Don’t want installed GPS? I think most people are lost when complaining about this as a paultry upgrade… the complete picture is the roadmap of other future 3rd party software that can use this beyond just the basic GPS function (geomapping, friendfinder, etc, is just the tip of the proverbial iceburg).

Apple has just released a fruitful upgrade, and the only thing I see on this page is Sour Grapes from a bunch of iPhone users that are mad that they payed such a high initial price….$199 is a steal for this passion fruit.

Great article, I have been a bit weary to go for the 3G right away, this article rose some pretty important points for me. Great technology journalism!

Can’t get 3g here so why pay for it?????

The aluminum case to me is very substantial and elegant. How many other phones out there are made out of metal and glass?

Now if they upped the storage to 32g I might think twice!

iPhone was my last purchase from Apple. They can’t even include features that have been in phones for the past 10 years. Pathetic.

So I was reading about how it’s going to be an extra $10 a month for the new iPhone. That’ll add up to $30 a month, versus $20 (wrong or right?). But I already pay way more then that, cause I had to upgrade my plan because I went over board with the texting. So $10 won’t make much of a difference for me.

Apple had a better chance of selling me a one time sunk cost than selling me a low priced phone with neverending fees.

I’m holding out for android.

If you do non-stop mobile browsing, and are in a good area, I could see where 3G might be a game changer, but I think most are vastly overestimating its value. There was a reason that apple didn’t put it in to begin with.

Again, GPS v. triangulation is a definite improvement, but I really don’t see how there are that many users where its a big difference for. Sure its much easier to just look at the map and know exactly which street you are on, but often do you need to know that, with that much precision?

I recently bought a rubber sleeve for my iPhone after a few drops, and you know what? It’s off now. I mean as far as those things go, mine was great. But I took it off so that I could fit my iPhone into the dock and use the audio out on a long road trip and I fell in love with the feel of the iPhone all over again. As geeky as this sounds, I found myself just holding the iPhone in my hand for no apparent reason, without even realizing I was doing it at first. I love the way it effortlessly slides in and out of my pocket (I HATE those holster things). With a plastic back, that is just not an option, you will HAVE to get a sleeve or your phone will not only become scratched but could easily even chip.

I also agree that the 2.0 software upgrade is the big deal. People got bored with the developers showcase, but other than a few of them being not the greatest presenters, I thought that was the best part of WWDC. Having a centralized place where you can easily browse for apps, which apple seems to be encouraging free apps and low price points, its just going to be a game changer. I can essentially buy a PSP game, for my phone, for $10? I can get awesome apps like Loopt, for free? On July 11th, the iPhone really does fulfill its promise of a computer in your pocket, and that’s the game changer.

The only real design decision that could drive me one way or the other is the case, honestly. The aluminum LOOKS cool but forced a huge compromise in antenna placement, design, and frankly performance. The drive to fix those compromises is largely what led to a decision to change the material. And I completely applaud that decision, coolness factor be damned.

Now… will the plastic chosen perform well in the wild? Well, that’s another question entirely. Color wise I’d opt for black, but scratch wise I’d opt for white. Since phones do get dropped, I’d probably also be inclined to get some form of ruberized, fitted sleeve for the iPhone… much like I did for my newest iPod Nano. And who cares what material it’s made of if the phone’s gonna wind up in a protective sleeve anyway?

To whit, I’d have preferred Apple tossed shiny into the waste bin and just put a ruberized surface on the phone from the start. It’s one thing I was glad to see Palm do with some of the Treos… but they didn’t do it globally. There are tradeoffs between pretty-to-look-at and pretty-to-look-at-after-you-use-it-in-the-real-world… and it’s no accident that there is a healthy market for mobile device cases, sleeves, etc.

It’s easy to poke holes in Apple’s strategy for incremental improvement in devices… just remember that some of us didn’t find the earlier version(s) all that enticing and these later versions may indeed up the bar enough to make them interesting/useful.

Rumors and hype are an evil thing. They make people expect too much. While current owners gripe about what’s missing, I guarantee you they would be just as upset if it was a complete and revolutionary overhaul of the original device.

It is a lose-lose for Apple. They make it a limited upgrade to attract NEW users and the current users moan to no end. Had they made it a revolutionary upgrade that changed it all up and added tons of new stuff, the existing owners would cry that they are now forced to upgrade in only a years time.

There is no such thing as pleasing society for these, and other similar, reasons.