S'pore iPhone buyers unfazed by lack of enterprise support
SINGAPORE--The lack of enterprise support has not deterred business users from buying the iPhone 5 as they are willing to use other devices to conduct business activities.
Kelvin Zin, acting head at Singapore Economic Development Board's (EDB) industry identification and incubation, was in the line before 8 a.m. here Friday for the new Apple smartphone. He told ZDNet Asia he was not concerned he would not be able to access the company e-mail messages through the iPhone 5, since he would still be able to do so through his Apple iPad which had the required VPN client installed.
Zin, who owns several Apple Mac products, said the Apple ecosystem allows him to transfer files and data easily between the different devices. This also was the reason why he did not consider other brands such as Samsung Galaxy S3. He said his phone purchase decision was not "about the individual gadget" but of the whole ecosystem that supported the device.
Apple's latest smartphone went on sale here from 8 a.m. Friday, at selected outlets, with the device sold at all three mobile operators and Apple resellers. The company does not have a store in Singapore.
Another iPhone buyer, Kumudhini, started queuing at a reseller outlet after 8.30 a.m. and said she would not be using the iPhone 5 for work. The executive who owns Research In Motion's BlackBerry said she needed to type a lot on her phone so she would use both the BlackBerry, which has a QWERTY keyboard, and the iPhone 5.
Kenichi Sato, a Japanese doctor who is based in Singapore, said he plans to get an iPhone 5 over the weekend. As he usually accesses company e-mail on the desktop, he is not concerned about not being able to read e-mail messages on-the-go.
Sato said he plans to switch from his Nokia feature phone to the iPhone 5 because he has been a Mac user for the past 20 years.
EDB's Zin did express concerns about being locked in by Apple but was comforted that Apple was still performing well. "They are still doing OK and will continue to do so if they keep coming out with new and innovative products," he said.