Apple Announces iPhone 2.0 Software Beta

March 7 2008

I am going to try to blog on this topic and don't really know what I'll get as a result.  But hey.

Apple had a great event yesterday announcing their new version of the iPhone software, the SDK, and what is clearly more of an enterprise focus.  Only one problem from the perspective of readers of this blog, and that would be the front-and-center role of Microsoft Exchange and the built-in ActiveSync support.

The first article I read covering the event was from Barron's, who said:

Some things not announced: Lotus Notes support.
Then I read comments here, in my mail, and on other blogs.

To say that I was surprised with this outcome is a bit of an understatement.  I knew that a Lotus Vice President was in Cupertino, with a second Lotus Vice President heading down there straight from the Lotusphere Comes to You event. in San Francisco.  I did not (and still at this moment don't) know exactly what kind of pronouncement IBM Lotus might have made in relation to the iPhone SDK.  However, I did expect there to be something said, conveyed, or communicated....nope.  Nothing.

Without any insider information, and looking at this from Apple's viewpoint, I can see why they would not have chosen to say anything about IBM and plans around Notes + iPhone.  Apple paid or otherwise procured the ActiveSync protocol license from Microsoft, which was already pretty well-known in the market.  Given their choice to include that in the base iPhone software, it's an obvious choice for them to market that as part of the announcement.  And I can even see logic in politics that, if you are highlighting one major company in a market segment, highlighting their main competitor simultaneously, one with a different approach, would diminish the announcement.  That is simply not the way the game is played, and while it is easy to second-guess, I certainly would not have expected something different knowing what I know now.

In reacting, a lot of non-marketing people had fairly biting comments for Lotus... in my inbox, on this blog, on other blogs.  Let me first validate -- yes, this was a missed opportunity.  No, I do not know why.  The way things work with Apple, you go with the program, and you don't put out your own press release.  We saw what happened when the iPhone support from Domino Web Access story leaked before Lotusphere, where the guessing games had all sorts of theories as to what was being announced.

So did I want to be able to get to my computer tonight and link to some great news coverage about something related to Lotus Notes support and iPhones?  Absolutely.  Did it happen today?  No.  Will it happen?  Yes.  Will it be big news when it does?  I hope so.  Anything with iPhone these days is big news, and since we know the press are already looking for something in terms of Notes+iPhone, it should be pretty easy to get attention when something along those lines gets delivered.

I'm sorry with those who are temporarily disappointed to not have specific news, plans, and timetables.  This is a hot space and Lotus wants to be part of it.  But there are already great partnerships with vendors like RIM, who have been a joy to work with over the last few months as I spend more time interacting with them.  Lotus Notes Traveler is shipping, and there are five other partners in the space.  The story you want will, I believe, come in time... just not on the big stage in Cupertino.  Disappointed?  Sure.  But that's "life in the big city", and something positive will come of it.

Ed Brill Burlingame, CA USA Category:  In the news  Add/View Comments [28]

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  1. 1  Darren Briaris  | 3/7/2008 2:50:53 AM

    I don't have an iPhone (why anyoe would in the UK without 3G is beyond me!), no one in our company has an iPhone but I have to say that I was very disappointed to not hear a Lotus Notes part to the announcements yesterday, especially with the pre-Lotusphere hype regarding a possible link-up.

    Having said that I do understand your point about Apple and get the feeling that Apple announces stuff when it wants too not when another company might want to (even if that company is IBM)!

    Lets hope some kind of announcement happens sooner rather than later to catch the SDK hype.

  1. 2  Sean Jennings  | 3/7/2008 4:23:40 AM

    I believe Apple has history in slapping down suppliers when they leak something in advance of a Jobs "one more thing" announcment. One example was Sun's premature leak about OS X moving to the ZFS file-system ahead of the Leopard launch, so the Domino Web Access leak probably didn't help.

    The other question is does MicrosSoft still own that huge amount of Apple stock from the days when it propped-up Apple to counter the claims at the time it had a desktop-monopoly?

    Theories aside.... the important things is that IBM gets an announcment out asap preferably a joint one with Apple, about Notes & Sametime for the iPhone.

    The way they've placed the "Exchange" above ".mac" and "gmail" on the iPhone screen makes it look like Apple is endorsing Exchange as the primary/preferred option. This alone could lead to a string of new migrations... :o(

  1. 3  Flemming Riis  | 3/7/2008 4:44:03 AM

    -The other question is does MicrosSoft still own that huge amount of Apple stock from the days when it propped-up Apple to counter the claims at the time it had a desktop-monopoly?

    belive it was sold in 2003

    -This alone could lead to a string of new migrations... :o(

    think its a overreaction because people are disapointed , its 3-4 months away if people throw their entire domino install because the Clevel want a iphone they would be lost no matter what.

    besides the iphone is to big to fit nicely in a suit , pearl is better.

  1. 4  Ben Poole http://benpoole.com | 3/7/2008 5:22:15 AM

    Given the state of Office 2008 / Entourage on the Mac, it's ironic that Exchange is the *perceived* mail platform of choice for iPhone users following this announcement. But then of course iPhone users don't necessarily equate to Mac-heads I suppose.

  1. 5  Niels J. Hansen  | 3/7/2008 5:51:23 AM

    Absolutely agree that the ongoing Entourage confusion really makes this an odd announcement. I know several Mac users who have left Outlook/Entourage and now use free alternatives. Still very sad that we did not qualify even for a small graphic representation...

    That said I do have an iPhone. If you don't think it is better than other business phones in terms of functionality, try bringing both an iPhone and another SmartPhone on your next coffee shop trip or your next travel. I have not seen similar levels of curiosity since the first iPods started appearing. I will bet you that this phone will change the game in the same way iPod did.

    Premium support for the iPhone will become a defining necessity - we need it, we need it soon, and it needs to be good.

    (The iPhone has not been launched in most of Europe yet, but you find them everywhere - mind you there are 400.000+ in China alone and it is not sold there yet...)

  1. 6  Flemming Riis  | 3/7/2008 6:03:30 AM

    -I will bet you that this phone will change the game in the same way iPod did.

    I bet some people at the Mobile IE team is working overtime , with the quality of the browser its going to be hard for everyone else to justify a pre-iphone browser on their mobile device.

  1. 7  Sean Jennings  | 3/7/2008 7:06:33 AM

    True the iPhone hasn't been a raging success (yet) outside of the US, partly due to not being 3G, partly due to the UK and Europe being used to heavily subsidized handsets, and the frequency that we change carriers.....

    but this could easily change once Apple release a 3G version (June?) and revise their charging-model to suit local markets better, until then there istime...

    The big danger is that this will be cited as yet another example of Lotus being 'left-behind the cutting-edge of technology'... that 'Exchange is supported out-of-the-box'.... etc.

    The SDK etc applies equally to the Touch as the the iPhone. As 32Gb Touch owner I have to say the functionality, its implmentation, and easy of use, is phenomenal.

  1. 8  Neil Wainwright http://www.nexonia.com | 3/7/2008 7:50:14 AM

    1. Apple will come down hard on anyone, and it really seems like anyone, who pre-announces or suggests something ahead of their announcements. I think someone within IBM started talking up Domino Web Access on the iPhone a couple months ago. Hence, nothing from Apple. These "chills" can last a long time too. In contrast, Steve Balmer was asked directly and publicly in the last week whether Apple would license Activesynch and he gave out zero, zippo information. I live in Canada, and the only GSM vendor here, Rogers, has many times indicated they'd have the iPhone "soon". Hence, no official iPhone in Canada (at least in part due to those loose lips).

    2. Activesynch means Apple can plug their own local apps into the Exchange backend. What's the protocol for this at IBM? Isn't contact synch a bit tough when contacts are in the local address book (I know IBM is taking steps to make them server-based, but it's not the standard). The rumors of Notes on the iPhone is just silly...the memory/app footprint is a challenge to most desktops, let alone mobile devices.

    All this being said, I'd love to see iPhone support through an ActiveSynch-like protocol from IBM. IBM just has to be quiet long enough to get the deal done and announced in the way that Apple wants it. That's a big, nay huge, culture shift for IBM, who typically provides product roadmaps months and years in advance (and that is what customers demand in the corporate space). My guess is that our next best chance to see IBM as part of the announcement is June 2008. The pressure for IBM to say something in advance of that will be huge, and I'm not sure IBM will be able to resist saying something before Apple's ready to say something. If they do, we'll likely be waiting even longer.

    Of course, IBM could maybe take the SDK and build their own Activesynch-clone as release it as a free download on the AppStore. That would be great if plumbing-like tools can be released in that way. For that, you don't have to be bound by Apple's confidentiality requirements.

    ...Neil

  1. 9  Asad Quraishi http://quad4b.blogspot.com | 3/7/2008 8:01:34 AM

    Why, when IBM is clearly pushing options to Microsoft OSs and applications (Linux vs. Windows, Notes vs. Outlook, Symphony vs. Office) do they continue to deliver late for other platforms. I have a Mac and now (gratefully) am using a beta of Notes 8.x. Why are Macs only on Beta? It's great that you released to Linux but last time I checked there are more Macs being used in business than Linux. The ones clamoring for Linux are developers/techies, not business people(in general).

    The same applies to non-MS mobile platforms versus Windows mobile support for Notes. Again, why?

    I can guess. IBM probably fixes plans years in advance and then executes against those plans. This works when technology is progressing rapidly but steadily. It does not work in disruptive times. Whether the Mac will be disruptive long-term remains to be seen but it certainly has the potentially - I'd give it odds of 0.6. Whether the iPhone will be disruptive is not in doubt. It is. I have a BB which synchs with BES and I have an iPod Touch (iPhones not offered in Canada yet). Which do you think I enjoy using more for e-mail & browsing? The iPod. Which for e-mail alone - still the iPod but the BB gives me higher productivity because of the keyboard. Notice I used the word enjoy - Apple's products are enjoyable to use. If I had an iPhone though and could browse anywhere with push (vs. pull as on the iPod) e-mail and voicemail delivered to an e-mail like mailbox, I'd pick the iPhone. Every one of the Execs my department serves would too. How will they feel when they learn Exchange syncs directly with Apple's superior (mobile) e-mail app while IBM a) does not or b) (once you release) syncs with an IBM-flavored e-mail app.

    They won't be happy.

    When iPhones are available in Canada you can bet we'll be getting a couple - if there's good support for Notes. Not on the Web either - we don't offer DWA to the Internet for security reasons - the same that prompted us to go with Notes over Exchange and allows us to use Notes in passthrough mode over the Internet. VPN-like security.

  1. 10  Mark Hughes  | 3/7/2008 8:10:03 AM

    @9 Cisco VPN is being added to the iPhone which can get you around your firewall problem. Leave everything behind your pix and just enable the VPN client on the iPhone.

  1. 11  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 3/7/2008 8:11:43 AM

    @9 - I believe the reason for Notes 8.x being late on the Mac has been covered here before. There some things that needed doing on the Eclipse framework for Mac for Notes to be ready for it. It was nothing to do with where priorities lie.

  1. 12  John Head http://www.johndavidhead.com | 3/7/2008 8:39:57 AM

    @9 - There is as good reason why Linux came before Mac ...

    1. Apple was late to the game to really get behind eclipse. The foundation needed help from Apple, since they own the hardware and OS. Apple dragged its feat

    2. I would disagree with you that Macs are being used in business more than Linux. Inside IBM, you have thousands using Linux as their primary OS. Lots of people in places such as China, India, Russia, German, and Africa are using Linux. Macs is still very confined to specific user groups (graphic artists, students, folks in the music and movie business) and has just recently made inroads into the average techy or business person.

    I am no mac-hater (I have had one as my primary laptop, and will probably go back for my next generation laptop), but let's be realistic. Just because there is a large number of macs at Lotusphere, or an exec at a company here or there have a mac, does not mean they are making strides in enterprise adoption. It is still an edge case to hear of a company have a majority number of macs. Here is the states, when working with SMB customers to look at options other than Windows, I see linux winning over macs about 90% of the time.

    I would love to see macs gain marketshare. I would also love to see IBM release everything they do, on three platforms, every single time. Reality kicks in.

  1. 13  Bill Geimer  | 3/7/2008 8:53:35 AM

    Its especially interesting when MS Office for the Mac just came out with everything, except Outlook.

  1. 14  Egor Margineanu http://www.egmar.ro | 3/7/2008 9:23:30 AM

    @13 - There is Outlook, but with different name. It's called Entourage.

  1. 15  Kevin  | 3/7/2008 10:13:39 AM

    Yea I tend to think Apple might not have been happy with IBM's information getting out there beforehand. And I also agree there is the whole "we just paid what for that license? Oh yea..." on ActiveSync.

    What is a tad frustrating is that it would have been nice if IBM Lotus was front & center party and MSFT was out there blogging about how it would have been nice if they were up there.

    But, the press & such know that IBM has plans. Perhaps the Lotus side gets more of its own news cycle when it launches. The kicker is then does Lotus look like they're just saying "me too!!" While not getting any attention.

    Tough situation.

  1. 16  Alan Hamilton  | 3/7/2008 1:08:21 PM

    IBM really needs to get its act together in the mobile space and take the whole thing more seriously. Lotus Traveler is a great start - if you've seen it - but why is it just for WM5? It's because IBM not putting the level of resource behind it that others are. To compete in the marketplace IBM needs to go after the low hanging fruit - RIM with Blackberry is a good start but the iPhone was an open goal which IBM could have scored in straight away. Now we have more and more emphasis on Exchange as a back end and the iPhone / Entourage playing at the front.

    How about IBM releasing the equivalent of SyncServices for Notes so that we can synchronise with all those devices out there through iSync. Before someone shouts "PocketMac does that" - I have bought it for Notes and cannot get it to work. I can't get support and their website doesn't work. So come on IBM - lets get serious here before the Borg take over entirely.

  1. 17  Rob McDonagh http://www.CaptainOblivious.com | 3/7/2008 9:19:58 PM

    I know the "cool" factor is pretty nebulous and of dubious enterprise business value, so maybe IBM simply doesn't care about being seen to work with "cool" companies and tech toys? I don't get that impression from Ed's comments around the blogosphere and in this post, though.

    The two coolest technology companies on the planet are Apple and Google, right? Well, we saw Apple's announcement linking the ultra-cool iPhone to Exchange the other day. We're told to expect to hear *something* kind of soon about IBM and the iPhone, and that's, well, nice. But hardly equivalent, or even in the same league as being mentioned repeatedly in a SteveNote. Apple's reasons notwithstanding, this made IBM look pathetic.

    And Google? Well, when they want their Google Apps users to be able to sync their other work and home calendars with GCal, they naturally release a free tool for that. Products supported? Outlook. Period. Here's their announcement:

    { Link }

    John Head had a great post on the topic of calendar and contacts integration (or the lack thereof) with Web 2.0 sites a while back, and this is just another example. It seems to me, knowing the little that I know, that there are only a couple of possible reasons why this keeps happening - other companies have either no incentive or no ability to release products that talk to Notes. Either they don't want to do it, or it's too difficult for them to do it. The second problem seems easier to solve, but it also seems less likely to be the issue.

    Does IBM have a plan to address the question? It would be nice to find out that there is such a plan, and also to find out how we can help. Because this is a big problem, and it's getting worse, not better.

  1. 18  Gavin Bollard http://dominogavin.blogspot.com/ | 3/9/2008 5:25:56 PM

    Unfortunately, If you simply respond to iPhone, then anything you say now will seem like copy-catting regardless of how long it's been in the pipeline.

    What I'd REALLY like to see would be a big press release;

    "IBM Outlines Lotus Notes and Domino Mobile Strategy"

    which includes;

    - Blackberry (Where's the release that lets us use ND8???)

    - Sametime on the Mobile - which mobiles?

    - iPhone

    - Traveller

    - Android

    - mNotes / Commontime

    - Connections? Does that work on Mobiles?

    Mail, Address book and Notes Apps.

    There's a lot of technology there and I'm sure you've got internal roadmaps for the technology but I'd love to see something a bit more public.

  1. 19  D Deb  | 3/9/2008 8:16:42 PM

    I work in a small company in India, with a completely haphazard IT infrastructure, it is a static media company having a mixture of Mac's and Windows. The Management has directed me to co-ordinate a revamp of their infrastructure and are planning to shift from Windows to Linux if most/all of their current graphics software works on Linux. This gives me an opportunity to pick up Linux as well as work on the Mac platform which I have wanted to all my career.

    My CEO has recently bought a blackberry and is planning to get an iPhone soon (iPhones are not officially available in India yet as far as I know). But since he is majorly into all things Apple...he will either get one from some other country or will pick it up as soon as it is released here in India in a few months.

    I will be co-ordinating the shift to Linux and have also been given the responsibility to recommend a mailing solution within a week.

    I am vacillating between Domino and some Linux based mailing solution...because of the cost advantage as well as the fact that we do not have the expertise required to run a domino setup (apart from me and I haven't worked in Domino for like 4 years, and my current role will not give me the time to dig around the nitty gritties involved in administrating the server(s). I had taken a conscious decision to move away from Domino because I had my doubts about IBM's long term plans for Domino and my perception(shared by quite a few of my certified peers) 2-3 years ago that Domino would eventually lose out to Microsoft because of lack of a coherent Marketing strategy by IBM. My perception hasn't changed much because if not Microsoft, then in my opinion eventually Lotus will have some open source competitor who will take over market share from Domino.

    Anyhow...I better not start ranting about IBM's (lack of) marketing Domino/Notes, it will be the best way for me to get flamed here :)

    My point is the fact that the iPhone announcement mentioned Exchange only is going to make it more difficult for me to recommend Domino as a solution to my management (this step will happen only after I am convinced that the cost differential between domino and a linux based email solution will be justified.

    So my humble request (from an ex-advocate of Notes/Domino who knows the power of Domino), to IBM would be to please...please....please sort yourselves out.

    On another note...in my opinion, the future of computing is open source...heck even Microsoft is starting to open themselves up gradually. Isn't it time non-corporate computer users started getting to know that there is a very powerful "e-mail" software which is better than Exchange in innumerable ways? I bet that if you take a poll of the average computer user (here in India at least), there will be quite a few who may have heard of Exchange...but there will be a high number who don't have a clue what Lotus Domino is.

    Anyway Ed, hope you don't mind my feedback even though I haven't been associated with Lotus/Domino for the last 4 years...I still miss the product and occasionally come back to your blog to see what's happening in the Lotus world.

  1. 20  david racicot  | 3/10/2008 11:36:37 AM

    @19. I recommend buying some admin training from TLCC.COM to get you and a couple other people up to speed and go with the industry proven Domino solution verses taping together a Linux email solution (how would you train and support that anyway?). Then extend then use the Domino features to solve your other needs (verses more rolls of tape piecing together products).

  1. 21  Kerr  | 3/10/2008 12:32:31 PM

    @20 "how would you train and support that anyway?"

    Zimbra?

  1. 22  Tyrone Williamson http://www.internetrecords.biz | 3/10/2008 12:50:13 PM

    @18 Your more likely to see IBM revives OS2 before you'll see them support the iPhone.]

    Exchange was already supported on the iPhone but via IMAP and not direct push activesync protocol, but hallelujah they decided to make a wise choice.

  1. 23  david racicot  | 3/10/2008 1:30:42 PM

    @21. What I meant was that the Linux solution still requires, so @19's comment "...as well as the fact that we do not have the expertise required to run a domino setup (apart from me and I haven't worked in Domino for like 4 years, and my current role will not give me the time to dig around the nitty gritties involved in administrating the server(s). " , is not really valid since not being experienced in Domino should not be a reason for not choosing it when any solution will require learning (I think I worded that like a hidewhen formula :)

  1. 24  D Deb  | 3/10/2008 9:57:35 PM

    This one didn't get posted through the web, probably due to spam filter constraints:

    @21, thanks for mentioning about Zimbra...it looks really interesting

    and will go through the features and discuss the same with our IT

    deployment partners.

    @20/@23...Thanks for your recommendation/suggestions...TLCC do offer

    some fabulous courses (I had purchased one of them when I was a Notes

    developer), however I may not have been clear in my earlier comment.

    Please allow me to clarify some points:

    1)  I have no problems in buckling down and learning new stuff...but

    my current role will not allow me the luxury of messing around with

    Domino Administration. Don't get me wrong...my fingers are itching at

    the thought of being able to get access to the Domino Administrator,

    however, since my company is not an IT company...we are outsourcing

    our IT infrastructure to a third party who will be administering our

    entire infrastructure. I am supposed to be doing Business Dev. for our

    company, but since I have some IT experience, the management has given

    me the opportunity to evaluate our current and proposed IT

    infrastructure. I am enjoying the multi-faceted role.

    2) The heart says I should recommend Domino as a mail/workflow

    solution, but the head says that it may not be a wise choice. My

    management wants a solution which is cost effective in the short term

    as well as the medium term and since we are a small company, we may go

    for Exchange/Linux Mail solution since resources are more easily

    available (and cheaper) than Domino resources at least in the city

    where I work in India. Bottom line, they feel that our IT needs should

    be met with minimal investment (cash/time/staff involvement) and the

    company should concentrate on their core business...which is Graphic

    Design. Also...for some reason, I have a feeling that picking up

    knowledge of Mac's and Linux will be a better bet for me in my career

    in the medium to long term. I would, for personal reasons, prefer to

    diversify my skillset to be more employable especially considering we

    may be entering a recession. Better for the resume.

    3)  I think that I am/was reasonably experienced in Domino...having

    worked in single server/multiple server environments in three

    different countries between '98 to '04...though I was in development,

    I did pick up a bit of administration, especially during my stint in

    the UK, I was responsible for ensuring that our webserver, which was

    hosted at an external data center in London, did not have any major

    issues. This particular UK company has now become one of the leading

    entertainment news portals in the world and as far as I am aware...it

    was on pure Domino (no websphere) until late 2006. Anyway...my point

    is that I spent nearly four years fighting and convincing the

    management of that company that they should not migrate from Domino to

    a non-Domino webserver (which they didn't eventually), I tried to

    contact a few people in IBM UK and US to see whether we were unique

    and if anybody would be interested or do a case study or something

    like that. Net result...I got stonewalled and was told unofficially

    that IBM was promoting Websphere as a portal solution and that I was

    effectively wasting my time trying to see if anybody in IBM would be

    interested in promoting Domino as an alternative to other portals/web

    servers. Nobody could answer my question why one should use Websphere

    when Domino met the requirement? I simply stopped asking the question

    and got so disgruntled that I moved away from Notes/Domino altogether

    in end 2004/05. Ed, I honestly didn't know about your blog/email in

    2004, otherwise I would definitely have got in touch with you back

    then to guide me whom to talk to. Anyway...that's neither here nor

    there.

    4) Once again...I sincerely hope that my heart can override my head

    and recommend to my current company's management that we should

    seriously consider Domino...initially as a mailing solution and

    subsequently as a workflow solution and who knows...down the line as a

    web server solution. But to come back to my previous comment and the

    subject of this post by Ed, it would make my job a lot easier if Apple

    declares that the iPhone will support  Notes, but then...if wishes

    were horses...I wouldnt be using Windows XP as an OS right now :)

    Thanks for reading...

  1. 25  Lotus Guy  | 3/12/2008 5:05:56 AM

    Deleted - no anonymous comments allowed.

  1. 26  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 3/12/2008 8:43:54 AM

    I'm glad "Lotus Guy" had the confidence in his opinion to sign it with his real name.

  1. 27  Marco Esposito http://www.inetflow.it | 8/14/2008 2:15:45 AM

    Can IBM just immagine what can be the impact on the market of Groupware products of this announcement?

    Many of our customer are really disappointed and comeptitors are really laughing for the great auto-goal IBM has done.

    This come aside with new Notes Java Client, wonderful but impossible to implement on large company with pretty old PCs (512 MB RAM are not enough) and old w32 client left behind...

    As a business partner I'm really more and more worried about the market understanding from IBM (OS2 docet).

  1. 28  ananthan http://www.trickway.blogspot.com | 8/14/2008 11:52:52 AM

    i am expecting much more performance than previous version.Hope this suits all the phone needs together with multimedia experience.

    www.trickway.blogspot.com