iPhones, Android devices challenge BlackBerrys for supremacy at organizations

By Jonathan Hemmerdinger, CEO Update

Doug Pinkham calls himself a late smartphone adopter. Until last year, the Public Affairs Council head survived without any high-tech mobile device.

Pinkham didn't hide his old-school approach. When he received emails with the familiar tag line, "Sent from my iPhone," he'd respond, snidely, "Not sent from an iPhone."

A year and a half ago, however, Pinkham bought one. And changed his tune.

"I don't know how I lived without it," he said. "It's indispensable."

For years, associations provided smartphones - mobile phones with computer abilities - to staffers. But in the past, BlackBerrys ruled the roost. In recent years, however, technology improved, new brands emerged and the intersection blurred between social media and business communication.

These days, options abound for groups seeking more than mobile email.

The BlackBerry, released in 1999 by Research In Motion Limited, is still considered by many the gold standard for basic business communication such as mobile access to email, calendar items and business contacts.

But new players emerged. Apple's iPhone, introduced in 2007, made inroads with a user-friendly design, a variety of applications, the now ubiquitous "apps," and an improved web-browsing experience. Apple's latest iPhone 4, out June 24, offers video-calling app FaceTime, a sharper screen, high-definition video recorder and a five-megapixel camera.

No smartphone conversation is complete without mention of Google's Android, released a few years ago. Not a phone exclusively, it is a distinct smartphone operating system. A variety of wireless carriers offer Android-powered phones. And because Android's "open" software platform allows third-party software developers to add functions, some experts predict Android-based phones will soon out-app iPhones.

Groups use device mix

An informal CEO Update survey of 27 associations found that more than three-quarters are using BlackBerrys primarily and about half use BlackBerrys exclusively. Just a few groups rely primarily or exclusively on non-Blackberry devices.

At the American Frozen Food Institute, all but a few staffers have iPhones, and at two groups-American Public Transportation Association and ASAE - staffers use a mix of iPhones, Android phones and Microsoft's Windows Phone.

About a third of the associations surveyed, however, support multiple devices; some groups let staffers choose, others base phone decisions on staffers' job requirements. And some associations issue BlackBerrys, but subsidize staffers using personal devices for business use.

Android phones fill the mix at about a quarter of the groups and a few use Windows Phones.

Making the ‘smarter' switch

Reggie Henry, chief technology officer at ASAE, said his group has transitioned from BlackBerrys to "smarter phones," like iPhones and Android phones. These, he said, offer the greatest availability of applications.

Henry said ASAE staffers use web conference apps and apps that interface with Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites.

If some of those apps sound tailored to personal use, think again, Henry said. Businesses and organizations increasingly embrace the social media space.

ASAE, he said, has a Facebook page and a networking group on LinkedIn. The new phones bridge the increasingly narrow gap between what is business and personal, he said.

Moving toward fun at work

Another group to make the iPhone switch is AFFI, which, until last year, used only BlackBerrys. But in November, as part of sweeping IT modernization, the group evaluated other smartphone options.

AFFI vice president of communications Chuck Fuqua said the group wanted better user-interface and improved functionality, but was careful to avoid a product "that sparkles and shines but didn't meet out needs."

Eventually, AFFI settled on iPhones, which Fuqua said "really improved" the mobile office experience. Now staffers can easily read Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and effortlessly magnify online news stories-functions not available on older devices.

An added benefit, Fuqua said: Staffers can personalize iPhones with music and apps. "We all have a life outside work ... They are for work purposes, but ... as long as [there is no extra] cost to the association, it benefits us."

But the blurring of the business-pleasure boundary concerns some IT executives. "Once you have an iPhone, you want to use it for both" business and pleasure, said John Sullivan, chief information officer at American Chemical Society. "As an IT executive ... I certainly don't want your iTunes songs backed up on my server."

If it's not broke...

Sullivan said ACS staffers primarily use BlackBerrys, which, unlike some of the newer devices, were developed for business use from the start.

He and other technology insiders credit BlackBerrys with powerful "centralized control" features. IT departments can restrict the devices to certain applications and lost or stolen BlackBerrys can be remotely "wiped" clean of proprietary information.

Henry at ASAE, however, said most of the new smartphones have similar security features.

Still, Sullivan said, "For most of the people we support, the driving force is still the ability to communicate with ACS ... In terms of a device [to] communicate and respond by email, there is still nothing that beats [Black- Berry]," which is "tried and true."

But for some ACS staffers, basic communication isn't enough. The group has increased its online communications to members and recently released a research delivery app for iPhones called ACS Mobile.

"The mobile device that lends itself to consuming our scientific info is the iPhone. The experience of browsing the Internet on an iPhone is much better - [it's] faster and easier to read," Sullivan said.

Therefore, in recent months ACS has provided iPhones to a handful of staffers with "demonstrated need," Sullivan said.

Service remains a D.C.-centric issue

Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said only one thing holds him back from swapping his BlackBerry for an iPhone - dropped calls.

Hunt said it's "widely known" that AT&T, the only U.S. iPhone service provider, has spotty service on Capitol Hill and little or no service in Washington, D.C.'s Metro subway system.

For that reason - and that reason only - Hunt said CBA is a BlackBerry-only group.

That's why others stick with BlackBerry, he added. "Some lobbyists tried the iPhone and gave it up ... If your business is centered around the capitol, you are much more likely to have a BlackBerry than an iPhone."

But outside Washington, Hunt said, iPhones rule.

"When I travel across the country, most people I communicate with have iPhones. There is a big difference between inside the Beltway and outside."