iPhones on the Hill: Congress testing them. Update: Not.

Congress, an institution crafted to govern a country in a reasoned fashion unlike that of the rancorous British parliament, may soon prefer iPhones. According to The Hill, They're under testing by the House Chief Administrative Office to see if they are "suitable" for use by members and their staff. Here's Cult of Mac:

RIM’s Blackberry handhelds have been the communicator of choice in Washington since 2001 and today nearly 8,200 rely on a dedicated Blackberry exchange server to deliver email to people affiliated with the House of Representatives. “We’re trying [iPhones] out … because we heard a lot of people wanted the option to have them,” said Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the CAO.

About Apple's rather swift displacement of RIM as the smartphone-maker du jour: is it being overblown? It might have sold more iPhones than Blackberries this last quarter, but that's a big hill to climb.

Update: Jordan Golson schools the 'net on the dangers of not checking sources: The Hill got it wrong, and we bloggers followed lemminglike in its wake.

iPhones Being Tested for Use by Congress [Cult of Mac]

[#1 posted by Patrick Austin , October 23, 2008 6:26 AM]

Given that people who work on the Hill tend to be much younger than the general population, it doesn't surprise me that the iPhone might have some love there.

[#2 posted by certron , October 23, 2008 6:40 AM]

Someday, not long from now, the piratical cries of "Arr!" and "Aye!" shall ring through the halls of that hallowed institution (and their associated less-charming office buildings).

[#3 posted by Halloween Jack , October 23, 2008 10:11 AM]

One of the reasons that Blackberry has done so well in DC is that their server stayed up on 9/11 when all the cellphone networks were swamped. I lurve my jesusPhone, but would I want to rely on AT&T in a similar situation? Maybe not so much, or at least if I were in a Congress-type position of responsibility, I'd want a belt-and-suspenders setup and carry a Curve as well, just in case.

[#4 posted by Joel Johnson , October 23, 2008 10:43 AM]

Halloween Jack: That's an interesting point, but slightly off: it's not like BlackBerry is providing the wireless infrastructure for their devices. That's provided by the carriers, including AT&T.

[#5 posted by roboton , October 23, 2008 8:52 PM]

Yeah, because the iPhone works so well with Exchange...

The iPhone IS NOT for the enterprise...

[#6 posted by dimmer , October 24, 2008 5:35 PM]

Huh? iPhone 1.0 wasn't geared for Enterprise, but iPhone 2.1 has that as it's central purpose. The iPhone uses Microsoft's ActiveSync to deal with Exchange, taking the intermediary Exchange RIM server out of the equation, it has remote wipe, it has a (OK, this part is weak) Cisco VPN client.

What, in your opinion, makes the iPhone not for the enterprise?