the 07/18/2008

3G, GPS are fine, but App Store is feature that puts iPhone above ...

Of these three categories, the feature that caused the biggeststink via its initial omission is actually the least compelling iniPhone 2.0 ($199 for the 8 gig model, $299 with double thestorage).

3G is...nice. Yes. Very nice. But after a week of using the newiPhone 3G side-by-side with my first-generation EDGE iPhone, Ican't really say the increased speed adds any kind of a consistent"wow" factor to the iPhone experience. 3G coverage is spotty. Evenwhen you've got it, you don't always necessarily feel the 1.8xincrease in data speed that my benchmark tests revealed.

The GPS? Now there's a "wow." Yes, we must begin by saying"Wow...you mean there's no turn-by-turn navigation app? And Appleexpressly forbids outside developers from even creating one?"

But Apple shies away from referring to this feature as "GPS." Theykeep calling it "Location Services." On the iPhone, location is afundamental service that's easily available to all apps, whichreally kicks the doors open. Yup, typing "pizza" into Google Mapsturns up a joint within walking distance. But when I walk into mylocal supermarket and launch a third-party "To Do" app, itautomatically displays my grocery list...because it knows that it'sthe most relevant list to my present location.

Most GPS-enabled phones just come with Google Maps and turn-by-turnnavigation and a camera app that tags photos with their location.And that's it for the life of the phone. Yawnsville.

This is probably a good time to cite "Wow...is that really all thetime I get from the battery?" I'm used to browsing and chatting onmy iPhone for a full day and returning home with juice to spare. Onmy first day with the new model, I got my first low battery warningjust after lunchtime.

3G is a real carnivore. Fortunately, you can turn off 3G (and GPS,if you want to be a real miser) via the phone's Settings panel.That'll leave you with a still perfectly useful EDGE dataconnection, and a full day's battery life.

But the new iPhone's very best feature of all is the one that everyexisting iPhone user can get for free: an update to the iPhone 2.0OS. With it comes access to the iPhone App Store.

Apple raised eyebrows by announcing that they would be theall-powerful gatekeepers of iPhone software, and would open a wingof the iTunes Store for software downloads. With Apple retainingthe power to bar any app that doesn't conform to certain standards,iPhone apps will be much more stable and secure than those on otherphones...or so their argument goes.

Hmm. Well, overall the App Store is a win for the user. The entireuniverse of iPhone software is in one central location, accessiblevia either iTunes or the iPhone itself. Prices start at "free" andmost apps cost less than an album. Buying and installing an app isdead simple and reliable...never more so than when you do itdirectly via your iPhone.

More than 700 apps are already available and the first wave isn'teven complete yet. What's here demonstrates the potential andmuscle of the iPhone interface, hitherto only seen in Apple'soriginal handful of built-in iPhone apps.

The App Store also finally demonstrates that the iPhone is one hellof a gaming platform on its own. With its big, crisp screen andmotion sensors, it combines the best bits of the Sony PSP and theNintendo Wii. In MotoRacer, you steer your bike by leaning intoturns. In Scrabble, you pick up tiles and drop them where you wantthem to go.

Physically, the new iPhone has received a minor, but welcome,sprucing up. It feels thinner in your hand, thanks to its sculptedcorners, and (will miracles never cease?) you can now use normalheadphones with the thing.

But once again, the single best thing to happen to the iPhone thissummer is the App Store. It helps the iPhone to claim its hopefulplace as "the only device you need."

The phone market is crammed with generic handsets, foolish flightsof fashion, and neat ideas that are easily imitated. The App Storemakes it emphatically clear that the iPhone isn't just a phone andthe iPod Touch isn't just a media player. Together they represent aformidable and legitimate new computing platform.

Andy Ihnatko writes on technology issues for the Sun-Times.