Tag Archives: iphone

iPhone 3G/v2.0 update: STILL not a basic smartphone

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The announcement of v2.0 software and a 3G-capable iPhone at Apple’s recent Worldwide Developer’s Conference was highly anticipated by those of us monitoring the development of this device. From my earlier post comparing the iPhone to Blackberry and Palm Treo devices, I am pleased to see that a number of smartphone capabilities (and even a few wish list items) are being included into the latest hardware and software:

  • MobileMe (WAN sync), carrying Apple’s clever tag line of being “Exchange for the rest of us”
  • Attachment view of iWork & Office ’97 docs
  • Integrated GPS

While I give kudos to Apple for these most welcome additions (especially offering WAN sync to MobileMe), I am still quite disappointed by the lack of a removable battery and some form of expandable storage (via either MMC or microSD card) in the hardware, particularly as the latter would allow for doubling the available memory. Minimally, one would expect the iPhone 3G to match the highest memory capacity of the current iPod Touch (32 GB), but alas, the initial offering will only provide up to 16 GB. As disappointing as these shortcomings are, I have even greater concerns regarding what was not mentioned by Mr. Jobs’s keynote address in terms of software support available in v2.0. Continue reading →

iPhone v2.0: What it needs to actually compete with a Blackberry

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As the second version of the iPhone is anticipated to ship within the next few months, I am compelled to weigh in with what I would like to see in this new model. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Apple products, noting my recent review of the MacBook Air, being 1 of 6 Macintosh computers which I use at home and in my businesses. I also own two of the latest generation iPods (the 160-GB Classic and video-capable Nano). So naturally, an Apple zealot such as myself would have an iPhone as part of my business (and toy) arsenal, right?

Wrong. In fact, spending a few minutes online reading about its features (or the lack thereof) along with 5 minutes of hands-on experience in an Apple retail store last summer was more than enough to convince me that the iPhone was not even close to serving my needs. Perhaps my needs are different than others who would buy an iPhone over an iPod Touch. I can understand the appeal of the latter: a wide-screen, multitouch, gorgeous multimedia appliance with Wi-Fi which further extends an already popular (and profitable) product line.

If the iPhone is to be an iPod Touch plus a revolutionary phone, I would expect it to incorporate (at a minimum) the standard set of basic cellphone features which have been commonplace for years in much less expensive, low-end devices. In fact, as a high-end phone (as determined by its price point) coupled with a revolutionary user interface, I would also expect it to incorporate all of the basic Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smartphone capabilities which have been around for more than 10 years. After all, PDA functions are just software, an aspect of which the iPhone has claimed to be king. Continue reading →