The iPhone: Open or closed?

Wireless in the Enterprise This newsletter is sponsored by Blue Coat Make mobile users more productive More users are going mobile. With all this business on the road, you can't afford to have road warriors suffer from sub-par application delivery or security. Join a panel of experts as they detail how you can deliver improved productivity and protection for all mobile workers, regardless of location. Network World's Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, 06/20/07 The iPhone: Open or closed? By Joanie Wexler The Apple iPhone is coming soon to an AT&T/Cingular store near you. The iPhone, due to ship June 29, combines a cell phone, Web browser, and music and video player with a revolutionary touchscreen interface. Anyone who has seen it demonstrated or watched its compelling TV ads probably uses adjectives like “sleek” and “cool” to describe the gizmo. Oh, let’s face it: The iPhone is just plain irresistible. Wireless Products Buyer's Guide From wireless adapters to WiMax repeaters, we've got detailed information on hundreds of products that will quickly help you pinpoint the hardware or software you're looking for. We've categorized each product into one of 10 specific wireless market segments, so you can drill down, compare and contrast products in only the areas you need. Click here for more.> In recent months, though, the issue of the iPhone being a closed, or locked, system has reared its head with critics. Until last week, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the device would not be open to any third-party development. The good news: Apple CEO Steve Jobs told third-party software developers last week at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2007 in San Francisco that they can create Web 2.0 applications for the much-anticipated device without a special software developer kit. The move makes some headway in the U.S. mobile landscape’s typically locked environment, which precludes users from loading third-party application software on their mobile smart phones and from using their phones on different carriers’ networks. Word on the street, for example, is that Apple first approached Verizon Wireless as its iPhone distributor, but couldn’t come to terms with the mobile giant’s many usage restrictions. Customers, software developers (like Skype), and observers have long criticized the U.S. mobile market for creating closed mobile networks that restrict customers’ mobile capabilities. For example, if you want the iPhone’s networking capabilities, you have to be an AT&T/Cingular customer. In the carriers’ defense, U.S. mobile operators paid hefty fees for their licensed spectrum. They also subsidize the cost of devices so, theoretically, more users can afford to get connected. In their minds, these conditions buy them some rights to control the use of the spectrum as they see fit, such as disallowing third-party application traffic on their networks. But critics say this crimps the U.S.’s global competitiveness, serving as a disincentive to mobile innovation. One possible solution is that carriers sell unlocked, unsubsidized phones alongside the subsidized phones they bundle with their services. That way, subscribers could decide whether they prefer a controlled environment with a break on device prices or whether they’d rather foot the bill for full-priced devices to get the accompanying freedoms.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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Contact the author: Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Blue Coat Make mobile users more productive More users are going mobile. With all this business on the road, you can't afford to have road warriors suffer from sub-par application delivery or security. Join a panel of experts as they detail how you can deliver improved productivity and protection for all mobile workers, regardless of location. ARCHIVE Archive of the Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007