Apple 3G tops the iPhone range

Jun 27 2008 By Alan Marshall

Firm targets business users with instant e-mail facility

Apple is hoping its new version of the iPhone will make more waves in the mobile market - but this time the company is firmly targeting business users too.

When the improved 3G model of the phone hits UK stores on July 11, Apple will be taking aim at other devices that already provide e-mail, calendar and other business-linked functions.

The centrepiece of the appeal to business users will be "push e-mail" which will put the iPhone in more direct competition with BlackBerry devices, made by Research in Motion, and other smartphones. E-mails are automatically delivered to your phone instantly over the mobile phone network and a notification is also sent so you don't have to check for new mail.

The iPhone now supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, the system used by a host of medium-sized and large ; companies to deliver push e-mail, calendar events and contacts, and is designed for easy integration.

But there is also a new Apple' service branded MobileMe which will allow small businesses and consumers - ' without the might of an IT support team - to access ' push email.

MobileMe on iPhone will also offer push contacts and calendar entries with no need to manually sync devices. There is the option of adding photos to contacts and integrated Google Maps will create directions to addresses.

MobileMe mail can also be accessed on a PC or Mac computer, an iPod touch MP3 player or online via any web browser.

It also works in conjunction with Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail software, which will be good news for many businesses.

Apple is emphasising that its web-based MobileMe applications will be completely free of adverts and with easy to use drag and drop functions. There is also a gallery tool to share photos on the web - even posting them directly from an iPhone.

There will also be a MobileMe iDisk service providing 20GB of online storage for photos, movies and documents. The service, which goes live on July 11 when the iPhone 3G is launched, will 1 have a £59 annual subscription for individuals and I £89 for a family account.

Also new for businesses will be the capability for IT staff to securely manage any iPhone that contains confidential information using remote wipe and enforced security functions.

There is also support for virtual private network software for strong encryption, and companies' in-house designed software applications can be rolled out to iPhones using a synchronisation tool via Apple's iTunes music store.

The iPhone 3G, with its built in iPod capability, will still only be available in the UK from O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple stores, and will only work on the O2 network.

O2 and the Carphone Warehouse will give away the 8Gb version of the iPhone to customers who sign up to tariffs costing £45 or £75 a month. The gadget will cost between £59 and £159 for customers on other tariffs.

Analysts have said Apple needed to slash the iPhone's price and make it usable on faster networks to hit the company's target of selling 10 million units by the end of 2008.

Apple said the iPhone 3G downloaded data twice as fast as the older ones. CEO Steve Jobs said Apple had sold six million iPhones since the first model launched nearly a year ago and 700,000 since March.

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone said: "The iPhone 3G is a massive step forward for mobile internet."