Chapter 10. iPhone

Practically every conversation about integrating Mac OS X into enterprise environments tends to include the iPhone in some way or another. iPhones are a darling of the consumerization set because they're cool, feature rich, extensible and allow for integration with a number of other solutions. The iPhone also has a number of features developed almost specifically for satisfying the needs of large organizations. Most notably is the ability to integrate into Microsoft Exchange. While the iPhone can also be used to support other messaging solutions, its native Exchange support provides the most seamless integration and doesn't require third party software

The iPod touch is similar to the iPhone, but is lacking in some of the core features that are found in the iPhone. Most notably is the fact that it is not a phone—it's an iPod. Physically, the iPod touch does not have a microphone, camera, or Bluetooth. The iPod touch also comes with a different dock, has a headphone jack on the bottom, and older models didn't have a built-in speaker. The iPod touch is otherwise very similar to the iPhone, because they are spec'd similarly performance wise and both run the same software stack. Therefore, the iPod touch makes a good low-cost alternative solution to the iPhone for testing and remote support staff. Throughout this chapter we will note when referencing a feature available exclusively for one.

The iPhone and iPod touch both take advantage of a rich development framework and are b built on a subset of OS X's Cocoa development platform, Cocoa Touch. This is a mobile optimized development environment that allows for the creation of feature rich, user-friendly applications. The numbers of applications that have been published to the App Store, Apple's online marketplace, are a testament to the extensibility of the underlying language. There is definitely a learning curve to writing applications for the iPhone for those without previous development experience. Those with OS X development experience, or experience with other Object Oriented languages, should be able to familiarize themselves with the environment quickly. In some cases, it will be easier to develop applications that can be leveraged using a web browser, thus enabling a number of different platforms to connect to the application and rapid development of portals customized for each type of device that may be supported.

In this chapter we will cover all the burning questions an enterprise organization might ask, given an upcoming mass deployment and integration project. We begin with the basics: how to configure the iPhone and iPod touch for most of the systems found in a large organization. Next, we move on to automating the installation and configuration of the devices. Then we discuss the ecosystem: strategies for making the iPhone and iPod touch as useful in your organization as a desktop computer. Finally, we look at troubleshooting the iPhone and iPod touch.