It's iPhone season again

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June 20, 2009

By Greg Bott / guest columnist The Meridian Star Sat Jun 20, 2009, 10:49 PM CDT

It's iPhone season again and I'm contributing to the iPhone hype/noise pollution. Forgive me. At some point in the near future, you may be tempted to pay a small fee to keep from hearing the relentless drone of iPhone-this and iPhone-that. Hopefully you haven't reached that point yet and hopefully I can help you tune out the noise with the facts.

So here are the facts: Apple made the iPhone 3G S (the 'S' stands for speed) and a significant 3G upgrade available to consumers last week. And although the iPhone 3G S is more evolutionary than revolutionary, it remains in a league by itself. As Apple says, "It works like no other phone." It's not necessarily that Apple's feature set or elegance is unrivaled, though it may be. What puts the iPhone in a league by itself is the entirety of the solution--the elegance and simplicity of the device, the myriad of thoughtfully designed features PLUS the integration with iTunes and the App Store.

Don't miss the significance of the last two items: iTunes and the App Store. Other devices have access to entertainment and applications, but none have anything close to the ability Apple provides to acquire music, movies, and television or employ a new application on a whim. For example, you're standing in your kitchen about to make dinner and need some ideas. In under a minute, and without the use of a desktop computer, and probably for less than $2, you can have a Betty Crocker™ cooking application at your finger tips listing what you can make with the ingredients you already have.

I'm excited about the new 3 GS features: twice as fast, 3.2 MP auto-focus camera, video recording, digital compass, voice control (tell your iPod to play Jack Johnson) Internet tethering (access the Internet from your computer through your iPhone), Nike iPod sensor (support for tracking your running workouts), and Find My iPhone/Remote wipe (security features for lost iPhones).

Apple didn't neglect the existing iPhone users either. The iPhone 3.0 OS upgrade (already included in the 3G S) includes the following new features: cut, copy, paste, a landscape soft keyboard, spotlight search, voice recording, improved calendaring, improved stock application, shake to shuffle, Internet tethering, notes sync with iTunes, parental controls, and stereo Bluetooth.

Most of what I've read about the new iPhone features miss this point. It's not really about the dozen or so new features that Apple added--it's about the twenty thousand applications that have been developed and the thousands more that will be developed by the end of this year. The new features provide developers greater ability to create applications that enhance our lives.

Features are useless until they become benefits. For example, a compass is neat, but it becomes a benefit when combined with Google Maps and I can tell which direction I'm facing on the map, and get where I'm going more quickly (I am geographically challenged). My daughters and I are safer because I keep my hands on the wheel while voice-dialing a number, or voice-playing Jack Johnson. Again, this is why the iPhone is in a league by itself--not because of a feature list, but because of an entire technical ecosystem supporting those features and enriching your life. I've said it before and it bears repeating: Life's too short not to have an iPhone.

Bott Technology Solutions helps small to midsize businesses with computer

technology needs and may be reached via e-mail at gregbott@bottinc.com or at 601-616-8509. Greg’s professional

experience includes consulting for Price Waterhouse’s Strategic Consulting Group, working as a Program Manager for Microsoft Corporation, and serving as Chief Technology Officer for several

companies. He has a Master of Science in Software Engineering degree from the University of Texas and has presented at technical conferences across the world. He has published over a dozen works including the Microsoft Press Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

textbook, Customizing SharePoint, and the Microsoft ASP.Net Security

Operations Guide.

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