Apple iPhone World

Just two days away from Apple's much-hyped Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) to be held in San Francisco (Jun 9-13), and rumors seem to have escalated into serious overdrive.

Everyone wants to know what will happen at the WWDC? One thing everyone's agreed upon is that CEO, Apple Computers, Steve Jobs will lift the wraps on iPhone Next. And iPhone II will deploy 3G cellular network billed to transmit data much faster than the network used by iPhone I. Other rumored probables in iPhone II include: GPS capabilities else advanced geo-tagging features, in-built instant messaging, video-chat capabilities, and support for voice-activated commands.
What may also happen at WWDC is that the operating system of the iPhone and iPod Touch will get an upgrade to what is being called the 'OS X iPhone'. And 'OS X iPhone' will include an App Store integrated with iTunes allowing users purchase and install new software.

That's not quite it. It is rumored Jobs may unveil a brand new Macbook Pro external design as well as the next upgrade to OS X codenamed 'Snow Leopard'. In all probability, 'Snow Leopard' will be only 64-bit and will drive performance and stability improvements to the existing 'Leopard' OS.

Ready for the iPhone 2.0? According to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky, you are not alone.


Mr. Abramsky and his team have found a strong global demand for the next-generation iPhone device with about 20% of survey respondents waiting to buy the device, 70% of which are new buyers.


What will the Apple Inc.’s new device hold? Mr. Abramsky speculates it will use its 3G technology to “intensify consumer anticipation by showcasing iPhone 2.0’s user experience.”


“For example, video chat/calling, robust internet browsing under 3G (cut/paste, embedded video, etc), location services, and new applications, including gaming, Exchange integration, etc. Also we expect iTunes App Store to launch, and a new global marketing campaign for iPhone to follow,” said Mr. Abramsky.


Mr. Abramsky assumes the new iPhone will begin shipping in July and could move 14 million units this year, about 4 to 5 million in the first 90 days.


Mr. Abramsky has an “outperform” rating on Apple shares with a US$220 price target. As of 2 p.m. ET, Apple was trading at US$188.36, down US$1.06, on the Nasdaq index.

A few months ago someone showed me a game they had developed fro the iPhone. It was a simple spaceship shooter, but what was really amazing to me was the way they had used the device's motion sensors (the ones that flip the screen between portrait and landscape depending on how you're holding it) as its controls.

A few months on and SEGA's developers are showing what the machine can really so. They took just two weeks to create this incredible looking Super Monkey Ball game.

In a Cnet video (below) the producer describes the way the device exceeded their expectations thus:

"This is a full console game... if anything we underestimated what the machine could do. We had to fly in another artist to scale up the graphics..."

Check out the video here to see what he means. Prepare for a whole new generation of games fro this incredible device. Just as I thought when it came out, more fasicnating than the device itself will be the ecosystem of applications and services that grow up around it...

ok I know, I can’t seem to leave this one alone today… more on the iPhone. It amazes me seeing all the press coverage and comments from people stating “its like a PC in a phone” … come on man,ok I know, I can’t seem to leave this one alone today… more on the iPhone. It amazes me seeing all the press coverage and comments from people stating “its like a PC in a phone” … come on man, where have you been for the last 3 years or more? Ever hear of the Nokia Communicator series from years back? How about the Blackberry, Treo, N-Series, E-series, and Sony Ericsson UIQ devices… all of these have amazing functionality, much like what’ you’d get out of your PC. Cameras, video, applications, a slick development environment and supporting SDKs, quad-band functionality yadyada… I have to wonder if people really know what they are getting into when they lay down $600 for an iPhone? Indeed I say $600 because if your going to get one and you opt for the “cheap” $500 unit you’ll only be getting a 4GB capacity device that’s NOT EXPANDABLE… so $100 for another 4 GB is a no-brainer… particularly if you’re getting an iPhone for music and video capabilities (why else would you be getting one??) Some other limitations potential iPhone users should consider include: - network speed… planning on watching YouTube vids? Consider how you are planning on connecting to the service. How is the AT&T coverage in your area… is it spotty??? Plan on taking advantage of the built-in Wi-Fi to enjoy this feature otherwise you’ll likely be disappointed. - Gaming - want to play games on the device? After all gaming has always been one of the HOT apps/services for mobile users. Forget it… have you heard about any games that support the device… likely not. Too bad, especially since it sports a 320×480 screen that would be sooo sweet for playing games! - Business use? Is synching with your corporate email available? Likely not… you’ll need apps from DataViz, QuickOffice and others to enjoy true enterprise communication with your device. - photos - indeed iPhone sports a camera, however, at 2 megapixels it hardly brings any WOW factor to the table. Integration with Flickr, photobucket, blogger, picass, and shozu would be expected in my mind if it were truly meant to be a cameraphone for the masses (ironically Google just this week announced an extension of Picass to the mobile environment). - the traveller - given that users are restricted to the AT&T network forget about that… unless you don’t mind $500 phone bills. A true mobile traveller will use a plan from a European carrier if he were in the UK etc… swap your SIM card and forget about the roaming charges. Also, don’t hold your breath for Skype, Fring and the likes for the iPhone… no doubt you’ll have a long wait. - durability - a glass screen? Sure it looks sweet but I’d hate to be around when you drop it for the first time? - ArcPad - ok, maybe I’m dreaming but wouldn’t it be nice to fire up your ArcPad session on the iPhone?? Any thoughts?Please visit for even more updates about GIS, mapping, and geospatial technologies

I finally succumbed to Apple’s advances and bought an iPhone. I was holding out for one of two things to happen and neither did (completely) - but I found myself in an Apple store and my resolve quickly faded. First - I was waiting for my current (and 3rd) Treo to show some signs of dying - trouble is - they’re tough little bastards; repeated drop-kicks or immersing in boiling oil are about the only ways to terminate a Treo (the former has worked a coupe of times for me). Secondly - I was waiting for the appearance of a decent application market for the iPhone. Apple just announced that they are encouraging a developer ecosystem - so the apps. will no doubt start appearing this summer. Also, if you can’t wait - you can a “Jailbreak” your shiny new iPhone today to accept third-party apps. - though I’m sure Apple would rather you didn’t. More on my “Jailbreaking” experience later probably.

It’s hard not to like the iPhone and even though it has its flaws and shortcomings - it’s easy to forgive them; because the iPhone is so nice. IMO, Apple have completely nailed the consumer user experience - this was always a core competence and they’ve really grown it into a sustained advantage. I think the iPhone has really set a new bar for consumer usability (and eye-candy).

OK, with the caveat that I’m only a couple of hours into dedicated bonding with my iPhone - here are the limitations I’ve noticed :

• Poor integration between mail and calendar - I can’t click on a date / time in a mail and create a calendar entry like I can in OS/X Mail.app. Can’t link a calendar entry with an email. I think the assumption is that you use your {desk | lap}top for heavy-duty mail / calendar management.

• I can’t cut and paste between Apps. (surely their must be a way). This really hurts because there seems to be little integration between apps. right now.

• The Google Maps location awareness is interesting but not really practical - knowing where you are (broadly) is only useful if you’re really lost / drunk. If you are reliant on a GPS unit (I use TomTom on my Treo) - you still will be. I’m going to strip-down my deactivated Treo and continue to use it as a GPS until I manage to drop-kick it / boil it to death or until TomTom / Magellan / Someone ports their app to the iPhone (first decent attempt gets my money).

• Battery life - while the eye-candy is nice; you have to pay the piper. Just cary a charger with you. Electricity is everywhere.

• The notes app on the iPhone doesn’t have an OS/X counterpart to synch with - so (unless you’re a really fast iPhone typist) - it’s less useful than it could be. If you store your OS/X Mail.app notes on an IMAP server - you’ll be able to access the notes on your iPhone as they are just stored as plain old mails. This isn’t ideal but it’s better than a poke in the eye.

• A PDF viewer would be nice - given the IPhone’s support for WiFi and WiFi’s near ubiquity - I’d be a lot more inclined to download and view large email attachments.

• Overall ease of use / user experience modulo the “no cut and paste” bug mentioned above.

• Size and wight - it’s still pretty heavy but it’s slim and sleek design makes it much easier to pocket then the Treo.

• It uses the same adapter / cables / charger as your iPod so you can re-use them. I used to despise Palm for changing the adapters with every minor release.

• The image quality is impressive - most noticeable when you’re watching a movie. If the battery would hold out - I could actually imagine this being a better movie-viewing option than a laptop - especially when you’re wedged into seat 54F for 9 hours.

• Handling the network (eg. switching between WiFi and Edge just works and is largely invisible. Just like it should be.

• Reliability - so far I haven’t had to reboot - with my Treo it was a weekly occurrence. Let’s see if the iPhone suffers the same problem as the Treo when we start running poorly behaved third party apps.

• Keyboard - I think the virtual keyboard is nicely done and I’ll always give up a lot for a decent sized screen - but my poor fingers need retraining.

• No video camera - seems an odd omission; though I’ll probably only miss it once or twice a year.

• I’m worried that the iPhone won’t take a beating (like a Treo can) and I don’t want to compromise the slick design with a protective case. Only time will tell if my worries are well founded.