A team of Microsoft Research engineers developed an artificial intelligence system that claims to have beaten Google in tests for accuracy.

Project Adam is Microsoft's attempt at building deep neural networks more effectively. It said the system is built using commodity hardware and is very good at telling breeds of dog apart.

The inspiration for Project Adam was a project carried out by Google in 2012, which used 16,000 machines to teach itself to identify cat pictures from YouTube.

The engineers said the project was 50 times faster than current image recognition systems and twice as accurate. It also uses 30 times fewer machines to carry out the task.

Project Adam is capable of distinguishing between different dog breeds even if two breeds are the same colour and virtually identical. It does this be scanning parts of an image that do not match when it looks it up in its large dataset.

"The machine-learning models we have trained in the past have been very tiny, especially in comparison to the size of our brain in terms of connections between neurons," said Trishul Chilimbi, one of the Microsoft researchers who lead the Project Adam effort. "What the Google work had indicated is that if you train a larger model on more data, you do better on hard AI [artificial intelligence] tasks like image classification."

The project used 14 million images from ImageNet, an image database divided into 22,000 categories. According to Microsoft, the aim of Project Adam is to move computers beyond being simple number crunchers to teaching them to be pattern recognisers.

"Marrying these two things together will open a new world of applications that we couldn't imagine doing otherwise," said Chilimbi.

"Imagine if you could help blind people see by pointing a cell phone at a scene and having it describe the scene to them. We could do things like take a photograph of food we're eating and have it provide us with nutritional information. We can use that to make smarter choices."

Chilimbi said how the deep neural networks inside Project Adam work is still very much a mystery.

"How does a DNN, where all you're presenting it is an image, and you're saying, This is a Pembroke Welsh corgi'how does it figure out how to decompose the image into these levels of features?" he said.

"There's no instruction that we provide for that. You just have training algorithms saying, This is the image, this is the label.' It automatically figures out these hierarchical features. That's still a deep, mysterious, not well understood process. But then, nature has had several million years to work her magic in shaping the brain, so it shouldn't be surprising that we will need time to slowly unravel the mysteries."

Microsoft said the project is still in its early stages and looks unlikely to be released to the public. However, some of the technology could eventually find its way into its Bing search engine.

ANALYSIS The Government launched a crime mapping service last week, allowing people to see what offences have been committed in any part of the UK.

It seems the web-based service proved popular with the general public the site crashed within hours of going up after millions tried to test it out.

The Government believes this transparency around offences will help people get more involved in their community and make police more accountable.

Surely the service offers benefits for organisations as well as individuals, though?

So how could businesses take advantage of this crime mapping service? Could it even be damaging for them as well?

Helping out the community

Although the online service has been designed mainly with residents in mind rather than businesses, the latter could clearly take advantage.

As a Home Office spokesperson put it to IT PRO: "Information is power."

Indeed, businesses will be actively encouraged to get involved with the crime fighting effort where their premises are based.

"We are also encouraging developers, community groups and other organisations to make use of the raw data that is available to download in new and innovative ways to help improve community safety," the spokesperson added.

Any company helping out their community will surely increase its local reputation something that can in turn bring more customers and accolades.

Improved employee motivation and pride could be another positive knock-on effect as well. After all, everyone knows a happy worker is often a more productive one.

Knowing where crime has happened, or perhaps likely to reoccur, can also help businesses decide where would be best to set up shop.

"Making crime data more transparent is useful to both the public and to businesses so that they are armed with more information," a spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) told IT PRO.

It's likely any already established firms will know whether their premises are located in dangerous areas, but undoubtedly the street crime mapping service would help illuminate what is really happening.

The service could also assist in knowing where to target certain kinds of customers and what products to focus on which areas.

For instance, security firms could find out which areas have experienced more crime and then ramp up marketing efforts in those locations.

However, one point raised by the FSB was that the online service could lead to some areas being labelled as "no-go areas."

This could "have a knock-on effect on businesses in that area or nearby that may be struggling already and that may experience a reduction in customers as a result," the FSB warned.

That was not the only issue the FSB had with the scheme, as its own data indicated many crimes go unreported by businesses.

"From a business point of view, local crime mapping is misleading because it only records reported crime and research by the FSB shows that 40 per cent of small businesses don't report crime because they lack faith in the system," the spokesperson added.

"If businesses were encouraged to report, then local recorded crime statistics and the associated crime maps would tell a different story."

Furthermore, David Hamilton, from the Big Brother Watch, noted businesses may have to deal with increased insurance premiums if they are based in a particularly crime-ridden neighbourhood.

"I think this would be a concern for the consumer," he told IT PRO.

This means insurance companies could use the maps to push up premiums in certain areas. Conversely, they may even reduce them in other locations.

Privacy concerns

Businesses should also exercise caution when it comes to how they use information from such online services. With any data released online there are always concerns over privacy and the mapping service has been no exception.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has welcomed the initiative, but at the same time warned over potential privacy pitfalls.

"Crime mapping can be an effective means of letting people know what crimes are taking place in their local area, although care needs to be taken as this can potentially have an impact on the privacy of individuals such as victims or witnesses," said information commissioner Christopher Graham.

"It will be important that this initiative is reviewed to ensure that the privacy safeguards are effective in practice."

The ICO was even able to provide the Government with privacy advice to ensure risks were not taken and it appears there is not much to worry about at the current time.

Having tinkered with the system at police.uk, IT PRO found the service both painless to use (apart from learning of the number of crimes in nearby areas...) and certainly not any privacy nightmare.

Nevertheless, Big Brother Watch's Hamilton said it was vital individuals' records were not disclosed.

"We think it's crucial with this kind of sensitive information in the public domain that you're not able to tie crime references and tie them to individuals," Hamilton added.

"It's very important people retain that."

We've already seen what a hubbub Google caused with its own mapping service Street View.

So it would seem keeping the service how it is - fairly basic but helpful nonetheless - would be best for many. Let's just hope the maps do not create the aforementioned "no-go areas", however, as this could seriously harm smaller businesses in particular looking to get a foot on the corporate ladder.

The once-common sight of businessmen on their BlackBerrys is changing. With the introduction of the iPhone, Android and now Windows Phone 7, there are more choices than ever if you're looking for a business smartphone. We compare Windows Phone 7, Android and Apple's iOS to see which mobile operating system is the best for businesses.

Email/Exchange support

Windows Phone 7, iOS4 and Android all have Exchange support using Microsoft's ActiveSync connecting technology, but which is the best for delivering push email on time and managing your schedule?

Windows Phone 7

One would expect at least a competent email app from a Microsoft smartphone operating system and that's what you'll find in Windows Phone 7. Integrated within the Office Hub, Outlook email allows you to sync your email, calendars and contacts. It's quick to set up and supports multiple Exchange accounts, unlike Windows Mobile.

The Outlook application works as one would expect. It's simple to manipulate multiple emails, either to delete them, mark them as read or flag them for later follow up.

If you have multiple email accounts and calendars, these can be viewed in a unified inbox and unified calendar view respectively. Alternatively, you can switch between accounts by swiping to the left and right. Security-conscious users will be pleased by the ability to remotely wipe them if the phone is lost.

Android

Android 2.2 has significantly improved email and Exchange features compared to previous versions of Google's smartphone operating system. Exchange calendars and address books are now supported, as is remote wiping.

Multiple Exchange accounts have been supported since the introduction of Android 2.0, but there's still no option to have a unified inbox to view multiple email account inboxes in one place. Although unified inboxes don't suit everyone, it would still be good to have the option.

Like the iPhone, SSL is supported. If your accounts support this technology, account passwords can be encrypted instead of being sent across the internet as plain text where they could be intercepted by villains, closing a potential security hole.

iOS4

Unlike previous versions of Apple's groundbreaking smartphone operating system, iOS4 now supports multiple Exchange accounts. Remote wiping, using either Exchange ActiveSync or Apple's paid-for MobileMe service is available. There's also a unified inbox so you can view all of your email inboxes on one screen.

If you have multiple email accounts, all of your inboxes are displayed at the top of the Mail application's window, while the accounts are displayed at the bottom. Tapping on an account shows you all of your other folders as they appear on your computer.

The Edit mode makes it easy to archive, move or delete emails whether you're using the unified inbox or not. There's no option to set a priority when composing emails though and you can't mark emails for later follow up.

Winner: Windows Phone 7

Applications and productivity

Third party applications are now crucial for any smartphone, allowing you to add new functionality to your hearts' content.

The two leading app stores in terms of the number of apps available are the Apple iTunes App Store and the Android Market, with around 300,000 and 100,000 apps available respectively. Although quantity is no guarantee of quality, a broader choice of apps is rarely a bad thing.

The number of apps that will be available in the Windows Phone 7 Martketplace hasn't been finalised at the time of writing. However, it has been suggested by a Microsoft spokesperson that there will be more apps launching on the platform than the 2,000 apps that were available for the iPad at its launch.

Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 is probably the best operating system out of these three for productivity. Although full details of what will be available at launch haven't been announced, Microsoft's suite of Office applications does come preinstalled as part of the Office Hub. Android and iOS are dependent on alternative, third-party office suites.

From the Office Hub, you can create, edit and save Word documents, edit Excel spreadsheets and view PowerPoint presentations. However, we can't yet comment on how well they deal with files that have complex formatting and use features only available in the desktop Office programs.

All Office files can be sent as email attachments directly from the Office Hub, rather than having to switch to the Outlook email application. In addition, documents can be shared with colleagues using either a mobile version of SharePoint 2010 or the Windows Live SkyDrive online storage service.

Android

Even though the approval process for developers wishing to sell their apps through the Android Market is much more lenient than Apple's process for the iTunes App Store, app developers haven't taken to Android as much as they have to the iPhone.

Nonetheless, there are now currently around 100,000 applications available for Android. Many are free and some of the most popular iPhone apps are also available on Android.

Preinstalled productivity applications vary from handset to handset, depending on the whim of the manufacturer, but a respectable selection of office suites are available on the Android Market, including the ever-present Documents To Go.

iOS4

Apple's iTunes App Store is by far the most comprehensive smartphone applications store. There's almost every type of app you can think of, from games to utilities and business applications. There are currently more than 300,000 applications available for iOS devices.

Very little in preinstalled on the iPhone 4, so you'll have to be prepared to download applications if you want to use it for productivity. There are thousands of applications you can download for working remotely including Documents To Go, SharePlus Office Mobile Client and Smart Office. We have our concerns about Documents To Go though.

There are also many more restrictions when developing apps in comparison to Android. Although this arguably ensures that the quality of iPhone apps is better and decreasese the likelihood of app-based phishing scams, it also means Apple can censor apps according to its tastes which not everyone will agree with.

The App Store does have features that are not available or exist only in rudimentary form on other platforms, such as in-app purchases for buying more features and content. However, the App Store is integrated into the iTunes desktop program which can make it tricky for an IT department to centrally manage apps on a large number of deployed iPhones.

Winner: iOS4

User interface and customisation

Windows Phone 7, Android and iOS4 may all run on touchscreen smartphones, but they all work in subtly different ways. Manufacturers have much more flexibility with Android than they do with Windows Phone 7 and where Apple only has one, rigidly designed user interface, Windows Phone 7 can be customised with Hubs and Android with skins.

Windows Phone 7

When Windows Phone 7 was announced, it was also revealed that devices running the new operating system would have to include certain hardware features, such as a capacitive touchscreen with four or more contact points, three hardware buttons (home, back and search) and a 1GHz or faster processor. Some Windows Phone 7 handsets have slide-out mini QWERTY keyboards, while others rely on touchscreen keyboards.

The distinctive Metro user interface uses tiles on its Start screen. Tiles are, essentially icons with thumbnails that show constantly updated information, such as upcoming appointments or the current weather. The interface can't be customised as extensively as Android's. Networks and manufacturers are restricted to adding new tiles or adding new features through the phone's firmware.

It's worth bearing in mind that current Windows Mobile programs won't run on Windows Phone 7, there's no copy and paste and multitasking currently isn't supported for third party apps. A New Year update should add copy and paste though and we expect Microsoft to rapidly address the other shortcomings.

Android

Android is the closest to a fully open operating system. Google allows manufacturers to fully customise the hardware and user interface as they see fit. Almost every manufacturer, such as HTC and Motorola, adds a customised user interface with additional social networking widgets.

Although there are seven homescreens as standard on Android 2.2, manufacturers and networks can choose to add or remove them. This can be extended to applications too. For example, while Google Maps ships as standard on Android devices, Orange has loaded on its own Orange Maps on its own-brand Android phones, while other manufacturers preinstall more advanced GPS software such as CoPilot or TomTom.

One downside to the extensive customisation of the Android interface is operating system updates. Owners of phones with such skinned interfaces usually face a delay in getting access to the latest versions of the Android operating system.

iOS4

Apple's iPhone is more restricted in comparison to both Windows Phone 7 and Android.

There's a limit of 11 homescreens and you can change wallpapers and sort applications into folders. Although some icons can update themselves to show new information, such as the Mail icon's badge showing the number of new messages, they aren't as informative as Windows Phone 7's Tiles.

There's no iOS equivalent to Android's widgets, which are essentially mini-applications that run straight from the homescreen. Although restrictive, this tightly controlled design arguably has the advantage of simplicity. New iOS versions are usually available for immediate download when released, although in the case of iOS4, some older iPhone models either missed out on iOS4 entirely or couldn't take advantage of all the new features.

Winner: iOS4-Android Tie

Security

Security should be a major consideration when choosing a smartphone for business. Although it is possible to purchase security applications for Android, Windows Phone 7 and iOS4, there are a number of security features built into each operating system that can ensure your data will remain private and confidential.

Windows Phone 7

Although the full security features of Windows Phone 7 haven't yet been announced, it has been revealed that although you won't be able to encrypt everything on the phone as you could on Windows Mobile, application algorithms in the Windows Phone 7 SDK are available for developers to produce applications that can encrypt their own data.

This means encryption functionality can be built into apps, but the data you store on your phone's internal storage or memory card will not be protected. However, the Windows Live website will allow you to remotely wipe personal data from a missing device, plus you'll be able to track and remotely lock your handset if it falls into the wrong hands.

Android

Like the iPhone, Android phones can be locked with either a numeric PIN or an alphanumeric password. However, like Windows Phone 7, Android does not yet support full-device data encryption. Rumours suggest it could be added as soon as Q1 next year when Android 3.0 Gingerbread is due for release.

Android 2.2 now includes remote wiping, so even if you lose your phone, you can still protect its sensitive contents from prying eyes. If paired with an administered Exchange server, administrators can enforce minimum password policies on deployed devices. Unfortunately, the roll-out of this new operating system version has been rather slow, especially for phones with customised interfaces, so not all Android 2.2-compatible phones can yet take advantage of it and its security features.

However, since Android is an open source operating system, many missing or incomplete security features have been provided by phone manufacturers and app developers. For example, HTC offers a remote lock as well as cloud-based backup and restore capabilities with its HTCsense.com service.

iOS4

When iOS4 was first released, there were a number of security flaws that have now been rectified in iOS4.2. It's therefore well worth keeping up to date with the latest iOS versions if you can.

iOS4 has plenty of security features, which is just as well considering how expensive iPhones are. You can protect your iPhone with a numeric PIN or alphanumeric password and configure it to delete all data and information after too many unsuccessful password attempts. The iPhone 4, as well as the older 3GS, have hardware-based encryption too.

If your iPhone is stolen or lost, one can lock or remotely wipe it, although to use this feature the phone has to be paired with an Exchange server or one has to subscribe to Apple's MobileMe subscription service which costs around 55 annually. The cost of MobileMe isn't trivial, but one handy feature is the ability to locate a lost or stolen iPhone via GPS as long as the Find my iPhone application is installed on your phone.

Winner: Tie

Verdict

Android, iOS4, and Windows Phone 7 are all very capable mobile operating systems – so much so that there's no overall winner in our head-to-head. Windows Phone 7 has excellent Exchange support, iOS4 currently has the best third-party app support, while Android and iOS4 tie when it comes to user interfaces and customisability. No platform is perfect when it comes to security. Which one you choose for your business therefore greatly depends on your specific needs. Windows Phone 7 has the best Exchange support, but iOS4 isn't far behind and has the best selection of third party apps, while Android has a more flexible and customisable user interface than either iOS4 or Windows Phone 7. This fierce competition should mean that the Apple, Google and Microsoft will race against each other to develop their respective platforms and fill in the missing gaps. The potential of Windows Phone 7 is clearly very significant, athough it’ll take time before its potential is recognised. We'll bring you more Windows Phone 7 coverage, as well as handset reviews, later this week.

Apple has today unveiled the iPad - its new tablet computer.

We're having some trouble with our live blogging service CoverItLive, so we're going to have to do without. Sorry about that. Please refresh to see the latest...

19:34: And that's it, folks. Send us your thoughts at comments@itpro.co.uk and check out photos here. Thanks for reading along, and sorry about the tech troubles at the start.

19:33: Says it's the intersection of fun and power, with the internet in your hands.

19:32: Now they're pushing how many customers are already ready for this - all those people with iPods and iPhones already know how to use it and have the apps to go with it. Jobs says it's Apple's most "advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price".

19:24: So they're showing a video now - any thoughts? Drop us a line in the comments below or at comments@itpro.co.uk. Will you buy one of these - even at $499? What do you think of iBooks? Is it just a big iPhone?

19:21: And don't forget the accessories. There's a keyboard dock, for a full sized, proper keyboard - can be used in portrait mode, too, so you could use it at your desk.

19:20: Shipping in 60 days. 30 days more for 3G, so 90 days for those.

19:19: Six models. $499 for 16GB, add 3G and it will be $629. For the 32GB, it will be $599; add 3G and it'll be $729. For 64GB, it will cost $699; add 3G, it will cost $849.

19:18: Now for the pricing. "Aggressive price" because they want to "put it in the hands of lots of people." Starts at $499. Now that got applause. Half the price of expected, for the 16GB at least.

19:16: International deals in place by June or July. All iPad 3Gs are unlocked, so you can pop one of the new microSIMs in...

19:15: Plans will be activated right on the iPad, cancelled whenever you want - no contracts.

19:14: US data plans... 250MB of data a month, for $14.99. The unlimited plan will be $29.99/month. AT&T will provide the service. There will also be free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots.

19:13: Oh, it will have 3G as well as WiFi. And it connects via USB too, of course.

19:11: iWork - Keynote, Pages, and Numbers - to be available from $9.99. Take that, Microsoft.

19:08: You can use it with Numbers too. Has Apple found a way to make spreadsheets fun?

19:05: With Pages, you can scroll through text and use the pop up keyboard. Flipping the iPad horizontal flips the keyboard so it's wider - like an iPhone, but oh so much easier to type on.

19:00: Now iWork. So it's not just a consumer device, ask your CTO for one today! Has fresh user interface, new version of Keynote.

18:56: Uses ePub e-book format, so it's open, in theory. Hope that holds true.

18:55: iBooks is basically iTunes for books. Download from the store right onto your own virtual iPad shelf, and tap it to open the e-book.

18:53: Now they're onto books with Amazon. Sorry Kindle, it's over. There's now an iBook store to buy and download e-books, complete with virtual shelf. But will there be DRM?

18:51: Showed off EA's Need for Speed driving game, and now showing how watching sports would look, with Major League Baseball demo. Can watch with your choice of announcers, home or away. Now that's cool.

18:42: New York Times developing separate app for iPad, even though it already has an iPhone app. Watch videos while you're reading the paper. Pretty slick looking - but will they charge for access, if they're charging for access online?

18:34: Software Developers Kit (SDK) for apps has been updated for iPad. It's available today.

18:32: Now for software. The iPad can run all iPhone apps. "We built the iPad to run virtually all of these apps out of the box right away." But, they can also run them full screen - good for gaming.

18:31: Sounds like Apple finally figured out battery life. Promising 10 hours. "I can take a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo and watch video the whole time. And it has over a month of standby time."

18:28: That's the overview of the iPad, apparently. Now for hardware. Half an inch thin, ways one and a half pounds. And it's got an 9.7-inch IPS display. Capacitative touchscreen. 1GHz Apple A4 chip. Comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage. Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi.

18:25: It plays videos too. Google people like the film Up, go figure.

18:24: Showing off maps, photos, music - all the things you can do in iPhone, yet getting lots of applause. Guess bigger is better.

18:19: Has touchscreen keyboard that pops up for typing. Being described as "gorgeous." Stretches wide across the length of the screen, looks pretty easy to type on.

18:17: Showing off browsing in Safari. Looks pretty slick, especially looking at email.

18:14: Jobs: "so much more intimate than a laptop"

18:14: It'll have iTunes built in, easy to watch TV and YouTube on, even in high-def.

18:13: Ooh, a calendar. And an address book. Being described by others as a big iPhone... so that rumour wasn't far off.

18:12: Chen: "It's holding the internet in the palm of your hands."

18:10: And it'll be called the iPad.

18:08: "So let's get to the main event." Now he's talking about tablets... but not the one we want to see yet.

18:05: Steve Jobs is on stage - talking about how many apps and iPods they've sold. Saying Apple is bigger than its competitors, says it's magical device - that's what he called it - will be unveiled later.

Palm has remained pretty silent of late. The reason for the quietness? It was cooking up the latest so-called 'iPhone killer' in the form of the Palm Pre. US users got the new handset first, back in June, whereas poor UK users had to wait until Friday last week.

So after many rumours, some of which turned out to be true and some of which were completely made up, the Palm Pre is here to make its mark on the mobile world, offering something solid for businesses and consumers alike. But will it punch the iPhone's lights out in the process?

Read on to find out.

Looks

Most reviewers spend a lot of time ascertaining just how different the handset in question looks to the iPhone. Interestingly, straight out of the box, it's actually quite uncanny how similar the Pre and iPhone are. They could almost be from the same family. OK, maybe distant relatives.

Palm has clearly tried not to just serve up another iPhone wannabe like so many other manufacturers, but there are distinct similarities between the two, in addition to obvious differences.

Both put large screens centre stage and prefer the minimalist approach when it comes to hard keys. Each features just a small rectangle above the display and a round, home button at the bottom. The latter is a more polished silver affair on the Pre, which gives it a slight one-upmanship in the class stakes design-wise. To the untrained eye, that is all you see, whereas next to the home button you'll find touch sensitivity in residence, which comes to life when swiping apps into and out of play.

The Pre's display is quite curved. It almost feels as if the items on the screen have been laid on a tablecloth and stretched over the surface. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it does take a bit of getting used to. Our reviewer described the Pre's display as "luscious, with a bright image and vivid colours." We'd have to agree.

Both displays are crisp and offer great clarity, despite the obvious greasy finger issues that plague all touch screen handsets these days. Mark-for-mark, the iPhone doesn't suffer as much from irksome smudges as the Pre.

Icons on both the Pre and the iPhone are vibrant and easy to navigate, with both screens being very responsive to users' commands.

That's where the aesthetic similarities end. The iPhone's keyboard is a virtual one, while the Pre's is neatly hidden underneath the screen and slides out smoothly whenever required.

But that's all that's smooth about it. The keys are fairly small and hard, akin to an 80s calculator watch and using it feels a little bit too alien and awkward. That said, the keys are well spaced and you can get up quite a bit of speed with some practice, not unlike the iPhone's virtual QWERTY, which has the same training levels as a pre-requisite if you want to type emails and texts quickly.

The Pre's volume rocker is also less pretty than the iPhone's, with black plastic offered up rather than a brushed chrome effect. Sometimes it's these little touches that can add that deal-breaking level of finesse to a handset, particularly if you're a style conscious business user.

While users can easily charge their iPhone via their USB port or in the traditional way, the Pre features a fiddly little USB port that is hidden beneath a nubbin' on the side. At first it feels like you're breaking the phone by trying to open it but you're not. Our review unit also came with a Palm Touchstone Charging Dock that makes it easy to charge the handset wirelessly.

Winner: iPhone. We really wanted the Pre to win this because Palm has worked hard to design a handset that both business users and consumers alike will lust after, but the iPhone still gets it by a nose. Apple is synonymous with attractive products and, despite its best efforts, Palm still has a little way to go to beat it.

Vital statistics

As we said earlier, on first glance it doesn't look like there's much in it between the iPhone 3GS and the Pre so we'll let the stats do the talking.

Both handsets weigh in at a nifty 135g, which is very lightweight when you consider just how much the two devices are packing inside their tiny bodies. We've then got the Pre's 59.5mmx16.95mmx100.5mm (WDH) against the iPhone's 62.1mmx12.3mmx115.5mm (WDH), revealing the fact that the iPhone is slightly taller and slimmer than its marginally more portly counterpart. That said, both are very pocketable and certainly unlikely to cause any questionable trouser pocket bulges, or conversely get buried at the bottom of a bag or briefcase.

While the iPhone has a 3.5in (480x320 pixels resolution) screen, which overshadows the Pre's 3.1in offering of the same resolution, the fact that pixel density is greater means you're not missing out that much.

At three megapixels, give or take, each, the cameras also match up when it comes to raw numbers. But the iPhone does beat the Pre when it comes to storage. The 3GS is available in 16GB and 32GB flavours, while the Pre boasts just 8GB. Neither have microSD card slots for additional storage capacity, which is a shame.

Most business users are fully aware that using Wi-Fi and checking emails frequently and so on is going to drain the battery more than someone who simply sends the odd text and makes a few calls, but the Pre and iPhone 3GS seem to be on a fairly level playing field from the off. Both handsets claim to offer five hours' talk time, but the iPhone has a slight edge when it comes to standby figures with 300 hours to the Pre's 250. That said, at least the Pre's is removable and therefore you could, in theory at least, carry a spare. Although, neither could claim innocence as a battery sucker upper.

The Palm Pre is certainly harder than the iPhone. Quite literally, if the Gizmodo video below of someone using it to slice cheese is anything to go by. But being harder doesn't necessarily give it what it takes to win this particular head-to-head battle.

Palm Pre Cuts the Cheese from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

Winner: Tie. It's too close a call to say which is best when it comes to stacking up the figures against each other.

Features

The Palm Pre is the first of its handsets to feature webOS. Bearing in mind it's as new to us as anyone else, it's incredibly intuitive and pleasant to use.

Just like the iPhone wowed everyone with its sleek interface when it first launched, we're pretty impressed with what we've seen of webOS so far too. It certainly has lots of potential.

Being able to swipe away items to discard them, like throwing them into a virtual dustbin, is a really neat touch. It may be the novelty factor, but it certainly at least attempts to out innovate the press-and-you're-binned mentality the iPhone OS employs.

The quality of images served up by the Pre's camera are good. But the iPhone's are much better. There's no auto focus or video recording capability, which is a massive let down for us. That said, we lamented the camera in the first generation iPhone, so we should cut Palm some slack.

Both the iPhone and the Pre feature Google Maps, although we had a few issues getting up and running here. We launched the app at the same time for both handsets to see what happened. The iPhone found our location in a matter of seconds, while the Pre was still struggling to load the app. After a few minutes, internet connection dropped and it gave up. So did we. As both handsets are on O2 we can only assume it's an internal issue but we'd want to test this more thoroughly before suggesting it's a mainstream fault with the Pre.

That said, finding Wi-Fi on the Pre was a breeze in the same way as it is on the iPhone. Call quality was also far superior on the Pre compared to the iPhone, although both handsets suffered from the heat when charging and under hard usage as their base gets very warm indeed.

Video quality on both devices is a very pleasant experience whether YouTube or something else - and perfect for winding down between meetings or, of course, watching your company's latest motivational training video. That said, the Pre wouldn't let us view them in portrait mode, for some reason, which niggled somewhat.

When it comes to email, both handsets support the usual suspects of Exchange and POP3/IMAP so which one is best comes down to personal preference of how the emails appear on the device itself. And, of course, the speed of delivery. The Pre does offer a one-stop-shop for multiple inboxes, providing access to different accounts through one logical place.

The Pre really wins out on its multi-tasking ability. The O2 website describes it as like "shuffling cards' and it's something business users will most definitely appreciate. Apps continue to run in the background in snapshot form when you go back home, which works for us. Yes, the iPhone can multi-task' to a certain extent, but the Pre takes things one step further, juggling multiple applications and making it look very easy indeed a boon for business users who are more often than not trying to do three things at once at any given time.

If you're a business user overwhelmed by too many contacts, or a consumer trying to keep track of different friend groups, the Pre has something for you in the form of Synergy. This handy tool unites your contacts, calendaring and messaging together in one place, saving you both time and effort.

If you've had a conversation with one person spread out over multiple mediums, for example, Synergy will thread them together in a unified view. Synergy also unites your calendaring information so you know what you're meant to be doing when at a glance rather than having to trawl through multiple online diaries.

Winner: Pre. After revisiting what the Pre had to offer feature-wise, we changed our minds. We couldn't get Google Maps up and running during our tests and there's no digital compass, voice memos or video recording, but out-of-the-box, for its Synergy feature and workhorse approach to multitasking, the Pre wears the crown here.

You can pick up the Palm Pre for free, provided you're willing to shell out 30 or so a month and commit to O2 for two whole years, which is a long time to be stuck with one phone. For the iPhone, however, things could all change very soon.

Orange will be making the iPhone available on its network by the end of the year, followed quite soon after by Vodafone (although it will only say early 2010 at this stage). This flurry of activity is likely to result in better pricing for users.

The Apple App Store is maturing nicely and growing in popularity every day. As such, Palm's App Catalog looks barren in comparison. But, due to the age factor, we'd be comparing apples and oranges here by suggesting it was fair to make a call. So we won't. Although Apple's is clearly superior at this stage. For obvious reasons.

Winner: Tie. At this moment in time, the Pre could well be better value. But tomorrow is another day. The same could be said of apps. With thousands of apps already and more arriving every day, Apple's App Store runs rings around Palm's. That said, its App Catalog is only just getting started and, with developer support, could gain momentum quite quickly.

Verdict

It is a tough call. The Palm Pre offers users who are scared of saying goodbye to their keyboard the best of both worlds. But for that safety blanket they have to compromise a little on the comfort of the keys. It’s also got lots of business-focused goodies on board, but lacks the support network of a big app portfolio.

The iPhone, on the other hand, is more of a finished article as it stands now. Particularly when you consider that there’s an app for pretty much everything, whether work rest or play, waiting for a loving home in the App Store.

In some respects, the Pre may well be a caterpillar waiting to butterfly, but in those areas it’s not there yet. But when it comes to features we can’t really argue with the facts.

So, two ties and a win for each handset. The ultimate winner will therefore depend on whether inner beauty or aesthetics are more important to you.

If you're in any way tuned into the online tech universe, you will have noticed the wires buzzing with noise over Google Wave, the latest technology to come out of the idea factory that is Google.

An early version of Google Wave has been available to developers since its I/O conference' back in late May, but in the last few weeks invitations to join have been sent to a selected few who signed up for access, or for those nominated by those who already have accounts. These have been limited in numbers and have taken a long while to get through Google's system and, as such, these invitations are like gold dust.

The frenzy has been such that invites have even been placed on eBay, making it the most hyped new event online since Gmail.

Thankfully, IT PRO has finally gained access without having to resort to eBay and since then we've been trying to get our heads round this innovative but also confusing application.

The project has been headed up by the Rasmussen brothers, who first developed the Google Maps project. But Google does have a reputation for getting excited about projects and then getting distracted by the next big thing and for for every Google Maps, there's also a Google Lively.

So will Google Wave turn into a tsunami or will it crash and disappear on the rocks of indifference?

At the I/O conference, Lars Rasmussen, Google's software engineering manager, explained that Google Wave was Google's take on what email would look like if it was re-invented today. As he observed, email was a system that was invented some 40 years ago, long before the world wide web as we know it. Email simply mimics snail mail, while instant messaging is a text version of the phone call. Things have got rather more sophisticated since then, with blogs, wikis and bulletin boards among the many other ways of communicating.

So what is Google Wave? It is at its most basic a way of communicating and perhaps most importantly with collaborating with either one, or a great many people. In true Google style, it is a technology that works entirely in the browser, using HTML5 code, and as such works in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox but not in Opera, and in Internet Explorer only if using Google's Chrome Frame workaround.

The technology is all open source, which is not only in keeping with Google's ethos, but is absolutely crucial to the project's success. Google announced Wave much earlier than it normally would for a project as it wanted to encourage the developer community to get stuck in and create applications or extensions' that would make it more useful to users at launch.

Once you've got hold of a hallowed invitation, you simply head over to wave.google.com and sign into your Google account as normal. Here you'll be presented with an email-like view. At the top left is the navigation bar with folders where you organise your Waves', with an Inbox and related folders. Beneath this are your contacts. To the right of this is your list of Waves, similar to your list of email in a client such as Outlook. Finally on the right is the Wave itself.

Click on New Wave' and a box will appear into which you can type, with a toolbar at the top for basic formatting. What's immediately different is that if your contact is logged in at the same time, they will see what your typing immediately as you hit the keys, which frankly is initially quite disconcerting. As they type their name appears as a moving cursor, so you can see who is writing what.

Each time you type in a new box it's known as a blip' and you can reply to this by hovering the cursor over the bottom line of the blip, which will bring up a reply arrow. Clicking this will create another blip immediately underneath.

There is a draft mode where you can type first and send when you're ready, as per most IM clients, but this is not yet enabled in the current preview. Edits can be made in real time and visible by everyone. However, you can also make a reply private to just one person.

Also not currently enabled, but on the way, is a green dot above your contacts that indicates whether your contact is live and logged in at that time.

However, your contact doesn't have to actually be live in the chat at all, so that when they log-in to Wave, they will see a message waiting for them. Unfortunately, there is no IM alerting systems at present, means that if you switch browser tabs and aren't looking directly at the Wave, there's no way of telling if someone has come in and added content.

Every step of the Wave is captured and recorded, so that when somebody comes back to the Wave later they can see exactly what's happened step-by-step by hitting a Playback' button. Users can also scrub through to get quickly to the part of the Wave they want. It's like going through an email chain as you would a video.

A feature that really sets this apart from instant messaging is that you can actually go in and not just edit your own comments but everyone else's too giving it the flavour of a live Wiki.

In this sense, Wave can be described as a mash-up of email, instant communications and a Wiki. This is the draw for Google Wave as a collaboration tool.

Naturally it doesn't stop there. Once you have Google Gears installed you can drag and drop images into a blip and when you double-click them, they open up into a rather nice full screen gallery slideshow. You can also embed YouTube videos directly into a blip.

On top of pictures and videos, you can also embed applications, known as extensions or gadgets, which can range from games such as Sudoku, to weather applets or a serious line of business application. iGoogle gadgets will work within Wave straight away but developers can create their own thanks to the Google Wave open API.

As well as gadgets, you can also easily pull in robots, which are automated extensions. What these do is up to the developers, but you can, for example, have one automatically display the latest stock quotes or pull in a stream of Tweets.

While it all sounds logical when you break it down, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed the first time you get in. As you can reply to messages at any point, and respond within one blip or by creating a new one, a Wave can clearly become a messy mish mash. Wave etiquette and style is something that will have to evolve and develop over time.

There are also permission issues. At present, anyone can add you as a contact and pull you into a Wave whether you want to or not. You can mute' a wave though so it doesn't keep appearing in your inbox, and you can also flag Waves as Spam.

Of course it's important to separate the Wave protocol and the Wave client. Google Wave is just Google's own front end onto its Wave protocols, and third parties can embed Waves into their own websites, or create their own Wave client. These will shape and define how Google Wave is used by different companies.

The hard part though at this stage is so see how Wave will come into its own, and really add value. Are email, IM, Facebook, Twitter and Wikis really doing a bad job for most people?

For the end user, coming into contact with Wave for the first time can be confusing. At best it's hard to get to grips with and at worst once could dismiss it as a time waster, that's solving a problem that doesn't need addressing.

Google stock use case for individuals is to help plan a trip through messaging and being able to pull in pictures, videos and maps.

Enterprise collaboration though seems a more natural fit and we've already taken a look at how Google Wave could work for businesses.

It's easy to see how it could appeal, for example, to those working on projects with multiple people in disparate locations. One function touted is to make a modern conference call platform, with it able to call all users phones automatically, saving time on set up, and then making it easy to share a presentation. It also seems like a natural fit as a CRM solution, with projects monitored and managed in different Waves.

As it stands, it's still very much a developer's plaything though, and right now it is they rather than end users that will have the most fun with Google Wave. It is really up to their ingenuity to take Google Wave on, and make something of it, but once they have, its position may become a little clearer.

Google has a history of working on projects that appear in a blaze of glory and then quietly fizzle out, but we'd be loathed to suggest that this will happen to Wave. At the moment we do see this as a niche product that will blossom when developers have worked out ways of using the platform, but for mainstream use we think plain old email is safe for now.

Verdict

Google Wave is an intriguing mix of email, chat and wiki and comes out as something entirely new. The information flow can be overwhelming and it could put off many who have been sold by the hype. However, once developers have got to grips with it, this could prove to be another hit for Google, though perhaps not as widespread as it clearly hopes.

Browsers supported: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Internet Explorer (with Chrome Frame plug-in)

Android fans can now ensure they know where they're going as CoPilot Live has been made available through the Android Market.

ALK Technologies, CoPilot's parent company, unveiled the new downloadable software this week, bringing with it real-time travel information, voice guided instructions and 3-D mapping among other things.

Users of the HTC Magic, T-Mobile G1 and the soon-to-be-released HTC Hero will benefit from digital street maps that are stored directly onto the handsets, rather than over the air. The real-time information, however, will still be reliant on a mobile web connection.

Other features on offer include flickable scrolling menus and location sharing.

"The release of CoPilot Live for Android and its availability for download via Android Market is a major milestone in our quest to provide full-featured navigation to the largest possible number of smartphone users," said Michael Kornhauser, vice president and managing director of ALK Technologies' CoPilot division, in a statement.

"We are delighted to extend CoPilot to Android and, in doing so, help more people find their way easily in-car or on foot.

The full version costs 25.99 for the UK and Ireland version, while a Europe-wide version is available for 59.99.

In a separate announcement, Google also announced that developers can now download a native development kit (NDK) from the Android developer site.

"Keep in mind that using the NDK will not be relevant for all Android applications. As a developer, you will need to balance its benefits against its drawbacks, which are numerous!" Google warned in a blog post on the Android developers website. http://android-developers.blogspot.com/search/label/Android%201.5

"Your application will be more complicated, have reduced compatibility, have no access to framework APIs, and be harder to debug. That said, some applications that have self-contained, CPU-intensive operations that don't allocate much memory may still benefit from increased performance and the ability to reuse existing code. Some examples are signal processing, intensive physics simulations, and some kinds of data processing."

The arrival of both the Blackberry and Apple's iPhone range have revolutionised the very concept of smart phones, solidifying their presence and quickly establishing them as necessities for any professional requiring perfect "out of office" office solutions.

So, with this in mind: How does Nokia's latest eSeries shape up against the competition?

On first impressions, the E75 isn't really much to look at. The design is rudimentary, with the only stand out feature being the QWERTY slide out key pad. Besides this, there is very little to get excited about aesthetically, and one could easily be forgiven for mistaking the phone for an older model such as the N78 or the 6500 Classic.

That being said, many business-oriented users may prefer this minimalist design, which offers functionality over looks.

Once out the box the phone itself feels both resilient, sleek and sturdy in the hand. The E75's dimensions are 14.4mm x 11.8mm x 50mm, making it about average size for a smart phone; although, being half a centimeter shorter would make it a far more comfortable fit in your pocket.

Its screen is 2.4 inches, which isn't going to drop any jaws, but is ample enough for what this phone sets out to do.

The use of 16 million colours in conjunction with its LED display creates a clear and crisp screen, which makes reading e-mails, texts, web pages, and even downloaded documents a pleasure.

Once you get the menu up and running, you have all the important things (e-mail, office, contacts, and calendar) on display straight away. There's also a useful menu bar, providing short cuts to maps, messaging, and media, on the display screen, which can also be edited to your preference, for direct access to your core apps.

Another interesting feature is the ability to switch the phone between business and personal modes, which theoretically eradicates the need for two phones. Whether this is actually the case though would require a longer testing period.

Stay connected

Setting up e-mail on the E75 (we used a Gmail account for this) was a breeze. It took, literally, less than 90 seconds, which was a huge relief as we've had some bad experiences attempting the same thing on other devices such as the N95.

Once the e-mail capabilities are set up, the E75 really comes into its own, making good on its promises to provide you with a quick and effective e-mail service for when you're out of the office.

The QWERTY keyboard, while quite fiddly, makes the whole process of sending longer e-mails easier, which is one of the E75's stronger points. The functionality of it, after some initial practice, enables a quicker and more intuitive response that some may prefer to the iPhone's touchscreen method.

Our main grievance with the QWERTY key pad, bar its fiddly nature, is that you have to hold down the shift key when inserting numbers, which is extremely annoying, and very time consuming, ruining the flow of an otherwise attractive feature.

Solid features set

The E75 runs on a Symbian 9.3 operating system with S60 software, which provides adequate power for running multiple applications. Previous Nokia models have found this sort multitasking difficult, resulting in crashes, screen freezes, and a poor battery life.

During test, we ran five programmes simultaneously for well over two hours (Maps, MP3 player, internet, e-mail, and Word) without any lagging, crashes or glitches.

Additionally, the battery life wasn't sapped by our excessive multitasking, and after only one charge, it was still on full power nearly 24 hours later - proving that the device is a reliable, functioning business companion that would won't let down after frantic use, even if you, god forbid, forget to charge it.

Nokia has provided the OVI service on the E75, which allows you to access documents, pictures, and data that is saved on your office or home PC directly from your phone.

While this is an impressive function, and has multiple applications in the business world, the OVI website wasn't working during the review period. So sadly, we didn't get to try out this feature.

It also comes with GPS and Nokia Maps pre-installed which serves its purpose in providing you with a quick idea of where you are, and where you need to be - handy for those business meetings in unfamiliar territory.

However, the programme itself is sluggish and temperamental. Planning routes is also an arduous chore, and one you will eventually (after three months) have to pay for.

As it stands, Nokia hasn't really come to the table with anything new that is going to change the way people think about mobile phones. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad phone, it's just not that good when compared to what's already out there.

Imagine you had the choice between a Ferrari and a BMW: They're both good cars, they both look nice, but if you had the choice, and luckily in this context you do, you always know which one you'd rather have.

Verdict

While the E75’s build quality and e-mail capabilities are very good, its hardly anything new, and besides the QWERTY keyboard, it offers very little that is likely to excite or improve anyone’s business life. Needless to say, we don’t think Nokia will be tempting many professionals over from the Blackberry or iPhone camps with the E75 anytime soon.

Connectivity: EDGE, GSM, GPRS, HSDPA (3.6Mbps), 802.11b/g Display: 2.4 QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) Storage: 110MB, microSD card slot Camera: 3.2 Megapixel with auto-focus Talk time: 5 hours 20 mins Standby: 280 hours Dimensions: (WxDxH): 50x 14.4x111.8mm Weight: 139g

In the mind of many marketers, it's historically been a case of never the twain shall meet when it comes to technology designed for businesses and consumers. And, to a certain extent, that's still very much the case. However, on closer inspection, there are many technologies successful technologies that started life as pure-play consumer products that have made their way into the hearts and minds of business users.

Perhaps, somewhat obviously, the best example here is the iPhone. Like so many other devices before it, it made its way into the enterprise through the back door' with employees falling in love with the shiny handset and demanding to know why their IT departments were not equally as keen to support it across the corporate network.

That story has changed slightly now. Thanks to the iPhone 3G and software updates to the first generation device, which mean business email and the like can work on the such handsets, they can be legitimate habitants of the company rather than illegal, seen-but-not-spoken-of immigrants.

Other mobile makers have cottoned onto the huge following the iPhone has amassed and, keen to get a piece of the action, have started releasing so-called iPhone killers in droves. While success has been varied, one thing remains constant: business users want a mix of style and substance on a device that can use for their day jobs as well as their lives outside of the office confines.

RIM's handouts, Google's enterprise

Research in Motion (RIM) is one of the many companies out there trying to practice what it preaches and give employees tools that encompass consumer and corporate requirements.

"All RIM employees are given a BlackBerry smartphone. This helps keep the organisation productive during work time, but also enables employees to make the most of their free time," a spokesperson told IT PRO.

"With over 855 members of the BlackBerry Alliance Partners there are thousands of applications that have been created for business as well as personal use for example there are fitness applications, weather updates, currency converters and GPS/mapping tools."

Search giant Google is also somewhat of a golden child when it comes to bringing consumer goodness into the hands of corporate citizens.

"Google Enterprise was founded on exactly this premise - to take technology that has been successful in the consumer world and adapt it for use in a business environment," said Robert Whiteside, head of Google Enterprise in the UK and Ireland.

"The Google Search Appliance was the first example of that - it was clear that the search experience in the workplace didn't match up to search on the Internet so we sought to take our experiences in the consumer world and adapt it for business. Google Apps is the most recent example which is now delivering significant benefits to companies and their employees."

Whiteside also has advice for IT and business decision makers out there trying to navigate the maze of consumer tech and work out how to apply it effectively in-house.

"People have an inbuilt need to find solutions to problems. If you want to ensure your IT strategy is truly aligned with the objectives of your business you should not rule out the possibility that the solutions your workforce need to meet their goals may well have their origins in the consumer space today," Whiteside added. "It's also advisable to listen to your users and gather feedback before establishing the boundaries. That way you minimise the risk of them introducing unauthorised technology which could compromise security."

Work and play

A recent whitepaper published by analyst IDC highlighted the increasing consumerisation of technology in the workplace. It found that more than two-thirds of respondents use their mobiles for both work and play, while 64 per cent have the same usage pattern for their laptops.

Another headline figure from the research was the fact that 34 per cent of people use text and instant messaging for both business and pleasure.

Interestingly, the research found that UK consumers are more in tune to the benefits of text and IM at work, with twice as many Brits opting for these comms options than in the US.

"[Successful consumer/corporate tech] has to be able to deliver business benefits. There are lots of gadgets and communications devices at large in the consumer world that cannot offer any true business value. To be successful in the corporate world, consumer technology must succeed in connecting the business to the consumer or enhancing the productivity of employees," said Geoff Hall, Nortel's chief technology officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

"For instance, enterprises are now building new relationships with customers by leveraging Web 2.0. Applications such as blogs and other social media avenues help to create an ongoing dialogue with customers that can be valuable in generating revenue and customer satisfaction."

The Facebook divide

Another clear trend which spans the historic divide between corporate and consumer is Facebook. While many companies have attempted to ban the application for fear of lost productivity or data being compromised, others have been embracing its existence with arms stretched open wide.

WorkLight has created a secure overlay for Facebook called WorkBook. It means businesses can engage with their customers, partners and other key stakeholders without comprising security. The tool can also be integrated easily with corporate applications and systems such as Microsoft's SharePoint.

"Each company has its own needs and prerogatives, but it is clear from our experience that allowing employees the flexibility to use emerging tools, such as Facebook, brings with it added value to the business," said David Lavenda, the company's vice president of marketing and product strategy.

"It's unavoidable: consumer technologies will continue having a huge impact on the workplace. But this doesn't mean adopting consumer applications per se. Rather, business applications will be built differently, to assume consumer traits such simplicity, accessibility and low price."

The way of the future

Consumers' love affair with gadgets and gizmos has long been the bane of IT departments' lives. The long-suffering IT professionals are now well rehearsed in the art of politely turning down or ignoring requests to fine tune the chief executive's latest digital plaything. But still, the lines are blurring and that trend looks set to continue into the future.

So, what can we expect of consumerised enterprise IT in the future and what will be the next big trend to butterfly from the consumer space into the corporate arena?

Some believe the future will be a virtual one. "Virtual worlds hold great promise in the business arena as ways to enhance and enable consumer-to-business and business-to-business contacts. Virtual trade shows, store fronts, user groups all will make inroads in the future," predicted Michael Tennefoss, head of strategic marketing at Aruba Networks.

"We expect to see regional adoption of SMS and texting' as a communications and transactional channel," said Esteban Kolsky, vice president of eVergance. "We're already seeing some pockets of this happening (some Asian countries using cell phones as ID and payment tools, certain Nordic countries transactional use of SMS, etc.) but as the medium gains adoption specially in older and less dynamic populations in society we expect to see it permeate into organisation's customer service implementation more and more."

Mobile leads the way

Again, many believe the mobile industry is leading the charge in the consumer/corporate crossover revolution.

"The enhancements pioneered by Apple with its iPhone interface and the work Samsung and Microsoft are doing in their mobile devices shines a light on where mobile devices need to go to properly support business mobility apps other than push email," said Nathan Marke, 2e2's chief technology officer.

"Proper capability to drive workspace and collaboration applications from a mobile device will be enabled by the enhancements made for consumers in viewing, managing and driving photos, maps and video."

Joe Baguley, global product director at Quest Software, added: "[Facebook, IM and mobile phones] have usually been driven by the young entering the corporate world and bringing their technology with them. I think this will drive Unified Communications and device/app convergence more than ever before.

"To see what is coming next, I would be looking at how the current university students are organising their lives, as this will be a good guide as to what is coming next."

Making the iPhone more business friendly was a big challenge for a device that sells largely on the basis that it is an iPod Nano with a smartphone grafted onto it. That doesn't necessarily make for a winning combination for the enterprise.

Nonetheless, Apple has taken significant steps in tweaking and upgrading the iPhone to not only appeal to a wider consumer audience, but also to make it more relevant for business users, at the same time addressing the concerns of many IT managers about the lack of secure integration options between an iPhone and the enterprise back-end.

In a nutshell, the iPhone 3G is a major facelift of the original iPhone rather than a new product designed from scratch. This makes sense; the original was a sound piece of engineering and worked well. What it lacked was functionality rather than needing any major flaws in its design and operation changed.

With this in mind, Apple has set about improving and expanding the capabilities of the iPhone. There are two models, one with 8GB of flash storage, the other with 16GB the same as the two models they are replacing. A new build of the iPhone firmware, known as iPhone OS 2.0, is installed on the iPhone 3G as well as being available to existing 2G devices.

The biggest hardware difference is the inclusion of Tri-band 3G, with both standard UMTS and HSDPA data services supported, the latter delivering a significant improvement in download speeds for web pages and other data.

With the exception of hardware-specific features like 3G support and a GPS receiver for location and navigation applications like the Google Maps app pre-installed on all iPhones, the 3G and 2G devices are functionally identical.

At a hardware level, the 3G models still have the same 2-megapixel camera as the original, and there is still no flash, mirror or auto-focus.

The back of the iPhone 3G has an all-plastic curved back in place of the grey metal case used on the original. This slightly reduces the weight (by just 2g) but has mainly been done to reduce cost , to accommodate the larger battery fitted in the 3G unit and to help improve reception. The switch to 3G has increased the power consumption of the iPhone, so a slightly bigger battery is necessary in order to offset the impact.

One other minor cosmetic tweak has been made, the headphone socket is no longer recessed, allowing you to use the headphones or wired headset of your choice, rather than using only Apple's own headphones or having to use an adapter to access the 3.5mm socket with normal headphone jacks that won't fit into the recess.

Moving on to the software, the enterprise features are a welcome addition, with support for Microsoft Exchange push email as well as ActiveSync, which allows for over-the-air synchronisation of calendar entries and global address lists. ActiveSync support also extends to a number of centralised enforced IT policy and security measures including remote wipe, remote configuration and WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1x wireless security protocols.

For ensuring that remote connections between the iPhone and the enterprise backend are secure, the handset now supports Cisco IPsec VPN protocols with support for two-factor token authentication, as well as conventional password or certificate authentication.

There is a clear improvement in call quality on the 3G device, whether the phone is on a 2G or 3G network, suggesting that some work has been done to improve the audio handling.

The core software set on the iPhone has not really changed, but rather has experienced a series of tweaks to enable more efficient processing of information. For example, the email client can now move and delete multiple messages at a time.

The standard software set is no longer a restriction for users wanting to do more or perform custom tasks without resorting to unauthorised software hacks, thanks to Apple opening up the iPhone platform to legitimate third party software development.

Having provided both a software development kit (SDK) ahead of launch and a corner of the iTunes store to act as both a shop front and delivery mechanism for add-on software, there is already a huge crop of business and consumer applications for download. Some are free, some are not.

Software has to be vetted by Apple before it is allowed onto the store, but on the plus side there is no charge for distribution.

Applications can be bought via a desktop iTunes client and then copied across to your iPhone during a sync, or you can choose, buy and download over the air using either a 3G data connection or Wi-Fi. Businesses wanting to restrict access to in-house applications can host and deploy from their own intranet site.

Is iPhone 3G is just the original iPhone in a shiny new shell? To a certain extent, yes it is.

However, this is not a negative but rather one of the biggest positives. The iPhone concept is a sound one, and existing users are happy with the way the iPhone works, with the touch screen interface and with the implementation of the standard software set. The only different thing needed was 3G in order to tap faster data connections. On top of this the iPhone needed to offer more functionality, not necessarily different functionality.

Both phones now use exactly the same software (the iPhone OS 2.0 software was released for the 2G handsets the night before the 3G one went on sale), which means they both have exactly the same core capabilities. For a company, this is great news as it means the IT department can now manage legacy iPhones as well as new ones.

If you already have an iPhone that isn't broken, why buy a new one?

If you are a heavy web surfer, then you will benefit from the iPhone 3G's improved data download capabilities.

Email heavy users should also consider devices with a hardware keyboard such as a BlackBerry or Nokia's e71 smartphone. RIM is about to release its first 3G device which will compete directly with the iPhone 3G in the business market. If you are comfortable with typing a lot on the iPhones on-screen keyboard, then faster downloads will be a bonus, though this is far less important for email than it is for web browsing.

The iPhone 3G is an excellent phone, as was the original.

It is important to understand that the iPhone 3G is a much-needed facelift and tweak, not a complete teardown and rebuild, especially if you are an existing iPhone user. For first-time buyers, the iPhone 3G offers better value for money as well as much-needed enterprise integration alongside the more consumer-friendly features like the iPod and the camera.

Verdict

The iPhone 3G is an excellent smartphone and packs a great array of business-compatible features. However, aside from 3G and GPS, users of the existing iPhone should not expect to find anything other than that can’t be found on a 2G handset with the latest firmware.

OS: iPhone OS 2.0 platform Memory: 8GB or 16GB internal flash drive Display: 3.5in 480 x 320 colour TFT multi touch display Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone/headset socket, Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Quad band GSM/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), Tri band UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) Other: GPS receiver, 2-megapixel camera Battery: Lithium ion battery, 5 hours talk time (3G) 10 hours talk time (2G), 300 hours standby Dimensions: 62.1 x 12.3 x 115.5mm (WDH), 133g.

T-Mobile and Yahoo have announced a partnership on mobile search, marking the end of Google's breakthrough mobile deal with the operator in 2005.

Three years ago, T-Mobile and Google partnered to position the web search giant as the home page for the mobile operator's Web and Walk data service.

The announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today means T-Mobile will feature Yahoo's oneSearch for its mobile services as of the end of March 2008, leaving Google out of the picture.

"We believe we have found the best mobile search solution," said Christopher Schlaffer, group products and innovation officer at T-Mobile.

The Yahoo system is based on the idea of federated search, which gives contextual results from multiple sources rather than just the web, he said. For example, a search might yield maps, listings, photos, news, and downloads - as well as links to sources on the web.

"It delivers results, not just web links," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Connected Life at Yahoo. He added: "It's designed with mobile phones in mind, a very different approach to what other companies have in mind."

While that may be a dig at a certain other search engine, Google had some good news of its own at MWC this week, signing a similar partnership with Nokia.