Further Reading: More 3G iPhone Details
by Eric March on June 10, 2008 at 12:08 am
As the pundits moved from the keynote to the romantically lit showcase room, more little tidbits are dribbling out about the iPhone 3G that weren’t covered in the day’s opener. To wit:
- The GPS is A-GPS (Assisted GPS) which is capable of triangulating your position by using WiFi, nearby cell towers, and fragments of other phone communications in the area in addition to the traditional satellite linkup.
- Estabilishing a satellite connection is apparently quite swift.
- Geotagging your photos is built-in.
- 3G browsing is indeed fast, taking only 2-4 seconds to load the main pages of sites that weren’t image-heavy.
- The 3G toggle switch does exist, though it’s buried beneath a few menus, so it’s obviously not meant to be accessed frequently.
- It’s Tri-Band 3G/UMTS, and will be that way globally. (No special stripped-down regional versions)
- The white model is only available in the 16GB configuration.
- The dock no longer comes with the iPhone, and must be purchased separately for about $29. (Boo!)
- There is a new and absurdly small wall charger. Instead of a wall wart, it’s now just a small cube with a USB connection on one end and prongs on the other, so it should play nice even with crowded power strips. These wall adapters will charge and iPod as well. One comes with the iPhone, but an additional one will run you the same $29 the dock will cost.
- The price of the iPhone apparently is subsidized as Apple an AT&T have parted ways with regards to that whole revenue sharing plan so that AT&T could subsidize the iPhone the old fashioned way. This means that the purchase of an iPhone will require a mandatory contract. You won’t be able to buy them online either, as activation needs to be done in-store. It’s a good thing I’m squarely in the renewal zone. Funny thing is that while this will get a lot more iPhones out there in the wild, and Apple will still make gobs of dosh, AT&T and the rest of the carriers will likely need a good two years before they realize any profits out of this arrangement.
- No sign of Bluetooth 2.0+EDR or the As it turns out, there is, in fact, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. However, still no A2DP profile (boo!). Also, still no copy & paste (boo!) or live video recording (boo, I say, boo!).
Additionally, Laptop Magazine managed to get some face time with the 16GB white model and has a couple of pictures to prove it:
I am decidedly “meh” about the white iPhone 3G.
(Sources: Engadget, Laptop Magazine)
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Posted in Apple Event, Hardware Related, News Related, iPhone OS 2.0
June 10th, 2008 at 10:01 am
There is Bluetooth, look at the iphone page on apple.com just under “Wireless Data”.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I know there’s Bluetooth, but it’s 1.2, not 2.0+EDR, therefore no A2DP.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I must be missing something, but on the apple “iPhone 3G” page under wireless data it says verbatim “Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR”.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hmm, looks like it comes shipped with Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR afterall.
See here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
Just the better.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Wow. I didn’t even realize that. I would have thought Bluetooth 2.0+EDR would be something The Steve would want to cover in the keynote, considering that’s a fairly significant advancement. Still no A2DP but since that’s part of the software-based stack, that can be fixed with a firmware update. Hmmm…
June 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Well I’ll second that “meh” to the white iPhone. I’ll also add a “meh” to the black one too.
Nothing will beat the look and feel of the original. If i had some spare cash lying around i’d track down a brand newie and keep it boxed for the next 50 years.