San Francisco - Apple's newest iPhone hits stores in the US
and seven other countries Friday, and judging by the level of media
attention you might think that the boffins at Apple's Infinite Loop
headquarters had discovered the secret of perpetual motion.
Actually, all they have done is created an improved version of the
must-have gizmo of the last decade, making millions of Apple fans
tingle with anticipation. Apple's small band of rivals, meanwhile,
are sweating about how they will ever match the hype and the products
created by the iconic Silicon Valley company.
Analysts expect Apple to sell a highly respectable 500,000 of the
new iPhone 3G S models in their first weekend on sale - that's up to
ten times as many sold by Palm when it's highly touted iPhone rival,
the Pre, went on sale this spring.
While the new iPhones look exactly like their predecessors, they
are blessed with double the processing speed, a better camera that
includes video capabilities, and for the legendary need nerds who
just love the iPhone's sleek and shiny look, the new device has an
oleophobic display, which means that it doesn't attract grease, so
it's easier to clean off those nasty fingerprint smudges.
The new iPhone rectifies long-standing gripes by finally coming up
to standard on voice-control and offering a significantly stronger
battery than previous models.
But it's not just the hardware that must be forcing executives at
Palm, Samsung and Rim to wonder just what they have to do to match
Apple's relentless innovation. The phone runs on iPhone Operating
System 3.0, which arguably is even more crucial to Apple's ambition
to create the dominant technological platform for the mobile digital
age.
This new software is available to owners of all models of the
iPhone, and many tech analysts are advising budget conscious
consumers to forego splashing out on the new device and simply
install the new, free operating system on their current device.
The software includes the ability to cut and paste between
documents, faster camera activation, improved text messaging and a
Find My Phone feature that allows you to locate your missing phone
and if necessary wipe all personal data from a remote location.
All these features are tied to Apple's secret weapon: the massive
army of developers who have created more than 50,000 separate
applications for the device and effectively turn it from just another
smartphone to a customized gadget.
'Basically, when we look at the iPhone we don't see a mobile
phone, we see a computing platform,' says Shervin Pishevar, chief
executive of Social Gaming Network (SGN).
With more than 1 billion downloads already from Apple's iTunes,
customers seem to agree. So does independent analyst Carmi Levy.
'The growth curve of these downloads continues to accelerate -
it's a runaway trend,' he said. 'It almost doesn't matter what the
iPhone can do the day you bring it home. You can find the software
you need to make it fit your needs.'
USA
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