iPhone / iPod Touch Version 3.0’s Features Revealed – Does This Change Anything?

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damicatz

March 24, 2009 at 5:41am

1.My Dell Axim x50v has a GPU essentially based on the same technology as the iPhone.  It never gets used however.  We are talking about a bloody phone, not a full-blown laptop computer.  GPUs are an unneccessary expense and the only reason the iPhone has one is to have flashy graphics so that the sheeple are impressed.

2.You can't take a few samples and say that your 66% web browser share indidcates that the iPhone is dominant.  It's not a statistically significant comparison.  And even if it was true, all that proves is that people are sheep (these are probably the same types of people who would have bought a pet rock in the 70s).

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QUINTIX256

March 28, 2009 at 5:20pm

Sadly, most smartphones and iphone knockoffs do not have much of a GPU. John Carmack claims that the iPhone is the most powerful mobile gaming system, and despite being much more expensive, its sales are comparable to mobile gaming systems.

You can have your recession. I'm not participating.

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damicatz

March 23, 2009 at 9:05am

The iPhone is an overrated piece of junk.

Let's compare the iPhone to a 1998-era Palm OS device and 2004 era Windows Mobile Device.

Cut-Copy-Paste - In the Palm Pilot from the start back in 1996.  iPhone?  It came out in 2007 (!) and it took them two years to add basic functionality.

Removable Batteries - The Palm Pilot has this amazing technology called removable batteries.  You can replace them when they go bad.  iPhone?  You have to send it into Apple and pay ~$90 for them to replace it and then you have to be without your iPhone for an extended period of time.  Planned obsolescence at it's finest.

Even my 2004-era Dell Axim has a replaceable rechargeable battery.  It's as simple as moving a switch to unlock the battery door, pulling the old battery out and putting the new one in.

Control of your own device - With the iPhone, Apple is the sole dictator of what I can and cannot install.  Nevermind the fact that legally, the device is mine and that I legally purchased it with my own money.  Install something that's not approved by Apple and it voids your warranty.  And Apple is notoriously schizophrenic when it comes to deciding what to censor.
Contrast that to Palm OS and Windows Mobile where I can install anything I choose onto MY device.  Neither Microsoft nor Palm dictate what can and cannot be installed and/or developed for the iPhone.  Microsoft doesn't prevent programs that compete with Office Mobile from being released for Windows Mobile.
 
 
Memory Upgrades - My original Handspring Visor had this amazing feature where you could by a memory card to expand the memory the device had.  My Dell Axim has both an SD and CF slot which can be used to upgrade the memory.  On the iPhone, Apple will be more than happy to give you more memory as long as you are more than happy to buy a new model with a larger capacity.  Apple obviously thinks that its users are too dumb to understand the concept of removable storage.
 
A Stylus - This wondrous invention allows you to use a touch-screen with greater precision and without getting smudgy fingerprints all over it.  There is a reason why every previous touchscreen PDA/Smartphone used a stylus and it has nothing to do with technological limitations.
 
 
The ability to use the carrier of choice - With the iPhone, you have one choice.  AT&T.  Sure, you can jailbreak it but Apple will attempt to thwart you with every software update.  Apple illegally ties the iPhone to AT&T.  With Windows Mobile, I can use any carrier. 
 
There are of course some features that the iPhone has that Windows Mobile doesn't:
 
The NSA Data Plan - This mandatory data plan ensures that the NSA will have access to all of your phone calls and data because AT&T (your only choice for carrier) freely and illegally cooperates with them.
 
The iPhone kill switch - This allows Steve Jobs and Apple to remotely delete applications that they don't like from your iPhone WITHOUT your consent or permission.

A lush 480x320 display - Oh wait, my 2004 Dell Axim has a 480x640 display.

 

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Marsel

April 07, 2009 at 2:55pm

Dude, stop making fun of hte iphone. have you even HAD one? im not talking about 30 minutes of trying it out at best buy, mean actually using it. the iphone 3g's battey is like 5 hours of wifi, and it has an awesomme appstore. there are stylus' foripod and iphone just google it. if you jailbreak or unlock it, apple doesnt do shit. it is really easy to upgradefirmare, so before you insult something like that, maybe you should know what you are talking about before you do.

 That's Right. YOU GOT PoWNeD! (not)

Proud owner of a Sony NS laptop, Jailbroken Ipod Touch 2g.

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Spendrik

March 23, 2009 at 11:13pm

If the iPhone is - as you say - "an overrated piece of junk", how did a relatively newcomer to the smartphone market gain 66% of web use?

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/01/apple_iphone_controls_over_66_of_all_mobile_web_use.html

To some, hardware specs and features may be all there is to consider when investing in a mobile device. But perhaps to the bulk of people out there, they want something that just works and looks good.

The fact is that the market isn't made up of rational tech-savvy individuals toting feature checklists.

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jcollins

March 22, 2009 at 5:25pm

This update will fix the big missing chunks of functionality on the iPhone.  So the current major selling points against the iPhone will be gone.  What do people see as the next things that will be raised as a reason to buy another phone? 

I'm hearing a lot of buzz on: background apps, tethering, Flash support, and lagginess.  People want extra memory as well (but it's not like the competition has phones with more memory).  Battery time seems to come and go (I haven't really had problems with mine, but I'm pretty much charging it every night when I sync new podcasts to it).  Thoughts?

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Khaled

March 22, 2009 at 2:00pm

In the last 5 years I've sent a total of 4 MMS, 3 of them were tests ....

In the world of email MMS is not that useful. Tethering is good, looking forward to it.

Last thing remaining is the background processes, which I am sure will be added later ...

One last note, I own an iPhone and before that, a lot of nokia s60 symbian devices... background processing on the nokia was horrible. Even on a 2008 phone it keeps giving me "phone out of memory. close all applications" all this to view an sms ... and all my applications are closed. Nokia/Symbian were in it for a few years and haven't got it right ...

I will probably make a PC builder iPhone app ... yeah, the ultimate irony ;) 

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Marsel

March 22, 2009 at 10:51am

SURE, this is a way for apple to make money, but everybody i know HATES apple. sure, i did, too, buy got an ipod and that shut me up. My jailbroken touch 2g is awsome, and you can update it for free is you have the ispw, which will appear on millions of websites as soon as 3.0 will be released. I have any app from the app store for free using installous, and thats awesome too. The core elements of the ipod firmware arn't roo good- no downloading, no copy paste, no other stuff thats very usefull, but apple is fixing this, so all is good. My friends have started to agree, with each update that teh ipod touch software is getting better, so soon it will be very good. As for the G1 android, i tried it out and hatred it, the screen is too small, strange shape, the border around the screen blocks fingers, and other bad things. You people should be glad that this firmware is coming out, so you can getmore bang for the buck with your iphone/ipod touch.

That's Right. YOU GOT PoWNeD! (not)

Proud owner of a Dell Demension E521, Ipod Touch 2g, and a PSP slim.

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comptech08

March 22, 2009 at 12:50pm

the iphones screen is .3 inches bigger, that really does not seem like much of a difference, but hey different strokes for different folks.  I like both phones, wouldnt mine to have both if i could figure out a way to clone my sim card. :)

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comptech08

March 22, 2009 at 8:10am

go Android.  I think googles android OS is much more versatile.  The apps are not as great now, there is still maturing needed, but the OS has only been on the G1 and was released last October.  So in time i think Android will be better then the Iphone OS.

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n0t_a_n00b2

March 22, 2009 at 8:05am

I'm happy because Gordon will shut up about the whole iPhone doesn't have MMS thing. I still don't see why he doesn't get a blackberry.  Windows mobile is kinda sad.

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Vegan

March 22, 2009 at 1:17am

At least maybe now I can stop hearing about copy and paste, copy and paste. People complained about that SO much, you'd think it was the most important thing in a device. You know how many times I use copy/paste in my day-to-day computer use? Hardly ever.

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sasquatch42

March 22, 2009 at 6:54am

I used copypaste all the time

 

"At least maybe now I can stop hearing about copy and paste, copy and
paste. People complained about that SO much, you'd think it was the
most important thing in a device. You know how many times I use
copy/paste in my day-to-day computer use? Hardly ever."

look, I just used it

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jcollins

March 22, 2009 at 5:19pm

I use it all the time as well.  Why type the same thing over and over again when you can copy/paste it? 

It was a big lack that Apple finally got around to dealing with.  

Personally, I see the 3.0 OS as the "catch up" update to fix the majority of the missing stuff in order to better compete with the Pre and Android.   The real question to ask is, would we be having these updates if there were no competition like that? 

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fuzz_64

March 21, 2009 at 9:53pm

Ahahaha Apple is finally catching up and adding features that were available on many cell phones a decade ago.  Even my reeeeeeeeally old Nokia monochrome screen cell phone (literally about the size of a brick) had most of these features.

I really dislike this company.

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FoamysKing

March 21, 2009 at 8:35pm

well this is a late addition of features but as long as the iphone remains stable ill be happy thats more than you can say for win mobile

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Captain

March 21, 2009 at 8:06pm

ipod touches and iphone would be cool, if the software wasnt complete BS. the apple update doesnt look like its going to fix that either. the iphone/ipod touch will forever suck, because apple is behind it, and they dont care how bad it is.

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hammerfell

March 21, 2009 at 8:05pm

can you really call this version 3 then? 3 would imply a toatl redesign or upgrade....

this is simply features.... unless they aren't releasing details on a new screen or harddrive or more storage or something cool like that i think this deserves a version 2.6  or something....

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ceator3571

March 22, 2009 at 5:36am

Normal
0

I have an iPhone and love it! But when I saw the features to
be released in 3.0 I sure would not call it a .0 release. Don't get me wrong I
am happy with the updates to come but I certainly would not make it a .0
release.

 

What advantage is it to Apple to call it a .0 release.

 

 

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Digital-Storm

March 21, 2009 at 8:21pm

Agreed, this is just apples way of making more money off the Ipod Touch 2g users.

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