This is the home page for the iPhone Release Project Wiki Space. This project is a continuation of the iPhone Evaluation Project that was completed in October, 2007. To see the evaluation results, see http://mit.edu/swrt/releases/iphone-eval.

Overview

The Apple iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. Anticipating the potential popularity of the iPhone at MIT, IS&T initiated an iPhone Evaluation Project.

Apple's iPhone is one of the most anticipated mobile devices in recent history. While the full details are yet unknown, iPhone promises a number of revolutionary features that might benefit the MIT users. These include "real operating system" leveraging OS X, "full" web browsing capability, widgets, multi-touch user interface, etc.

The goal of the project is to investigate the viability of the Apple iPhone within the MIT environment and to share the findings with the community. The evaluation will include email, calendar, contacts, certificates, web browsing, and other features that are essential to MIT mobile device users. The project will also investigate ways to make the iPhone work with these features and document the findings. The project is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Timeline

The evaluation project is scheduled to begin in early July, 2007 as soon as iPhone devices can be obtained and set up for the testing team.

The evaluation team will initially meet in the week of July 9 and hold weekly meetings till the end of July, 2007.

Meeting Minutes

• Minutes from 7-13-2007(iPhone Evaluation Team Meeting)
• Minutes from 10-31-2007 (iPhone Release Team Meeting)
• Minutes from 11-6-2007 (iPhone Release Team Meeting)

Testing

• iTunes (for activation initial setup and synchronization)
  • AT&T Service Options
  • Windows XP and Vista
  • Mac OS X
• E-Mail
• Contacts Synchronization
• Calendar Synchronization
• Tasks Synchronication (N/A)
• Notes (cannot be synchronized)
• Certificates (X.509 Personal Certificates are not supported)
• Access to MIT's Wi-Fi Network
• MIT Web Sites
• Others (e.g. Podcasting, Widgets, Web Applications, etc.)

Known Issues (As of 11/2007)

• X.509 Certificate support not available: Certificate-protected MIT sites are not accessible via the iPhone nor iPod Touch
• TechTime Calendar synchronization may be possible in limited manner that cannot be supported by IS&T
  • Windows XP/Vista (two-way sync): Use SyncJe to synchronize Outlook to TechTime. Then, use iTunes to synchronize the iPhone to Outlook.
  • Mac OS X (one-way sync): Use OraCal2iCal to overwrite iCal. Then, use iTunes to synchronize the iPhone to iCal.

Wish List

The following wish list include features that the initial version iPhone does not support. This list will be forwarded to Apple.

• X.509 Certificate (to allow MIT users to browse certificate-secured websites)
• Support for 3G data network (UMTS or HSDPA)
• Wireless synchronization of calendar, contacts, and tasks with Oracle Calendar Server
• SIP client for VOIP

Web Development

Apple's iPhone web development page

iPhone web apps

web access to OmniFocus (Mac OS X GTD app)
Telekinesis: remotely access a Mac
WebShell: SSH to a Mac or Linux
MIT Directory - Specially formatted for the iPhone

Project Team

• Andrew Yu - SWRT Mobile Devices Platform Coordinator
• Matthew Sullivan - SWRT Mobile Devices Consultant
• Chris Murphy - OIS
• Chris Gresham - CSS IT Help Services Analyst
• Joanne Larabee - CSS Senior IT Help Services Analyst
• Lee Ridgway - CSS 
• Chuck King - DITR
• Joan Cyr - Telephony
• Scott Jensen - Corporate Relations
• Helen Rose - Office of Development Research and Systems Assoc Dir, Developmt Research & Systems

Related News