Omen.
January 16th, 2008
Of all of the announcements from yesterday’s Macworld keynote, the thing that left me feeling the most optimistic was the iPhone front. Of course, the Macbook Air looks like an incredible product and if I were the type of person who traveled a lot and needed a laptop for that, I would have already pre-ordered one. However, I’m not. My next wireless router will be a Time Capsule. And finally, the Apple TV update looks impressive. Short of a simple DVR function, it’s the perfect home entertainment center in my mind.
However, the fact that Apple released yet another impressive software update is what stuck out at me the most. iPhone owners were given updates to text messaging, Google Maps, icon management, and a host of other small improvements. All of this was given out for free. Not only that, we have the upcoming developer kit being released next month, which will give iPhone users a slew of new, useful software from 3rd party developers. All of this new combined means the future is bright for the iPhone, which has already sold 4 million units in 6 months - well on it’s way to 10 million by the end of 2008.
But here’s what stuck with me: Apple also released the programs missing on the iPod Touch (Mail, Stocks, Notes, Maps, and Weather) for a $20 fee. I’m sure fans weren’t too excited to hear about this charge, but think about what this really means in the long term. Apple has never been willing to offer software updates to their iPod lines when new functionality is added to another line. I feel this is a sign that we will be able to buy new functionality for our iPhones even when the ‘iPhone 2.0′ is released. I would be more than happy to pay $20 every year or so to keep the latest and greatest software on my iPhone without having to buy a new device (at least until my current one is dead).
It’s too early to tell exactly what the software update strategy is for the iPhone/iPod Touch, but I am optimistic that this means you won’t have to buy a new iPhone just to stay up to date on the software front. Isn’t that the way it should be?
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January 17th, 2008 at 12:35 am
hopefully the new iPhone 2.0 will support WiMAX, or atleast another high-speed data option. That is the one drawback for me as asn iPhone owner.
I also wish it would support tethering so it wouldn’t require me to purchase / own a secondary Cell-Wireless data card.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I agree - EDGE is awful. It’s passable in a pinch, but I swear, every time I really need it … it doesn’t work.
But from a strict software standpoint, I’m really glad Apple is keeping the iPhone, iPod Touch, and even the Apple TV up to date for people who have already purchased the hardware. Even if they charge a small fee to upgrade (a la an OS upgrade), I’d be happy to pay it to keep my iPhone up to date.
But yes, iPhone 2.0 will address the camera, speaker, and data speeds if you ask me.