No iPhone for You

NASA to employees: 'No iPhone for you!'

One of the gripes about the iPhone outlined in Dwight Silverman's review in today's Computing column is that it doesn't work well as a business device. Apparently, IT managers at NASA agrees with him.

From InformationWeek:
The space agency has determined the iPhone "not to be enterprise ready," according to the minutes of a July 10 meeting of NASA tech officials obtained by InformationWeek.

According to the minutes, the decision was made by officials within NASA's ODIN program office. ODIN, or Outsourcing Desktop Initiative For NASA, is a program under which NASA is outsourcing computer supply and support to private-sector companies.

The meeting minutes viewed by InformationWeek didn't indicate why NASA officials feel the iPhone isn't ready for prime time as a business tool. However, analysts at IT research firm Gartner last month issued a research bulletin on the iPhone that outlined a range of concerns.

Among them: lack of support from major device management and mobile security software suites, lack of removable batteries, and Apple's exclusive contract with network provider AT&T.

Not "enterprise ready," eh? Insert your own Star Trek joke here.

NASA did approve the RIM BlackBerry 8800 and the Palm Treo 750 for employee use, however.