iPhone 3.0- no new handset required
The big Apple iPhone 3.0 preview event went off today without a hitch and it seems a lot of the rumored improvements are going to in fact make it into the next version of software for the iPhone. The infamous copy-and-paste will be there along with support for MMS and my personal favorite- stereo Bluetooth support. I must say the geek in me who is always looking for that next great phone was disappointed with no mention of any new model coming from Cupertino.
It is kind of amusing that the little things are often the ones that create the most buzz. The clamoring for the copy-and-paste ability has been huge and the desire for a landscape keyboard for composing email almost as loud. Both of those will be addressed in 3.0 so perhaps the “squeaky wheel” principle was in play here. A lot of the new features in iPhone 3.0 center around developers and making it easier for them to create better apps and to monetize those apps. That will have far-reaching benefits for we users so that’s important.
What is a bit surprising to me is that I didn’t see anything in the new feature list that requires a new handset. I may have missed something but it appears that most everything announced today will run on not only the iPhone 3G but even the original iPhone model (MMS messaging and stereo Bluetooth support excluded). While this is good to help those of us who invested in an iPhone extend that investment, the geek in me wants more. New handset, cool new features, new things that owners of those old handsets don’t get to play with. That’s the enthusiast in me talking now, that’s for sure.
It’s great that Apple continues to improve the phone’s software and to add features, especially for free ($9.95 for iPod Touch owners). It’s nice to know that your phone won’t get obsolete every year as we seem to think it should. It’s easy to fall into the thought process of expecting new hardware every year like on the Mac side. The truth is there is not really a need for a new iPhone handset every year. As long as Apple continues to add value to the OS that’s a good thing. But that geek in me still wants a cool, new phone.
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The fact that a new handset was not announced today should not come as a surprise if you look at Apple’s iPhone release track record.
Last year, at the end of February, Apple had a similar iPhone OS roadmap event where they announced 3rd party apps and Exchange support. The new hardware (iPhone 3G) was not announced until WWDC in early June, and was available for purchase in early July. I would expect no different this year.
I did find it disappointing that it seems as though Apple is now artificially limiting the availability of new software features on the 1st generation iPhone. Specifically, I see no reason why the hardware cannot support MMS. It seems to me that they are now beginning to limit new software features to entice existing users to upgrade their hardware.
There’s no way Apple would tip their hand for new hardware with today’s software announcement.
I’m not saying there’s going to be any radical new hardware, I have no idea. But if there is, the associated software was not going to be discussed today.
Recall last year when the 2.0 roadmap concentrated on the SDK, and Microsoft ActiveSync and Enterprise features. It was the hardware event a few months later that told us about GPS and 3G.
Rick,
“It seems to me that they are now beginning to limit new software features to entice existing users to upgrade their hardware.”
I disagree.
It makes no sense to provide the whole release and pinch just one feature or two. A first gen owner (and I’m one) has had the device for nearly two years by the time iPhone 3.0 is out. That these users would feel they must have MMS now is an unrealistic expectation. No way Apple thinks they’d get a bunch of upgrades from that.
According to Apple, lack of MMS is a hardware limitation. The first gen uses a different radio than the 3G, and it won’t work. Sure, they could be lying, but that would make no sense.
Tom,
Apple has a history of having a hole release and “pinching” a feature or two. Do you recall the 1st gen iPod Touch? It did not have mail, contacts and a few other apps.
It seems far fetched that lack of MMS is due to a “hardware limitation”. The iPhone has a camera, and a general purpose cell radio that is capable of SMS, data, voice, etc. MMS should be no more than a data format that transmitted over the radio. Does it make sense to have to upgrade your hard drive because an application has defined a new file type?
In fact, it seems quite logical that Apple would now begin to push older customers to upgrade. For its other product lines, upgrade customers account for a large share of the product line’s revenue and it is logical for Apple, at some point, to not continue to upgrade all older hardware models with the latest features to drive new hardware sales.
iirc, mms is a software thing using a special sms and a data connection that can even work on gprs.
i have used mms on a gprs only feature phone…
To me, the fact that iPhone owners have been clammering for these “small” features say a lot about the platform, and just how awesome it is. As much as we always want MORE (and trust me James, I feel ya!), the truth is that the device has no gaping holes as far as feature set, scalability and versatility. Everything on my wishlist was addressed in today’s announcement. I stood in line for a 3G, and if they release a new device this summer, I’ll be in line for that one too. But every day I am just in awe with just how great the iPhone is. It just gets me that so many people took today as an opportunity to bitch about so many things like what “they should have done it 2 releases ago” or “I cant believe I have to pay $10 if I have a touch – thats robbery”. I for one couldn’t be happier. I agree with Tom that they are going to hold something back. My guess would be if they do release another device this summer, it would be based on a faster chipset, better graphics, snappier response and more storage (because we can never get enough), maybe better battery. It’s all good!
I personally think it was more telling how excited a friend and I were when we found out that 3.0 would have cut/copy/paste and MMS. Honestly, Nokia’s have had MMS since what, 1999? And WinMo/WinCE has always had ccp.
Today, all Apple told us is “hey, so we’re finally giving you the push updates we said we’d give you with 2.0, and we’re also finally giving you the most basic features we should have given you when the phone came out.” Nothing revolutionary, nothing really deserving of a 3.0 title. 2.5 would have been closer, but honestly, this is what 2.0 should have been.
To compete with the upcoming Palm Pre and Android devices, Apple needed something new. This wasn’t it.
“Upcoming” is a critical word here. The iPhone is already here, so it instantly wins that battle because it exists as a product. Second, to say that Brand A’s current product is no good because it doesn’t compete with Brand B’s unreleased product is silly, because it presumes Brand A is going to sit on its ass and do nothing. The year has only just begun, and I think Apple has made it clear that the iPhone hardware release cycle is every June/July.
As for WinMo having copy/paste, that’s not the whole story; the entire rest of the OS, from the kernel to the GUI, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of usability and efficiency. This is kind of like saying a Ford Taurus is better than a Ford GT because it has more cupholders. Yes, cupholders are super useful, and it would be great if the GT had more of them, but nobody in their right mind would trade in their GT for a Taurus.
This update is for existing users, giving them added utility in order to keep them interested in the product and generate a sense that Apple cares about its customers and is doing what they do for some reason more than just the money.
And let’s be honest: that’s the ONLY reason Apple is what it is. They make expensive niche hardware that sometimes lacks features when compared to competing hardware, but they make their customers feel taken care of long after the sale—and any salesperson can tell you that no fact can trump a feeling.
Hi James,
What new features/elements of a phone are there which really necessitate a new handset? I mean batteries are a bit better but not really and if anything new features would drown out that improvement.. I have a 3G iPhone and this update makes the phone almost perfect for me now. A2DP support and push support make it so much more functional. These features though don’t require a new handset..
I guess I just haven’t seen any major breakthroughs in the last 9 months to warrant a new handset? I’m hoping you could offer up some suggestions though as I am interested in hearing what you hoped for?
I would predict that the next gen iPhone will have:
- faster processor
- 32GB model
- improved battery life
- built-in digital compass to support turn-by-turn applications
- Nike+ support
The iPhone 3.0 development seems to have finally put in a lot of features that didn’t exist in 2.0 and 2.1 releases. I remember standing in line in NYC to get the 16GB iPhone 3G the week of release and thinking that it was great that Apple had decided to join the 3G smartphone lineup of that year. Was it a huge upgrade from the original iPhone? Not really, it was a nominal upgrade. The same can be said of iPhone 3.0. The new ROM adds in all the now-standard features of a Windows Mobile handset such as A2DP, push notification, voice recording, search functions, multiple attachment handling, and MMS.
Don’t get me wrong, while this may seem like a small upgrade for iPhone users, it took Windows Mobile users almost 4-5 generations to get all of those features right. This marks a major software development landmark for Apple and when this ROM becomes available, we’ll see how well they’ve done (got shares?). My major gotchas would be bluetooth A2DP implementation, push notification and improvements on Exchange synchronization, and the spotlight search. Those 3 things are not easy to implement and about a billion things could go wrong in between. The iPhone 3G is a perfect testing ground for this kind of large-scale ROM development.
I’m actually glad that Apple hasn’t released a new iPhone this year because they need to get their ROM development ducks in a row before introducing their next product. I’m hoping to replace my Windows Mobile HTC device with an Apple but until they have a ROM that’s capable of decent Exchange sync, fast remote desktop, and some useful Office applications, I’m locked into Windows Mobile.
” It’s nice to know that your phone won’t get obsolete every year as we seem to think it should. ”
Even with OS updates I tend to use up the hardware during the course of a two year contract anyway. At the end of two years I am really ready to dump the tired old phone and move on ;)
James raised a good point with the question of obsolescence however. As hardware technology reaches a “good enough for my usage habits” level of acceptance with the consumer(read: netbooks as a shining example), the focus will switch to software. This is a movement that I have seen picking up steam, and I think dramatic changes will come to mainstream OS’s as a result.
While I think the iphone could use a tad more processing power – to be as snappy as they look on the commercials…
I am glad that I will be able to see the end of my current 2 yr contract before i “need” to upgrade my 3G and sign another one. :)
The 1st generation iPhone uses the exact same radio chip as the 3G iPhone. The 3G iPhone has an added so called “pump chip” that gives it the extra processing power required to handle WCDMA protocols.
However, even with the base chips being identical, the software stacks for both are very different. Apple has clearly chosen not to expend resources on “back porting” the MMS code to the 1st generation cellular radio software stack.
This call makes sense to me since MMS support doesn’t add any “iPhone eco-system” to the platform. The new bluetooth features will sell more “Designed for iPhone” accessories like the blood glucose meters. And those are available on the 1st generation units.
But curiously, even with A2DP limited to the 3G hardware, and its much better bluetooth chip, you didn’t see Apple showing off A2DP today did you? I suspect they’d like to have sold some A2DP accessories to 1st generation iPhones as well but even the 3G bluetooth chip is barely scraping by at doing A2DP for some reason. My guess for this is that the Sony Vaio P has a dedicated A2DP chip and it’s A2DP support running under Windows is spot on. No hiccups even when Windows is off doing something silly. Apple trying to do this under Mac OS X without the dedicated chip is probably going to be a herculean effort we’ll never hear about (unless they don’t succeed in making it work.)
I can tell you my HBH-IS800′s cause kernel panics when used with my Mac Pro’s. And when not crashing the system they’re very poppy and inconsistent in sound quality depending on what the OS is doing. So Apple has had a hard time making A2DP work with Mac OS X.
I wish them god speed in making it work properly on the iPhone 3G.
“The infamous copy-and-paste will be there along with support for MMS and my personal favorite- stereo Bluetooth support.”
I can’t believe that’s such a big deal! Pocket PC’s have been doing those since 2004.
I’ll try to get excited when it has a proper keyboard and replacable battery. Until then I’ll stick with a proper phone.
I’m disappointed that I still won’t be able to open links in new tabs. I’ve said this before, but that would really make browsing a news site easier. I hate having to reload the index page every time I navigate back from a particular article.
@pimlcosound: Try tabulate for iPhone. It’s a bookmarklet to do exactly that.
‘Cut & paste’ and ‘landscape keyboard’? Nice and about time – though too late for me as I gave up waiting and went to Blackberry. Well, that and the exorbitant data rates offered by the Canadian providers. If Apple really wants to sell the product here (and it hasn’t sold as well as Apple might have hoped here), they’ve got to do something about their providers.
All that said, it still isn’t a netbook, despite Apple’s insistence.
There is no hardware limitation, this has already been shown with unlocked phones. Also while original phones may be two years old, they COST a lot more and where not subsidized by AT&T meaning that apple made a lot of money directly off of them and on the value to time ratio first gen owners are still loosing money.
Not to mention with the competition coming to market this is really dumb dumb to force people into a upgrade choice (economy not withstanding). No A2DP on my first gen phone, have to upgrade and get stuck with more expensive AT&T plan. Screw it, I’ll get a pre and offset my costs with less expensive plan. Maybe Palm won’t take two years to address founation feature set issues.
I Iove this blog, but I am sorry, this post read like a whiny apple fanboy. Why?