Earlier this month, Consumer Reports published (http://bit.ly/auU0c6) a blog entry confirming a design defect in Apple’s iPhone 4 that can lead to signal-strength degradation and dropped calls for some users. Apple responded a few days later by announcing they will give current iPhone 4 customers a “bumper” case that alleviates the problem. Even with this dust-up, Apple sold some three million of these devices in a scant few weeks after its release.
This feat followed the no-less notable launch of Apple’s iPad. While the technorati rushed to issue their lukewarm reviews, consumers told a different story. Even the market tizzy generated by Apple’s decision to take a “No Flash Spoken Here” approach to its content gateway couldn’t keep customers away; sales of iPads hit the three million mark in the first 80 days following the product’s launch.
What unites these devices is both the sleek design of the hardware and (soon) the operating system that runs them. Previously called iPhone OS, Apple’s newly-branded iOS 4 provides a number of features that make the devices running it far more suitable to a work environment than past releases. And while sales of the iPhone 4 may stall temporarily, backwards compatibility with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S raises considerably the number of iOS 4 devices in use today (note: the iPad version of iOS 4 will be released this Fall).
Apple has always struggled to penetrate the world of enterprise computing; their refusal to license the Mac OS to third-party developers and manufacturers has kept their price points beyond the reach of most enterprise budgets. But the advances and upgrades in iOS 4, especially in light of the rapidly growing installed base, make this an interesting option for those considering an enterprise-wide mobile learning and support solution. Indeed, companies like Unisys and Novartis have already made i-devices and the iOS a central part of their mobile strategy. Because it is an operating system, of course, there are no features in iOS 4 that carry a “designed specially to support learning” label. At the same time, there are many features in iOS 4, and in the devices that use it, that developers can exploit to create applications that will facilitate a wide variety of learning strategies, from traditional classroom instructor-led settings, to collaborative designs, to mobile learning-on-the-go and performance support.
iOS 4 for the user
While iOS has its roots in telephony, iOS 4 is packed with new features (“hundreds,” by Apple’s count), the majority of which have nothing to do with how the actual phone works. To be sure, Apple has made some improvement in the quality of the phone experience; noise cancelling has been introduced to reduce interference from ambient noise. Even with this, the upgrades in iOS 4 make it clear that Apple intends for its i-devices to be robust media consumption and production tools for the masses rather than just fancy phones or media readers.
One of the most oft-heard complaints about the iPhone has been its inability to handle multiple tasks at one time. iOS 4 answers that complaint by enabling users to look up a phone number while talking on the phone, for example, or to listen to music while doing e-mail. Multi-tasking, as Apple calls it, also applies to third-party apps, making it possible to check a movie time online while conducting a Skype call or read e-mail while uploading pictures to Facebook.
Other forms of communication have been upgraded as well. Mail in iOS 4 has a unified inbox, enabling users to view e-mail from multiple accounts within a single inbox. Text messaging now easily incorporates pictures or video in the message stream, and a single message can be sent to multiple recipients at once.
Personal organization features have been expanded in iOS 4. Users can bundle apps into Folders, which iOS 4 will automatically name based on the common category of the folder’s contents. Alternatively, users can create their own naming scheme. With the addition of this feature, users can load up to 2,160 apps organized into 180 unique folders. The challenge of finding what you’re seeking is mitigated by the search feature.
In fact, the search experience within the device (i.e., not Internet search) has been vastly improved with the introduction of Voice Command. Using Voice Command, not only can users easily find the app or data they seek, but they can also launch a task at the same time. Speaking the command “Call Liz” will locate Liz’s contact information from Contacts and immediately initiate a call to her; “Play Brent Schlenker” will search the audio library, create a playlist of all tracks – music or Podcasts – by Brent Schlenker, and launch the iPod player to begin playback.
iOS 4 and the iPhone 4
The real advances to the operating system are best reviewed in the context of the devices that run it; Apple designed iOS 4 to fit like a hand in a glove with the iPhone 4. From the user’s perspective, the emphasis is on photo and video production, editing, sharing, and viewing – with a special twist.
The iPhone 4 has two cameras, one on each side of the device. The camera on the back has been upgraded to 5 megapixels, and is capable of shooting HD video. There is also a video camera on the front facing the user. FaceTime, the video calling feature of iOS 4, enables two iPhone 4 users to see each other during a call. It also enables a user to “share what she sees” by transmitting the video or still images from the camera on the back of the phone to the user on the other end. If a field technician comes across a part that she can’t identify, she can call her support desk and use real-time video to show her colleague the part and its location.
iOS 4 and the enterprise
Each of the features mentioned above plays an important role in enterprise adoption, and Apple has further extended these capabilities to ensure enterprise compatibility.
Most significant to users is integration with Microsoft Exchange and other standards-based enterprise e-mail servers via Exchange ActiveSync. Built in security protocols enable secure VPN connections to maintain data security during transmission; hardware-based encryption keeps data on the device secure; data backups to a user’s iTunes account can be further encrypted by the user or IT manager.
While not part of iOS 4, iTunes plays at least a minimal role in any enterprise deployment. Each device must be activated via iTunes, and all software updates and backups are done in iTunes. Administrators can tailor their corporate deployment so that it adheres to corporate policies and procedures, including turning off the iTunes store, the App Store, and the iBook store.
This iTunes requirement does not preclude the enterprise from using its own or third-party servers for configuration, wireless updates, and on-going management of all i-devices. Referred to collectively as Mobile Device Management, iOS 4 continues to incorporate existing technologies (e.g., Configuration Profiles, Over-the-Air Enrollment, and the Apple Push Notification service) and these are compatible with in-house or third-party server solutions. Once an i-device is activated, IT managers can securely enroll it in the enterprise environment, wirelessly configure and update settings, monitor compliance with corporate policies, and remotely wipe or lock it should it be lost or stolen.
In an enterprise deployment, accessibility is an important concern, and the customizable interface enabled by iOS 4 addresses this issue in many ways. Some of the more impressive advancements include:
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Voice Control (described above) – enables user to control the device via audio commands
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VoiceOver – provides an audio description of what’s on the screen. Blind or visually impaired users can touch an area of the display to hear the text read or to hear an image described. In dragging her figure around the display, the user can hear and understand the spatial and contextual relationships between different screen elements.
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Visual Voicemail – displays a log of each individual voicemail received, allowing the user to select which messages to play and in what order. During playback, each message can be controlled with a scrubber bar so that only a portion of a message can be repeated.
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Multi-language support – immediately upon activation, iOS 4 supports 24 languages in Voice Control, has 40 international keyboard layouts, and speaks 21 languages in VoiceOver.
Our app for that
The launch of the appStore within iTunes together with the iPhone SDK turned out to be the launch of an industry. With over 200,000 apps for the iPhone and upwards of 1 billion downloads from the appStore, apps are what give i devices the smarts and the horsepower to be true productivity and creativity tools.
Apple has aggressively courted enterprise application developers, and many big name developers have released iOS 4-compatible apps. Oracle, Salesforce, SocialText, Cisco, and IBM/Lotus are just a few of the world-class developers that provide client apps, dashboard apps, and other apps to bring their solutions to iOS-device users.
For environments using in-house servers and solutions, Apple provides the iOS software development kit ($299 for enterprise edition). The SDK incorporates over 1,500 APIs, including Calendar access, in-app SMS, Map Kit improvements for generating custom routes, Accelerate for incorporating hundreds of complex equations, and Accelerometer for 3-D positioning. Additionally, the SDK incorporates many new services (e.g., Multi-tasking, Store Kit framework for in-app purchases, and Push Notifications), as well as access to media features like Audio, Camera and Photos, and the Media Library.
Apple’s new market services
Having experienced such success with the iTunes store and the appStore, Apple has announced additional market services for its developer community. These are not strictly part of iOS 4, but are intended to become part of Apple’s i device ecosystem.
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iBooks – The iBooks app is a separate, free app that gives an i device e-reader capabilities. Titles for iBooks can be purchased from Apple’s iBook store.
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iAd – Apple’s mobile advertising network launched July 1, 2010. iAd allows users to stay within their app while engaging with an in-app ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchasing. Developers who join the iAd Network can incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60-percent of the iAd Network revenue, paid via iTunes Connect.
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Game Center – So far, Apple has only released a “developer preview” of the GameKit APIs. But Apple says they will be launching a social gaming network later in 2010.
Available content
The content hub for all things iOS is, of course, iTunes Store. While the appStore has some apps with a learning focus, few are oriented to an enterprise environment. iTunes U, however, is a library unto itself of content that is available from colleges and universities, as well as some private organizations. Finding content appropriate to one’s requirements or needs requires a great deal of diligence, as the search capabilities of the iTunes platform are limited, as is the metadata tagging capability. Still, patience, along with trial-and-error, can uncover the roses in the thorns.
Conclusion
Apple is still building out the framework for its mobile ecosystem, and each addition and upgrade brings exciting new capabilities and possibilities. The current version of Apple’s operating system for its mobile devices together with the hardware features of the iPhone 4 and the iPad are optimized to take full advantage of what iOS 4 has to offer. Apple has forged important partnerships among enterprise solution providers to facilitate rapid integration, and has paid fastidious attention to data, device, and network security. These factors taken together with the rapidly expanding installed base make the i-device/iOS 4 combination quite attractive to the enterprise IT manager.
While addressing leading-edge connectivity well, the iOS 4 environment has little readily available content for workplace learning situations. Enterprises with specific content or performance management requirements will need to rely on in-house or contracted developers to create appropriate solutions for them. Fortunately, Apple provides a robust SDK for app development that draws on the features, services, and technologies of their latest releases.
