Cisco Can Now Dial the iPhone

It’s about time. I expected Cisco Systems and Apple to announce some sort of iPhone applications partnership earlier this year, when Cisco sued Apple over the iPhone name. But a deal never occurred. Steve Jobs was hesitating to open up the iPhone to third-party developers, Cisco CEO John Chambers mentioned during a partner event in May. Now, all that has changed. Cisco–and its software partners–finally have the ability to write iPhone applications. Here’s why.

Cisco Prepping Mobile Device Initiative

Keep a close eye on Cisco during Interop in New York the week of October 22. I expect the company to announce enhanced unified communications support for smart phones like the Treo at the event. My sources have indicated that the announcement will not feature any major surprises involving Apple and the iPhone. While Cisco has found some ways to integrate with the iPhone through Apple’s Web browser, the two companies haven’t made any formal announcements about iPhone/unified communications integration.