There's been one promised iPhone killer after another -- the Google Android-based Dream, the RIM BlackBerry Storm, the yet-to-ship, years-delayed Windows Mobile 7 -- but none has given it worthwhile competition to date. Now Palm has its Pre, a device that looks to be a serious contender for the best next-gen mobile device crown.
The new iPhone 3.0 OS is now old news, but does its enhancements overcome any advantages that the BlackBerry has over the iPhone? In May, I pitted the BlackBerry Bold in a head-to-head competition against the iPhone 3G, which handily beat RIM's business standard in most areas. After all, the iPhone 3.0 OS enhances the e-mail, calendar, and search functions that many BlackBerry users focus on and that IT loves about the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).
Apple Inc. has an interesting pie-slicing problem coming as far as developers of iPhone (and iPod Touch) applications are concerned. All of those first- and second-generation iPhones run the same operating system -- the just-released iPhone OS 3.0 -- as the new 3GS model. But the latter includes new hardware such as a magnetometer, a faster CPU and faster GPU, as well as more memory. If developers build shiny new apps with only those features in mind, they'll limit their market. What to do?
Is shopping mania for the iPhone 3GS finally over? It's hard to say. Apple recently released an online tool that tracks the status of iPhone 3GS shipments across each of its 210 retail stores in the United States. This suggests that Apple is still concerned about the retail availability for it customers. While store employees might welcome the decrease in the number of times they have say, "yes we have it" or "no we're out" over the phone, the question remains: Isn't the whole concept of availability-tracking a little too late?
If Michael Dell decides to release a new Android-based handheld device, as the Wall Street Journal speculates he might, it will be his fourth try at entering the market and he will almost certainly fail, if his track record is a guide to his future.
I have a confession: I recently woke up with a hot iPhone. In fact, it happened twice. And that was just during the first week I owned my new iPhone 3GS.
In saying, "We don't have to beat each other to prosper" during a Thursday call held to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings, Palm's new CEO, Jon Rubenstein, has tacitly admitted what many already suspected: Palm won't end up number one in the smartphone race.
"We uploaded topless pics today. This is the first app to have nudity," said Allen Leung in an interview with Macenstein. He's the developer behind the "Hottest Girls" application, currently bringing scantily-clad women--and now those of the bare-chested variety--to your iPhone or iPod Touch device for a mere $2 installation fee.
BREAKING NEWS: Your Apple iPhone is bound to break! At least, if you believe a new study by an electronics warranty company that, by pure coincidence, happens to be promoting an iPhone warranty plan on its home page right now. Breaking news? Broken news might be more like it, as far as I'm concerned.
Apple's iPhone 3G S is the talk of the tech world this week. While some folks were disappointed a cheaper iPhone didn't debut at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, the 16GB iPhone 3G S may actually be a better deal than you'd think: The phone, according to a new analysis, costs nearly US$179 to make. It retails for US$199.
Users love the iPhone, but IT does not. The biggest complaints: The iPhone can't be managed for security and access policies like a BlackBerry can. Businesses can buy a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or Motorola Good for Enterprise server to manage user profiles over the air, ensuring that users conform to password policies, encryption policies, app-installation restrictions, and so on, as well as have their e-mail, VPN, and other settings preconfigured to reduce hands-on deployment effort.
Not to burst anyone's balloon, but the Phone 3G S isn't a world-changer--unless you've never had an iPhone, of course. For the rest of us, it's simply the world's most successful "speed bump" for an existing product.
Now in its third generation, the iPhone handset has made improvements with each successive model. This year, though, the improvements are less about what you see and more about what's packed under the chassis--and what's available in the iPhone OS 3.0 software update (accessible to current iPhone owners and on new iPhone 3G S units).
The new iPhone 3GS is a conservative, yet intelligent addition to the iPhone family. Its faster processor and greater operating memory are exactly what the doctor ordered. However, the lack of a keyboard, UMA and better battery features allows the competition an edge with business users.
The iPhone 3G S handset is well appointed, functional, and nicely packaged, but it's not at the high-end of the smartphone hardware scale. The OS and interface -- and the richly stocked App Store -- remain the best reasons to buy an iPhone. Unless you need 16GB or 32GB of storage, a compass, and a faster CPU, the iPhone 3G will suit you as well as the more expensive iPhone 3G S.
