Why does anything have to be an "iPhone Killer", or an iPod killer for that matter? Why can’t Verizons new phone rest on its own laurels and force the iPhone to become the Voyager VX 10000 killer. [It’s gonna need a better name, no one wants to be a Voyager VX 10000 killer]

But my point is, why market something to be a killer of anything? Why not market the phone based on it’s feature set.

Verizon claims latest LG offering is an "iPhone killer"

It’s been intense lately, enough to give a hardware guru whiplash; everybody has been calling nearly every new object a potential iPhone killer. One of these days someone’s going to release a land-line phone with a web browser, and for some reason, someone’s going to stand up and call it an iPhone killer. It’s bizarre.

Regardless, today is one of the first times that a company executive, not a fan boy, has actually stood up and claimed that its latest phone is going to "kill the iPhone." The company in reference? Verizon. The phone? Its latest offering from LG, the Voyager VX 10000.

"We think it’ll be the best phone… this year. It will kill the iPhone," Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman told Reuters while discussing the LG Voyager. The latest phone’s features include a front touch screen, as well as the ability to open up similar to an enV to reveal yet another screen, and a full QWERTY keyboard. It’s packed with Verizon’s usual gamut of serives like V Cast Mobile TV, V Cast Music, and has the ability to play .mp3, .wma, and unprotected .aac files.

In some respects, it does "one-up" the iPhone. For example, it’s on Verizon’s high-speed wireless broadband network as opposed to the iPhone, which runs on AT&T’s rather slow EDGE network. The iPhone recently gained on-board iTunes, but a WiFi connection is required; the Voyager can download music at acceptable speeds whenever it has access to Verizon’s high-speed network. It doesn’t appear that the Voyager supports WiFi like the iPhone does, though.

The Voyager also offers a microSD memory slot which can be fitted with up to 8GB of storage—again, another feature the iPhone doesn’t have. Other features include Bluetooth support, picture, text, and video messaging, as well as a 2.0 mega pixel camera and stereo speakers.

The front touch display offers a 240×320 resolution screen, while the inside non-touch display offers a 320×240 resolution, according to phoneArena.

Although the phrase is so cliché is gives me shudders, I’m forced to wonder if it won’t hurt the iPhone just a bit. I think it might draw the attention of current Verizon subscribers that may be on the edge about switching to AT&T just to grab the iPhone. Verizon told Reuters that the pricing of the Voyager would "range from under $100 to about $400." It will launch sometime in late November.

Cory Doctorow, over at BoingBoing has mentioned an interesting group over at Flickr. Called the Bad Signage Pool, it’s a very large collection of pictures that contain something that’s not quite right.

On the very first page I was chuckling from the get-go. Here’s my favorite from just the first page:

Video What?!?

Bricked!

Earlier this week Apple released a warning that unlocked iPhones "will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed."

That scenario has come to pass. Shortly after the release of the iPhone update 1.1.1 consumers have reported that unlocked iPhones began having problems. The image at left is a photo of the error message received once the firmware update has been installed.

Reportedly, inserting a valid AT&T SIM card will not fix the problem. Have these phones been rendered useless forever? If so, what are the legal ramifications of such a move by Apple?

To intentionally render an iPhone unusable because you have chosen to utilize it on a different carrier seems wrong to me. Don’t we have legislation in place that requires cell phone companies to provide unlock codes for SIM based phones? AT&T is supposed to give you an unlock code for your phone if you have been a customer for at least three months and have not had any billing or payment issues.

I’ll be interested in seeing where this goes. I wouldn’t be surprised if a class action suit is the end result here.

MORE:

• The Forewarned iPhone Bricking Has Begun @ The Consumerist
• iPhone Update — Hackers’ Edition @ Wired
• iBricks will be a PR nightmare for Apple @ ZDNet
• Altered iPhones Freeze Up @ NY Times

Soldiers performed pre-dawn raids on Buddhist monasteries today as the junta tried to gain control of an ever increasingly volatile situation. Not since 1988 has the ruling body faced such a severe challenge to it’s authority. And, like petty dictators everywhere, protests have been met with violence. World leaders gathered at the UN in emergency sessions tried to convince China and India to put pressure on the military junta. China (no surprise here) demurred and blocked attempts to pass a resolution condemning the government and the recent crackdown on free speech and free assembly.

This week has seen the bloodiest confrontations with the anti-junta protesters since 3000 people were executed in 1988 when General Saw Maung, staged a coup. The leadership of the country has changed hands since then with the current despot being General Than Shwe, the Chairman of the laughably named ruling body, the State Peace and Development Council. There have been a reported 5 deaths since this most recent opposition to 45 years of military rule and abject poverty started peacefully a month or so ago. More Stories:

• Myanmar Raids Monasteries Before Dawn @ NYTimes
• Myanmar troops threaten to shoot @ Reuters:Canada
• Myanmar Police Raid Monasteries, Arrest 100 Monks @ AHN
• Myanmar raids Buddhist monasteries @ LA Times

Gizmodo links to a USA Today article that talks about a survey conducted by a Santa Monica firm, Interpret, LLC. The survey polled 200 owners of the iPhone and asked how satisfied they were with their phone; 90% indicated they were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their phone. Although, this is a number that I am not surprised at considering the market and the demographic of the initial adopters. More below.

survey says

Vast Majority of iPhone Owners Deliriously Happy, Cured of All Ailments

Despite our verdict of “wait,” a survey by the market research firm Interpret says 90 percent of iPhone owners are “extremely” or “very” satisfied with it, which the firm’s chief strategy officer interprets as ” pretty much off the charts.” (See what I did there?) Some of the other numbers are kind of interesting, if unsurprising.

Miserly coveters-but-not-owners who were surveyed grumbled they’d only pay an average of $180 for an iPhone, for instance. One shocking number is that over a third (35 percent) paid an average $167 to break their contract with another carrier, adding at least another $100 to the iPhone cost-of-ownership calculus. Impatience much?

Also slightly unexpected is that of those surveyed, almost 30 percent were total Apple noobs, while 40 percent had never owned an iPod before. If you bought an iPhone on launch day and you’re one of the 10 percent of defective humans not totally enraptured with it, just a reminder that today’s your last day to make the worst mistake of your life and return it.

[Thanks, Gizmodo]

A quick search of “iPhone” on EBay returned “1696 items found for iPhone“. And iLaunch hasn’t even arrived yet. I can’t wait til’ Saturday when I’l lbe presented with the opportunity to buy an empty iPhone box or complete iPhone manual.

OK, this is what I’ve been afraid of. The aggregate costs have been computed and here’s the hit to the bottom line for all of those waiting in line for the iLaunch. OK, so a very quick comparison: Family plan with Verizon; 2 Razrs $49.99 + $35 activation + $79.00/m = $1,981. Again, I think I’m going to stick with what I have.

iPhone Total Cost of Ownership: Up to $5,914.76

This quick and dirty spreadsheet indicates the total cost of iPhone ownership over a 24 month contract, excluding likely extras such as accessories and hidden charges.

I think the apparent lack of hidden charges is one of the things Apple scores big with: unlike so much in the cellphone game, you know what you’re getting. It’ll be interesting to see the first bills out from AT&T, so we can do an accounting of nickel and diming like the Federal Hogwash Fee and the New Mexico State Chump Charge.

Naturally, most owners won’t be wanting that crazy $220 monthy plan, as detailed at Apple.com when you click the "more minutes" link — you’d have to be on the phone about four hours a day to use up all your daytime minutes! But I can easily see myself racking a good two-and-a-half grand in the next two years.

[Thanks, Wired]

As we inch ever closer to iLaunch, Bloomberg.com tells investors that they may be getting set up for a fall. As with many of their products, Apple would like to capture the market share but in a business that is four times larger than the PC market, this could be harder than most people think.

Apple IPhone Euphoria May Set Investors Up for Disappointment

By Connie Guglielmo

June 25 (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc., whose market value passed $100 billion in May as euphoria mounted over its iPhone, may be facing investor expectations that are too high.

Apple may sell as many as 200,000 iPhones in the product’s first two days on the market this week and as many as 3 million in the second half of the year, according to the most optimistic analyst estimates. Apple, in its only public forecast, says it plans to sell 10 million next year.

Sales at those levels would outdo the iPod, Apple’s best- selling product to date, for comparable periods. The danger is that Apple may fall short of projections for initial sales and damp investor enthusiasm for the product.

“There’s definitely a lot of buzz,’’ said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. “If they only sell 100,000, that would be bad’’ and the stock will fall. Hargreaves is one of two analysts predicting two-day sales of 200,000.

[Thanks, Bloomberg]

Well, I almost missed this article in Information Week. Reinforcing my claim that Not All That Glitters Is Gold.

iPhone Backlash Misses the Point
Posted by Richard Martin, Jun 20, 2007 06:50 PM

Fake Steve Jobs is not someone to suffer indignity lightly. And lately he’s had plenty to wax indignant about. We refer, natch, to the media backlash that has risen to a veritable tide of negativity in advance of the iPhone launch a mere 9 days away (and no, I am not blogging from a sleeping bag in front of my local AT&T Wireless store).

First there was this week’s cover story in New York magazine, in which John Heileman managed to make it clear what a megalomaniac Jobs (the real one) is while admitting that, yes, the iPhone is likely to be a monster hit. Then things got really nasty.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday quoted multiple business CTOs in concluding that, while employees are salivating over the hot new devices, most companies won’t support them: "Many businesses don’t plan to sync them with internal email systems that use technology from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and Good Technology, owned by Motorola Inc."

London’s Daily Mail weighed in with a negative review, and Forbes called the iPhone "a hacker’s playground." ZDNet bloggers (who seem to multiply like rabbits) weighed in with no fewer than 50 less-than-glowing posts about Jobs’ latest creation. The blogger at Gravitational Pull had the nerve to compare the sleek new quasi-smartphone to a 1994 Saab. How’s that for a backhanded compliment?

[Thanks, Information Week]

As Clara Peller might have asked, Where’s the Beef?

In what must be a high level decision, AT&T announced it’s own video sharing service that will not work on the iPhone. Just what is up with that? We can only imagine that there has been enough lead time to either have Apple tweak the iPhone to play it’s hosts video or for Apple to tweak the video playback standard enough to view the content.

In my opinion, someone in this group is not playing nice and needs a reprimand. Considering the $175.00 service cancellation fee which AT&T is going to insist on charging, my guess is that it’s AT&T.

AT&T Launches Video Sharing Service, But Not For The iPhone

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson yesterday at the NXTcomm conference showed off AT&T’s new video sharing service. The "first-ever service" in the U.S. allows users to share live video over their cell phones while talking. While this is cool, guess what, it won’t work on the iPhone. And this video service is way too expensive.

Let’s take a look at AT&T’s new video service:

It works only on the company’s 3G, or third-generation, wireless network and requires a Video Share-capable phone, AT&T said. The company said it will offer Video Share service packs for $4.99 and $9.99 a month, depending on included minutes. Without a plan, the service costs 35 cents a minute.

New AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson told a telecommunications industry trade show in Chicago that the new service has the potential to expand rapidly beyond wireless-to-wireless.

So you have to buy a special handset — but it doesn’t work on the iPhone because the iPhone doesn’t have 3G. and you have to pay $4.99 a month of $9.99 a month (or $0.35 a minute) in addition to your normal 3G data plan. While the idea is cool, this thing is priced to fail.

During the same keynote where he launched this new video sharing service, Stephenson kept talking about how he sees video as the future of his company. I too share his enthusiasm, but AT&T needs to do a few things better. First, they need to launch new services like this at more reasonable prices. And, more importantly, they need better 3G coverage with cool new devices that take advantage of it.

[Thanks, Information Week]

Ummmmm, like, you’re kidding, right? Please tell me your kidding. Please????

Will you be able to unbox your own iPhone?

Posted Jun 22nd 2007 9:00AM by Michael Rose

You’ve saved your pennies, and then thought better of the whole penny-centric strategy. You’ve moved on to cashing in your savings bonds. You’ve figured out which AT&T store is furthest off the beaten track. (Google Earth, suggests trying Key West, FL.) You’ve considered the delicate balance between on-queue caffeine intake and the likelihood of line jumping when you dodge out to the restroom. You’ve planned, thought, considered, and strategized pretty much everything about getting your hands on that iPhone.

But have you considered whose hands will handle it before you do? Well, have you? Reader Chris Freitag had a panic attack earlier today and did the only reasonable thing. He told us about it.

A horrible, terrible thought crept into my head today as I fantasized about what it will be like to actually get to the counter of my local Apple Store the evening of June 29 and finally get my hands on my iPhone.

What if the first hands to touch *my* iPhone aren’t my hands?

I’ve been a Cingular customer for over 3 years, and every single time I have purchased a new phone the customer service rep opens the box, removes all of the plastic wrapping from the phone, battery, and battery cover. They put the SIM card into the phone, power on the phone, then proceed to futz with the phone for a few minutes while they’re setting it up. This has never been an issue for me because I have never had an attachment to the packaging nor to the product being opened. I like cool new phones but none of them have ever had much of an emotional impact on me.

Now compare that with Apple products. If you’re as into Apple products as I am, then you understand what it means to come home with your shiny new Apple toy and open the packaging. The good folks at Apple always take such great care in packaging that it is a true joy to open the products. Everything about the presentation just leads you to that moment when you actually utter the word "whoa" as you finally get to the product you’ve lusted after for so long. It is without fail sleeker, smaller, slimmer, and sexier than any picture could convey. It’s part of the Apple experience.

And if an AT&T employee unwraps all of that Apple-designed packaging goodness right in front of me, and then mauls my new iPhone with their grubby mitts, I’m going to lose it right there at the store.

Unfortunately, judging by comments on Erica’s post, the contract and activation process will almost certainly involve hands-on time with store personnel. Unless Apple’s magic mojo arrangement with AT&T includes online contract setup and number porting via iTunes (now that would be quite a trick) it looks like the first hands on your iPhone won’t be yours.

Chris, we feel your pain.

[Thanks for the LAUGH, tuaw]

So, it’s not just Apple that’s taking a slightly lower than high road with the immanent release of the much touted iPhone. (See related story) AT&T intends to charge you $175.00 for early cancellation despite the fact you’re not getting any kind of deal on the price of the phone. Isn’t that special!

For years cell phone companies have argued that those early cancellation fees help offset the cost of discounting a new phone to a new subscriber, but we’re not getting a discount this time, are we? We’re just getting the shaft from the man because he knows he can get away with it. It’s the frikkin iPhone for Gods sake. If you want it, you’ll play by our rules. Go forth lemmings and consume.

Canceling iPhone service early will cost $175

AT&T: Fee covers more than just the new device

By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | June 22, 2007

AT&T Inc. has spent $50 million to beef up its relatively slow wireless network in anticipation of the heightened activity expected to follow the iPhone’s debut next week, but any customer who isn’t wowed by the new gadget will find it costly to cancel the service.

Even though AT&T isn’t subsidizing the iPhone’s hefty price — $499 to $599, depending on the storage capacity a customer chooses — the company will charge a $175 termination fee for iPhone users who want to break their two-year contracts.

Most cellphones sell for less than their true cost, with the cellular network paying the difference. In exchange, customers promise to use the service for a set period, usually two years. When subscribers cancel early, phone companies charge a cancellation fee, usually citing the need to recoup the cost of the subsidized phone.

But AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said that termination fees pay for more than phone subsidies. "There are certain fixed costs we incur in serving every customer who establishes service with us," Siegel said. He refused to specify those costs.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of JupiterResearch in New York, called the iPhone termination fee "a little odd," but doubted that many customers would object. "I don’t think for most consumers it’s an issue," he said.

[Thanks, Boston Globe]

A recent survey of on-line mobile phone shoppers (by the Electronic Manufacturing Services online presence, EMSNow!) has revealed some surprising results! Nearly 60% of the people polled were interested in the iPhone, but had no intention of jumping on the bleeding edge bandwagon.

The overall initial cash output which included the cost of the toy itself and the cost of switching from a decently priced cell and data plan was daunting to most customers. Lets be honest, it’s only some die-hard Apple fan-boys and the celebs (and celeb wannabes) who can really absorb the initial cost of this thing.

Look at the statistic in the text below, only 10% of the respondents were interested in paying full price. That should tell all of the rest of us something, shouldn’t it?

Mass adoption of the iPhone not a certainty, IDC survey find

Jun 22, 2007

The price of the device itself and the cost of switching carriers may dampen the demand for Apple’s iPhone, according to a survey conducted by IDC.

The survey of online mobile phone shoppers, conducted by IDC and Market Insight Corp., found that while a majority of the respondents – nearly 60% of a sample of 456 individuals – were interested in the iPhone, they were unlikely to buy one anytime soon owing to the cost of the device and the potential cost of switching carriers.

Apple is scheduled to launch the iPhone on June 29, 2007. The phone will be launched exclusively on AT&T’s mobile network in the United States. The iPhone marks Apple’s entry into the mobile phone market.

“While the allure of owning the next ’cool’ device will undoubtedly have early adopters – and die-hard Apple fans – queuing up to get the iPhone regardless of the price, the associated costs of ownership will persuade many others into a ’wait and see’ position,” said Shiv K. Bakhshi, Ph.D., director of mobility research at IDC. “Despite all the hype, there is little clarity on Apple’s (and AT&T’s) service plans for the device. This lack of clarity could adversely impact consumers’ purchase decisions.”

The survey, designed to gauge consumer interest in the iPhone, found that only 10% of respondents were interested in paying full price and signing a two-year contract with AT&T, the only carrier currently slated to offer the device. AT&T has stated that it will not offer a subsidy for the iPhone, which will retail for $499 and $599, depending whether the subscriber wants 4GB or 8 GB of flash memory. Nearly 18% of the respondents indicated a willingness to buy the iPhone if it were priced under $299.

[Thanks, EMSNow]

AT&T has created 2000 temporary jobs nationwide to handle the surge in business expected with the launch of Apples iPhone. With units available exclusively at AT&T and Apple stores, there is expected to be a mad, frenzied rush for the devices.

As many of you are aware, I’m underwhelmed with the whole idea. I saw on recent comment to the effect that this guy would buy the phone without the music player for $200 less. I’ll take that one further. I’ll buy the media player in that exact form factor for $300 less. Leave in the WiFi capability for downloading media from my network, but strip out all the phone and internet browsing capability and I’m in. But since that’ll never happen, lets get back to business with an article gleaned from the Chicago Tribune:

Launch of iPhone calls for extra staff

Associated Press
Published June 22, 2007

SAN ANTONIO — AT&T Inc., which will be the exclusive carrier of Apple Inc.’s much-hyped new iPhone, has hired 2,000 extra workers to staff its company-owned stores for the launch, a spokesman said Thursday.

The iPhone, a combination cell phone, media player and wireless Web device, will be available only at stores owned by Apple and AT&T, and on Apple’s Web site, when it is launched June 29.

To handle the expected crush of customers, AT&T has hired 2,000 additional employees, mostly college students, for the summer, said AT&T spokesman Michael Coe.

On the day of the launch, AT&T’s 1,800 company-owned stores will close at 4:30 p.m. to prepare for the 6 p.m. launch in each market.

Neither AT&T nor Apple has disclosed how many devices will be available at launch, but Coe said if AT&T stores run out, customers will be able to purchase an iPhone at the store and have it shipped to them when it’s available.

[Thanks, Chicago Tribune]

I’m glad that there are at least a few similar minded folk out there with regards to the iPhone. Here is a thought provoking article which logically debunks the ’break a network’ scenario that Jobs suggested in Newsweek.

Instead it appears that P2P file sharing might be one of the causes. Hmmmmm – I wonder if the RIAA and MPAA are going to get involved in further tightening the security of the platform? A few bucks slipped into the right pockets over at Apple might go a long way towards keeping the lid on the source code and Software Development Kits.

The real reason that the iPhone does not have 3rd-party applications…

Apple’s explanation for the absence of an iPhone SDK seems unsatisfying to me. Here’s Steve Jobs in Newsweek:

“You don’t want your phone to be an open platform. You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.” (link)

Nobody really believes that a malfunctioning app on a phone can bust a network, do they?

I think that what worries Apple and AT&T most is the possibility of 3rd-party apps working too well! The iPhone will not allow 3rd-party applications to be installed upon it because those 3rd-party applications would inevitably include peer-to-peer file sharing clients using usenet, bittorrent, and gnutella networks, and apps for streaming or retrieving media from home computers. This would mean a tremendous increase in the amount of data being sucked through that EDGE network. Can AT&T deliver that kind of throughput for all of the new users they expect? I welcome comment on this from knowledgeable people, but my guess is NO FREAKING WAY. (Note well, also, that iPhone users cannot “squirt” content to each other using bluetooth or wifi, even though that would be simple to implement in software.)

[Thanks, BadMotivator]

With Apple maintaining a stranglehold on the code for their newest toy, many experts believe that will only fuel the hackers frenzy to crack the code.  Only Apple seems to know how to write apps for it’s soon to be launched mashup of technology.  And so far the only thing it’ll do that is new is YouTube. (Yawnnnnnnn).

It’s this kind of closed environment that gets the juices flowing in any respectable hacker.  Look at the various game consoles and hand-held  games that have been modified seemingly beyond recognition.  The iPod itself has been tricked out to run a version of Linux.

The connectivity options of the iPhone make it accessible via more than one route and I can’t imagine that’s a good thing.

Security researchers at IBM admire the iPhone’s apparent security but note it will suffer from its fair share of attacks.

 

By Sharon Gaudin

InformationWeek
Jun 21, 2007 04:53 PM

With so many people anxiously holding their breath while simultaneously counting their pennies till Apple’s iPhone ships next week, some researchers — and probably many IT managers — are wondering how secure this latest smart phone is going to be. Well, according to IBM’s security division, Internet Security Systems, the iPhone will have one thing going for it, at the same time it has one thing going against it, making for what should be an interesting product to track. The plus side is that it should take a pretty sophisticated hacker to break into the phone’s system, but the negative is that all the frenzy that has been building up around the iPhone’s release means many hackers will be inspired to try.

“We’ve been following it since it was announced,” said Neel Mehta, the team lead of advance research group at ISS, in an exclusive interview with InformationWeek. “It’s going to be challenging for the bad guys to exploit them like they do other [smart phones] but there will be a lot of individuals willing to try because of the amount of buzz around it… We’ve seen some very determined attacks on other mobile phone platforms, like the Symbian platform. A lot of these attacks are going to be very hard to launch against the iPhone.”

A spokesperson with Apple declined to comment on the iPhone’s security features.

Since Apple has been holding any prototypes of the iPhone extremely close to the vest, IBM’s security researchers analyzed whatever information they could glean about the new phone that is a three-way combination of wide-screen iPod, cell phone, and Internet communications device. Mehta said they know the phone will run on Apple’s OS X operating system, will use its Safari browser, and won’t come with a software developer’s kit. Researchers also evaluated how Apple deals with security updates and patches for its other products, like the Mac and the popular iPod.

Until Mehta and his researchers can get their hands on an actual iPhone, they’re going on what they do know about the machine.

And one major thing they’ve been focusing on is that the iPhone won’t have a software developer’s kit. While that makes it harder for third-party vendors to make software for the phone, it’s also going to make it a lot harder for hackers and malware writers to take advantage of it.

“They’re not telling anyone how to write applications that run on the iPhone,” said Mehta. “It’s going to be much harder to write worms or viruses for that platform. Most malware written today for mobile platforms has been developed using software developer kits from the manufacturers. The lack of that on the iPhone will make it harder for people to develop malware for it.”

He said another positive is that Apple historically has made it pretty easy to update their products. “That’s relatively good news for the iPhone,” he added. “We suspect the ability to update the phone will be relatively painless and robust. That’s been a major problem with other smart phones. Many people will buy a smart phone and never update the firmware on it… Computers that run OS X have automated update mechanisms and looked at how easy it is to update firmware on iPods. It’s very painless. It’s just one click within the iTunes software.”

[Thanks, Information Week]

As we get nearer and nearer to the official release date if the One Phone to Rule Them All we see a very important group of people chiming in and there are sure to be many who don’t like what’s being said. Corporate IT departments are viewing the un-secure nature of the device and nixing preliminary inquiries of compatibility. The common thread here is that if it can’t access the e-mail through the companies Blackberry e-mail servers then they are not going to be allowed to connect.

Which lends itself to the question, “What was Apple thinking?”. They’re aiming at a demographic that can afford a $499 dollar cell phone anad they’re not building in or providing access to the tool that many of them might have use to justify the expense.

Maybe you can’t wait to get your hands on an iPhone, but corporate IT guys are ready to greet the device with all the warmth of a European castle besieged by invading Huns. Despite scads of requests from employees who want to access work e-mail on their new wonderbrick, most network guys say there’s no way they’re going to go through the hassle and security risk of rejiggering their servers to support iPhone access.

Main workaround seems to be funneling work e-mail through a third-party conduit such as Yahoo Mail. Or risk the ire of the Dilbert types by trying to hack your way into your e-mail server.

Related Articles:

Companies Hang Up on Apple’s iPhone [Wall Street Journal]

[Thanks, Wired]