The bMighty Blog -- iPhone

In his keynote address today at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Steve Jobs focused on the iPhone. The key items were the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 2.0 firmware for existing handsets. Let's talk about the iPhone 3G first, and then look at the the new firmware for existing phones.

The "3G" in the new iPhone 3G name refers to the Third Generation phone network, which is a broadband cellular network that's considerably faster than the EDGE network used by the "2.5G" initial iPhone release.

There's more to the new iPhone 3G than the faster wireless network. There's more robust syncing with Microsoft Exchange Server. There's a built-in GPS. There's a better interface for searching contacts, and viewing real-time maps with live traffic info. And there's new support for third-party applications.

There's also less to the iPhone 3G. Not only is the hardware thinner, but it's going to be about half the price, starting at only US$199 for an 8GB model, and $399 for a 16GB one. The new phone is expected to show up in stores on July 11, replacing the current model (which is already in short supply as Apple uses up its inventory.)

Existing phone owners are stuck with the slower EDGE network, and of course can't retrofit a GPS into the iPhones. However, they will be able to be running the same software as the iPhone 3G. Called the "iPhone 2.0 software update," expected around the same timeframe, you'll get better support for Exchange Server, the new support for third-party applications, things like that.

Sadly, the new iPhone 3G is still AT&T-only, at least here in the United States. No break-through there.

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