What’s the Buzz, iPhone?

Apple announced their new iPhone yesterday, amid much hoopla. It’s a faster, 3G machine with a built-in GPS, and, it’s half the cost of the phones we recently bought — something that analysts suggested that Apple was very unlikely to do.

The new phone will ship with Apple’s new iPhone OS (version 2.0), which sports an updated Google Maps app and have better support for corporate types who rely on Microsoft Exchange servers for their e-mail, and some updates to other various onboard applications. None of the initial enhancements take any real advantage of the new hardware.

So, bottom line — do users of current iPhones really, really need to go out any plunk down the $199 for the new one, and pay extra fees to AT&T? According to Ryan Faas at Computerworld’s web site, the answer is, probably not.

For the gadget-obsessed or serious road warriors, the choice seems clear: get to the front of the line at your nearest Apple Store on July 11. For more casual users, however, shelling out $199 to replace an iPhone that’s less than a year old may not be as easy a decision — especially since it also means re-upping with AT&T for an additional two years and paying more in monthly charges.

New software vs. the new hardware

Overall, the biggest advances in functionality for the iPhone — both in the year since its release and those coming next month — are software-based. The iTunes Wi-Fi music store, the revamped Google Maps app that allows an iPhone to determine its location based on cell tower and Wi-Fi hot spot locations, and the ability to send text messages to multiple contacts were all made possible by software and firmware updates; no 3G or true GPS required. Given the breadth of applications possible for the iPhone, it’s not surprising that the bulk of yesterday’s keynote focused on the benefits of the upcoming iPhone 2.0 update more than the hardware.

For those who don’t want to live on the bleeding edge of technology or just don’t want to pony money to replace a perfectly good device, the choice to simply update an existing iPhone is compelling. In fact, there are really only three major features — 3G data speeds, GPS and better battery life — that you’ll get by purchasing a new iPhone.

– Ryan Faas — Computerworld.com