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| TECHNO TRENDS - With NJ |
| Mixed Reaction to iPhone Update |
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There has been mixed reaction to Apple's
announcement of a speedier new
iPhone and moves to cut the price of the year old 3G
model in the US.
News of the updated iPhone 3GS handset was made at the
company's
annual developers conference in San Francisco.
Apple said improvements in the iPhone 3GS made common
tasks, such as
launching applications, much faster.
But veteran tech journalist Steven Levy of Wired Magazine
said: "It's not a
game changer."
Rumours of an update to the iPhone have been circulating
prior to the start
of Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC).
When it was finally unveiled more than an hour and a
half into the keynote
speech, few were surprised.
"We have been trained to think that when one more
thing comes out it is
going to rock our world and that didn't happen,"
said Mr Levy. Ernest Doku of
comparison site Omio was more effusive.
"Majorly cool has just become mass market,"
he said "Essentially the 3GS is
a refinement of the existing device so not all worlds
will be rocked but as
usual with Apple there are some big reasons to be excited.
"Features like data encryption, improved data speeds
and increased battery
life will attract users. With faster web browsing and
the ability to record and
upload video to YouTube, the 3GS will get more people
using their mobiles
to go online than ever before.
"It's the must have multi-media device," said
Mr Doku.
"Broad offering"
Phil Schiller, who unveiled the phone to WWDC attendees,
said the phone
would speed up almost everything owners did with it.
"For example," he said,
"loading a game like Sims City, 2.4 times faster.
Going to a graphically
intense website like the New York Times, 2.9 times faster."
Mr Schiller also announced improved battery life giving
the iPhone 3GS five
hours of talk time and nine hours of internet surfing.
Other much expected features included a video camera,
the ability to shoot
video and a digital compass. Initial reaction to the
iPhone 3GS from
developers was positive.
"We are excited to make use of anything and everything
we can get our
hands on to make our applications more compelling and
perhaps a bit more
magical," said Dr Ge Wang, founder of Smule that
creates applications for
the iPhone such as Ocarina and Leaf Trombone.
The device goes on sale in the US, parts of Europe and
the UK on the 19th
of June. In the US it will cost from $199 (£124)
for a 16GB version and $299
(£186) for a 32GB version. However, outside the
US the iPhone may be more
expensive than direct comparisons suggest.
The price cut applies to the 8GB iPhone 3G which will
cost $99 from 19 June.
However, UK iPhone operator O2 has confirmed that the
price cut will not
apply in the UK.
Apple also said its new operating system for the iPhone
and iPod Touch will
be available from June 17th.
Among the 100 new features the 3.0 software offers is
the much demanded
ability to cut, copy and paste.
Also included is "tethering" which will allow
users to connect their computer to
the internet via the phone's wireless connection. Other
changes centred on
an upgrade to Safari and improvements in search.
"These are all iterative improvements but that
is not a bad position to be in,"
said Van Baker, a senior analyst with Gartner.
"Is it earth shattering compared to what was there
before? No. But did it need
to be? No," stated Mr Baker.
David Pogue of the New York Times was more effusive
in his assessment.
"These are excellent upgrades - maybe not enough
for you to switch from
the iPhone 3G, but definitely enough to keep the iPhone
at the top of most
people's wish lists."
But is it enough to see off the competition being presented
by the new Palm
Pre smartphone which went on sale in the US this weekend
to rave reviews?
It was described by the Wall Street Journal as the iPhone's
"strongest rival to
date."
"The Pre really outshines the iPhone when it comes
to multi-tasking," said
Wired's Mr Levy.
"But right now I would never switch because the
iPhone has these thousands
of applications that I use a lot. That remains the real
test for the Pre. Will
developers develop for it?" questioned Mr Levy.
Apple revealed at the conference that the app store
is now home to over
50,000 applications.
Jobs no show
The keynote was Apple's first big event since its co-founder
and ceo Steve
Jobs went on sick leave back in January.
Five years ago he successfully fought pancreatic cancer
but at last year's
WWDC he appeared thin and gaunt giving rise to fears
that his cancer had
returned.
The rumour mill went into over drive ahead of this conference
with talk of Mr
Jobs coming on stage for a surprise appearance. In the
end that did not
happen and industry watchers say that was the right
move for Apple.
"The news has come out already that Steve Jobs
is doing okay and coming
back to work, but he was really ill," said Gartner's
Mr Baker.
"I don't think Steve would want to do a cameo that
would undercut this
keynote so I am not surprised he didn't take centre
stage."
Apple have sent out strong signals that Mr Jobs will
be back at work as
planned at the end of June. |
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