iPhone 3G – Worth It or Worthless?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs discussed the upcoming iPhone 3G at a recent keynote address. A lot of people have asked me if I’m going to get it, as they know I have an iPhone already, so I thought I’d address what will be different, and if it’s worth it to upgrade.

There are really three main changes on the new iPhone: ability to access the internet through cell providers’ 3G network, GPS, and a price tag of about half of what the original iPhones cost. Not so profound changes include more storage, longer battery life, and an all-black back. There will also be a software update that will be usable on all iPhones, so I won’t get into that much here.

So, beginning with what they named the new version of the phone after, 3G is a way for data to be sent to and from the phone, which is already in use by many other phone manufacturers and service providers, and provides data speeds comparable to a slow DSL connection at home. This is roughly 2-5 times faster than the current EDGE network that the iPhone uses. I think this is a great idea. Who doesn’t want faster web browsing, uploading, data sharing?

Next is GPS that will be used with the Google Maps feature already on the iPhone. Currently, iPhones can roughly guess where you are based on cell phone tower triangulation – which, in my experience can be accurate to about a 15 block radius. But adding GPS will be awesome, and make using the directions and maps feature much, much easier and cooler.

Finally is the price. $199 for the 8 gigabyte model. This is cool too, but it also leads to my point:

Why now? Why wasn’t this stuff included on the original iPhone? Sure, it’s still the best phone I’ve ever owned, but I can’t help but feel a little bitter about it being released with many of the features that should have been there from the start. Many phones already utilized the 3G network before the iPhone, as well as GPS. And many phones certainly costed less than the iPhone when it was first released too. Instead of playing catch-up, I think Apple should take some more time and actually put in new features that will once again blow peoples’ minds. I say this because no doubt the companies that already use this technology, such as Blackberry and other smartphone manufacturers will no doubt release new versions of their product with even more, better features than the iPhone 3G. Then once again, Apple will be forced to play catch-up in a newer model, instead of being the first and paving the way for the future of smartphones, like they originally did.

But this isn’t about having the coolest or most advanced phone. It’s about money and marketshare. And to those who love Apple because they’ve avoided this up to now, I would like to present a middle finger in your face. It was only a matter of time before this happened, and with each day they are becoming more and more like the company they constantly make fun of and get their customers to loathe: Microsoft. Sorry to burst that bubble, but it’s true. Apple set out to sell 10 million iPhones this year, and came up short. Now, in a scramble to reach their goal and gain a firm hold on the market, they’re releasing the same phone with two new features, at half the price. This will allow more people to obtain an iPhone if they wanted one, and will allow the ones who already spent the money on one to buy another one to get the features that SHOULD HAVE BEEN there to start with. What’s next? They make a volume switch on the headphones, and the only way to get those is to buy another phone? That, folks, is bullshit. Apple is, despite its best efforts, no better than Microsoft now, simply going after sales and marketshares.

Do they still have a great product? Yes. Will I get the iPhone 3G? Perhaps, but I definitely won’t be one of the first in line. Am I dissappointed? Absolutely. What’s my favorite food? Pancakes. Unfortunately though, from what I can tell, everyone is excited about the new iPhone 3G, and for good reason. Personally, I will update the software, see how that goes, and decide from there. The real questions are going to be what that can do – I’d still like to see picture messaging and a few other things, but maybe that’ll be in the iPhone 3G.1 or something.

Oh, and did I mention that to use AT&T’s 3G network it will be an additional $10 per month? And to think, my next computer may have been an Apple. But now I realize Apple, Microsoft, it’s all the same. Or will be very soon.