Bites from the Apple, Part 1: iPhone 3GS (or 3G S) Aftermath

June 12, 2009 · Posted in Apple

There’s really so much to cover in the aftermath of this week’s WWDC announcements that I’m going to split this week’s blog post into two parts so that the post doesn’t feel too overwhelming. This first part will be devoted to the new iPhone, while the second part will cover developments in Snow Leopard, the new MacBook family, and other odds and ends.

Much to no one’s surprise (save for maybe Apple commentator Rob Enderle and stock analyst Gene Munster), new iPhone hardware was announced at the WWDC keynote with few eye-openers after the many leaks of the last few weeks. The iPhone 3GS (or is it 3G S?) delivered the goods with a higher megapixel camera (featuring auto and selective focus, as seen at right), video recording capabilities, a digital compass (which can help re-orient maps according to your heading), and a one-two combo of faster processor and more RAM for a snappier feel. They also threw in a few extra goodies, including voice controls and a voice recorder. And with the new iPhone 3.0 software, it’s also got copy and paste, MMS picture messaging, and tethering for acting as a modem for your laptop (more on those last two a little later). I’m sure that all Apple fanboys/fangirls are pleased as punch, even though it didn’t include a matte black backing, right?

Wrong. But hey, it wouldn’t be a major Apple release party without a kerfuffle, complete with online petitions and threats of class action lawsuits.

The focus of all the angst this time around is AT&T’s upgrade policy for current owners of the iPhone 3G, who won’t get the subsidized price for the iPhone 3G S (or is it 3GS?) that’s being offered to new customers ($199 for the 16 GB, $299 for the 32 GB) right off the bat. Current customers can get an early upgrade price break only after they’ve owned their first handset for about 18 months. (As an EDGEy OG iPhone owner, I’m on my way to subsidized iPhone 3GS bliss.) Now there’s something to be said for going the extra mile to make the rabid hordes of tweeting/blogging Apple fans happy, as that helps avoid the flurry of online fury. But there’s also some understandable business math that AT&T has to do, which is summed up neatly by The Macalope in his weekly column:

Both sides are getting it wrong. And the reason they’re getting it wrong is they’re both calling it the wrong thing. In a standard telecommunications industry shell game, AT&T fronts part of the hardware cost to Apple to make the phone look cheaper to get you in the door

That isn’t a “subsidy” by the traditional definition. It’s a loan. AT&T is loaning you the money to buy an iPhone and you’re signing a contract to pay it off over the next 18 months. If you decide you want out of your loan, you have to pay a buyout.

If you don’t want to sign a contract, you can buy a no-commitment phone, but they start at $599 for an iPhone 3G S. See, AT&T gets its money one way or the other. Nobody’s “subsidizing” anything.

Dr. Macenstein makes the case that it’s Apple that’s really at fault with its inflated pricing, but AT&T sure isn’t winning many friends with its delay in offering MMS and tethering (said to be ready later in the summer)–both of which are being offered by most of Apple’s other global cell carrier partners. Should be interesting when Apple and AT&T get together to renegotiate their contract. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments–will you be upgrading? are you mad as heck about the upgrade policy? etc.–but there’s a lot more to cover so let’s move along…

Get ready for an early wake-up call on June 19, the first day that iPhone hit the stores: many Apple Stores will open at 8am while AT&T will open at 7am for customers who pre-order the 3GS. For a sneak preview, check out some of the unboxing photos of the 3GS over at MacRumors (originally posted to Engadget’s Chinese site).
If you’re feeling bitter about the upgrade kerfuffle, Farhad Manjoo should help talk you down by arguing in Slate that you can live without the new iPhone 3GS since it’s the App Store that’s really the key element of the handset.
If you’re at all worried about AT&T, Advertising Age offers some suggestions on how it can weather the backlash
If you’ve got an existing iPhone or iPhone 3G, mark June 17 on your calendar, as that’s the date that the iPhone OS 3.0 gets released as a free upgrade to iPhone users.
However, what’s free for iPhone users isn’t free for iPod touch users–who will have to pay $10 for the upgrade. Not all of the features built into iPhone 3.0 will transfer over to the iPod touch, but it will be able to access such new features as copy/paste, upgrades to the iTunes Store, and the landscape keyboard.
While Apple has been rather mum about the specifics of its iPhone 3GS (I’m going with this nomenclature) specs, T-Mobile Netherlands has quantified what the “S for speed” really means–a 600 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM (compared to a 400 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM for the old iPhone 3G).
Michael Jones over at TUAW has a good rundown of the new features of both the hardware (3GS) and the software (3.0 OS) that shows what functionality is found across the iPhone family and what’s exclusive to the iPhone 3GS.
This would have been something to see down at WWDC–a hyperwall of the App Store (made up of twenty 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays) showing live (well, slightly delayed) sales of 20,000 of the most popular iPhone apps (they ripple and pulse when a purchase is made).
With turn-by-turn directions now available in the iPhone 3.0 software, Consumer Reports that major GPS companies like Tom Tom and Navigon (though no Garmin) will be jumping into the App Store with their navigation wares.
O’Reilly’s Radar blog also notes some of the location features that application developers can take advantage of, including taking advantage of Google Maps (instead of building out a mapping system), the ability better read barcodes, and geocontent sharing.
The iPhone 3GS has an oleophobic screen coating that should help prevent smudgy fingerprints (via MacRumors).
My pal/colleague Glenn Fleishman writes in Macworld that the iPhone 3GS includes compatibility with the next step in 3G connectivity–HSPA with 7.2 Mbps of download speed. However, AT&T won’t be supporting the 7.2 speeds until later this year in select markets (it currently provides 3.6 Mbps 3G speeds).
CNet’s Webware blog contemplates whether Apple’s MobileMe service is now worth the $99 annual subscription thanks to the iPhone 3.0’s new Find My iPhone feature coupled with the upcoming iDisk app (for accessing content stored
For more on the iPhone 3GS features, check out the guided tour video posted at Apple.
And finally… I love this T-shirt design of the iPhone’s Settings app exploded into individual components (seen at right; via Cult of Mac). Artist Sebastiaan de With only printed a few for special giveaway at WWDC, but I’m hoping he uploads the design to a online T-shirt repository like Cafe Press or Zazzle.