Every conversation about integrating Mac OS X into enterprise environments tends to include the iPhone in some way or another. iPhones are a darling of the consumerization set because they’re cool, feature rich, extensible and allow for integration with a number of other solutions. The iPhone also has a number of features developed almost specifically for satisfying the needs of large organizations. Most notably is the ability to integrate into Microsoft Exchange. While the iPhone can also be used to support other messaging solutions, its native Exchange support provides the most seamless integration and doesn’t require third party software.The iPod touch is similar to the iPhone, but is lacking in some of the core features that are found in the iPhone. Most notably is the fact that it is not a phone—it’s an iPod. Physically, the iPod touch does not have a microphone, camera, or Bluetooth. The iPod touch also comes with a different dock, has a headphone jack on the bottom, and older models didn’t have a built-in speaker.
Throughout this chapter we will note when referencing a feature available exclusively for one.he iPhone and iPod touch both take advantage of a rich development framework and are b built on a subset of OS X’s Cocoa development platform, Cocoa Touch. This is a mobile optimized development environment that allows for the creation of feature rich, user-friendly applications. The numbers of applications that have been published to the App Store, Apple’s online marketplace, are a testament to the extensibility of the underlying language. There is definitely a learning curve to writing applications for the iPhone for those without previous development experience. Those with OS X development experience, or experience with other Object Oriented
languages, should be able to familiarize themselves with the environment quickly. In some cases, it will be easier to develop applications that can be leveraged using a web browser, thus enabling a number of different platforms to connect to the application and rapid development of portals customized for each type of device that may be supported.
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