Hah , they think they can weasel out of it that easily do they.
This all started when I was reading a review on engaget about the Palm Pre, when i noticed the reviewer mentioned something about the iphone and coming monday. Now , when a rumor site based on smartphones comes out with something like that , its still concidered rumor. Some have better hits than others , but it was not a big deal for me, 3.0 will be out sometime soon.
Until however, I went into the app store on the iPhone and lo and behold , there was an app update for wunder radio, a program that streams radio stations off the internet. Click to download and it aborts, which I thought I just typed in my password wrong, another abort after I knew i put in the password and I took a closer look , the wunder radio app update was to bring it up to 3.0.
I figured okay , thats a really odd coincidence , time to find that engaget review so I can use it as a cite, nope, nada about monday for the iPhone. It either did not exist , or it was editted out later.
Anyways , Im starting the countdown thread and I expect that OS 3.0 will be out sometime monday.
Really just subscribing to the thread to see what folks think, but I’m planning to get it, even though it’s going to cost me about $10 to upgrade to it (I have the iPod Touch). I really want it because they are supposed to enable BlueTooth, and it will be nice to use my wireless stereo headset instead of having to get tangled up cords all the time.
Yeah, the 3.0 software was showcased a while back… pretty well known it’ll be released this summer, Apple has verified that one. It’s also likely to be a major focus on WWDC, which is Monday. Most people (myself included) expect a whole new piece of hardware on Monday as well, but we’re at least guaranteed the 3.0 software release soon, very soon. Most people expect 3.0 to be able to be downloaded Monday, but at least a concrete date given.
Apple has also started requiring that all software be 3.0 compatible, so any software update to any apps will be 3.0 compatible. And, of course, 3.0 software does not imply new hardware, it is able to be loaded onto old hardware too. Many developers are walking around with the 3.0 software already.
I’m eagerly anticipating new hardware myself… I’m still on my original iPhone bought when they were still $600.
Actually , while Steve can always surprise us, I dont expect any new hardware coming out monday, and from what I understand, there is nothing really special going to be happening with the new phone, just more memory and an upgraded camera, and possibly support for visual voice mail.
The big news is the 3.0 software, that is for sure, but I think there’s some hardware in store too with some goodies. Yeah, the money is on upgraded camera, more memory and faster processor, but also additional storage capacity and Nike++ integration. Every iPhone supports visual voicemail so I’m not sure what you mean there.
Oh yeah, here’s Apple’s take on the new software. Looks awesome.
The software might support it ,but the hardware usually involves two camera lens , one for the picture taking and the other to face directly towards you , I may have misnamed it , but the Rev 1 with edge and the Rev 2 with 3G only have one camera lens.
Oh, you mean video chat/video conferencing. Visual voicemail is the service where you get a text-based list of your voicemails and you can scroll thought messages visually and select which you’d like to play.
My Software Update just sprang up with a new version of iTunes, which states that it “now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update.”
I’ve been testing the beta 3.0 software on my 3G since it was announced in March, and frankly, it is awesome. Its still in beta so there are understandably some bugs still left, and I definitely believe there are features left to be introduced that the betas didn’t get. Also, while in there, neither laptop tethering nor the mms features were enabled for the betas. For my money, the killer feature is the A2DP streaming bluetooth. This has made the thing orders of magnitude more useful, both in the gym where I was always eitehr getting the cord snagged on stuff or having to use an external dongle for the BT, and in the car. As good as it has become, iPod integration by dock connector has always left a little bit to be desired for car connectivity. The A2DP makes it a dream. Seamlessly connects and I can control it directly from the screen, rather than the lackluster interface of my cars head unit.
It looks like we are almost certain to see an improved camera with autofocus, probably video recording, and in the keynote it was mentioned that true turn-by-turn GPS will finally be doable, and indications are for a capacity bump to 32 GB. If these features all prove accurate, this really has the potential to be the convergence device I’ve been waiting for. If anyone has any questions about 3.0 that I can answer from the beta reviewing, I’m happy to give it a go…
Will the new 3.0 software allow the iPhone to push my phonebook to my car’s bluetooth hands-free phone function? Until now, I’ve had to manually input people’s names into my car. When I try to sync the phonebook it says it’s waiting for the phone to begin the transfer.
Yep. I leave the BT setting on my phone on all the time, so when I turn on my car, the BT syncs the phonebook and establishes the audio connection. I’d estimate 15 seconds or so from ignition to full connection, including phonebook download. I can use either the onscreen phonebook or the head units display to search the phonebook.
Do they even make good a2dp headphones? After a quick search the brands I’m seeing are mostly cell phone companies and phone accessorie companies like motorolla and jabra and not quality headphone companies like sennheiser. Sony may be the exception here.
I’m not sure about data rate (or how you measure it through A2DP) but my music is mustly at the 256kbps format, with some legacy 128 from my early CD ripping days, and I do not notice any drop in quality over standard headphones (I use the Apple in-ear ones when not on BT). True audiophiles with super high quality headphones may disagree however.
I use BT headphones from Jaybird and love them. The form factor is pretty much as good as I think they can be at this point. They conform to your ears and are effective for intense exercise without falling off. They are, in my opinion, head and shoulders above any other BT headphones I’ve seen.
I’ve been on the original iPhone for about 2 years now and I’m eagerly awaiting the new device to upgrade. I want/need that 32G storage. I’m really excited to hear about the A2DP support, I didn’t know about that. I guess that will motivate me to replace the stereo/cd player in the vehicle to a BT enabled device*.
In other words, the necessary excuse I can use to satisfy the Want Monkey!
Hmmm. I also got the update for my Wunder Radio to make it compatible with OS 3.0. I downloaded it without a hitch. I have a 16GB 3G iPhone running software version 2.2.1. No problem there.