iPhone OS v3.0: Unlocking potential

Jeremiah Staes 18 Mar, 2009 at 12:28pm ET Article published in Tech

iphone1 So iPhone OS v3.0 is coming this summer, and a bunch of stuff that should have been in v1.0 is joined by many alternative ways to spend money (which, undoubtedly, I will). Let’s start out with the little touches.

Adding landscape mode throughout the OS is going to be so nice in so many ways. I bang out a lot of email on that thing, and landscape is just so much easier to deal with. It seemed silly that in Safari could work in landscape while mail could not. This is dealt with.

Cut and paste, iCal on the iPhone, OTA calendar sharing, and push notifications have also made the grade. All of these features are great, but they should have been there from the start. Owners of the iPhone 3G or future models — what is up with those 7″ or 9″ touchscreens Apple ordered? — are finally granted MMS and stereo Bluetooth support. I have wanted to get rid of the cord that always catches on the dishwasher rack or desk knob since day one.

Beyond the litany of things that should have been there from the start, what is it that I really like about this update? APIs for communication over the dock or Bluetooth. This is the killer app. Now this iPhone thing can become earnestly useful.

Maybe the iPhone will control my future FM radio. Maybe the iPhone can do something more practical and interface with a dongle that reads blood glucose. In that vein, the Johnson & Johnson folks demonstrated a basic Bluetooth-connected meter during the release event. I imagine that you could eventually make one that just attaches to the phone. I know many diabetics, and they tell me that not only does it suck to carry a glucose meter, it just doesn’t look very cool.

I have a personal like for technology that actually makes a difference and makes people feel better. The new OS will allow us to slowly move away from “cool phone” towards “practical device.”

Now that devices can talk via Bluetooth, imagine if the Remote app that controls iTunes or AppleTV could now control home lighting or window shades? What if your fridge updated your phone with a shopping list? These things are now possible, and that puts the iPhone at the center of a truly functional digital lifestyle. I don’t want another remote, I’ll want an iPhone app for that shopping list my fridge will give me, thank you very much. After all, it’s my iPhone I’m taking to the grocery store, not my future fridge remote.

On the application side, multi-player and microtransaction support could make for more comprehensive games. That’s cool, but the iPhone is beginning to remind me of an infomercial: “It’s the only tool you’ll ever need! It slices! It dices! It purees! It pets your dog!” Maybe that’s exaggeration, but I think it’s getting closer to that. It’s nice to have a device I can use at work and then use at home to play some Sim City before bed. Hey Firaxis, are you listening? CIV for iPhone, please. Thanks in advance.

Overall, I’m excited about OS v3.0. It brings the iPhone to par with other smartphones and pushes it ahead in many novel ways. Does anyone else believe that its summer release will coincide with the release of a new iPhone? Can any developers chime in to discuss their feelings on the new SDK?

Comments

18 Mar 2009 ~ 12:56pm NiGHTS There's a lot of things that leave me scratching my head over v3. Why they waited this long, why they're making some pay for it, why summer, etc.

I don't own an iPhone and I know that these are major updates, but I feel like I still wouldn't be satisfied with Apple if I did.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 12:59pm Thrax I believe they're making iTouch owners pay for it, but any iPhone owner will get the update for free.

The important thing to know is that OS 3 is definitely a beta. Engadget recently took it for a test drive and said that the OS was choppy, buggy, and certainly felt like a beta. The summer release date will give time for fit and finish while granting developers time to do the voodoo that they do.

Most of this shit should have been in the phone from day one. I agree with Jeremiah. On the other hand, the iPhone is rapidly becoming the most robust phone on the market.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 1:10pm NiGHTS I know iTouch only has to pay, I'm questioning why they're making them pay. They shelled out the cash for the device to begin with.

When I said why summer it was more along the lines of "why wasn't this originally included", so I agree with those points that he's (and everyone else has) made.

I feel like I'd still be unsatisfied if I had to put up with it, is all.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 1:16pm AlexDeGruven I was pretty impressed with everything they announced yesterday. A LOT of the stuff that people have been clamoring for is coming, and that will do quite a bit to increase iPhone's saturation. If only they didn't have such a crappy plan requirement, I'd probably be over there already (you can have my $30 SERO when I'm long since dead and gone).

As for the cost: Upgrades will be $10 for iPod Touch, free for iPhone.

This is part of the reason I bought my friend's 2G iPhone off of him when he went 3G. I use it as an iPod Touch with the capability of making calls if I decide to slap a pre-paid card in there (unlocked, of course). Plus, I get free OS updates.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 1:39pm Linc NiGHTS, they make the iPod Touch owners pay because they have to. Something about the legalities of giving away free software; iPhone owners get it for free because they have a paid subscription that includes updated content.

//edit: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Brief explanation.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 1:47pm Snarkasm It has to do with how they do internal accounting for the devices. The iPhone is accounted for as a subscription device, while the Touch is a one-time sale. They (supposedly) legally cannot give away feature upgrades for free on the device, though it boggles the mind how everybody ELSE in this country manages to find ways to provide shiny new firmware for free.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 2:00pm NiGHTS Wow, I wonder what section of SOX deals specifically with that. That's very interesting, though. I'm more familiar with section 404 than anything else.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 2:16pm jared I can see how that might miff some Touch owners, but I mean *really*? It's 10 bucks.
Dare I say most people have at least 50 bucks worth of apps on their ipod anyways. Not to mention 3.0 is going to bring a lot to the table - totally worth the 10 bones.

Lifehacker as compiled an excellent chart comparing the iphone 2.0 vs iphone 3.0 vs android.
http://lifehacker.com/5173441/android-versus-iphone-30-the-showdown
18 Mar 2009 ~ 2:17pm digitalvision Don't get me started on how I don't think Sarbanes-Oxley is good - that's another thread, if not another site.. but if it keeps you employed in some way, NiGHTS, that's awesome :-)

I'm sure it's part SOX and part revenue - just like the summer release of 3.0 is going to probably coincide with the renewing of those original adopter AT&T contracts. Smart business.
18 Mar 2009 ~ 5:43pm Snarkasm That's more or less fair, Jared, but don't forget they've also already paid $10 to get Calendar and notes and all the other crap that came last time. It keeps up, who knows...

Just makes me really wonder how the PS3 can come out with Life, the Cowon S9 can get friggin' widgets and shiz, and MS can put out the new Zune experience or the new XBox Experience for free, but Apple feels compelled to charge for their firmware upgrades.
19 Mar 2009 ~ 12:29am Busted BYe FEDs Omg Nights you just hate Apple .. LincoIn had it very right..and Jared makes a great point its only $10bucks wow and its a beta for developers and theres an still open door for new developers. what Apple has done for program developers is amazing. Nights do you even own an ipod or anything by Apple ?????
19 Mar 2009 ~ 12:39am NiGHTS No, I don't "just hate" Apple. No, I don't own an Apple product.
19 Mar 2009 ~ 12:47am Mochan

Lincoln wrote:

NiGHTS, they make the iPod Touch owners pay because they have to. Something about the legalities of giving away free software; iPhone owners get it for free because they have a paid subscription that includes updated content.

//edit: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Brief explanation.

What???! It's illegal to give away free software?! Who made that law? It sounds like hokey pokey. Is this some kind of accounting trick Apple chose to make it illegal to give free updates? How come game companies don't have this kind of accounting problem when they sell software and offer patches? How come Apple (to the best of my knowledge) is the only company that does have it?
19 Mar 2009 ~ 1:22am Thrax I just got fanboy all over my leg. D:
19 Mar 2009 ~ 8:38am Mochan Fanboys are good. They subsidize tech for us.
22 Mar 2009 ~ 11:45pm TranceLordSnyder Actually, I think in New York you can't receive products for free for some reason. I remember getting a credit report monitoring subscription for free from Walt Disney because they lost my personal information, but I couldn't receive the product for free if I lived in New York. Fortunately, I don't. Maybe it has something to do with that?