A colleague pointed out the shortcoming that non-image attachments can't be saved, sent, or transferred (except in forwarded messages). I'll add that there is no way to create rich documents on iPhone, no equivalent to the mobile office suites on Nokia E-series and Windows Mobile devices. But I expect to see third-party document editors appearing on App Store, Apple's on-line custom iPhone software catalog, soon.

The Bottom Line Apple iPhone 3G Apple, apple.com/iphone Very Good  8.5 criteria score weight Extensibility 7 20% Messaging 8 20% Networking 9 20% Usability 9 20% Multimedia 10 10% Value 9 10% Cost: $199 for iPhone 3G with 8GB flash memory, $299 for 16GB, 2-year AT&T iPhone coverage contract required. AT&T announced a future $599 no-contract price, no date given Platforms: Embedded OS X; SDK for native iPhone software is available free at http://developer.apple.com/iphone; Applications catalog at iTunes App Store Wireless compatibility: GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) and UMTS (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) networks worldwide, carrier support required; EDGE and HSDPA cellular standards; Bluetooth 2.0 headset and contact sync profiles; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g; GPS Messaging and sync: POP3, IMAP4, Exchange Server e-mail with rich (Office, iWork '08, PDF, HTML, graphics) attachments; HTML e-mail; over-the-air calendar and contacts sync from Exchange Server, .Mac/MobileMe, and Mac and Windows desktops via iTunes client; cellular SMS Requirements: iTunes 7.7 or later for Windows or Mac is required for activation and sync Bottom Line: iPhone 3G has a GPS receiver, a lighter and more comfortable form, global GSM and UMTS cellular network compatibility, and faster HSDPA (3G) cellular data over its predecessor, but iPhone 2.0 software brings the original iPhone to virtual feature parity with 3G. Rich e-mail attachments, sync with multiple server and desktop sources, a new Apple-hosted push messaging infrastructure, and Exchange Server connectivity stand out among features that carry iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 into the enterprise. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

Over-the-air sync
iPhone is a wireless device. You should look at its USB cord as being for charging, backups, firmware updates, and iPod content. For professionals and enterprises, wires will just get in the way.

The Contacts and Calendar apps can sync over the air to several servers including Exchange Server, Apple's MobileMe, Google, and Yahoo. iPhone will sync, through iTunes, to Mac and Windows desktops (Outlook or Outlook Express for Windows, iCal for Mac), but users report mixed experiences with this. I'm not surprised. Doing tethered sync with a device that's optimized to do it over the air -- that's a major win in iPhone 2.0 -- is counterproductive. Sync efforts tend to pull up a lot of false conflicts that must be sorted out manually. It's better to take new events, contacts, and messages as they are posted. The servers that dispatch them are more reliable sources than your desktop.

Apple's MobileMe is billed as "Exchange Server for the rest of us." That's a bit rich, but it does keep multiple iPhone, iPod, and Mac clients in sync, and the AJAX front-ends to the Mail, Calendar, and Address Book are slick. MobileMe syncs Safari browser bookmarks as well. (I haven't tested MobileMe's sync features against Windows.) I wouldn't make MobileMe my sole e-mail server for business use, but I think that the service, which costs $99 per year, is a necessity for iPhone users.

Apple equipped iPhone to tap into a proprietary infrastructure, not unlike the one RIM uses for BlackBerry, that pushes mail and PDA updates to iPhone over the air. "Push" is a relative term that's entirely dependent on your software.

iPhone being a consumer device, it typically will be used with low-end mail and scheduling clients that hit the server at timed intervals, or over a hotel or conference center wireless LAN could be using an SMTP proxy that delays delivery. It takes as long as 15 minutes for iTunes to pull an update or message from Outlook or Entourage to Apple's cloud, at which point it finds you within a few seconds. But in an enterprise using Exchange Server and iPhone, push can be taken for granted. Pushing desktop-sized messages is best handled with the iPhone 3G.

Most of what iPhone can do over the cellular network, it can do over Wi-Fi. You can run both networks simultaneously on an iPhone, and the iPod Touch with the iPhone 2.0 firmware makes a great on-campus PDA (too bad that microphones like the Griffin iTalk won't work on it; that'd give you some voice capability when on Wi-Fi networks).

The iPhone 3G is world-compatible, supporting four varieties of GSM and three flavors of UMTS. If you have a contract with a carrier that supports roaming, you can now hop on a plane and expect your iPhone 3G to connect for you when you land.