Smartphone Happenings

Apple Inc. rolled out a new iPhone and iOS operating system in the last two weeks, embedding new functionality including a voice-activated assistant and cloud backup facilities. Elsewhere, Research in Motion, Ltd. suffered from its largest-ever infrastructure failure causing messages to be delayed and essential functionality unavailable globally.

Focal Points:

• Apple announced the new iPhone 4S and an upgraded iOS operating system for iPhones dating back to the 3GS, both iPad, and third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches. Available on October 14^th, the new iPhone 4S features improved hardware such as including a faster processor and upgraded camera, as well as a new software voice-activated assistant called Siri. Siri can respond to spoken directions including "set up a meeting with John Doe," "send a text to Mary Smith," or "find out whether today's flight is leaving on time." Available only on the iPhone 4S, the system responds and can find answers to plain language questions by accessing both iPhone- and Internet-based resources. Prices for the new phone start at $199 for a 16 GB model, while the iPhone 4 and 3GS soldier on at discounted rates.
• Many of the upgrades available in the new phone are based on the company's updated operating system, iOS 5, which is available now. Notable improvements have been made to the Safari Web browser, which now offers tabbed browsing and "read it later" functionality that allows users to bookmark Web content and save pages for future and/or offline reading. New messaging software arrives in the form of iMessage, which senses which iOS devices are enabled with the latest software version to allow users to sidestep carrier costly messaging by using Apple's servers. The software is even smart enough to suggest alternate user telephone numbers. A key feature arrives in the form of iCloud, which allows backups and syncs iPhone data to 5 GB of free – or additional purchased space – on Apple's servers and across devices registered on a user's account. Backups work on software including bookmarks, calendar, contact, e-mail, notes, and reminders, as well as documents and photos. Customers can now also sync local data with host computers wirelessly and perform over-the-air software updates. Lastly, a new Notification Center changes the old appearance of notifications to one that aggregates content in a pull-down bar available from a device's top banner ala Google Inc. Android. New, interactive stock and weather information is also highlighted in the notification area.
• After suffering outages for nearly a week, affected users across five contents are seeing the full range of BlackBerry functionality restored. What started as a breakdown in a core switch router in Europe that reportedly did not fail to backup systems as previously tested, the issue first hit Europe and Asia and spread to users worldwide within a few days. The issue caused a data backlog where messages were queued but could not get through. RIM believes that the now-fixed issue will quickly begin sending data to connected devices and its initial investigation shows no loss of data. The company believes its investigation has identified the problem's root cause, which was not the result of a security hack or breach, and that it will be able to improve processes to prevent a future outage of a similar kind. The outage is yet another black eye for RIM, whose user base has been rapidly abandoning its devices in favor of more powerful alternatives from Apple and Google. BlackBerry stalwarts have primarily stayed with the platform for its superior integrated messaging and security capabilities, and many of which are likely reevaluating their loyalty after the week's events. RIM advices for users to restart devices that are not already receiving backlogged messages.

Experton Group believes Apple's latest iPhone offering, though initially met with a substantial amount of dissatisfaction at launch due to a perceived lack of meaningful upgrades, is already on path to become a bestseller for the company. Preorders quickly sold out across the three major U.S. carriers offering the iPhone 4S, putting the new phone on track to be the company’s best seller ever. The world should expect to quickly find new users walking around barking orders at their phones, perhaps frequently in inappropriate situations, and finding value in the other upgraded features of the new operating system. IT executives with stables of previous-generation iPhones should take advantage of the newly-available operating system, as backup and productivity facilities add value to earlier platforms. Users report that iOS operates with the same fluidity as iOS 4, thus offering new capabilities without paying a price in performance.

IT executives should hold off on mass upgrades until internal testing is complete, which will have to wait until Apple's servers have recovered from an initial onslaught of downloads that have crippled availability. RIM's large outage is the latest in a series of troubles for the Canadian manufacturer, whose customers and investors have used the outage as another lever to call for a leadership change and have negatively impacted the already-battered stock price. Though this obviously bodes poorly for RIM, IT executives should remember that RIM's secure backend infrastructure has always had exposure points in the past and that the extra-level of security understandably comes at a price. Nonetheless, this is yet another opportunity for IT executives to reevaluate their commitment to the BlackBerry platform – which is expected to receive a major upgrade and new devices within the next 12 months. As competitors have significantly improved platform capabilities over the last 24 months, this may another nail in the company's coffin.