I have been wondering for sometime, what is the app that is going to push the iPhone from the coolest phone in the world to an absolute must have for business. Well I think I have found it.
There was certainly some business genius from Apple in starting the App Store – something that other handset manufactures are still trying to catch-up on (this includes Microsoft, Nokia and Research in Motion – maker of BlackBerry).
The business model is compelling. Zero cost of sale, no stock, pre-paid revenue (no credit crunch for Apple with US $28 billion sitting on the balance sheet), 25% margin – all Apple has to do is provide a distribution network via iTunes and the Operating System on the phone.
This brings me to an aside. Government and industry need to invest more in Better by Design – we are not going to be able to keep up with our cousins across the ditch (especially with their huge mineral resources) with our current levels of investment.
Having a quick look at my iPhone, I have the following apps: Heart Beat Monitor, RDP (used for remote admin of servers), Ping (useful utility for pinging a subnet to see what addresses are being used), WunderRadio (so I can listen to NewsTalkZb) and MultiCam – Auckland (so I can see how grid locked the motorways are).
However none beat Skype for the iPhone! Talk for free to other Skype users, or dial land lines for next to nothing per minute. So let’s get to the limitations – it will only work over your wireless internet connection. But given that this will cover about 80% of most use – not a huge limitation. It works just like the PC or Mac version – and from my testing there is no noticeable difference in call quality.
For those of you that have a BlackBerry – well it is a work in progress.