Filed under: Enterprise, iPhone
Your congressman wants an iPhone
TheHill.com is reporting that members of the U.S. House of Representatives could be getting iPhones when they return to Washington, D.C. after the elections.The Chief Administrative Office (CAO) oversees all communications systems for the House and has been testing a small number of iPhones to see how they meet the needs of congressmen and their staffs.
House members and their staffs currently use RIM BlackBerry devices, with nearly 8,200 installed. The CAO delivers all emails to the BlackBerrys using a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. A new server would be required for the iPhones, so the CAO wants to test the devices and email delivery prior to making a decision to approve use of iPhones.
The CAO is testing iPhones simply because a number of people had requested them as an option. If the CAO does approve the iPhone and lawmakers decide to switch, they'll pay for the devices out of their Member's Representational Allowance (i.e., taxpayers will be paying for them).
Adoption of the iPhone by the U.S. Congress could be another blow to RIM, which is now behind Apple in terms of sales and revenues. Apple CEO Steve Jobs gleefully reported that "Apple beat RIM" during yesterday's Q4 Earnings Call.
Thanks to Kyle for the tip!
Update: Jordan Golson points out TheHill.com got this story all wrong.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joonas Trussmann said 4:15PM on 10-22-2008
Is it just me or does the following situation seem very very scary.
1. House member joins open Wifi network with jailbroken iPhone
2. root + alpine
3. ???
4. profit ... or some seriously bad sh*t
Reply
mrsteveman1 said 4:24PM on 10-22-2008
i don't see how thats a mark against the iphone, currently available WinMo devices will run code as-is with no jailbreak necessary.
Does anyone know if the code signing on the iphone is enforced by the kernel? That would seem to me to be a significant security feature for government workers, along with the remote wipe stuff.
noza said 4:35PM on 10-22-2008
Seems unlikely, mostly because:
a) the average person (of which you'd hope your Congressperson is one of) just doesn't care about jailbreaking
b) given that his or her iPhone would be provided by the Government as a government-owned asset, restrictions could and would be put in place as to what could and could not be done with them.
paul said 7:34PM on 10-22-2008
No KarlW, this does not come out of the money we pay them (their salaries). Your analogy is incorrect.
grumpyOldMan said 10:14PM on 10-22-2008
uhm... are you f*$#ing serious? How's about they not get an iPhone and "suffer" like most Americans with just their Blackberries...
oh and possibly worry about more important problems? Unless there is an app in the AppStore that fixes the problems with our economy, our healthcare system, our infrastructure and our education system. Is that what that shiny jewel app that cost $10,000 did and the rest of us just didn't realize it?
Tchad said 6:47AM on 10-23-2008
It is interesting to see that they will require a BES - like server to run the iPhones. Does anyone know if this is a a sign of some sort of new Enterprise Version of an iPhone deployment?
Ragnar Danneskjold said 4:15PM on 10-22-2008
Glad I could buy those for them. I hope I buy them nice cases and screen protectors too.
Reply
Travis said 4:21PM on 10-22-2008
And this money is coming from...... where?
Reply
jP said 4:41PM on 10-22-2008
Refer to W-2 form at this time.
KarlW said 4:55PM on 10-22-2008
Ultimately it comes from the taxpayer. Don't moan about it, because you employ them. They work for that money. You may moan about how much they get, but you have no say about what they do with that money. How would you like it if your boss took a look at what you bought and forbid that $100 pot allowance?
Le Big Mac said 4:57PM on 10-22-2008
As the article explains, the same place the money for blackberries come from.
I don't see this as an issue. A bunch of staff are going to insist on keeping their BBs, since they're used to them. The BBs of staff who want iPhones will be used for the staffers who lose their BBs and need a new one.
AT said 4:46PM on 10-22-2008
There is still no encryption. I can't imagine the CAO approving the iPhone.
Come on Apple this could be your chance! Give Enterprise the REAL tools we need!!
Reply
Suyash Sonwalkar said 4:10PM on 10-23-2008
Actually, the iPhone supported VPN and encrypted email. I'm sure they'll use one or both.
grull27 said 4:51PM on 10-22-2008
It's kind of creepy that this article was posted right after I put McCain wallpaper on my iPhone 3G. D:
Reply
anonymous.bosch said 5:10PM on 10-22-2008
ZOMFG it's even more creepy that you put McCain/Palin wallpaper on your phone!
Justin said 6:19PM on 10-22-2008
Yeah, definitely creepy that someone would support a different candidate than you! ZOMFG!
Tony said 4:52PM on 10-22-2008
I guess I can see iPhones being given as an option, but it wouldn't necessarily be the best choice for Congressmen/Congresswomen, because the AT&T coverage in the DC area isn't really spectacular, in my experience (though I don't live there anymore, so who knows).
Reply
iomatic said 4:53PM on 10-22-2008
Two things:
1) Passcode security will be fine.
2) I'd rather our gov't send money back to Cupertino than Calgary (or wherever the F they make Blackberries).
Reply
Quix said 5:09PM on 10-22-2008
Makes sense that our Congress should be using American iPhones and not Canadian Blackberrys. After all, the government's vehicle fleet isn't filled with Hondas and Toyotas...
Reply
Beanie said 5:18PM on 10-22-2008
Hopefully this would give AT&T incentive to improve their craptacular network in D.C., I doubt there could be that great of service inside the Capitol building. I should know, I live right next to it and have an iPhone 3G.
Reply