Apple ’s iPhone , which debut next month , may be chiefly a consumer multimedia twist and wireless telephone set , but it is very much on the minds of some IT coach , including Fidelity Investments ’ Joseph Ferra .
Ferra , the chief wireless policeman at theBoston - based investment business firm , is tax with making Fidelity ’s Web - based investing pecker and its Boston Coach car service uncommitted on any wireless gadget . Fidelity started early , in 1998 , and now has about 1 million customers , Ferra tell IT managers at theComputerworld Mobile & Wireless World conferencein Orlando Tuesday .
The iPhone is one of the handhelds that Fidelity wants to be ready to patronage by maximize Fidelity ’s Web - base investment tools for the size of the iPhone screen and other measurements , as the company does with many other gimmick .
Fidelity use management tools that attend in find the web web browser being used by a customer , as well as the equipment model , the mobile bearer , screen size , firmness and the number of keys on the keyboard . All that information helps Fidelity better dish out the client , he said .
AT&T will be the undivided U.S. carrier for iPhone for five geezerhood , but Ferra was quick to take note that Verizon Wireless , AT&T ’s biggest rival , may have an resolution to iPhone in recent summertime , according to areport in USA Today . Ferra even send off an image of a bleak , prospicient and slender twist with identifying brands obscure out that he said is “ probably ” what Verizon will produce .
Fidelity customers “ want to do everything from Fidelity.com ” on a handheld equipment , Ferra say . “ This [ gimmick ] will be the predominate way that people function once we give them the capability to take advantage of it . ”
Ferra predicted , without give any dates , that mobile devices in the U.S. will take on the functions of railway car keys and defrayal system , uses that are almost commonplace in some country such as South Korea . “ This kind of gimmick will take the place of a lot of functions , ” he added .
Fidelity has become so keen on hand-held receiving set uses that it now benchmarks the capableness of its wireless applications against Amazon.com and eBay , Ferra order . In the past , Fidelity Anywhere judged itself against its fiscal service of process competitors on factors such as style of devices endorse , ease of use , and lack of problems using them . But going against Amazon and others , Fidelity realizes it needs to keep amend , Ferra said .
Ferra said Fidelity is open to new devices , including those with multimedia capabilities , because it is concerned in sending a market recap video from its analysts to investor at the end of each day .
While the iPhone ’s emergence did n’t trouble Ferra , it was obvious that IT managers in attending at Mobile & Wireless World are less accepting . In a sketch question for the entire crowd , nearly 85 percent say they wanted to have stock mobile and wireless political program and twist , while the remainder were unforced to brook whatever equipment new workers want to use .
