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Symantec, McAfee target iPhone for new products

While McAfee says it's building security software for the Apple smartphone, Symantec says it's looking at a file backup service. Will it mimic Apple's MobileMe?

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
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Jim Dalrymple

Security companies Symantec and McAfee will be the latest big-name developers to make products for Apple's iPhone, as the two look to cash in on the popularity of the device.

Speaking to Reuters, McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt said his company is developing security software for the iPhone, though no other details on the product were provided. DeWalt also said the company is working on a "much more comprehensive suite for the Apple family."

Symantec is throwing its hat into the iPhone ring too, but it won't be developing traditional security software. Instead, Symantec is looking at a backup service that would give people access to files stored on their computers or on the Web.

The service sounds a bit like Apple's own MobileMe service, which stores data in the cloud. But it's unclear whether Symantec will offer the same type of data syncing available from Apple.

Symantec Senior Vice President Rowan Trollope told Reuters that his company has no immediate plans to introduce security products for the iPhone.

Neither company gave a time frame for the release of products.