News & Views

The next version of the iPhone is receiving quite a "buzz" in the media. I think this is because it is rumored to finally fix some of the major omissions that have plagued the iPhone since version 1.0. Users are getting excited that the iPhone will finally live up to the promises made at the original introduction 2 years ago.

Anyone who reads this blog knows I've been quite vocal about the many shortcomings of the original iPhone. These opinions come from a person who has been using the iPhone as his only phone since day one of its original introduction. I like the phone a lot, but it always fell short of the Apple hype engine claims. It has never for a moment been a "revolutionary" communication device. Every feature the iPhone had at its introduction had been available for years from other smart phone makers. In fact, there were/still are a lot of basic features missing which those other phones have had for years. The primary difference was always the simple user interface. Apple made it easier to use those myriad functions. That's evolutionary progress, not revolutionary.

Fast forward two years from that over-hyped introduction and we're now looking forward to the release of the third version of the iPhone. It took two years, but it seems Apple has finally listened to owners and filled in the many missing features we've been requesting literally since day one. In my mind, this latest release finally makes the iPhone equal in features with all of the other smart phones on the market. The easy user interface pushes it over the top. If the rumored feature set of this third iPhone is true, I can finally put away my soap box and agree that this new iPhone will be the best smart phone out there. So, here are the details of what I have seen rumored. (mockup photo from http://www.iphone-ticker.de)

What can we reasonably expect in the third iPhone?

• Increased RAM size. The RAM used for executing programs in the current iPhone is 128MB. This is expected to be doubled to 256MB for the new version. That's a huge improvement.
• Increased performance. The main CPU in the new iPhone is expected to jump to 600MHz clock speed from 400MHz in the current version. There are also other optimizations which might give it an additional boost, so that the total performance gain will be more than 50%.
• Wider range of storage capacities. The new iPhone is expected to come in as many as 4 different storage capacities. They are 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. Folks like me with large audio libraries will finally be able to put their music collection on their iPhone! People who only use the phone for email and browsing will get a price break by buying the smallest capacity unit. Everyone wins.
• Cut and paste. This is a big one that has been missing and requested loudly since the beginning.
• MMS support. This is another one of the most requested missing features. Owners of the new iPhone will finally be able to exchange basic audio/video/photo messages with nearly every other cell phone owner out there. No more logging onto a web site to type in a bizarre code so you can view a message sent to you from a $29 phone. No more embarrassment that those $29 phones can do something your expensive phone can't do.
• Improved Bluetooth support. I think we'll finally see stereo headset support. I also think we'll see Bluetooth keyboard support and possibly Bluetooth printing. I think we'll likely also see tethering support with some artificial limitation attached. Probably the limitation will be that you pay extra for a tether-friendly data plan from AT&T.
• Video recording and simple editing. In order to fully-implement MMS, they needed to be able to record video. So, they wrapped this feature in a simple application to use any time.
• Audio recording. The same note applies for MMS audio recordings. They had to implement it anyway, so they made it available as a new application.
• Improved camera image quality. This comes in the form of better light sensitivity and auto focus functionality built-in. The camera will be less prone to image blur. I wonder if digital image stabilization isn't also an element of this equation. I'm betting on simple face recognition, as well.
• Improved camera resolution. This rumor is still the subject of debate. Many say the new camera will be 3.2MP. I'm not holding my breath on this one, but it does make sense. Frankly, if they just improve the quality of the images from the existing camera, that will go a long way toward making people happy.
• Digital compass. Being able to orient the device in 3D space will be a useful enhancement to GPS positioning abilities. The digital compass application looks pretty cool, too.
• Turn-by-turn navigation. With the digital compass added, all of the hardware is there to do real turn-by-turn navigation. If they use Google Maps, it should be fairly straightforward to implement this. I believe this rumor is true.
• Percentage indicator for battery life. This is a small thing that will be very handy. The existing indicator just isn't accurate enough to be useful. I really hope this one is true.
• Nike+ support and a built-in Nike+ application. This rumor looks like it may be true. I could easily see Nike making a deal with Apple to include it. It's a cool application and it could be a beneficial partnership - selling more product for both companies.
• Downloadable iTunes TV/Movies. This one is a tough call. On the one hand, you have AT&T whining about bandwidth usage. On the other, you have Apple trying to further pump up their highly-profitable iTunes sales. IF this happens, it will likely be limited to WiFi downloads only for a long time.
• Pseudo background application support. This will come in the form of push notifications being available to most applications. It will give applications the feel of background execution, without actually sucking up CPU and battery time. We'll have to wait and see how well this works in reality.
• Further enhancements to Exchange Server compatibility. By this, I mean slight tweaks, not drastic improvements. The iPhone will still lack the extensive configuration capabilities that the Blackberry enjoys, but for most people the iPhone will be more than adequate. Just don't try to change your auto-responder from your iPhone.
• Global search. This was another feature requested by many, but ignored by Steve Jobs. The iPhone owner will finally be able to do what Palm's have done for well over a decade - search through everything on the device from a single search box. It's about time.
• Positioning information will now be available within the browser, in the form of JavaScript classes. This will open up all kinds of cool online services based on where you are standing at that moment. Expect to hear about a lot of cool web sites which take advantage of this shortly after introduction. For example, you could watch your friends move around town in real time on a map at a social networking site. I think Google has already been working on exactly this type of thing.
• Apple logo that lights up. Seriously? Why waste the battery power? Perhaps they plan to simply let the LCD back light bleed through to the logo on the back, but it's supposedly a true rumor. We'll see.

What rumors are probably not true?

• Improved battery life. I'll believe this one when I see it. I don't see how they can add so much functionality, as well as new hardware, while reducing the battery load at the same time. They may claim longer battery life, but I don't think any of us will see it in real world usage. I'd be mostly happy if it just doesn't get any worse.
• Adobe Flash support. As much as people have been asking for this, I think Adobe would tell us if they were ready to introduce it. They haven't said a word. So, I don't think it's coming any time soon. It's a shame because so many web sites don't offer an alternative to their Flash menus. I'm sure not having Flash support will be the main thing I still complain about on this new iPhone.
• Apple TV functionality with HD video support. While I think they will take a stab at letting people download videos and TV to their iPhones using iTunes, I don't think the iPhone will support HD content. It's really pointless to do this until the display can at least come close to rendering it fully. I don't see HD or Apple TV functionality coming to the iPhone for at least a year, if not two.
• Built-in uploading of recorded videos to YouTube. I really think Apple only tolerates YouTube. If there is ANY built-in uploading of videos, it will probably be set to work exclusively with Apple's own (lame) online service. Apple is very inbred when it comes to forcing its products to only work with its services. I do think this ability will appear on the iPhone, just not from Apple.
• HD or FM radio receiver. I can't imagine Apple letting people listen to the radio instead of forcing them to buy songs from iTunes.
• Matte black and matte white finishes. Apple has always been tilted toward glossy and shiny, so I can't imagine they would offer anything in a matte finish. Then again, this is a phone. Maybe they will listen to the complaints of users about scratches and fingerprints and coat it with a protective finish of some sort. We can hope, but I'm not very optimistic about this one.
• Enhanced "super" 3G support. Some are calling it 3.5G+ or 3.75G. I don't think it will make it into this generation of iPhone, but all bets are off on the next version. AT&T is finally beefing up their high speed cellular support and the future looks brighter than it ever has. Now, if only we could get them to lighten up on bandwidth restrictions, we might see mobile to mobile video chat (which has existed forever in the Orient) in our lifetimes. Our communications systems in this country are so primitive in comparison to the rest of the world. It's sad, really.

What rumors are definitely not true?

• Full iChat support integrated. Sure this would be nice, but I doubt we'll see it anytime soon. AT&T has us all by the short hairs when it comes to guarding their bandwidth.
• WiFi draft N support. I don't believe we'll see this. They have only recently embraced draft N support in their desktops and laptops. I'm sure they don't think it's important enough for the iPhone.
• Built-in FM transmitter. Not likely either. There isn't enough space inside the device and it would eat up the battery quicker.
• Front facing camera for video chatting. Not happening because of bandwidth limitations set by AT&T. Maybe in two years, but no way it's happening in this version.
• OLED screen. That would push the price too high and this is one of their few devices where Apple grudgingly acknowledges that price is somewhat important. Until OLEDs are cheaper and being manufactured in sufficient quantities, we won't see them on iPhones. It just isn't realistic. We might see LED backlighting for the LCD display, though. That, I could see happening.
• Any drastic changes to the form factor. The 3rd iPhone will only have minor cosmetic tweaks if anything. It will retain the same basic layout, shape, and dimensions as prior versions.
• Carbon fiber casing. I can't see anyone using carbon fiber for a telephone casing. It is too brittle. The first drop would bust it open. I think the new iPhone will use the same plastic as the 3G with little change to anything.
• Editing of Word and Excel files. With third parties jumping in to fill this void, I don't see Apple wasting the resources to add this ability. There are already a couple of good applications for this task available from iTunes, so they'll make their money that way.

When will we see the new iPhone?

Some of the features mentioned above will appear in version 3.0 of the operating system, which is supposed to be introduced for existing iPhones on June 8, 2009. There are rumors that this upgrade will be sold, not free. Because some of the functions depend on new hardware, users of older iPhones simply won't see some of the new features.

The new iPhone device will appear over a month later, on July 17th, 2009. I'm sure we'll be able to tell what hardware/software made the final cut during the weeks between those two dates. I expect to hear about a lot of first generation iPhone owners finally trading in their phones once the new one hits the shelves. I'm certainly in that category.

Yes, it's a great update. The feature set will finally be mostly complete. But before you start thinking I'm completely content with the rumored abilities of this new iPhone, let me reassure you with the following section:

What would I like to see added next?

• Flash support is the one blindingly obvious item which needs to happen sooner rather than later. Flash may not be an open standard, but it is a de facto standard used on a large number of commercial web sites. Deal with it Apple! Help Adobe create it.
• LED backlighting on the display. It's brighter for sunny days and displays much better color. Even OLED wouldn't be a big improvement if they put LED backlighting on the display.
• WiFi draft N. If they are going to keep limiting large downloads to WiFi only, at least give us decent speed on the WiFi.
• Increased display resolution - but only if it doesn't make everything harder to read for those of us who are getting old. In other words, give us a way to keep the font sizes big enough to see while displaying images or video at the increased resolution.
• Higher resolution camera - but only if the picture quality doesn't suffer in the process. More pixels are useless if the picture is blurry.
• Switch-able LED lighting for video and photo recording in darkened rooms like clubs or restaurants.
• HD video playback. Sure, 720p would be the logical first step, but eventually I'd like to see full 1080p output. Of course, this is probably a long-term goal. More and more hotel rooms have flat panels with HDMI connections. Just add a micro-HDMI port and let me watch my iPhone videos on my hotel room TV in full high definition. Let me display presentations on conference room flat panels, too. Is that a presentation in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
• An SD or even micro SD expansion slot. Sometimes you just want more space for your stuff. Downloading videos will make that even more critical.
• A user-replaceable battery. Even if it's just a back that opens more easily and a battery cable which unplugs, make it replaceable by the end user damn it. NOBODY wants to be without their phone while it gets shipped in for a new battery to be installed. That's retarded.
• Add the ability to edit calendar events, alarms, and contacts from inside iTunes. This is another thing Palm's have had for over a decade. Get with the program Apple.
• Add the ability to drag songs or albums onto your iPhone without creating a damned play list first. Sometimes I just want the music on there to listen to on a whim. I don't need it to be part of a play list.

Yes, you're right. I'm a picky bloke who can always come up with a wish list for any device. The new iPhone will absolutely be a big improvement over previous generations. In fact, if the rumors are true, this could be the best phone out there. But there is always room for improvement.

Summing it up.

In a nutshell, the 3rd iPhone version looks like it will finally fulfill the promise of the original iPhone introduction two years ago. The wide variety of feature shortcomings which held the device back from widespread acceptance will finally be addressed. With these feature and hardware additions, the feature set required to call itself a modern smart phone will finally be nearly complete. Unlike the 3G introduction, which only increased download speed and added a GPS radio, this third version looks like the real "second coming" of the iPhone. It actually looks to be an upgrade worth buying for those of us with first generation iPhones. I'm excited to see how the rumors pan out.

I fully expect iPhone 3 will take off like a rocket after introduction. By this time next year, I'm predicting the already large installed base of iPhones will have tripled and Apple will be doing quite well, indeed, thanks to iPhone and iTunes sales. Currently, if you remove the iPhone, iPod Touch, and their associated iTunes sales increases from Apple's financial numbers, Apple would have done as poorly as the rest of the tech sector or worse. Instead, they have been relatively untouched by the floundering economy. This new version of the iPhone looks like it will further boost Apple's numbers to amazing levels of health. If you have Apple stock, hold onto it. The iPhone's future looks very bright.

Labels: Apple, iPhone, Music, Opinions, OSX, Predictions, UI, User Interface

I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about Apple possibly introducing a netbook in 2009. After listening to all of the rumors and putting a little intuition and imagination to work, I’ve come up with what I think may be part of that Apple netbook package. I’ll go through the components one by one. (mockup photo by artist Edwin Tofslie)

The GPU: The widely accepted rumor is that the newly-released Imagination Technologies four core PowerVR GPU will be used in the next iPhone. I believe it may actually be targeted at an Apple netbook in order to drive a significantly larger display than what is in the iPhone and iPod Touch while maintaining very low power drain. Plus, it will have plenty of horsepower to view HD iTunes content when being used as a multimedia device.

The CPU: ARM Cortex A9. Again, the chip is something everyone else is targeting as an iPhone candidate. I believe it is headed for an Apple netbook. I believe Apple wants to squeeze amazing battery life from a slim tablet-style netbook and this multi-core chip is powerful enough to do the job while maintaining much better energy efficiency than an Intel Atom.

The OS: Ok, it is a given that it will be OS X based, but I believe it will be a scaled-up version of the iPhone operating system rather than a scaled-down version of the desktop OS. The new OS will possibly be a superset of firmware 3.0. It may even run most of the same applications, considering the CPU and GPU being used. It may have a launcher screen similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch, as well.

The SCREEN: I believe it will be a full-screen multi-touch device, just like the iPhone and iPod Touch, only larger. It may be about the same thickness, while being wider and longer. The keyboard will be software-based with new support for copy/paste and other functions introduced in firmware 3.0. The screen will likely be in the 7-9 inch range with high DPI rating for beautiful images and multimedia content. It won’t be much larger, because thumb typing on a larger screen in landscape mode would prevent you from reaching the middle keys with your thumbs.

The AUDIO: It will have stereo speakers, but primarily be intended for use with headphones or audio out. It will also have a built-in microphone for use with iChat and when using the device as a speakerphone.

The VIDEO: Like the next generation iPhone coming in June, it will have a forward-facing camera hidden behind the screen for use with iChat. It will be able to do high-resolution video chat over a wireless network or lower-resolution video chat over 3G. It will also provide a mini Display Port interface.

The NETWORKING: This machine will have built-in wireless-N networking as well as a built-in, always-on 3G voice and data connection through another Apple contract with ATT.

The BATTERY: Following the trend in all Apple devices, it will not be user swappable. I feel like Apple will shoot for 8+ hours of battery life. It will be lithium-ion based rather than using the newer silver-zinc technology.

The STORAGE: It will probably have 32 GB of memory/storage, like the highest-end iPhone. Much to the irritation of many folks, it may not include USB ports. Their reasoning for not including it will be that the device would be open to easier cracking of the 3G network link if they included USB ports. If you see USB ports, you probably won’t see built-in 3G. Either that, or the 3G won’t be tied to a single vendor.

The REST: Also included will be an accelerometer, GPS, and ambient light sensors. The App Store and iTunes Store will be there. It will sync with Mobile Me. A cloud-based set of simple productivity and media applications will also be included, perhaps iLife Mobile.

The PRICE: This is where folks will likely be most disappointed. I don’t see Apple introducing this machine for any less than $799. It may even be as high as $1199. The large capacitive touch screen, multi-core processors, and lithium-ion battery will keep the price higher than most people want to pay for a netbook. Some will buy it anyway, because it will look great and be very easy to use.

I see this device being called something like “iPad,” “iTouch,” or perhaps “iPad Touch” and being available in late summer for their back-to-school sales push. You heard it here first.

Labels: Apple, iPhone, Opinions, OSX, Predictions, UI, User Interface

One of the most impressive devices shown at this year's CES was introduced  by Palm in the form of the new "Pre." I know - the name leaves a lot to be desired, but the device looks to be pretty amazing. In the Pre, Palm has created a device which addresses a lot of the long-time complaints of iPhone users. Could this be the device which finally shows Apple how to make a decent phone?

First of all, let's look at the raw specs on this phone (copied from Palm's site):

Operating system: Palm® webOS™
Network specs: 3G EVDO Rev A (Sprint)
Display: 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display
Keyboard: Physical QWERTY keyboard
Email: Microsoft Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology
POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc).
Messaging: Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS
GPS: Built-in GPS
Digital camera: 3 megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
Sensors: Ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity
Media formats supported: Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
Image Formats: GIF, Animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 801.1x authentication
Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
Memory: 8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available) also USB mass storage support
Phone as laptop modem: Bluetooth tethering supported
Connector: MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Headphone jack is 3.5mm stereo
Charger: Palm^® Touchstone^™ charging dock
Dimensions
Width: 59.5mm (2.3 inches)
Height: 100.5mm (3.9 inches)
Thickness: 16.95mm (0.67 inches)
Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces)

As you can see, the Pre includes many features which still haven't materialized on the iPhone after two generations and years of development. For example, the Pre includes MMS messaging. Users have been asking for that feature on the iPhone since the release of the original. The Pre also works with Microsoft Outlook's Direct Push (and ActiveSync) right out of the box.

There are are many other features you won't find on an iPhone which weren't listed in the spec sheet above. The Pre will sync with your Outlook, Google, and Facebook calendars simultaneously. The Pre will let you cross-link Contact records which were synced from a number of different sources, including buddy lists, Gmail contacts, Outlook, and others. The Pre also combines messages sent by the same person across multiple sources based on your contact cross-links. This makes it easier to track ongoing conversations with the same contact even when it starts in IM and ends with an email.

The Pre will let you open multiple applications at once. There is turn-by-turn navigation using the built-in GPS. The camera has much higher resolution and a built-in LED flash. It supports non-Apple standard file formats for a wider variety of media. It supports stereo Bluetooth headsets. The battery is removable. It even allows modem tethering for laptops right out of the box.

Another cool new feature is the Touchstone charging dock. To charge the Pre, you simply lay it on the cylindrical block. There are no wires to connect to your phone. When you're ready to leave, you just pick the phone up and go.

Like the iPhone, the Pre has a built-in WiFi b/g chip which speeds up your Internet browsing when you are near a hot spot. It supports the standard multi-touch gestures, just like the iPhone, including "pinch," "spread," and "flip." There are built-in chat functions, but unlike the iPhone, it lets you track the online status of your buddy lists, as well. Also like the iPhone, it can be operated in landscape mode.

Most importantly, to some users, the Pre has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. So you don't have to worry about precisely placing your fat fingers on small areas of a touch screen any longer. Only time will tell how good this keyboard feels, but it looks to be about as good as a crackberry keyboard, which is to say, usable.

One down side I can see with the device is the "holy crap, I'm a fat-boy" design. This thing won't win any beauty contests with a figure like that. It is a pudgy little gadget with far too much roundness for my tastes. Your mileage will vary, of course, and you might well find it appealing.

Another potential down side is that it is tied to Sprint only at this time. Granted, this may be a benefit for some customers. The majority of us are with other carriers, though, so we will just have to wait patiently for Palm to release version for other 3G networks.

Overall, the Pre looks to be a worthy challenger to the iPhone. One might even say the first worthy challenger, as other efforts to date have been rather disappointing. As I find out more about this interesting device, I will keep you updated. Stay tuned.

Labels: iPhone, Opinions

I bought a first generation iPhone on the first day of release. Yes, I was one of the poor saps who waited in line for it. Although I like the user interface a lot, many of my old blog readers have seen my reviews listing all of its many shortcomings. Well, Apple has released the new iPhone 3G so it's time to take a look at whether they corrected the biggest problems I found with their first generation. Here is a quick rundown of some of the features I found missing on the original iPhone:

1. No cut/copy/paste. No change on the 3G. It's still missing.

2. No MMS support. No change. Nothing in App Store, either.

3. No JAVA support. Again, no change on either phone.

4. No FLASH support. No change, but there are rumors of it coming out later for both phones.

5. No audio record. Nothing built-in. A third party application is now available for both phones.

6. No video record. Nothing built-in. Third party app coming?

7. Still 16 GB maximum. The 3G has the same capacity as Gen 1. Can you say, "yawn?"

8. No user-replaceable battery. Still must buy an emergency external dongle battery or find another way to recharge it.

9. No memory card slot for expansion. Yet another no-show feature.

10. No stereo Bluetooth. That's right! Bluetooth is still mono on the 3G! It still won't use stereo Bluetooth headsets or even external Bluetooth keyboards.

11. No tethering to laptops. You still can't use the iPhone 3G as a high-speed wireless modem for your laptop. They charge more for the new 3G data connection, but they still limit how you can use it.

12. No To-Do lists. This, and many other handy applications, are now available for both phones in the App Store.

13. No email forwarded as attachments. I haven't tested this one yet, but on the old phone, if somebody forwarded an email from a service like AOL, it was sent as an attachment. The iPhone could not display that attached email. Has anyone tested this yet?

14. No moving you snapped photos into albums/folders. When you take a photo, it goes into "Camera Roll" and there it stays. When you receive a photo in an email, it's the same. You can't move photos you want to keep into a different folder unless you put them on a computer first. It is awkward at best and annoying for certain.

15. Exchange Server access. This was finally added for both phones and I'm pretty happy about it. Unfortunately, they overwrite your personal data with Exchange data when you sync (except for email). The one exception is information you store on a Mobile Me account (for $99 more per year - OUCH!).

16. Contacts search. This was added to both.

17. Desktop icon for Contacts. This was added to both.

18. No voice dialing. Still missing in both phones.

19. No native chat client. Both have this covered now via third party applications.

As you can see, a large number of missing features were still not resolved on the 3G. The few that were resolved, were resolved on both the new phone and the old, and many of those were actually resolved by third parties, not Apple. There are far too many basic cell phone features that are still missing which really should have been included in the original iPhone a year ago. Plus, the 3G service and using Exchange side-by-side with your personal data will cost you lots of extra money every year.

In a nutshell, you get a real GPS and a 3G radio in the new iPhone 3G versus just updating to 2.0 firmware in the the old iPhone. Those are virtually the only differences between a 3G and a Gen 1 iPhone. Tons of basic cell phone features are still missing from both, despite the update. Even worse, if you use the 3G radio, the battery life is significantly shorter than a Gen 1, and that 3G radio is really the main reason you would want to upgrade.

Further, you still can't swap batteries to overcome the new shorter battery life. I don't know about most of you, but the first thing I always did with my previous cell phones was buy a bigger extended-life battery. Even with the new iPhone 3G, this still isn't possible.

Granted, the battery life on the iPhone 3G is better than most 3G phones, but when considering whether to upgrade from a Gen 1 iPhone to a 3G iPhone, you don't really care about other phones. You look at how it compares to what you've been using. The reality is, if you use 3G, your battery life goes down.

It also costs you $10 more per month for the 3G data plan, ($15 if you send and receive under 200 text messages, which most of us do) and you still can't use the 3G iPhone as a modem. Add that $180 per year to the extra $99 per year for Mobile Me if you want separate Exchange Server information and personal information on your device. That extra $279 per year is why many folks say the iPhone is now far more expensive than ever before and far too expensive to be justified. Even if we stay with our Gen 1 iPhones, we have to pay $99 more per year to get the Exchange Server working without overwriting our separate personal data.

To be completely honest, the biggest news for both iPhones is the App Store. Third party software is now easily added to either phone. This fast growing library of software promises to be the real reason for new iPhone owners to pick up an iPhone 3G. On the other hand, the addition of the App Store offers no real incentive for Gen 1 users to upgrade to the new phones. This is because our Gen 1 iPhones can use the same software. There are literally hundreds of applications already available and many more are in the works.

The App Store is, by far, the most exciting thing about owning or purchasing any iPhone right now.

So, getting back to the original question. To upgrade or not? For people like me, who already have a first generation iPhone, I don't see enough justification for the total price of the upgrade. Paying significantly more per month simply to get a faster connection speed and more precise positioning seems just silly to me. Some folks will always buy the latest and greatest, regardless of cost or lack of features. But for me, until I see a lot more storage space added and/or the elimination of the insanely-high monthly price premium, I'll be staying with my trusty old Gen 1 iPhone.

To upgrade or not? For me, the answer is currently "not."

For a bit of fun, check out these C|Net TV video links for the top 5 reasons to love or hate the iPhone 3G.

Labels: Apple, iPhone