iPhone compatibility test results released

The verdict is in: UC Davis is a fitting home for any iPhone, with a few limits.

This summer, iPhone owners from the campus technical community volunteered to test their iPhones for compatibility at UC Davis. They found that the Apple product's reputation for versatility is well deserved.

Volunteers, who included owners of original or 3G models, were given a list of the most widely used software programs and Web sites at UC Davis, and came up their own list of programs as well. Since early August, they have used these programs extensively to see how well they work with the iPhone. The initial results are now in.

The most-used programs at UC Davis worked well on both iPhone versions, said Caryn DeMoura of Information and Educational Technology Client Services. SISWeb, MyUCDavis, and SmartSite were all compatible. Other campus services like Moobilenet and the library VPN also worked. Ditto for certain third-party applications such as Facebook, iCal, Microsoft Exchange and Befree 4 iPhone, which lets you access your home computer remotely from your iPhone.

"The iPhone does allow a lot of access, but the amount of access depends on how far you want to go with programs," DeMoura said. For example, the iPhone does not support Adobe Flashplayer, and PowerPoint presentations can be viewed but not edited. Other programs, such as IET podcasting, were only partly compatible or worked only at high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots and not with the 3G network.

"People were very willing to test, and to borrow colleagues' phones to test," DeMoura said. "We're very appreciative. Thanks to all the volunteers for their time."

Testing will continue as more applications are released. To volunteer to test an application, or to suggest an application to test, contact ucdiphone@ucdavis.edu.