Today, Apple Computer has announced its successor to the iPhone 3G. The new iPhone will receive an “S” moniker for “Speed” at the end to differentiate it from the 3G model. Many of the new features rumored to be coming did in fact make the cut for the new iPhone such as a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and a much anticipated video capture mode, a built in compass, voice command capability, and claimed improvements for performance and battery life.
But more importantly for business clients is built in encryption with remote wipe capability in the event the phone is lost or stolen. Another new feature allows a user to locate a lost or misplaced iPhone using the MobileMe service to find it on a map and send a signal to have the phone sound off. Another important improvement is the ability to use the faster 7.2Mbps HSDPA network for very fast connectivity, which is an upgrade to AT&T’s 3G network.
The iPhone 3GS will move up to incredible 16GB and 32GB memory capacities and still retain its $199 and $299 pricing respectively. The original 8GB 3G model will be on hand for a mere $99 starting immediately to help attract lower price point users.
So where does all of this leave Sprint’s new kid on the block, the Palm Pre? Palm’s new Smartphone has many new features that could be the envy of any iPhone user, however, like the proverbial trees falling in the forest-will anybody notice?
The Pre has a flexible new operating system, a gorgeous LCD multi-touch screen, elegant form factor and can sync with iTunes. All of which gets overshadowed by Apples announcement of the 3GS’ new gee-wiz features which the Pre does not have. Now with the monster-sized 32GB memory capacity for $299, the Pre looks positively over-priced at $199 (after rebate) for a paltry 8GB. I’m confident this was planned as a response to the Pre to keep it in the shadows with the rest of the supposed “iPhone Killers”.
The Pre has a lot going for it and will no doubt grow in popularity as it moves into newer revisions. I sincerely hope Palm takes its users loyalty seriously by providing more long-term support for their products with OS updates. Apple has provided backward compatible updates for the 2G iPhone and will continue doing so even when OS 3.0 comes out late this month. Any Smartphone that wants to compete with Apple must consider following Apple’s lead on this level of support. Users are tired of being forced to upgrade their phones when a replacement model comes out because carriers and manufacturers no longer support the device.
In the end, the competition in the Smartphone arena will continue to heat up as makers struggle to keep up with Apple’s iPhone. And try as they might, Apple will eventually lose market share as the field becomes saturated and Smartphone’s become more elaborate and sophisticated. In the mean time, I welcome the competition from companies such as Palm, BlackBerry and others. Without competition, the Smartphone industry would quickly stale and would revert to what we were stuck with before the iPhone came to town.
News tsunami
You're right, Steve: the Palm Pre was swamped by the Apple iPhone 3Gs tidal wave of news and features. What was your favorite goodie? I have to think the video cam with easy YouTube upload capabilities is going to explode with possibility. What kind of kitty-cat videos will be showing up just minutes after the shortest member of the family did that cute thing?
Or will we see video investigative journalism, citizen journalists capturing footage and busting the bad guys?
I'd love to see the iPhone being used for Good!
Tim Prentiss
Very promising gaming capabilities...
PRE to kill or not to kill
Pre might not make a huge splash like the purported "tidal wave" of iPhone, but it is likely to garner a lot of developer support. WebOS was designed for this, though will not so easily compete in the gaming arena (maybe flash games will help somewhat). Apple hit it out of the park on that count, definitely as Werner points out. G1 is still developing it's nitch, so there might still be room for some 'other" OSs out there just to keep things interesting. The PRE might just breath some new life into Palm, but doubt it will kill any iPhones. If you are one of the hyper-connected twitter/facebook junkies, Pre's features might appeal more than an iPhone, but the coolness factor still swings too far towards Apple to grab too many converts. I actually think that the iPhone still has the cleanest physical design on the market. Apple kills everyone with it, starting back at the first generation ipod (IMHO). eWeek just did a really good slide-show of Pre features. Looks like a few problems have already come to light...
Completely agree with your
Completely agree with your opinion of Apples intentions when releasing their 3G S, to be honest the iPhone should have contained video recording abilities and a decent 3 MP camera to begin with, maybe this was Apple intention to keep these features out of the iPhones until competitors rose to compete with touch screen phones? So that Apple could put themselves on top of the newest touch screen phone list each time releasing these intended features over a course of time?
Personally I still have the iPhone 1st Gen and can't find it in me to upgrade and pay Apple again(!) for features my iPhone should have came with to begin with! Bluetooth has never ever worked on my iPhone and there are apps I can't seem to get to run on it, what's wrong Apple? Are you trying to force me to upgrade to a 3G?
Apple are becoming just like M$, out to squeeze every penny they can, as soon as I buy myself a brand new iPod, it seems it's out of date in a few months!