Someone Figured Out the iPhone is a Computer

There was a time in the mid-20th Century where direct mail promotions had cover letters that said “put this aside, and think about it before you order,” or something similar to that. It's a stark contrast to the anywhere, anytime, anything information environment that we now count on to get through our business day.

At GraphExpo, I saw the beloved iPhone in use by various WhatTheyThink personnel (one of them had already hacked it to perform a variety of undocumented and useful tasks). It was a display for family photos, a way to surf the Internet, to keep an address book, and surprisingly, a way to actually make phone calls. One person related an incident where they met someone from Nokia who was quite perturbed that their company had products that could do what the iPhone does, and did it years ago, but was not getting market recognition for the fact. No surprise. The things that the iPhone does can be done by any computer, and that has been the case for years now. Yes, the iPhone is a computer.

The fact that it is a computer is not lost on advertisers, many pursuing the new category of “mobile marketing.” This includes cell phones as well as handheld multifunction gadgets. Come to think of it, cell phones have become computers, too; perhaps Nokia forgot to market them that way.

The mobile aspect of things is very important. Mobility has allowed companies to downsize and alter the kinds of work environments they create. Gone are the days when someone has to return to the office to catch up on phone calls, wait for a letter to arrive, or distribute memos,

Because most mobile devices are computers, and now “networked” by Wi-Fi or on cellular networks, it will become more common to execute tasks on them that one would have been considered as appropriate for notebooks or desktops. Get ready for a new acronym, MID, which means “Mobile Internet Devices,” and they will be as powerful as today's low-priced desktops.

Among these are basic office tasks, like working with documents, using a service like Glide Mobile. While iPhone comes with software to create basic documents, with Internet connectivity, there is no reason not to access services like Google documents or Thinkfree Office and have access to presentations, spreadsheets, and word processing capabilities. What is of particular note about these services is that all they require is an Internet connection, without regard to operating system, and save in all major formats, including PDF.

The iPhone has not yet been released in the UK, but publisher HarperCollins has already announced that it will release 14 book titles with its “Browse Inside” iPhone-compatible software. Users will be able to flip through a sample of the book and then download if they decide to buy. I haven't found a device I like for reading e-books other than my desktop computer, but there will be a segment of gadget lovers who will be wowed enough by yet another use of the iPhone to convince a spouse, parent, or significant other that buying it was a marvelous idea.

While corporate IT managers are often loathe to support yet another device, there is an application that was shown at Graph Expo that may assist in the adoption of the iPhone in the enterprise. We already know that micro- and small businesses have adopted applications like instant messaging and Skype phone service, leaving their corporate brethren to use them on a “rogue” basis.

But one exhibitor at Graph Expo showed an approach that might entice IT managers to adoption. Rochester Software Associates (RSA) demonstrated an interface to its WebCRD product which allows print department managers and users to submit jobs over their iPhones. Their web browser offering won an award at OnDemand earlier this year, and this offering extends that into the mobile world in a very interesting manner. The idea of using an iPhone to store documents, update them, and collaborate with others, ultimately leads to printing of them. As far as I know, RSA was the only exhibitor at the show that considers the iPhone as a legitimate computer platform. But it is a great example of where the technology is going, and reinforces my mantra that owners and managers in printing businesses must absolutely stay aware of these trends.

It will be interesting to watch as others find ways to port existing browser-based offerings to the iPhone and other mobile devices. With many suppliers having invested heavily in the Internet during the “bubble years” and only now gaining some traction as a result of those investments, the idea of supporting something as trendy the iPhone as a new platform may not be taken all that seriously. This could be a big mistake.

One thing is clear: there will be many more of these devices released over the next months and years, some using a PDA as a base, others using the cell phone as the core, and those lines will continue to blur. Even the iPhone will improve and gain more features.

One thing is not so clear: and that's almost any web page that's viewed on an iPhone. At a time when desktop screens are routinely more than 19” (diagonal measurement), switching to a small screen is quite limiting in terms of the amount of information that can be effectively displayed. Information formatting has to be optimized for the iPhone screen. It will not work to simply expect users to access a non-optimized page.  The optimization is what is unique in the RSA offering.

As I have mentioned in previous columns, this is an area where printers should become important advisors to their clients. If printers are helping customers with web strategies, assisting them in adapting that content to the iPhone and other small format devices is a very important addition to those services. For example, if a printer is producing restaurant menus, who better to transform that information to other formats, including mobile devices, online viewing, and downloading of electronic versions. When you see Sharp advertising its MFPs as a portal to find a good restaurant for a client lunch, there is a strong message to the printing industry that should be heeded. Printers are not known for having research & development (R&D). But experimenting with other platforms to create potential new offerings is just that.

Apple has a special web site that educates web developers on how to execute such projects.                                          

Dr. Joe's InBox

Economist Walter Williams had a marvelous column which outlines common misconceptions about economics.

Rupert Murdoch is still considering making the Wall Street Journal free, which would create reliance on advertising for its sole support. WSJ is the only newspaper that has been successful in charging for its content.   Contrast that with New York Times, who is backing away from its effort to create online subscription revenues for its columnists. This may be part of a larger plan for Murdoch, however, to completely eliminate the print edition. In that case, the plan may actually work, as the fixed costs of print production are eliminated. Add to that possible gains from selling ads in these venues, and it may create a net positive. In addition, the New York Times audience contains a high percentage of Internet users.

Speaking of newspapers, a Toronto area paper is now available in PDF.

In a headline that makes it seem much more dramatic than it really is, it was reported that India's paper use is doubling. That sounds like a lot, but for the eight years covered in the report, that is 9% growth annually. It turns out that 9% is not much different than India’s recent GDP growth rate. Whether or not this forecast turns out to be true, there is a “leapfrog” effect that has to be taken into account. That is, Internet connectivity and the cost of computing is declining, and many citizens of India will be drawn to the many information services and conveniences of being online. But it will take time for new media to catch on while much of the country is still on dial-up, or with no access at all. But it will happen, and paper consumption increases look more doubtful as one forecasts further into the future.

In Barrons, economist Gene Epstein had a wonderful description of the operations of the Federal Reserve:

The media portray the Federal Reserve as a kind of fatherly institution charged with keeping the unruly adolescents -- mainly the markets -- in line. The Fed is better likened to an odd combination of drug pusher, methadone clinic and rehab. If it wasn't there to dispense money and credit in such liberal quantities, those who have a tendency to overdose on the stuff would not have the means to pursue their self-destructive course, much less create a problem for the rest of us. When the problem starts getting out of hand, the Fed reverts to its methadone dispensing and rehab phase, which is where it is now.