James Delahunty
6 Mar 2008 16:49
Apple Inc. is looking to attract more business users for its iPhone product by improving e-mail capabilities. The iPhone's abilities for corporate e-mail have been cited as a big reason why business users buy competing products from other manufacturers. To attack this weakness, Apple is adding support for Microsoft Corp.'s Exchange software, becoming more competitive with Blackberry and Treo Smartphones.
The company is also intensifying its search for developers interested in creating third-party applications for the device, but Apple's approval policy is likely to turn many developers off the idea. Previously, Apple allowed developers to produce applications only through the web and not with the same tools as Apple developers.
To lure developers to the iPhone, Apple has enlisted the help of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, providing a $100 million "iFund". "That should be enough to start about a dozen Amazons or even four Googles," Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr said. "And if we're running out of money we'll run around and look for more."
Doerr backed both Google and Amazon in their infancy. At Apple's headquarters on Thursday, demonstrations were carried out by executives from Electronic Arts and Sega, showing off games that had been developed for the iPhone.