Whew! Monday was a big day for this blog’s resident Mac addict. Now that she’s had an evening to digest the new iPhone, Sonya ‘iGirl’ Smith offers her expert analysis on the new phone.
The 3G iPhone announced by Apple’s Steve Jobs Monday takes the mobile device a much needed step further in offering GPS and 3G, but some phone features seem ignored in the upcoming device.
The lack of an improved camera, the lack of color options beyond black and white and the lack of memory beyond 16GB in the 3G iPhone make it look like Apple is intentionally holding out so folks keep upgrading and upgrading their phones each year and possibly twice a year. Sure, continuous upgrades to products make companies big money and keep investors happy, but I’d like to know that there won’t be a red iPhone with a 5-megapixel camera released in two months.
Alas, my geekiness won’t let me pass up the new iPhone. I plan to wait in line again at the Irvine Spectrum Apple store (hopefully not needing to stay overnight) to buy yet another shiny, perfectly-wrapped Apple mobile phone. Steve got me at GPS — I just really believe some great new apps will result from GPS – and I can’t wait to try them all (see No. 4 on list below).
Still, MobileMe (I already use .Mac, that MobileMe replaces) is the best announcement from Monday. I have spent many a nights hunched over my computer trying to sync all my data between work as a journalist, teaching dance, my personal life and position at a national journalism organization.
Yes, MobileMe costs money — but so far Google’s Calendar (at least for me) has been the only option for “syncing” data between Mac and PC (you can’t edit all the information and have it automatically update flawlessly, though it’s improved). While the 3G iPhone will get the most limelight, I believe that MobileMe if well constructed may be the biggest game-changer out of the Monday Apple announcements.
Now, on to my list of features I wanted in the 2nd-gen iPhone.
Here, I see if the new phone lived up to all my expectations:
1. 3G. The main feature of the new iPhone. I’m looking forward to much faster Internet when away from Wi-Fi after July 11.
2. Longer battery life. Apple says the new phone has 300 hours of standby time, five hours of talk time and five to six hours of browsing time. That is a slight reduction actually when compared to the first iPhone (first version had 10 hours talk time, now its 5). Many people say that’s not bad battery life considering the phone uses 3G (said to be power-draining). But, what if I’m covering wildfires for the Register again and don’t have a chance to charge my phone? Looks like we’ll have to wait for future iPhones so we can talk without worry. Let’s also hope downloading third-party apps will not drain the battery life further.
3. A better calendar. I asked for iCal to be synced via .Mac and for the iPhone version to be color-coded and both my prayers have been answered. Not only is the calender now synced online through the new service called MobileMe (with editing allowed online, plus wireless syncing) it also includes contacts, mail and photos and my Apple products (Address Book, Mac Mail and iCal) will sync with Microsoft Outlook without third-party software that leads only to frustration and lost information. Also, an Apple screenshot (at right) for the new MobileMe on the iPhone shows a color-coded calendar — hooray!
4. GPS. Another big hooray! Not only is GPS essential (sorry, faked GPS via triangulation is still not GPS) for mapping and directions but it will likely lead to many interesting mobile apps that use a user’s location. Already two apps were announced: AP news formatted for a user’s location and Loopt letting people see where their friends are located. Now, I wonder who will be the first developer to create a truly stunning new Twitter, Flickr or YouTube-like geo-tagged goodness?
5. Turn up the volume Apple says the volume has been “improved” on the new phone, but I’m still skeptical until I hear it.
6. Voice-activated dialing. Still not on the phone. Perhaps a smart mobile developer will figure this out and offer it – I’d pay $20 at least for voice-activated dialing. Perhaps that developer could also throw in talking directions — so I really can use my iPhone for driving directions.
7. A folder for storing documents, etc. Not coming from Apple. We’ll have to see how Zoho and Google battle it out for supremacy in storing and editing documents on the phone.
8. Allow us to see weather forecasts beyond 7 days. Not added by Apple. I’m betting we’ll see at least a few very intelligent weather apps available in July, though, when the iPhone app store opens.
9. Copy/paste. Not added. This, beyond a better camera, is one of the few things that only Apple can control (meaning downloading apps will not solve the situation). Eh, looks like I’ll still carry around a notepad and pen.
10. To-do lists. Not added by Apple. I’m guessing, though, that task managers and games will be the two most competitive apps in the iPhone app store.