As if there isn’t enough conjecture and hoopla surrounding the launch of the iPhone 3G tomorrow along with a new version of iTunes, AppleTV software, The iPhone/iPod touch App Store and of course the iPhone 2.0 software. Still, I thought I’d throw some thoughts in the bucket from someone who’s used iPhone 1.0 for nearly a year, and someone who, on a daily basis, works with all this Apple gear that needs to work seamlessly together to both provide me the working environment I need, and be the stalwart of our home entertainment network.
iPhone 2.0
Much ado about nothing to comment seriously on this software update, as it’s been in beta for quite awhile and the backbone of what developers have been using to craft new native applications for the iPhone. With enterprise features, integration with Apple’s new MobileMe push-sync service, and of course the App Store, iPhone 2.0 stands to be a significant upgrade all around. That said, it’s still missing basic productivity functions like cut-and-paste which leave those of us who are trying to use the device as a mini-portable computer high and dry.
App Store
After window shopping in the now viewable iPhone/iPod touch Applications Store, I got excited at some of the titles which I know for certain will improve my device experience, notably the native AOL chat, Facebook, Flickr & Twitter applications. I’m sure a WordPress blogging application will arrive soon as well, along with other productivity apps which will supercede the web apps currently in vogue for similar functions.
At current, 25% of the store’s apps are free, and 90% of all the paid apps are 9.99 or less. Though I’ve enjoyed a jailbroken iPhone with 3rd party apps to date, I don’t think I’ll mind losing that and having the app store instead, even if I need to pay small fees to have the applications I want. The Apple way is a better overall ecosystem, and I believe in the quality of the Applications being a key to the success of the Application Store, with Apple overseeing things I believe the quality of the Applications (in functionality and security terms) will improve.
MobileMe
Apple’s newly re-branded, revised, and expanded .Mac service, MobileMe also soft launched today, with push services becoming active. The service will greatly benefit me, as I currently have two production Macs (iMac, MacBook Air) along with my iPhone that I would to have all synced with the new push service.
I’ll be awaiting the arrival of the service to my iPhone however, since I cannot install the 2.0 software at current without losing the phone’s functionality (I have it running unlocked on Fido here in Canada). Having push-sync between the devices means that I can instantly record data on one computer then use the other and see those changes reflected instantly, something which really will benefit users when they’re away from one device and working, then return to the other(s) and have things significantly out of sync with each other. MobileMe will make working with multiple computers that much easier.
Apple’s web applications for MobileMe also look very impressive, something which, should I be in a situation where I need to use a temporary computer (even a PC egad!) I can view all my MobileMe information online in rich application-like experiences, having any changes I make be reflected on my phone and work computers instantly when I return to them.
While I think the enhanced iDisk features and 20GB of storage are nice, it doesn’t really entice me to start really using the web as a viable mobile hard disk. I’d have liked to see 100GB of storage standard with the service, especially seeing as the price has been increased here in Canada to $109 for the service. You can however add on extra storage space, with another 20GB for $49, and 40GB for $99. Other online storage solutions are cheaper however, but don’t allow for the elegant Finder-based usage without advanced configuration.
iPhone 3G Launch
Yes, tomorrow the world will all be clamouring and fawning over the next generation iPhone, and here in Canada many consumers will roll over and take it in the wallet just to have the device, despite Rogers’ steep package prices (and by most accounts data price gouging).
As I’ve mentioned with friends and colleagues, the ‘breakthough internet device’ the iPhone is heralded to be simply can’t be just that without a simple unlimited data plan, that lets users never have to worry about what they’ve racking up in terms of usage.
I for one would willingly pay $50/month for such a luxury, but even that’s expensive. The $60 baseline package plan they offer is simple far too empty a phone package for this device, especially considering Caller ID isn’t even included! That and the fact that they (Rogers & Fido) are world’s only carriers who force iPhone users to lock into a 36-month contact which, all figures included, will cost a user over $1000/year to have the device in it’s basic form on the networks.
We at BraveNewCode would like to get a few of the phones and a plan to match our long-distance requirements for business, but at this time have wavered and hesitated about it. It almost seems a pipe dream now to think that plans will improve over the next few weeks, but pressure continues to be applied to the wireless giant, so who knows.
The next week will be a big one for Apple, and it remains to be seen how all of these changes will affect each other, and how seamless an experience using the MobileMe service will be. One thing’s for sure though with regard to us here at BraveNewCode: we’re not going to watch it all from the sidelines. We have major plans to introduce some startling upgrades to our WPtouch plugin, and we’ll reveal a little bit about that in the next 24-48 hours.
