This was bound to happen eventually. It always happens so it should not be a surprise this time around. Yes – it’s true, if you own an original, bleeding-edge, early adopted, Apple iPhone (1st gen.), then prepare to be even more jealous of those who have the 2nd gen (3G) iPhone.
No. Forget jealous. How about envy?
What is this about? Oh, well you see, Apple announced version 3.0 of their upcoming software (actually firmware) for the iPhone and iPod Touch gadgets. Let me tell you, the forums and message boards have been filled with “noise” about this eagerly anticipated day. Many of the iPhones shortcomings (well known by now) were to be nullified with this new version 3.0.
It truly is an “upgrade” and not a simple update, hence the integer change. Lots of nice things in there. The ones I think will get the most press is the addition of MMS support, cut/copy/paste abilities, wide keyboard in all apps, etc. Some of the features are more appealing to a wider audience than others. And almost all of them are features that iPhone fanatics have clamored for since the beginning. Check out the gizmodo.com site for a rundown on all of the new features.
So what’s the deal with the original iPhone? Turns out, “some” of the new 3.0 features will not be available to the folks who waited on line for days to be the “first on the planet” (FOTP for short) with a working iPhone. Well, which features are these? Hard to say for sure which features will or won’t work on the old iPhones, but one that has been confirmed as a no-go is MMS support. This is the feature that lets you send and receive multimedia attachments without having to jump through many hoops, one of which requires logging into a “regular” computer and checking for the attachments online. What a pain that is!
So it’s great that MMS is here (soon), but all those 1.0 gen iPhones still CAN’T join the party and probably won’t ever will. One explanation I heard is that there is a technical limitation in the first gen’s radio. D’oh!! Not cool. So close, and yet so far. Admittedly, that’s only one feature in a rather lengthy list – but it’s a big one! I guess if MMS matters that much, the only option is to sell the old iPhone and pony up for a new one. That’s what you get for being an electronic gadget pioneer!
The other noteworthy problem is that there is NO iPhone that can run this software until this summer. Apple has only announced the features today, and released a developer’s beta of the software. Basically, it’s not ready for prime time. They want some ambitious folks to give it a complete test drive before they release it to the masses later this year. Not unusual for a company to do that, but still, it’s a little bit of a let-down for the folks who WANT IT NOW! Patience…
But none of this really applies to me personally, anyway. Why? Well, if you read my previous post, you’ll have learned why I don’t currently own an iPhone of any flavor. Eventually, perhaps – but not right now. However, I have been following the feature updates very closely to hear about the latest and greatest. And Version 3.0 really does look like a winner to me. But I still want to wait for the next gen hardware to come out – possibly to coincide with the new 3.0 release date. Even as a bystander and Apple fanatic, it’s fun for me to watch (and wait) to see what they can dream up next.