Is the iPhone, Blackberry, or [an]Driod better for work ? The answer is easy. "What every your corporate policies supports."

You were expecting a discussion on features? Sorry. Features are irrelevant if you can’t get to them. So, unless you company puts in the effort to support your favorite device, you are going to have a much better experience with what ever device they DO support. Here is an example.

I work for a company that has had the Blackberry Enterprise Server connected up to our mail files and calendaring and corporate directory for years. I grab my Blackberry and go. I get my email. I have my calendar always up to date. I have my contacts and I can search the corporate directory. I even get access to company internal web sites. It all just works. The only effort on my part is the password protection screen on the device.

Compare that with my iPhone experience. I have a similar strong password requirement on the iPhone but the on-screen keyboard means a lot of mode changing to get to the numbers and special characters. Next, I have to setup a VPN on the device with it’s own ID and password. (Fortunately this only needs to be messed with every 90 days). Next, there is the ActiveSync setup with yet another ID and password (again, good for 90 days). There is also the issue of profiles and certificates. I should add that the VPN is non-persistent. You have to turn it on anytime the device sits idle for more 30 minutes (or something like that) in order to get a connection to the corporate servers so "push" isn’t really "push".

Yes, I like the iPhone better than the Blackberry because of the screen and the apps and lots of other stuff. Ask me to use the iPhone for work and give up my Blackberry ?! Not likely.

image: geardiary.com