Mr. iPhone goes to Washington?

House members want iPhones as an option to their BlackBerrys, according to a report.

(Credit: Apple)

Members of Congress are apparently agitating for iPhones.

TheHill.com is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives is testing a deployment of iPhones after receiving requests for the devices, according to the Chief Administrative Office.

Congress is a huge BlackBerry shop, but apparently, legislators and staff members are lobbying for the iPhone as another choice in wireless communications.

The catch is, according to TheHill, they'd have to pay for their iPhones out of their Members' Representational Allowance, the fund that each congressperson is given to hire staff members and offset the expenses of running an office. And since all House e-mail is encrypted through a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, iPhone users won't be able to get their e-mail on the devices, unless they connect the iPhone to their computer.

Congress members during the patent trial showdown between Research In Motion and NTP, and they made sure that they would be exempt from any shutdown in service, had a judge imposed an injunction on the BlackBerry service.

[fazha]

Who isn't interested in getting an iphone?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Should be a good fit for them. A device that is more about show than function.

[Perry_Clease]

The iPhone is about form AND function, it does both very well

[sflocal]

Interesting subject. I'm a bit puzzled (pun intended) about the encryption issue. If they are using RIM, are the politicians also using Exchange? If so, since the iPhone provides a direct Exchange interface without going through a middleman-server like RIM, the encryption can take place directly between iPhone and Exchange. Could it not? Or just provide a VPN link to it since the iPhone supports that.

Am I missing something?

[marknichelson]

I don't understand why anyone who actually uses their phone to TYPE emails and such would want something with NO KEYBOARD. . . makes no sense

[mooreoftom]

I have found that since owning a Treo 650 I can type faster and more efficiently on my iphone that is without a physical keyboard. I'm just curious to know if you own an iphone or if your statement was made out of pure ignorance.

[plarsen111]

You wouldn't think so, but typing on the iphone is actually intuitive with a little practice. As others will tell you, you need to trust the built-in spell checker. It is very powerful.

Check out videos on youtube. There are plenty of folks who can show you how fast you can type on iPhone. Quite nice actually.

[Perry_Clease]

"I don't understand why anyone who actually uses their phone to TYPE emails and such would want something with NO KEYBOARD. . . makes no sense"

It has a keyboard. Does it have a physical button keyboard, no, but it has a keyboard that is there when you need it. For that matter with the iPhone you can rotate between a number of user selectable international keyboards by pressing a "key" to the side of the space bar.

I actually use my iPhone to type emails. It took me about two days to get used to the iPhone's keyboard. I can type fairly quickly on it now without degrading my message by using texting abbreviations.

Go try an iPhone. If there is an Apple Retail Store convenient to your location go there and have the employee show you what it is about. If not maybe you could visit an AT&T Store or Best Buy, but give the iPhone a try. You may not like it, that is okay, there are other phones for you. I used to have a TREO and it was great in its time, but nowadays it seems crude when compared to the iPhone.

Maybe the new phones will give the iPhone a run for its money and maybe they won't. Time will tell, but Apple will probably be working on keeping a step or two ahead of the competition.

[Zanny_Blowzsteve]

Hmmm... Someone should look and see how much Apple contributed to Nancy Pelosi's campaign.

That'd be a coincidental conflict of interest, wouldn't it? And what of former VP Al Gore being on Apple's BOD of yes-men?

Something is rotten in Cupertino, California.

[MrKleinpaste]

Crackberry server. Such a joke. I can't wait until BB adopts Activesync.

[artistjoh]

Why is it that people who clearly do not own iPhones are quick to peddle myths about functionality. To suggest that the iPhone is form without function merely exposes the lack of knowledge of the person making the claim.

The iPhone is a great go anywhere workhorse.The App Store is the source for apps to create and edit Word documents (MobileStudio), create and edit spreadsheets (iSpreadsheet) use a big landscape mode keyboard for writing notes and emails (iNote and Wide Email), record voice notes and interviews (SpeakEasy) use VoIP (Truphone) IM (Palringo), make Mind Maps (MindMaker), post to blogs, translate language, etc etc etc.

This is a seriously useful handheld computer that has surprisingly become an important productivity tool in my business and goes way beyond the phone plus email abilities of earlier Blackberries.

The surprise is not that there is the demand for it, but that it is taking them so long to adopt the device.

[mooreoftom]

I agree 100%. I also use my iphone for my business. With some of the apps out there such as the "aroundme" app, If I'm out on the road I can do a quick search for the types of business that I need to contact to get more leads, and then on top of that it displays the numbers right there for me to call and setup an appointment, and as if that were not enough, it will plot the course from where I currently am to where the business is.
Aside from business productivity, there are hundreds of free high quality apps out there to just download in a minute or less in most cases, and the ones that you have to pay for (and the free ones) are ones that have not been invented until the SDK came out for the iphone.
And now since itunes came out with the app store, we now see other companies following suite in order to keep up with the fastest selling phone out there.
With the iphone, all I see in its' future is more productivity for people/businesses, more never-been-done before type applications, and sheer ingenuity not just at Apple, but with every individual software developer writing code for the iphone.

[myles taylor]

I couldn't agree more. I have an iPod Touch (no iPhone as of yet) and it's indispensable to me. My laptop recently had to go in for repair and I had to use my iPod. It's good for quick internet access and even typing emails, once you get used to it. Let me tell you; it took me a lot longer to get used to typing texts out on my phone. Sure, the iPhone has it's problems, but to say it's form and no function is ridiculous.

[maverick_nick]

I've got some inside info. Representatives have been testing pre beta Windows Mobile 7 and they prefer it to the iPhone.

[myles taylor]

I have some outside info:

No one believes you. ;)

[sarah_oneill]

Why wouldn't they just stick with the blackberry? If those silly govs need an iPhone so bad, just buy one for personal use! This <a href="http://www.atelier-us.com/mobile-wireless/article/iphones-for-congress-decision-pending">earlier article</a> was interesting.