Apple Working With Salesforce on iPhone Applications

SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- Apple's iPhone cellphone appears to be gaining more interest from businesses, which could end up being a blow to Palm and Research in Motion.

On a conference call with the financial community Monday, Apple executives confirmed that business software maker Salesforce.com is modifying its products for the iPhone.

The Salesforce effort suggests Salesforce's customers are looking to use the iPhone, and potentially move away from their current favorites, RIM's Blackberry and Palm's Treo.

Apple is participating in the effort, the Apple executives said Monday. Additional details weren't released by Apple, and a representative for Salesforce did not return a call seeking comment.

While it has been embraced by consumers - a total of 1.4 million iPhones have been sold since June 29 - there's been concerns about whether the iPhone will ever be a hit in the workplace.

In July, for instance, NASA officials deemed the iPhone "not enterprise ready."

Analyst firm Gartner also has warned corporations to stay away from the iPhone for now, citing a lack of security to protect data from being hacked and a lack of amenities to ensure the phones can use popular business programming.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires­

Posted to the site on 23rd October 2007