http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201202008
By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
July 31, 2007
NASA astronauts and other employees won't be using Apple iPhones to surf
the Internet or send text messages anytime soon -- at least not while
they're on the job.
On the other hand, they could soon have access to spiffy new
BlackBerrys.
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 indicate that Jeff Stephens, an ODIN acting project
manager who also works for defense contractor Lockheed Martin, broke the
news that the iPhone won't fly at NASA. Reached Monday at his office in
Washington, D.C., Stephens said only that, "I can't comment on that one
way or the other."
Stephens didn't respond to a follow up e-mail. Apple officials didn't
return a call Monday seeking comment.
The meeting minutes viewed by InformationWeek didn't indicate why NASA
officials believe 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.
Still, NASA employees aren't completely out in the cold when it comes to
having a hot new PDA. The July 10 meeting minutes indicate that the
agency is planning to support the new BlackBerry 8800 from Research In
Motion and the Palm Treo 750.
Received on Thu Aug 2 05:04:50 2007