The iPhone 3G has won the 2008 gadget of the year competition. Beating off extremely strong competition from a number of games consoles, a budget laptop and an iPod speaker system the Apple phone was declared the winner today.
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It is nearly a year after the great launch of the original Apple iPhone and Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple has again announced their next 3G version of the same cell phone which finally breaks out of technology. Although the Apple Company had included a number of basic features in their previous cell phone the addition of the latest 3G technology support has been a great victory for the company. If the data speeds would hold according to the demonstration by the CEO then the new Apple iPhone would really get the internet in your pockets. Most of the people are also pleased with the new price tag which is nearly $299 for the 16GB version and $199 for the 8GB model which is an affordable price for any average person.

The Design

The new Apple iPhone 3G is a bit thinner at its edges than the previous one and the cell phone measures a hair thick size in the gut. Other measurements of the cell phone are the same expect that is weights a little less. Overall, the 3G iPhone boasts cosmetic changes with its same front display resolution and size. You will be pleased to know that Apple has replaced the annoying recessed headphone jack with a flush so that you could use any 3.5mm headphone. You will notice changes at the back of the iPhone 3G as there is a black plastic skin which has replaced the silver aluminum black cover. You will not find any changes in the volume rocker, camera lens, microphone, speaker, power button, speaker and display locking switch.

3G Technology

As the iPhone offer support for the 3G brands and also both HSDPA and UMTS networks it is also perfectly positioned to use high speed networks throughout the world. The CEO had demonstrated a Web download speed with both the cell phones. Through the original iPhone that uses 2.5G EDGE network had taken nearly 59 seconds to load a photo heavy website while the same was down in just 21 seconds with the new device.

GPS

This particular cell phone feature was among the most desired among the rest in Apple iPhone. As the original Apple iPhone would find you position through the nearby satellites and cell phone tower, the new 3G iPhone is designed to use Assisted GPS that is supplemented through satellites. The feature also provides live tracking so that you can monitor your progress as you walk or drive along.

Third-party Applications

Speaking about the third party applications the new 3G iPhone would surely support collection of application that is available through the Apple iPhone SDK. The company also promises to open a new applications store by the early July which would also be a gaming application store.

The Battery Life

The CEO of Apple has actually not included this 3G feature in their first cell phone because as it would run several applications and might have run down the battery life. However the company has solved this problem and the new 3G iPhone promises a solid talk time.

The hype is finally coming to an end and people in the UK will be able to get their hands on the Apple iPhone next month.

The UK iPhone release date is 9th November and O2, the network carrying the iPhone is expecting huge demand in its stores.

Buyers are being advised to get the phone online from the Carphone Warehouse website rather than visiting stores as they are likely to run out in the first few days.

Click here to buy online

From the official announcement:

“iPhone will be launching exclusively on the O2 network 9th November 2007 and will be available to order from The Carphone Warehouse, O2 and Apple Online Stores, as well as the following:”

Tariffs start at £35 per month including an unlimited data tariff.

Found via Digg is this article detailing how a Microsoft patent proposes an interface almost identical to the iPhone.

The patent, entitled “Extensible filtered lists for mobile device user interface” shows images of the interface operating in pretty much exactly the same way as the iPhone visual voicemail and photo gallery applications.

This could be an embarrassing PR disaster for Microsoft who will be looking for a successor to the Windows Mobile software.

Briefly described, the provided subject matter concerns an improved user interface for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like. Selected data and
services provided by multiple software applications can be accessed through a group or list of items.

Each group or list can include multiple items that provide access to data or tasks from multiple applications. For example, a list centered around a user’s current day can include items corresponding to meetings scheduled for that day using a calendar application, email received on that day through an email application, and a weather forecast for the day provided by a weather service application.

Apple have just pulled off a marketing move that no other company in the world would dare to even attempt.

For months the iPhone has been selling very well at a price tag of $599 and Apple has today announced a price drop of $200. Early adopters are upset and some consider the $200 to be “wasted”. Most just accept that the price drop was inevitable.

Apple started off with a high price to cover marketing and development costs as well as to create the perception of the iPhone being worth $599. Now the iPhone is $399 it suddenly became a great deal and will sell in even larger quantities.

If you just bought your Apple iPhone it is possible to get a $200 refund. Apple’s store return policy states:

“Should Apple reduce its price on any Apple-branded product within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase, you may request a refund of the difference between the price paid and the current selling price. An original purchase receipt is required, and you must request your refund within fourteen (14) calendar days of the price reduction.”

After yesterdays post about T Mobile apparently winning the rights to the iPhone in Germany it appears that O2 has won the rights in the UK.

According to The Times Vodafone turned down the deal as it wasn’t commercially viable and O2 will be selling the iPhone in the UK before Christmas.

The iPhone is likely to retail at £300 and O2 apparently will allow Carphone Warehouse to sell the iPhone after the initial launch period.

Apple’s agreement with O2 is thought to include a continuing share of the revenues generated by each iPhone customer. O2 ’s network will also have to be specially configured to accommodate the Apple handset.

The deal is huge news for O2 and Carphone Warehouse, the buzz in the US shows that the phone is as popular as expected and there is no doubt it will get the same reception over here.

Despite rumours stating that T Mobile has won the rights to market the iPhone in Germany they are still refusing to comment on the situation which is interesting.

Vodafone probably lost the bid as they would be unwilling to allow easy and open access to the web without trying to pass users through the Vodafone portal services.

We would have expected T Mobile to either confirm or deny the rumours by now.

The Washington Post seems to think its a done deal:

“FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom’s (DTEGn.DE) mobile phone unit T-Mobile clinched a deal to bring Apple Inc’s iPhone handset to Germany, according to a report in a German daily.

Without citing sources Rheinische Post said in a preview of a story to be published on Wednesday that T-Mobile is expected to sell the iPhone exclusively with a T-Mobile contract for around 450 euros ($612) starting Nov 1.

The iPhone is finally on sale in the US today and half of Silicon Valley seems to be in the queue to get one.

Some reporters are giving the iPhone mixed reviews but in general it seems that it more than lives up to the hype.

Apple employees have received the best news as Steve Jobs is giving them all a free iPhone

Perhaps the best news for Europe and the worst news for the US is that Apple might announce a European 3G iPhone on Monday. That will make a few people think twice about paying $500 in the US.

Reviews of the iPhone by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have been favourable, praising the quality of the large touchscreen for video, although the quality and speed of AT&T’s network has been questioned.

The Apple chief executive, Steve Jobs, this week told USA Today that moving into the mobile market would not change the company.

“We’ve got two strong legs on our chair today - we have the Mac business, which is a $10bn business, and music, our iPod and iTunes business, which is $10bn. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day Apple TV will be the fourth leg,” Mr Jobs said.

With the iPhone forecast to hit the UK in January its probably going to be pretty cold for anybody desperate enough to want to queue up for an iPhone. Several people in New York were already queuing 100 hours early as analysts were announcing that the iPhone has hit Palm sales hard before it is even launched.