The new iPhone has a ton of new features like 3G internet connectivity, GPS, and 3rd party applications. This is a big evolutionary step forward for the iPhone and mobile phones in general.
Widely considered one of the biggest technology conferences of the summer, Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) is underway this week in San Francisco. WWDC is held each year by Apple to help Mac and iPhone developers learn the tricks of the trade. It is also the site of a keynote by the company's CEO, Steve Jobs. Steve's keynotes are always interesting and packed with cool new features. This year was no exception.
The iPhone was debuted at last year's WWDC keynote and all lookers-on expected another update to the powerful device. They were not disappointed. New features include 3G connectivity, which means higher data speeds, a GPS chip for navigation and location-based features, new "enterprise" features for companies, and the start of the App Store on iTunes, where consumers will be able to purchase 3rd party applications for their iPhones. Let's break these advances down, one by one.
One of the most important new features is 3G. The current EDGE network is very slow in comparison to WiFi or other dedicated data networks. 3G is about 10 times faster than EDGE and has a fairly wide coverage area in highly populated areas. Less densly-populated areas may or may not have 3G availability because the network is still being rolled out. As the speed gets higher, users are expected to access more streaming video and other high-bandwidth applications.
GPS is an obvious advantage on a mobile phone. TomTom and other navigation makers are already designing software for the iPhone. With its multi-touch screen and fairly nice speakers, the iPhone makes for an ideal GPS navigation device. Also, there are other developers who want to make use of the GPS as a way to find people and places immediately near the users.
Many companies are interested in adopting the iPhone into their corporate structure, but until now, the iPhone lacked the ability to work smoothly with corporate IT departments. Now the phone has (along with the ability to have custom software) remote erasure technology, to wipe stolen or lost phones, VPN capability, and other security technologies.
The biggest news, and the one most pertinent to the WWDC, was the announcement of 3rd party applications. Developers can download a development kit called an SDK and begin working on designing and simulating applications or "Apps" for the iPhone. These Apps will then be available through Apple's App Store, which will likely tie into the iTunes Store. Downloads for smaller files will actually be available over the air as well.
Some of these applications will be free interfaces to better access websites (similar to the current web apps for the iPhone). Others will be paid Apps that will grant access to baseball scores and other proprietary information. Further, some will be games specifically designed for the iPhone. Because the iPhone has an accelerometer, tilting and turning it are easy ways to control a game where steering or rolling are the goal. Also, the multi-touch interface should provide some interesting new ideas as well.
These new features are really exciting and will undoubtedly take the iPhone to a whole new level. Stay tuned to the Bright Hub Mac Channel, as we will have Part 2 of this article coming out, discussing the new hardware and pricing, including plans and deals.