The idea is pretty much dead that the iPhone is just for your personal life. But to see that 40 percent of iPhone sales are for the enterprise is a bit of shocker.
But according to Larry Dignan of ZDNet, that’s just what an AT&T executive said at a conference this week.
Ron Spears, CEO of AT&T’s Business Solutions, said 4 of 10 iPhones are sold for business use. He also said increasingly the enterprise views the iPhone as a mobile computer that can even serve to replace a laptop.
Well, we find it impressive enough when someone like Graeme Thickens tells us he blogs from his iPhone. But to conduct business, handle documents and manage other tasks seems quite a feat in itself. Spears, though, said an iPhone can work just fine for people in the field who really just need one or two applications.
And he said it’s a lot cheaper, too, than a $1,000 or $1,200 laptop. That makes sense to some extent but netbooks are pretty affordable these days. In that respect, the iPad will sure to see its day in the enterprise, too.
Will Android devices have the same potential? We think so. It’s not your uncle’s enterprise anymore. It’s mobile. It’s more savvy to the emerging apps universe. Android fits into that scope.
A mobile device has to be awesome enough to be used for both personal and business use. Apple accomplishes that and the Android is getting there, too.
