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iPhone 3.0 is on like Robotron, March 17th preview =p (1 Viewer)

Sam Posten

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DaveF

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Despite being smart-phoneless, I'm ever curious about what's coming next. But I feel that I'm getting closer to moving to PDA / Phone device. And this year could be a good year to choose something, with a iPhone software refresh, the Palm Pre, and some revised Blackberry hardware and software (maybe they'll get that Storm to work decently).

And as a Verizon customer, I hope they get in the game soon with something more than the Blackberry line.
 

Ted Todorov

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My personal wish list for iPhone 3.0:

Landscape typing for both e-mail & SMS background notifications
Copy/Paste
Tethering
Turn by Turn GPS with voice
Video recording
Bulgarian keyboard ;) (the darned Romanians got one already ;)
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-- in reality it is just a question of when they start official iPhone sales in Bulgaria).

Hardware for iPhone 3rd gen:
Better camera
IR so it can be a full fledged universal remote (or at least a 3rd party IR attachment that plugs into the iPhone/iPodTouch connector)*
More memory for app use
larger storage (32GB or 64GB).

*There is software/hardware called UIremote in the works -- current status: vaporware.
 

Ronald Epstein

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We went from Donkey Kong to Robotron?!

Yeah, been covering this news break and looking forward to
next week when we learn more about the iPhone 3.0 software.

Must be something quite good because Apple is certainly putting
out a lot of early "buzz."
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Well, I hope it (or some variant of it) will work on the iPod Touch 2G. And they better get Apple Lossless support working correctly w/out the nasty (frequent) audio dropouts. :angry:


Verizon does also have a pair of Samsung offerings, etc. The Omnia looked promising (including what seems to be a fairly decent camera -- as good as on-phone cameras get anyway), but apparently, the MS Windoze mobile software is probably still a bit too much of a resource hog to run perfectly well on it.

I almost bought the Omnia for the wife to use -- and just might've by now -- but that niggling Windoze issue combined w/ Verizon's new policy of forcing a hefty $30/month web+email plan on all smartphones (except maybe a couple barely-smart phones) *plus* adding a per-MB usage charge on top really bites the big one. And so far, I'm refusing to upgrade our dying old phones and renew any contract because of that.

FWIW, the Omnia comes w/ WiFi support, so one could use it for occasional/sparing access to the net (like one would w/ the iPod Touch). That was a big part of the appeal for my wife since she really doesn't need frequent access to email and web -- and WiFi would be just fine for her most times. But Verizon's new policy basically kills most of the appeal there.

_Man_
 

DaveF

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The little bit I've seen of the second-tier smart phones leave me wholly unimpressed. I don't know much about Windows Mobile, but it always seemed a bastard child next to Palm OS, and some recent articles suggest it's still 6-12 months behind the iPhone and the expected Pre.

I've become a gadget snob. I'll wait to get what I want, rather than settling for something half-rate.
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Sam Posten

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And awwwaaaay we go. So far Ars and Engadget have the best live feeds, and I'm off to a meeting for a few hours =( If anything earthshattering occurs, please text me the big news at [email protected]

Seriously! 'Preciate it! I can get texts but not calls during the meeting.
 

Ted Todorov

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Well we got everything in the iPhone 3.0 software we could have hoped for except for video (but that may come with new iPhone hardware). Looks great, and I am especially excited about the device API: IR based remotes, FM radio receivers, etc, etc.
 

Carlo_M

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My exact thoughts. My 2 year commitment to AT&T (non iPhone) ends in two months. I'm hoping for a 32GB (or more) iPhone w/ video to come out by then, or some time during the summer, likely coinciding with 3.0's public release.

...or I could just be pipedreaming...
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Hmmm... With all the favorable preview info on the new v3 OS, I decided to google this issue again to see if it's getting fixed by the new software, and apparently, it was already fixed in the last minor revision v2.2.1 back around late-Jan/early-Feb. I just didn't know about it (or even about the new software revision at all) since I hadn't connected my iPod Touch to iTunes in quite some time -- mainly because my laptop (where I run iTunes) has been out of commission.

Good to know that it's already been fixed -- and I won't even need the bigger(?) v3 software update for it, which may or may not even work on the 2G Touch.

Now, I just gotta fix my laptop (or just migrate my iTunes off to a different machine) to get that update. :P

_Man_
 

DaveF

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No tethering? Or is that a hardware upgrade to be hoped for?

Is search Apple-app specific or for all apps?

I'm in a dull, day-long meeting with Wifi that's closer to dial-up; an iPhone would be sublime right now.
 

Brian W. Ralston

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It would probably be similar to the Blackberry tethering plans AT&T already offers, if I had to guess.

For personal Blackberry service, the unlimited data plan add on is $30/month. If you want the unlimited data add on with tethering, it is $60/month. So...$30 per month more. This is all in addition to the regular Blackberry voice plans at AT&T.

Kind of ridiculous, but typical of a company who is trying desperately to hold on to pricing structures that were in place generating much desired revenue streams well before devices like the iPhone became common for mass consumers. Hopefully AT&T will change their data pricing to be more affordable for the consumer. I could not imagine paying upwards of $150+ a month for my iPhone with the tethering option. But that is around what they are charging a lot of their unlimited data Blackberry customers.
 

Sam Posten

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Either way, they are on the hook to make it happen which is progress. For you suckas who didn't get the airsharing app (or whatever its name is) during the 2-3 days it was available =p Mines been sitting frozen in carbonite waiting for the day I get an iPhone...
 

Ted Todorov

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I view it just the opposite -- tethering is definite, it is already in the 3.0 preferences and fully functional. See: USB Tethering Seems to be Working in iPhone 3.0 - Mac Rumors

The only thing missing are individual carrier agreements, which would be premature right now in any case. I think these agreements will happen. I do see a danger of prices being set too high, but why would any carrier say "no" to a new income stream?
 

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