Version 3.0 of the iPhone operating system is now available for download from Apple. This latest release of the OS brings several new features including MMS support, Copy & Paste, Search, USB tethering (modem usage), among others. But what about for the enterprise: will this latest OS make the handset more attractive to system admins who until now may have preferred Windows Mobile, Symbian or BlackBerry?

I have blogged previously about the iPhone Enterprise Configuration Utility (http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/enterprise-deployment-iphone-xml-configu...), which allows you to define common settings relating to password usage, Server ActiveSync, VPN profiles, Wireless Access Points and Certificates and save that set of configurations to a unique XML-based package that can then be rolled out to any number of devices. The iPhone Configuration Utility version 2.0 has been updated to include the new features available in this new version of the operating system.

Here are some of the highlights:

• CalDAV calendar wireless syncing is now supported - enabling read-only access to shared calendars or colleague's calendars using the CalDAV protocol (note - this does not apply to Microsoft Exchange)
• LDAP server support for contact look-up in mail, address book and SMS - meaning that you start to type in a contact into an email or text message, then have the device query a corporate address book for any matches
• Configuration profiles can be encrypted and locked to a device so that their removal requires an administrative password
• iPhone Configuration Utility 2.0 now allows you to add and remove encrypted configuration profiles directly onto devices that are connected to your PC by USB
• Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is now supported for certificate revocation
• On-demand certificate-based VPN connections are now supported
• VPN proxy server information can now be defined via the configuration utility
• Microsoft Exchange users can invite users to meetings
• The camera can be disabled via a device configuration policy
• The length of time a device can be left unlocked with no user interaction can be defined via a device configuration policy
• Email messages and calendar events can be searched on the local device
• Email can also be searched remotely on Exchange 2007 or IMAP servers or the MobileMe service
• Email subfolders can be synced via Server ActiveSync
• GPRS / 3G / WiFi proxy server information can now be defined via the configuration utility
• Cisco IPSec VPN infrastructure is now supported
• 802.1x EAP-SIM wireless authentication protocol is now supported
• Devices can now be authenticated and enrolled over the air using a Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol server (SCEP)
• Web Clips can be installed onto devices via the configuration utility. Web Clips are added to the Home Screen and provide users fast access to favourite web pages
• iTunes can now store device backups in encrypted format (iTunes version 8.2 or later)

More information can be found online in the Apple iPhone Enterprise Deployment Guide available for download here - http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Enterprise_Deployment_Guide.pdf

It is perhaps important to note the features that are NOT available on the iPhone when used in conjunction with an Exchange server:

• Task synchronisation
• Editing Out of Office message text

As before, when activating a new iPhone device, unless the SIM card has been activated already, the device must be connected to a PC with iTunes installed to complete the activation process.

The iPhone Configuration Utility can be downloaded from the Apple web site for both Windows and Mac platforms - http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/