Apple iPhone 3G Announced
Ahhh, the iPhone 3G is coming July 11th which wraps up months and months of speculation. Will it have GPS? Will it have Exchange support? How much will it cost?
Answers were given today as Steve Jobs spoke at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). Perhaps one of the biggest stories out of the conference is the price cut from $399 down to $199, making it a more appealing option to smart phone owners.
As time continues, we are seeing the iPhone mature into a more capable device: Exchange support, GPS, third-party applications, 3G data, “push” technologies for those not using Microsoft Exchange.
Yet people still aren’t happy… and here’s why. Over the development of the smart phone, we have been used to a “PC” way of thinking. Most smart phones are designed for geeks, by geeks. Need a keyboard? Just slap it onto the front of the device. Need more storage? Have an ugly SD Card slot on the side. Need to navigate through the phone? Up until the iPhone, no smart phone has had a great user interface (UI).
Now before I get called an Apple fanboy, let me state that I only own an iPod and an iPhone. I have played around with an iMac at work, but do not use it on a regular basis. What I do what to emphasize for the “geeks” out there is a different way of thinking. The problem with most smart phones today is that they’re not designed elegantly. In the consumer electronics market, there has to be both elegance in design and usability.
It is my belief that Apple is trying to achieve both. The problem is that we’ve been used to the way a Blackberry or a Palm is designed, that we fail to think “outside the box.” Is the iPhone perfect? No. It is still missing some features that others find important: multi-media messaging (MMS), cut-and-paste, physical keyboard, the ability to shoot video.
Both MMS and cut-and-paste are all things that can be integrated in later into the software. Why Apple hasn’t included these is anyone’s guess. Having a physical keyboard takes away from the elegance of the iPhone design… but to those who would like to carry around a foldable keyboard, it would make sense for Apple to add support for Bluetooth keyboards. And as for video… in today’s world of HD, why would you want some low-quality footage that sucks up battery life?
I understand that many people want an “All-In-One” device, but this simply cannot be achieved at this period of time because of two things: storage constraints and the most important thing, battery life. The main purpose of any phone is to make and receive calls! And if we are unable to do those two things because we’re sucking the battery life because of these “novelties,” then the smart phone really hasn’t done its job.
I view a smart phone as a communications device. If it can send/receive calls, text messages, e-mails, and access the web… I would deem that a good device. Everything else: GPS, cameras, video cameras, games, MP3 players… those are all non-essential things. While they do add great value to a device, if the smart phone can’t do essential tasks for communications, then the smart phone has failed to do its job.
Having said all that, I’m glad that the Apple iPhone has gone down in price and is now more affordable. I think that the iPhone… as well as other smart phones are evolving and will continue to get better as storage and battery life are greatly improved. So don’t get too upset if the iPhone 3G doesn’t have the features you crave, it is a constantly evolving product and I look forward to seeing what Apple and other companies have up their sleeves.