The Week in Geek – March 10, 2008

With New Software, iPhone Breaks from the Pack
In just 8 months, Apple’s is now #2 in smart phones with a 28% share, second only to Research-in-Motion’s Blackberry. Amazing, given Microsoft and Palm have been in this space for years. Now Apple’s going for the RIM juggler, and using Microsoft as a partner to make it happen. Come June, iPhones will connect with Microsoft Exchange, corporate software that serves up e-mail & calendar to a huge chunk of businesses worldwide. Lose an iPhone filled with corporate secrets? The new iPhone software will allow IT to remotely ‘wipe’ a phone clean.

Also demonstrated was the iPhone SDK. Apps ranged from the corporate (Salesforce.com and Epocrates for physicians) to games (EA’s Spore and Sega’s Super Monkey Ball). Developer have access to the iPhone’s motion sensors, so games can respond to tilts and jiggles. One demo showed an ‘undo’ was executed when an iPhone was shaken like an Etch-a-Sketch.

Here’s the strategy angle. Firms that make games (Glu, EA) may have to code two to three dozen for all the various handsets out there. But with 4 million iPhones and a projected 10 million by year-end, plus all the iPod Touches, Apple has created a big, feature-rich platform for developers to shoot at. iPhone and iPod Touch programs will be available through the App Store, with Apple taking 30% on the dollar for everything that’s not free. For developers, consider the attach-rate for the mobile store to be 100%. It’ll be an icon on all iPhones & Touches within the next few months.

The final killer? John Doerr, perhaps the Valleys’ best known venture capitalist, gave Jobs a big bear hug on stage prior to announcing the iFund, Kleiner’s $100 million (yes, nine figures to the left of the decimal) investment cache for budding iPhone centric entrepreneurs. This is watershed – a huge platform, a store in every hand, and the money to push the envelope of innovation. And we’ve only seen Gen One of these products. Also worth noting – Fortune now ranks Apple as the ‘Most Admired Firm in America’.

Web 2.0’s Long Road to IPOs
With a recession looming, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slide, and many others are focused more than ever on building lasting businesses rather than running for the IPO exit. But Digg may buck the trend. Several sites have reported that Google and Microsoft have made overtures in the ‘less than $300 million’ range.

Google Sites: Wiki Collaboration
In 2006 Google bought Jotspot wiki. Now the technology has been foled into an effort called Google Sites, a free group collaboration service that will be part of its online software suite Google Apps.

Students Trek to Tech Mecca
The first week in March saw 24 BC undergrads give up Cancun and Fort Lauderdale for a series of 21 visits with over 45 senior executives. The Boston Herald recently profiled BC’s TechTrek, the most extensive program of its kind at any university. We remain deeply grateful to the alumni, parents, friends of BC, faculty, and staff who make TechTrek possible. Our students had a great experience & did us proud!

Best Undergraduate Business Schools
Speaking of which, BC again ranks #14 among the nation’s leading undergraduate business programs.  This puts us ahead of Georgetown (not that we’re counting). The callout states “Real-world lessons, helpful career-services staff, and active alumni network give BC the edge”. Way to work as a team!