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LOTS of big Lotus news today but the one that has my full attention is the release of 8.5.1 scheduled for October 12! This brings the much anticipated support for the iPhone. No, not “uber-ultra lite” – a real, integrated support of Lotus Notes email, calendar and contacts on the iPhone complete with all sorts of corporate security addressed.

One other really important announcement buried in the full announcement:

THE complaint of our users who have been using Lotus Traveler (on non-iPhone devices) has been the lack of a corporate address book. This statement suggests that the new release of Traveler addresses it for at least the iPhone (probably others as well).

Other BIG news included the announcement that Designer and Lotus Mobile Connect are now free (see your specific license details for exact details). Both are huge announcements as it further shows that Lotus Notes is a complete solution that addresses a wide variety of business needs – not just “that other” email platform.

Big news indeed!

Tags: awesomeness, designer, iphone, lotus notes, mobile

That is the single most frequently asked question I get at work. It has been since the day the original iPhone came out. The frequency increased once the 3G phone came out. It increased again when people saw “iPhone” on Lotus websites (most of whom didn’t realize that it was talking about a web experience, not an integrated application). And now that the most recent Apple event has concluded, the question is very much back on the radar screen.

The answer: no.

Yes, you can see the beta in Greenhouse. Yes, “its coming” is the official answer. No, no one has a date that they are willing to share.

Patience, grasshopper.

Tags: iphone, lotus notes, waiting

Yep. Its out there. This release features (among other things) features updates to Traveler which provide support for the iPhone. According to Sr. Ed, the beta has been distributed to a select group while a “managed” beta will be available… eh, later. However, you can test drive it on Greenhouse later this week.

Two important notes:

1. If you see emails coming from me using the greenhouse domain, now you know why. 
2. If anyone has a copy they want to share … er… NOT share (wink wink)…

Meanwhile, OpenNTF.org got quite the upgrade when I wasn’t looking. I’ve always been a fan of this site. Even if they don’t have a perfectly matching application for what you need – its a great place to get some free head-starts. Lately, I’ve been playing around A LOT with the Xpages Wiki application which is fantastic. I could use some small improvements and this would be a powerful app for our organization.

Wow… busy week in the world of Lotus!

Tags: beta, greenhouse, iphone, lotus notes, openntf

Apple blogs are buzzing about an upcoming event that will feature the iPhone OS 3.0 software. The event is scheduled for March 17th at 10:00AM Pacific time and will apparently provide people a sneak-peek of the new operating system for the iPhone.

Could it be that this was the milestone everyone has been waiting for before an announcement about a Lotus Notes solution ActiveSync support for the iPhone? I sure hope so!

Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath. At least I won’t start holding it until 10:00 on 3/17.

Tags: activesync, iphone, lotus notes, phones

I was talking to a friend who’s at a Notes shop that’s considering jumping to Exchange. This is a movement that’s been happening for a long time and is largely due to an under-utilization of Notes (which is due to a lack of understanding in the company about what Notes can do). I encouraged him to call his Lotus rep and get some people in there who can get them excited about Notes again (which he’s doing). I also offered to stop by and show off some of the stuff I’ve worked on.

But one comment he shared with me from their CEO really struck me. It went something like this: ‘The fact that Lotus doesn’t have a similar product to Exchange that works with the iPhone at or above the level of functionality my Blackberry does today, really demonstrates a lack of understanding of, and responsiveness to, the marketplace.’

Now… that’s not really a fair comment. First, its not entirely Lotus’ fault; some of the blame resides with Apple – although even I don’t have an explanation for why the two can’t work together to fill this need. Second, while I do agree that the iPhone is important, I don’t know that you can pin all of Lotus’ market understanding on the lack of an iPhone product (yes, there is “uber-lite” but he did specify the whole “at or above the level” of his current Blackberry’s functionality – and uber-lite doesn’t really fit that “requirement”).

Finally, while it might be a nice soundbite to say that the lack of an iPhone application that’s on par with Blackberry is why they’re jumping ship – its not the case. It may be the last straw, but its not the root cause (at least in this company’s case).

But it brings up a good point that I see/hear from people frequently: the VIPs of the company are the ones who want the iPhone, are willing to pay whatever the price is and want it to connect to Notes with no reduction in functionality compared to their current phone (in most cases Blackberry or a GOOD based device). These people (CIOs, CEOs, CFOs, VPs, etc.) require special care by IT shops and their inability to have the iPhone causes them to ask questions about Notes. If they’re not deeply committed to Notes, those questions seem to cut deeper into the status quo. And, oh yeah, they’re the people making decisions and holding the checkbooks.

So at the end of the day, perhaps the best reason I’ve heard for why there should be an iPhone-Notes application (one that’s comparable to what’s available for Exchange shops) is simple: because my boss wants it.

Tags: blackberry, good, iphones, lotus notes