[flamesbball84]

Well apple announced a new iphone with the major additions being 3G and GPS - and it only costs $199now although your sevice plan will cost more than the original iphone.

However, iPhone 2.0 firmware comes out in July and will add support for a bunch of microsoft office and enterprise stuff (so basically catering to business folks here) and, finally, an apps store on iTunes. It's free to all iphone users but it costs $10 for ipod touch users.

I have to say i'm pretty excited about this as a recent purchaser of an ipod touch. I still don;t like having to pay for the update, but $10 isn't bad for what you get (unlike the $20 for the previous update which was essentially a ripoff). I'm excited to see what the apps are and if the support for more microsoft stuff will allow you to edit files - that would be awesome.

Looks like Apple is making a big move to take over what is seemingly becoming an antiquated in the PDAs. I imagine all the microsoft support will be a major killer for the PDA market and will seriously hurt other smart phones and the blackberry market.

[Fumblerooskies]

Somewhere Scorcho is nodding his head in agreement.

[flamesbball84]

Well apple announced a new iphone with the major additions being 3G and GPS - and it only costs $199now although your sevice plan will cost more than the original iphone.

However, iPhone 2.0 firmware comes out in July and will add support for a bunch of microsoft office and enterprise stuff (so basically catering to business folks here) and, finally, an apps store on iTunes. It's free to all iphone users but it costs $10 for ipod touch users.

I have to say i'm pretty excited about this as a recent purchaser of an ipod touch. I still don;t like having to pay for the update, but $10 isn't bad for what you get (unlike the $20 for the previous update which was essentially a ripoff). I'm excited to see what the apps are and if the support for more microsoft stuff will allow you to edit files - that would be awesome.

Looks like Apple is making a big move to take over what is seemingly becoming an antiquated market in the PDAs. I imagine all the microsoft support will be a major killer for the PDA market and will seriously hurt other smart phones and the blackberry market.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

Sounds like a comeback to the instinct

[phoenix]

From what I hear, there's no 3G service in Lynchburg.

I'll probably end up with a Blackberry come September, depending on the job I've got by then. I know my wife will have one, but we can justify that a lot more than one for me at this point.

[Sly Fox]

I've been waiting for the n3ext round of Blackberries to arrive to buy one for Mrs. Sly.

[Hold My Own]

Apple Goes on the Attack
Sam Gustin reckons: As he unveiled the new, 3G version of the iPhone today, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs took dead aim at two major competitors, and launched a preemptive strike at a third.

By integrating the Microsoft Exchange "push" email service into the iPhone, Apple is launching a direct attack on Research in Motion's BlackBerry smart-phones, which until now have had a near lock on the enterprise market. Jobs said Cisco would be providing added security for enterprise customers, and added that 35 percent of the Fortune 500 are now testing the iPhone.

These moves should go a long way toward convincing nervous IT managers that the iPhone is a viable alternative to the BlackBerry for enterprise uses -- as well as turn up the pressure on Research in Motion to prove why companies should stick with the BlackBerry.

Apple is also aiming at Microsoft itself, with the unveiling of the new MobileMe Web service, which the company described as "Exchange for the rest of us." MobileMe, which replaces the .Mac service, allows users to store their data online and sync with iPhones, Macs, and PC's.

MobileMe service is available for $99 per year for 20 gigabytes of storage.

Finally, by emphasizing third-party applications, which developers can create for the iPhone using Apple's Software Developer Kit (SDK), the company is anticipating Google's forthcoming Android mobile phone operating system, which the search giant has opened up to its own stable of third-party developers.

Apple clearly hopes to deflate Google's emphasis on third-party applications, as well as siphon off the efforts of software developers.

Steve Jobs has thrown down the gauntlet. Now it's up to RIM, Microsoft and Google to respond.

[flamesbball84]

well if you want the new iphone, you are going to have to buy it and activate it in-store. sucks for people not near an apple or at&t store!

i think the apps/SDK thing will be a big hit. that's going to depend entirely on the developers, but considering the product is an Apple product and the popularity of the iphone/ipod touch, i think there are going to be tons of developers jumping on and developing apps.

the mobile me thing, i'm just not sold on it. you can already sync your outlook calendar and contacts and whatnot with your iphone now by connecting your iphone over your computer and doing it through itunes. basically all this mobile me things sounds like it does is give you the ability to do it over the internet. and they are charging $100 for that a year? i just don't see many people jumping at the chance to do that for $100. it sounds cool, but $100 seems fairly dang pricey for something that you can already do wired...