Tuesday came a significant announcement from the mobile world: The leader in emerging mobile technology, the Apple iPhone, announced the new features. And in “new” features, they were essentially playing catch up.
Copy and Paste has finally been added to the device, after much lamenting by users. MMS was another addition – a feature even basic handsets have had for years. The new integrated search is a clear preemptive strike at the Palm Pre, as that “quicklaunch” integrated search was a feature for which Palm received much praise.
The promised Push technology will finally make an appearance, allowing apps to run in a pseudo-background, still getting updates but not consuming as much resources. This too staves off competitive offerings, bringing functionality that most other smartphones offer.
There was little that stood out as unique when viewed individually. However, viewed in aggregate, this update does a great deal in patching up holes in the iPhone’s defenses that competitors on the horizon would have eagerly attacked. Continue reading “iPhone 3.0”
It is a classic tale. A once great legend, now down and out, falls for the quirky girl who no one really notices, and with her support, stages a final comeback. No, I’m not talking about a new Hollywood release. I’m talking about Palm’s new smartphone and Sprint.
The biggest news about the iPhone 3G release this past July 11, as far as the broader mobile industry is concerned, was easily the launch of the iTunes App Store. The effect this is poised to have on third-party mobile application development—outside of the iPhone and iTunes ecosystem—could be tremendous.
Although it has been drowned out by the buzz over the 3G iPhone, the promise of Google’s upcoming open-source mobile platform, “Android,” has kept Apple execs watchful.