iPhone 3.0!

[notabadname]

So have you watched the 3.0 Video/Demo from Apple? A lot of good stuff in the new software to be sure. We will clearly end up with Turn-by-turn GPS, although from a 3rd party. No video yet, disappointing indeed, or at least they make no mention of it, and it seems like they would have talked about that one. But a lot of really neat things. I like the Peer-to-peer potential, and of course the very robust copy/paste. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen a cooler implementation of the copy/paste. The search is a nice improvement, but I am still disappointed it seems you wont have the ability to search address book content. For example, search on NY to get a list of all my NY City area friends, or on a business or Organization name to search on fellow employees. I used to like to tag my contacts on my Palm with various things like "high school" for all my contacts I know from High School, or similarly for college, or photography buds. It doesn't seem like it would be that card to search the V-Card fields. I will save final judgement till this summer at actual release. I also like the Apple native audio recorder and MMS features in the texting. And finally, the wide keyboard in all the Apps with a tilt to the side.

[houltmac]

Just thought I'd shove my ¢2 in also. I am really excited about iPhone OS 3.0. It's not all about the features, but what it means for developers and then to consumers. I love the idea of purchasing extra content from within an application - this could be a killer for many apps since I won't spend $20 on it, but I would spend $2 and then another $50 on extra content as I work through the game or whatever. Genius.

Along the same lines, being able to play against other players is a must if they want to stand up against traditional handheld gaming platforms. It makes sending contacts and other business documents easier, but gaming is what it's for in my mind.

The accessories stuff isn't huge for me, at least not until I see a must have app. For me it's making the platform a real must for more markets. The ideas they exampled within the medical industry for example could be a game changer.

Turn by turn direction will be huge for business users as well as home users also. At work we mostly run TomTom software on Windows Mobile based SatNav devices. Using the iPhone will stop the cries for sure. These people were screaming!

For me, the biggest thing is without a doubt the notifications service. Being able to recieve notifications like that is huge, and opens the door for making the iPhone the very center of everything I do. The mind boggles with what could be done with it Of course, that fits in a group of features (including Spotlight) which is API's. API's mean that it's not just Apple that can use these features, but it's everyone.

If anyone was still doubting the iPhone platform or Apple's commitment to making it the most significant change of the decade then they should now be silenced. I think that while it's overall fairly limited updates on the surface, dig a bit deeper and you will see it is a whole new wave.

[Yuiichi]

Originally Posted by houltmac

Just thought I'd shove my ¢2 in also. I am really excited about iPhone OS 3.0. It's not all about the features, but what it means for developers and then to consumers. I love the idea of purchasing extra content from within an application - this could be a killer for many apps since I won't spend $20 on it, but I would spend $2 and then another $50 on extra content as I work through the game or whatever. Genius.

I'm almost rather frightened by this, especially on a gaming front. I know some developers are going to take advantage of this in a way that no one would like - downloadable content on the PS3 and Xbox 360 is proof that they have the idea.

For example: Beautiful Katamari for Xbox 360 is a very short game, but it has some additional levels available for "download". When you pay for these levels, you find they download really fast. Checking the file size shows that they're only a few KB. What does this mean? These levels were always on the disc - the game's creators just thought it would be a good way of making even more money!

Now, I know that they probably couldn't have similar hijinks on the iPhone just because there is no physical media associated with buying applications. However, I could still see similar things happening, such as an app creator making someone pay for a killer feature besides paying for the app itself.

I sure hope this doesn't happen!

[houltmac]

@yuiichi I am positive it will happen, and I hope it happens fairly soon after 3.0 is released. I agree it would be terrible, but I think the community will come down on the developer like a ton of bricks. I don't have a great deal of experience with downloads on Xbox and the like, but I can tell you that people won't stand for such nonsense for long.

Using additional downloads for levels not originally included, weapons, city guides etc. will be great if used how Apple/EA etc. presented it. Once an empty shell of an app is released for $2 and all content is $10+ then that developer will have to work very hard to sell anything again I would imagine.

[notabadname]

I don't have such an issue with the downloads as seen on XBox. You simply need to know what you are getting and decide if it is a good value for you, both for the original App and for any individual downloads. If you don't think the App is worth its price as is, with no consideration of future downloads, then don't buy it. The XBox downloadable content (DLC) is usually fairly well valued. I have been waiting for some time for the new map-pack for COD World at War for example. Some people think that should be given away if you paid for the original game. I disagree, and feel I based my payment for the original game on what the contents of the original game were at the time, even though I knew they would likely have more content 6 months later. What has troubled me more (and this is not commentary on our regular members here) is how we, as a society, seem to think everything should be free. Just look at the App store as an example. Before Apple revised the "reviews" for Apps, half the reviews were by people who never bought the App, complaining that was too expensive for what it offered. These "high prices" were frequently just a few dollars or less. These reviews were by people who stand in line for 20 minutes to by a $5.00 Starbucks that lasts for 30 minutes of drinking pleasure. Yet they blast a game because it gave them only 5 hours of enjoyment before they completed all the levels.

The market will decide if an App is worth its asking price, with or without DLC. I am glad Apple is providing more options for developers/authors to present and package their products. More revenue options mean more developers will be coming Apple's way. I call that a major win for the iPhone.

[Yuiichi]

Originally Posted by notabadname

The XBox downloadable content (DLC) is usually fairly well valued. I have been waiting for some time for the new map-pack for COD World at War for example. Some people think that should be given away if you paid for the original game. I disagree, and feel I based my payment for the original game on what the contents of the original game were at the time, even though I knew they would likely have more content 6 months later. What has troubled me more (and this is not commentary on our regular members here) is how we, as a society, seem to think everything should be free.

I agree with your sentiment here. When DLC is an addition to the game, such as the "Bring Down the Sky" mission for Mass Effect, it's excellent. But then you get my example of Beautiful Katamari where this content was planned from the beginning, shipped on the disc, but requires you to pay extra money to unlock it. Namco seems to do this often - another example would be Soul Calibur IV. They charged money to unlock costumes already on the disc.

I'm all for downloadable content that adds value. However, when value is taken away from a game so that the developer can nickel and dime you, that's not value.

[JeremyK]

Better battery life! That is the main thing that put me off buying the iPhone in the first place!! If I wasn't stuck on 3, I wouldn't have bought my stupid Sony Ericsson and wouldn't be stuck in this switching itself off thing!!

[philbowell]

I've never found battery life an issue. I use my iPhone pretty extensively throughout the day and it's yet to run out on me. I just pop it on charge over night and it's ready for another full day of use. Typical use involves phone calls, internet, mail etc and use as an iPod for a couple of hours, if not more, each day while at work.

[houltmac]

I'm very similar to Phil on that one. I use my iPhone for calls, SMS, email, a little web surfing, Twitter and to play music most of the day. I tend to pretty much kill the battery by 10PM (from 6AM) most days, but it always makes it to at least 8PM. I charge overnight and never have to turn it off. Pretty good considering how much more I use this than any other phone, and how much larger/brighter the screen is.

[MacHead, B.S.C.S]

The World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) was an amazing presentation. Although, I wish Steve Jobs would have made an appearance. I thought the introduction of newly released software as well as items are mind blown. I feel that Apple, Inc. needs to put a major emphasis on their product design. Apple, Inc. have been using nearly the same computer architecture since the year 2000. I would love to see a differently designed Macbook Pro. MobileMe is adding the awesome feature of "locating you iPhone". Isn't that an amazing feature from the help of Apple's collaborating partner; TomTom. I'm not so much into gaming so that is an unnecessary feature for me, but the graphics are stunning. Exposé has a brilliantly designed new feature with their click icon feature located on the doc (YAY, LESS CLUTTER). I am going to enjoy the new 64-bit OS X (Snow Leopard) which allows the computer to recognize RAM up to 16 TB. I am planning on upgrading my Macbook Pro to 8 GB when Snow Leopard is released. I am a firm believer that Windows OS will soon lose more than 1/2 of their customers within the next 2 years, only by going off of the WWDC statistics. The only feature I hope Apple will add to their future application list is a C++ program that can be on a scale of Microsoft Visual Basic Professional. Other than programming, I hope Apple keeps humiliating Bill Gates and the Microsoft team.