Nokia - Mobility and VoIP
Nokia is a really interesting company that I view through two different lenses. They make some really rock solid firewall appliances that I've implemented and built into the architecture of several enterprise networks. They also make some of the most reliable and rock-solid cell phones I've ever used. Their name catches my eye whenever it's in the news. This caught my eye just now -
Nokia eyes business apps, VoIP integrationMobile communications giant Nokia has stepped up its push into the enterprise by releasing its Intellisync integration software locally, with plans to better integrate with VoIP infrastructure.
While specialist players like BlackBerry and Good have targeted enterprise e-mail and groupware, Nokia is hedging its bets on offering a phone which can interoperate with any back-end system and still remain manageable.
General manager of Nokia's enterprise solutions, Vaughn Madeley, said the availability of Intellisync will allow local enterprises to integrate many types of back-end applications, including those developed in-house, and make them available in the field.
"With Intellisync we can provide an enterprise with push e-mail, [but] the IT managers' issues were about how to manage these devices and operating systems which Intellisync allows them to do," Vaughn said, adding the software also allows devices to be erased over the air. "The next question was about being able to take back-office CRM systems and bringing them out on the road to devices."
Vaughn said part of Nokia's Intellisync acquisition was to allow for application extendibility.
Nokia's new E series "business optimized" devices ship with the client software pre-installed and the Intellisync server is purchased separately.
"IT managers say 'that's great, but I want to consolidate devices from a management perspective' and that's why we brought out the E series which are 3G and wireless," Vaughn said. "As a dual-mode device, if you are running a VoIP environment at the end of this year you will be able to get a client that will allow you to step from a GSM to VoIP by switching manually and seamlessly, in the future."
First, I should point out that I don't use a Nokia phone. I'm on Verizon and use a Treo 700w. And I'm on Verizon and use a Blackberry. I don't plan on switching any time soon, but keep an eye on Nokia. What they're doing with their latest devices is really pushing the envelope of application integration and they'll be a strong leader in VoIP and fixed mobile convergence
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Comments
The intellisync Mobile Suite (which I believe is what they are referring to here) is a pretty sweet product. From an end user point of view, it gives you a BlackBerry-like experience. Put that on a Nokia E61 and you've pretty much replicated the experience down to the form factor with WiFi to boot.
Posted by: PhoneBoy | July 19, 2006 11:36 PM
I have the nokia e61 and I must say this phone does it all! My wife has a treo and there is no comparison. This is also my very first nokia phone and I am mad at myself for waiting so long to try them out. Do yourself a favor and just play with this baby for a few.
Posted by: enoch benjamin | July 22, 2006 8:57 PM
I'd love to play with the new Nokia's but my carrier (VZW) doesn't use Nokia and I'm at a point where I need to buy multiple plans from multiple carriers. I love the Treo myself and it suits my needs really well, but I sure would love to play with some of the other options in the larger market. We'll just have to rely on you guys who have Nokias to tell us how they're doing in WiFi integration and all.
Posted by: Ken | July 23, 2006 10:37 PM
I have recently purchased a Nokia E61 from the States, unlocked, and have gotten a T-Mobile account for it. The primary reason for getting this was to see if I could use the WiFi capability in conjunction with a Call Manager 4.x I have in house, but I just found out that Nokia has not yet released the skinny client for this phone (even if it was promised for the first half of this year).
As a long time user of Treos, I have to say that the E61 is really nicer and more robust in all the apps, but I would like to find from some other users how else I could leverage its capabilities, in a VoIP environment - any pointers to such would be helpful.
Posted by: Stefan | July 24, 2006 6:17 AM