Smartphone Corporate Tools
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WHITE PAPER Apple iPhone and RIM Blackberry – Consumer gadget vs. Corporate tool? By John Thompson & Peter Cocks September 2010 Sponsored by: Neil Davison – Head of IT, Farrer & Co LLP Jan Durant – Director of IT and Operations, Lewis Silkin LLP Simon Earnshaw – Director of IT, Dickinson Dees LLP Mabel Evans – Head of IT Services, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP James Harrison – Head of IT, Leigh Day & Co Angela McMahon – IT Support Manager, Mishcon de Reya 1 ABSTRACT This paper considers the advantages and disadvantages of both Apple’s iPhone 4 and RIM’s BlackBerry Torch 9800 (to be released in the UK in October 2010), providing a comparison of key considerations for IT managers, such as the security levels supported, relative hardware costs, remote management functionality and respective device usability. This Paper will not be considering other alternative smartphones in the current marketplace, such as those with different operating systems, e.g. Android (HTC Desire), or Bada (Samsung Wave). The Apple iPad has however been acknowledged in this research, as it is expected to emerge as a viable alternative business tool, and in the legal sector it was recently reported that Eversheds were due to run an iPad triali. The iPad also faces competition from rivals such as Samsung, Dell and Fujitsu (running both Windows 7 and Android operating systems)ii; and it is widely rumoured that Apple will be releasing a 7” “mini-iPad” in time for Christmas 2010iii. RIM have also very recently announced the launch of a new tablet called the PlayBook which is rumoured to have better overall performance than the iPad. 2 About Consulting Stream Consulting Stream are firm of independent management consultants that help law firms to articulate the need for technology-enabled change, then help them to successfully deliver the benefits. We have extensive operational business change and outsourcing experience gained from working cross-sector and from advising both vendors and clients – so we know what works. We are specialists in designing, procuring, implementing and improving change programmes. Established in 2001, Consulting Stream have advised many major private and public sector clients ( www.consultingstream.com ), and have also worked with law firms on assignments as diverse as practice management procurement, case management procurement, programme management and programme recovery, IT strategy and organisation, outsourcing, service improvement planning and business strategy. AUTHORS John Thompson has been with Consulting Stream since 2006 and is an experienced technical project manager and service improvement specialist. Contact: [email protected] Peter Cocks has been with Consulting Stream since 2006 and is an outsourcing and procurement specialist. Peter is also a partner at the firm. Contact: [email protected] 3 INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the BlackBerry has become the de facto standard for mobile personal digital assistants (PDAs) in law firms. In November 2009, it commanded a 20.8% share of worldwide smartphone salesiv and has gained popularity through its intuitive interface, simple functions, with a full physical QWERTY keyboard (with the exception of the Storm series). As a result, lawyers have adopted it as their preferred tool when out of the office, surpassing the use of laptop computers for e-mail in many cases. In the past few years, we have also seen an increase in additional BlackBerry applications aimed at lawyers, including mobile time recording, access to documents stored in the document management system and mobile digital dictation, all of which have increased adoption rates further, strengthening its position as an (almost) complete mobile office alternative. However, many lawyers still primarily use their BlackBerry just for email even using another mobile phone for voice calls. The iPhone has shipped more than 50m handsets globally from its launch in 2007v, and with sales of 5.2 million units in Q4 2008, Apple surpassed those of BlackBerry for the quarter making Apple also briefly the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after Nokia and Samsungvi. The iPhone has singlehandedly transformed the way in which consumers use smartphone devices and with the availability of applications, combined with its intuitive, easy-to-use touchscreen interface, has driven a huge increase in the use of mobile data. With support for e-mail and web access and an increasing number of business applications, lawyers are asking firms to move their smartphone from BlackBerry to iPhone. So as it was in the early days of the BlackBerry, IT managers are now being challenged to ensure that the required level of security and quality of support is maintained for business iPhones. The question then is, ‘How does the iPhone stack up against the widely used Blackberry devices?’ 4 DEVICE USABILITY The BlackBerry is generally recognised as the better email manager of the two smartphones in part due to its QWERTY keyboard. It also synchs with the now mature BlackBerry Enterprise server which has built-in support for nearly every email provider. iPhone has however been rapidly progressing over the last two years to challenge the position of BlackBerry as a business tool but until recently was lacking enterprise support. iPhone is considered as having a much more inituitive interface and better overall device performance. iPhone also supports multiplatform and leading edge ‘activity stream’ applications, such as Socialcast and secure cloud-based file sharing, and collaboration tools such as Dropbox. In this respect, it can now be considered a serious contender in the corporate smartphone world. Smartphone functions Both smartphones can provide the following key functionality: • Shortcuts • Web access • Email management system • Multiple emails (both incoming and “smart” replying - associating the correct email address with which to reply) The BlackBerry phone also contains the following: • Macros • Separate QWERTY keypad, in addition to a touchscreen keyboard • Discreet flashing LED to highlight new mail (unlike the iPhone’s notifications, which can pop up and interfere with the current application running). For both phones, viewing and amending documents can be awkward due to the size of the screen. The iPhone, with its larger screen, may be slightly more comfortable (however, the on-screen keypad does reduce the document viewing area); but neither match the ease and comfort of a computer or laptop screen. Both phones can show documents in both portrait and landscape modes, by simply turning the device onto its side. The image can also be zoomed in on, to raise the font size of the text for ease of reading and editing. This can improve the reading legibility of both documents and emails. The better experience of the two is currently the iPhone but Blackberry are expected to launch within the next year a new device series that offers similar screen size and performance to the iPhone. 5 In addition to using the smartphones for viewing and amending documents, both devices can also download business Applications such as: • Mobile time recording (time/expense tracker) • Mobile digital dictation • Secure cloud based file services • Citrix receiver, allowing secure access to virtual desktops, applications and data • Securing critical information using strong encryption and password protection • Spreadsheets, word processors and databases • GPS location / sat-nav • VoIP, allowing free calls over Wi-Fi and 3G Battery power The battery life of Smartphones has been an issue with many business users when compared to traditional phones. This is typically caused by functions that need to use the data network, e.g. e-mail polling, web downloads and GPS functionality, although heavy phone use and keeping Bluetooth always switched on will also drain battery life. There are several websites that recommend tips on making smartphones’ battery life last longer between charges, such as: http://www.examiner.com/ iPhone-in-national/how-to-save-iPhone-battery-life Due to better memory and power management, and lower screen resolution (requiring less power), the BlackBerry typically lasts longer between charges than the iPhone. (See the End Notes Section for detailed comparisons). BlackBerry Torch battery life is estimated at 5.8 hours of talk time and six hours of video playback, and also can have its battery replaced with a fully charged one, if necessary. The iPhone’s battery is integrated and cannot be replaced easily. Management of downloads, updates, etc. Both devices can be managed remotely via the IT Department’s Enterprise Management System. It is recommended that IT departments “push” Application and IT policy updates during off-peak hours to minimise disruptions to usersvii. Synchronising requires the user to attach their iPhone/BlackBerry to a computer and access updates via a PC’s browser (as it may need to reboot). It is also preferred for up- or down-loading application updates, music, photos or videos, due to their size. Quality of iPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is extremely rigid, dense and sturdy. The handset is predominately constructed from two glass panels that make up the front and rear of the phone. The initial reaction is that this may make the phone susceptible to picking up marks, and 6 in the worse case actually breaking. This is no normal glass however, thanks to a special treatment it undergoes during its production. The result is a panel that is approximately 30 times tougher than plastic. To put things in to perspective, it is likened to the glass used on high speed trainsviii. The biggest known problem with the iPhone 4 is the well-publicised “death grip”, where the holding of the phone in a particular manner causes its antenna to drop its signal, to the point where an airwave connection is lost. Although Apple has released an update to the operating system in September 2010 (OS v4.1), this does not provide a software fix to this hardware problem. Rubber surrounds have proved to help reduce the signal reduction issue.