No Canadian Member of Parliament carries an iPhone.

No Canadian MP has a smart phone other than a Blackberry. [Update: Stephen Taylor suggests he knows two MPs that have non-Blackberry smart phones; "I know of at least 2 CPC MPs (one cabmin and one MP). Remember, two cellphones particularly useful when one is paid for by the taxpayer and one is for personal calls."] That is how strong the RIM brand is on the Hill. The ubiquitous Blackberry presence on Parliament Hill extends to virtually every member of the House of Commons and the National Press Gallery.  A few hold out MPs refuse the device all together, an iPod Touch  can be found here and there and a few journalists use both a Blackberry and iPhone.

The rise of RIM

How did it happen? John Manley. It really is that simple. One MP made it all happen. Well, at least he got the ball rolling. At first, derided by his colleagues for toting around the device - then a bit larger than a pager and featured a signature orange key - soon all the Ministers wanted one.

Former Minister Manley was influenced by a few key factors:

1. It’s Canadian. Legislatures like buying Canadian. (and they spend a lot on RIM)
2. It was the tech boom in Ottawa; Manley was eager to be part of it. “Silicon Valley North” was snapping up Blackberrys.
3. It worked. And, it worked really well. The battery lasted for a week. The emails never got lost and the direct device-to-device contact (PIN) even lead to a new Ottawa verb “to PIN”.

It caught on in a big way. And soon enough all offices on the Hill were clamoring for the devices. Blackberry has a near total dominance on the political market. A quick check with friends in other legislatures across Canada reveals the same patterns - perhaps one or two vanguard reporters and MLA/MPPs but very few iPhone users.  Is it all really John Manley’s fault?

The Keyboard Question

Well, no. As, David Akin points to the most reasonable argument “against” the iPhone. The keyboard. Or, rather, the perceived lack of a keyboard.

(I note quickly here that David is one of the only reporters who is actively using an iPhone in his daily routine.)

I agree, but only to an extent. I also think it’s a bit like language. One of the most regular excuses I used to hear from Blackberry-resisters was “my fingers can’t use the tiny keyboard.” (I guarantee somewhere in the Senate there is an august fellow dribbling those same words. I digress.)

Think of it like this: it’s like the time your meager French vocabulary sudden multiplied when dropped into Gaspé and you found you knew more French than you thought. Same thing when I made the mistake and ordered one of those teeny tiny Blackberry’s with half the keys (yeah, made typing harder...but I learned.)

Certainly, the iPhone is not a Blackberry. It’s not engineered for only email. But then again, I don’t really think humans are made for email either. We like to talk to one another. Instructions are clearer when spoken. Perhaps slowing down the pace of email, the endless CC train and forcing MPs to talk to their staff a bit more (instead of just pointing them about by email) would make the Hill a more civil place to work.

Laura Payton of Embassy Magazine uses both and had this to say:

Getting an iPhone onto the Hill

Sure other platforms have been kicked around on occasion. NDP Whip Yvon Godin was one of the last hold outs when the House of Commons IT department yanked their pilot project of Handspring Treo.

It will only be so long before an MP demands an iPhone. What happens then? Here is a prediction:

• First, they would say no. They like to do that. If pressed; and persistently requested - many, many reasons will be proffered for why it's impossible;
• The iPhone would be viewed with great suspicion by a few specific bureaucratic branches of the House; Finance will worry (rightly) about cyclical replacement costs and (wrongly) about application costs;
• Information Services (ISSI), the division of the House of Commons responsible for all IT on the Hill is notorious at being slow to adopt new technology; much of this due to costs and security reasons; will balk at the request. A lot.
• So, a business case would need to be written. Memo drafted to the MPs that sit on the Board of Internal Economy to request approval of a pilot project - what’s this board you ask? It’s the all-party consensus based committee that allocates and makes all decisions related to the House of Commons administration. (I know! Shocking, MPs getting along to make decisions.) Catch is: you need to get one of the MPs on the board to bring the proposal to the board (and they will only do that with the support of their Caucus leadership).

Lets face it, since the mid 1980’s the House of Commons has responded to every change in mobile communications (pagers, giant cell phone, flip-phone craze, Blackberrys of all stripes.) And, it’s not like the addition of the cell phone and then the Blackberry didn’t cause a few headaches on the Hill. From the high-security models required by the Forces to the near constant cycle of replacements required for the clumsy or careless -  the administration has adapted. SO as I said, it's only a matter of time until an MP requests an iPhone. And, I'd guess she will eventually get it.

Next up in our Mobile tech series

On Monday in the Mobile technology series: Picking the best applications for reporting and politicking on the iPhone

Photo